Queen City Nerve - June 28, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS & OPINION

3 The Coming Storm by Ryan Pitkin

Abortion providers anticipate the implementation of Senate Bill 20 in North Carolina

4 Lifeline: Ten Cool Things To Do in Two Weeks

6 Soundwave

MUSIC

7 A Hip-Hop Homecoming by Pat Moran

Bedroom popstar Tré Ahmad returns to the Neighborhood

ARTS & CULTURE

8 A Fresh Take by Dezanii Lewis

‘The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster’ puts a new lens on Mary Shelley’s famous tale

FOOD & DRINK

10 What Fresh Hell? by Timothy DePeugh

Tracing Charlotte’s obsession with the goddamned espresso martini

LIFESTYLE

12 Horoscope

13 Puzzles

14 Savage Love

Thanks to our contributors: Grant Baldwin, Aerin Spruill, Timothy DePeugh, Dezanii Lewis, Lou Vacquie, Magen Marie, Amani Summer, Taylor Montalto, and Dan Savage.

THE COMING STORM

Abortion providers anticipate the implementation of Senate Bill 20 in North Carolina

BY RYAN PITKIN

Speaking over the phone from A Preferred Women’s Health Center (APWHC) on June 23, clinic owner Calla Hales still wasn’t sure where she’d be the next day — the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections for abortion across the country. She did know, however, that she would be wherever the vice president was.

VP Kamala Harris was scheduled to fly into Charlotte on the morning of June 24 to address local leaders in a speech about reproductive rights, and as Hales waited to hear where exactly she would need to go to hear said speech, she didn’t harbor much optimism for what would come from the next morning’s events.

Having already convened with Harris about a month after the Supreme Court decision in 2022, Hales was having trouble envisioning any true progress coming from another speech.

“I recognize that I could never be a politician and I don’t want to be, and it is a very hard job to manage all these different expectations and different priorities — because I know where mine are,” said Hales, who on top of her work as an independent owner of multiple abortion clinics spread throughout North Carolina and Georgia has been long active in public advocacy for reproductive rights.

“But it’s definitely a very weird place to be because, for as much as you push and you try, there’s still that aspect of screaming into the void a little bit — not even a little bit, a lot,” Hales continued. “Kind of being trotted out for photo ops and proof that folks truly care about an issue, it’s a weird little place to be. I’m not exactly the most hopeful human being anymore.”

Hales wasn’t so concerned with the one-year anniversary of Roe’s overturning as she was with another date: July 1, 2023. That’s when North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban — voted into law

despite a governor’s veto in May — officially takes effect.

On top of restricting access to abortion for patients past the first trimester of their pregnancy, the bill also implements stricter licensing requirements on clinics statewide and stricter mandates on doctor visits before receiving an abortion.

Though Hales and her staff had already begun the slow process of scaling services back to first-trimester patients before the bill was even introduced — a time-saving response to an overwhelming increase in demand from out-ofstate patients whose health care options have been restricted in their home states — the bill will cut her staff off from even seeing patients past that point so they can help with referrals and other care.

According to Molly Rivera, spokesperson at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT) — which oversees Planned Parenthood services in North Carolina as well as Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina — while supporters of Senate Bill 20 point to data showing that a vast majority of abortions already occur in the first 12 weeks, that data is only available through 2021. It has not yet been made available for 2022, so as to track the effects of Roe v. Wade’s overturning.

“What we know about abortion bans and restrictions is that it pushes people further into their pregnancy,” Rivera told Queen City Nerve.

Bans or near-bans in surrounding states like Georgia and West Virginia have led residents of those states to look elsewhere, creating longer wait times in states such as North Carolina.

“Because of all these additional barriers and wait times at clinics, people are being delayed care weeks from the time they make their decision,” Rivera said. “So we do anticipate that over the last year, people have been forced to get an abortion later in pregnancy, not because they hadn’t made up their mind, but because of these barriers.”

Data provided to Queen City Nerve by APWHC shows just how this has played out at the company’s Charlotte clinic. Through May, the clinic has seen a 74% increase in customers compared to the same time in 2022, before Roe v. Wade was overturned, thanks in large part to a more than 217% increase in out-of-state patients.

“I think we’re all really exhausted,” said Hales. Along with cutting back on which patients are eligible for treatment, Hales has increased staffing at her North Carolina centers.

Elsewhere in the country, Planned Parenthood has gone the opposite direction, announcing layoffs in May that began early in June.

Rivera said there have not yet been any layoffs at PPSAT thus far, however, as the team needs all hands on deck in the South especially.

“The environment is incredibly volatile,” said Rivera. “It is a challenging time to be an abortion provider, but it has always been challenging to be an abortion provider, especially in a state like North Carolina. This is not the first time we’ve seen extreme restrictions on this care. It’s certainly gotten worse than it has in maybe 50 years, but we are accustomed to providing health care in a hostile environment.

“That being said, the situation is incredibly bleak,” she continued. “The restrictions are serious, the penalties on health care providers are serious, and even more cultural experiences like protesters in front of clinics, that has only gotten worse.”

Even for patients who fall into the narrow exceptions written into Senate Bill 20 for sexual assault survivors, incest, fetal abnormalities or folks suffering from some life-threatening condition due to pregnancy, the implications of the new law could still be dire, Rivera warned.

Such patients must go to a hospital for such care rather than a provider such as Planned Parenthood or APWHC. Many rural counties do not have hospitals, or if they do, the hospitals do not provide abortion care. If they can find such care, the patient will likely be burdened with a large medical bill, whereas organizations like Planned Parenthood could have offered them financial assistance.

“If the anti-abortion movement and antiabortion politicians continue in the way that they have done over the last year, we actually know that this is just the beginning and things will get worse,” Rivera said.

That’s why it’s been important for folks in North Carolina’s reproductive health care industry to work together in the years leading up to and following the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.

While a recent New Yorker article published in May painted a picture of independent clinics around the country feuding with the larger Planned Parenthood organization, by all accounts that hasn’t been the case in North Carolina.

Hales says that, while she has had a contentious relationship with Planned Parenthood chapters in places like Georgia, where her company runs two clinics, she has enjoyed a continuing collaboration with PPSAT in North Carolina.

Because her clinic offers a specific type of abortion care as compared to Planned Parenthood’s full spectrum of reproductive health care services, the two are often trading referrals and communicating about available grants, among other things.

“It is incredibly important that all health care providers work together in this movement and in this landscape, because just in the United States, and especially in a state like North Carolina, people struggle to access basic health care, never mind reproductive health care,” Rivera said. “And so when you get to more specialized care like abortion care, the landscape is incredibly challenging.”

She pointed out that there are only 14 abortion clinics in all of North Carolina, concentrated in nine counties.

“It’s an incredibly vulnerable ecosystem and the only way to provide care to patients is by working together,” she continued, adding that PPSAT also works closely with the Carolina Abortion Fund to help provide financial assistance to those who need it.

“There is not one organization that can do this on our own. I think the North Carolina coalition of health care providers and advocates are really tightknit and strong. And we’ve been working in a hostile environment together for a long time. Call it shared trauma, perhaps.”

Hales agreed.

“Some independent providers in the country do feel like Planned Parenthood is like the boogeyman out to get them out of business, that’s not a false statement,” she said. “But with [PPSAT] and North Carolina I do not feel that way. Here in Charlotte, specifically, it’s been really, really, lovely. It’s a nice little thing to say because I quite frankly have never experienced that before.”

It’s just the type of coalition building that, more than any visit from a national dignitary, can give someone who describes herself as “not a hopeful human anymore” something to hold on to.

FOCUS ON FOOD

Part of a larger day of events centering nutrition and food insecurity, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolina’s 12th District hosts her colleague, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-02) at Johnson C. Smith University for this panel discussion featuring a lineup of community leaders. “Every five years, Congress works on a Farm Bill that impacts everything from agriculture to food benefits,” says Adams, a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee. “This event is an opportunity for 12th District constituents to hear from our experts and voice your concerns about the Food Bill, especially on issues like food security and hunger. No person in the greatest country in the world should go hungry.”

More: June 30, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Truist Auditorium, Johnson C. Smith University, 100 Beatties Ford Road; tinyurl.com/FocusOnFoodJCSU

BLACK FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS

If ever there was an opportunity for Charlotteans to embrace Black culture and fellowship around great food and support Black entrepreneurs all in one place, this would be it. Organized by Black Businesses Owners Corp. (BBOC), Black Food Truck Friday takes place in the Historic West End and features local merchants selling body products, jewelry, clothing and more, as well as a live DJ and, of course, an array of cuisine from seafood to soul food, desserts and everything in between.

More: Free; June 30, 4-9 p.m.; West Complex, 1600 W. Trade St.; tinyurl.com/BFTFCharlotte

THE WEEKS, JUNIOR ASTRONOMERS

Inside the Covers, the recent LP by swaggering Southern indie rockers The Weeks, ranges from a sledgehammer deconstruction of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps” to a slinky spy guitar trawl through Billie Eilish’s “bad guy.” Seventeen years into its career the raucous quartet does what it’s always done, bringing each song home with altrock populism, crackling authenticity and restless curiosity. Equally spirited and impassioned Charlotte legends Junior Astronomers continue to crank it up with melodic and groovy rockers that summon the spirits of Jawbreaker, The Strokes, and The Replacements into a crowded crystal ball.

More: $15-20; June 30, 8:30 p.m.; Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave.; visulite.com

JORDYN ZAINO, GALLOWAY, MIDDLETOOTH

“I am my own ghost/haunting memories of what I loved most/I gave the wrong people the right pieces of me...” Jordyn Zaino’s 2022 album who we weren’t is a live distillation of everything that makes the raw Carolinas cabaret rocker so distinct and compelling. Armed with her supple yet crunchy solo guitar and vocals that range from shouted defiance to feathered free-flowing reflection, Zaino delivers stripped-down gems with the force of a slingshot. NC indie rockers Galloway craft melodic, pensive and rhythmically complex pop. Columbia’s Middletooth strum and shout through propulsive start-and-stop single “Drop the Gloves.”

More: $7; July 1, 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com

FRONT PORCH SUNDAYS

Front Porch Sundays began as a dream of architect Terry Shook, who imagined turning his company’s property — located in the heart of South End with a wide front porch facing the Rail Trail — into a community commons on the weekends. In 2015, Charlotte Center City Partners partnered with Shook and other local businesses to test a series of events and pop-up markets on the site. It has since grown into a beloved open-air market that hosts more than 70 local vendors, food trucks and live music every first Sunday of the month.

More: Free; July 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Rail Trail at Atherton Mill, 2104 South Blvd.; southendclt.org

NORTH CAROLINA GREEK PICNIC

Billed as “the biggest NC Greek Picnic to ever happen,” this weeklong event will bring together thousands of undergraduate and graduate D9 Greeks — meaning those who have pledged to one of the Divine Nine Black Greek fraternity/sorority organizations — at venues across the Charlotte area. Following Wednesday’s kickoff, Thursday brings a pitch competition and block party in Oakhurst, followed by multiple cookouts planned for Friday, and the big picnic event at Route 29 Pavilion in Concord on Saturday — preceded by a morning of community service and a can’t-miss afterparty that night. More: Prices vary; July 5-8; Locations vary; ncgreekpicnic.com

EMANUEL WYNTER, ELORA DASH, SWANSGATE

Charlotte violinist Emanuel Wynter goes beyond his classical training, entwining virtuoso technique with jazz and blues grooves on his 2023 debut solo album These Past Two Years. As impressive as his playing is, Wynter makes his strongest impression as a singersongwriter on tunes like the limpid and swaying “Cosmos,” and the down-home “Get On,” in which uplifting neo-soul vocals entwine with playing that harkens to Stéphane Grappelli’s gypsy jazz bowing and Vassar Clements’ rapid-fire bluegrass fiddling. With Raleigh’s feathered yet funky neo soul artist Elora Dash and Queen City progressive pop-soul outfit Swansgate.

More: $14.30; July 6, 9 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com

NEBEL’S ALLEY NIGHT MARKET

What started in 2018 as a way to celebrate the reestablished Design Center in South End has now become a recurring event on the second Saturday of every month from April to November. On these nights, South End’s most charming alley comes to life for an evening of open-air shopping, tasting and entertainment. There’s magic around every corner as 30-plus local handmade and food vendors gather under the iconic Design Center water tower to show off their wares. Listen to live music and sip beer and wine as you meander the lantern-lit walkways, perusing and supporting small businesses.

More: Free; July 8, 4-9 p.m.; Design Center of the Carolinas, 101 W. Worthington Ave.; southendclt.org

THE FLAMINGO REVUE PRESENTS: THE SUMMER OF SIN

The Flock at Flamingo Revue welcomes Bella Sin, ranked the No. 19 burlesque performer in the world in 21st Century Burlesque Magazine’s most recent Top 50 Burlesque rankings, to heat things up and kick off the summer at Visulite. But Bella won’t be alone, of course; she’ll be joined by an impressive list of local, regional and international performers. Prepare to have your temperature raised, your breath taken and your mind blown by the decadent, the sultry, the hilarious, and the drop-dead sexiest acts imaginable.

More: $20-$25; July 8, 8 p.m.; Visulite Theatre, 1615 Visulite Theatre; visulite.com

HEY RICHARD, DOUBTING THOMAS

Celebrate two of Charlotte’s legendary feminist and LGBTQ supporting bands. With powerful vocals by We Rock Charlotte’s Krystle Baller, the all-women Hey RICHARD plays insanely catchy punk-rock anthems that are sing-alongs, confessionals and tirades all at the same time. Fronted by dual vocalists/instrumentalists Gina Stewart and Brenda Gambill, Doubting Thomas broke through Charlotte’s 1980s-’90s music scene barriers while supporting LGBTQ rights. The recently reunited band’s varied yet cohesive sound encompasses 1970s folk-inflected Laurel Canyon singer-songwriters, melodic new wave, country rock, swaggering honky tonk, poetic Southern alternative and even hard-rock protest tunes.

More: $5; July 8, 9 p.m.; Starlight on 22nd, 422 E. 22nd St.; starlighton22nd.com

EMANUEL WYNTER Courtesy of Emanuel Wynter 7/6

JORDYN ZAINO Courtesy of Bandsintown 7/1

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Fake Eyes w/ Deadharrie, Swae, Navtec, Shrine (The Milestone)

Bog Loaf w/ No Anger Control, Nerve Endings (Snug Harbor)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

See Bird Go (Camp North End)

Two Friends (Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre)

JAZZ/BLUES

Memphis Lightning (Evening Muse)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Shania Twain (PNC Music Pavilion)

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Singer/Songwriter Show feat. Tracy Simpson (Starlight on 22nd)

OPEN MIC

Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster)

THURSDAY, JUNE 29

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Todd Johnson (Comet Grill)

The Kind Thieves w/ Thirsty Curses (Evening Muse)

Three Years Apart w/ Once Below Joy, Witch Motel (The Milestone)

The Thing w/ The Simplicity, Pleasure House (Snug Harbor)

JAZZ/BLUES

Java (Middle C Jazz)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Lauren Morrow w/ Joshua Headley (Neighborhood Theatre)

LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE

Peso Pluma (PNC Music Pavilion)

Two Burnt (The Rooster)

FRIDAY, JUNE 30

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Bardown Breakfest 2: Day One (The Milestone)

Violence System w/ Subdivisions, Truth to Power (The Rooster)

The Weeks w/ Junior Astronomers (Visulite Theatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Jessica Macks (dupp&swatt)

Larry June (The Fillmore)

Tré Ahmad w/ Deep October, Te’Jani, Trent Domonic, Nia J, The Bleus (Neighborhood Theatre)

RoyalCity LiF w/ Tony Casenova, LD Beats, TQWuditDu, Promise The Gahd (Petra’s)

JAZZ/BLUES

Rowan Big Band All Stars (Camp North End)

The Lao Tizer Quartet feat. Karen Briggs (Middle C Jazz)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Piedmont Boys w/ Kyle Kelly and Barnyard Stompers (Amos’ Southend)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

The Abbey Elmore Band w/ Deaf Andrews, Featherpocket (Snug Harbor)

LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE

Banda MS (Spectrum Center)

SATURDAY, JULY 1

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Space Truck (Comet Grill)

Pale Lungs w/ Swae (Evening Muse)

Bardown Breakfest 2: Day Two (The Milestone)

He Is Legend w/ Greyhaven, For Your Health, VLVD (Neighborhood Theatre)

Jordyn Zaino w/ Galloway, Middletooth (Petra’s)

Willingdon w/ Maggie Miles, Sofia Camille (Snug Harbor)

JAZZ/BLUES

The Joe Grandsen Quartet (Middle C Jazz)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

NC Bluegrass Jam Night (Birdsong Bewing)

Lex Wade & Friends (Starlight on 22nd)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Electric Feels (The Underground)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Omari Dillard (Booth Playhouse)

CHRISTIAN/RELIGIOUS/GOSPEL

Gable Price & Friends w/ Goldpark, Jude Moses (Visulite Theatre)

COVER BANDS

Mostley Crüe (Motley Crüe tribute) w/ Flying High Again (Ozzy tribute) (Amos’ Southend) House of Hair (The Rooster)

SUNDAY, JULY 2

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Lofidels w/ Ultra Deluxe, MIRRORxLAKE, raatma (The Milestone)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

OMG w/ H’aiasi Musiq (The Rooster)

JAZZ/BLUES

Julian Vaughn (Middle C Jazz)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Hazy Sunday (Petra’s)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Alicia Keys (Spectrum Center)

FAMILY

Kidz Bop (PNC Music Pavilion)

OPEN MIC

Open Mic Night (Starlight on 22nd)

MONDAY, JULY 3

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Deadland w/ Whatsdysmorphia, Demon Teeth, Jealous Mind, Overturn (The Milestone)

JAZZ/BLUES

The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s)

TUESDAY, JULY 4

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Don Toliver (Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre)

OPEN MIC

Say It! Open Mic (Cloudcheck)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

See Bird Go (Camp North End)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Willi Carlisle w/ the Resonant Rogues (Neighborhood Theatre)

JAZZ/BLUES

Menastree w/ MoonShaker, Educated Guess (Snug Harbor)

OPEN MIC

Singer/Songwriter Open Mic (The Rooster)

THURSDAY, JULY 6

JAZZ/BLUES

Thomas Robinson (Middle C Jazz)

LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE

Santa Fe Klan w/ Snow Tha Product, Tornillo (Spectrum Center)

ACOUSTIC/SINGER-SONGWRITER

Paul Lover (Comet Grill)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Emanuel Wynter w/ Elora Dash, Swansgate (Snug Harbor)

FRIDAY, JULY 7

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Leilani Kilgore w/ Annie Dukes (Evening Muse)

Remember the Name (The Fillmore)

Dipstick w/ Jenny Besetzt, Quad (Snug Harbor)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Charlotte Bluegrass Allstars w/ Ashes & Arrows (Neighborhood Theatre)

Zack Brock & Good Intentions (The Rooster)

JAZZ/BLUES

Nicole Henry (Middle C Jazz)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Speak Now: Taylor Swift Dance Party (Amos’ Southend)

DJ Fijiboi D-Lo (Camp North End)

Peace, Love & Rage: A Divorved Dad Rock Dance Party (The Milestone)

Ape Audio DMB Series (Starlight on 22nd)

SATURDAY, JULY 8

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

REdEFIND w/ Oblivion AD, Cut Throat Suzy, Cosmic Twynk (The Rooster)

Abyssal Frost w/ Garbage People, Withered, Suppression (Snug Harbor)

Hey RICHARD w/ Doubting Thomas (Starlight on 22nd)

FUNK/JAM BANDS

Dual Core w/ Mikal Khill, Tribe One, Sulfur, Autocorrect (The Milestone)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Night Tillers (Comet Grill)

JAZZ/BLUES

Nicole Henry (Middle C Jazz)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Geoff Westley (Booth Playhouse)

ACOUSTIC/SINGER-SONGWRITER

Elora Dash (Primal Brewery)

COVER BANDS

Sickman (Alice in Chains tribute) w/ Foo 4 You (Foo Fighters tribute) (Amos’ Southend)

SUNDAY, JULY 9

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Analepsy w/ Cognitive, Wormhole, Negroticgorebeast, Blaakhol (The Milestone)

JAZZ/BLUES

Justin Ray’s Big Band feat. Noah Freidline & Maria Howell (Middle C Jazz)

Mac Arnold & Plate Full o’ Blues (The Rooster)

SINGER-SONGWRITER/ACOUSTIC

Ryan Hughes (Birdsong Brewing)

OPEN MIC

Bold Music Open Mic (Evening Muse)

Open Mic Night (Starlight on 22nd)

MONDAY, JULY 10

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

I Set My Friends on Fire (Neighborhood Theatre)

OPEN MIC

Find Your Muse Open Mic feat. John Brewster (Evening Muse)

TUESDAY, JULY 11

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Matchbox Twenty (PNC Music Pavilion)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Arcadian Wild (Neighborhood Theatre)

OPEN MIC

Say It! Open Mic (Cloudcheck)

VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING.

HIP-HOP HOMECOMING

Bedroom popstar Tré Ahmad returns to the Neighborhood

BY PAT MORAN

In 2022, Tré Ahmad Anderson-Davis was on top of the world. Following the intriguing three-song EP Blue in 2021 and melodic and soul-searching debut LP The Bedroom Popstar later that year, Anderson-Davis, who composes, produces and performs as Tré Ahmad, was on a roll. The 26-year old artist was praised for their nuanced tracks, and was touted as one of North Carolina’s most promising young hip-hop artists.

All they needed to consolidate their critical and commercial foothold was to drop further powerful material and line up some local gigs to cement their standing. Instead, they dropped everything and went to Europe.

“I needed to take a break from going to the studio all the time and being around people all the time,” Ahmad says.

For the good of their mental health, a powerful theme that threads trough The Bedroom Popstar, Ahmad sought new vistas. Opting for a long stay overseas, Ahmad immersed themselves in a new culture, learned the language and made friends.

“I found friends and love,” Ahmad says. “I met my [current] partner, Mars, in Lyon.”

Ahmad’s aware that their happiness may have come with a price. Except for some production work and a one-off gig for a college audience in Geneva, Ahmad stayed away from recording during his European sojourn. Nearly a year and a half passed between the release of The Bedroom Popstar in 2021 and the 2023 release of the playful three-song EP Kttn, with no new material from Ahmad during that time.

“In my generation that’s like taking a decade off,” Ahmad says.

Another five months of radio silence followed Kttn, but that comes to an end this month. Ahmad promises a flood of new material beginning this summer, and on June 30, they’ll headline the Tré Ahmad Homecoming Festival at Neighborhood Theatre. In addition to Ahmad, the stellar hip-hop/ neo-soul bill includes Deep October, Té Jani, Trent Domonic, Nia J and The Bleus — all performers who know and/or have worked with Ahmad.

“I can call anybody that’s performing a friend,” Ahmad says.

Rap therapy

Growing up in Concord and Charlotte, Ahmad recalls getting into rap at age 5, dancing to JayZ’s “Dirt off Your Shoulder.” When they turned 12, Ahmad became besotted with Lil Wayne’s 2009 mixtape No Ceilings, learning each line by heart.

Their most vivid memory of falling in love with rap, however, came when Ahmad was a freshman in high school. Going by the moniker That Kid T.A.Z., they put out a mixtape imitating the style of No Ceilings, freestyling over popular rap and R&B instrumentals.

Later, following the lead of Kendrick Lamar in crafting a more personal form of music that told stories about their life, Ahmad changed his composing/performing name to Tré Ahmad. After a year at Eastern Carolina University, Ahmad dropped out to pursue music.

They befriended fledgling producers and artists who would collaborate with them and contribute to their career — Té Jani, Nia J and Matthew Square and Michael Louis (who together go by the moniker Mike Larry). Ahmad met The Blues when she contributed vocals to the song “yesterday’ on Ahmad’s first EP Cents in 2018.

Hanging out at Té Jani’s dorm room at Queens University, Ahmad met producer/multiinstrumentalist Ike Byers, who would become a key participant in the creation of The Bedroom Popstar.

Ahmad can trace the origins of The Bedroom Popstar to the breakup of their first relationship.

“I was super confident that we were going to be together forever, [but] we ended up becoming … ghosts,” Ahmad says.

Soon after the relationship ended, Ahmad landed in a psychiatric hospital for a week.

Two years later, that experience, during which Ahmad was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, formed the basis of the punchy and powerful “Davis Regional,” named after the institution where Ahmad was sent.

“How money buy happiness I’m bluer than these bills/ Got my heart broke and would’ve thought that I got killed...”

In 2018, the COVID pandemic and shutdowns

hit. Another relationship ended, with Ahmad’s girlfriend moving across the country with her family.

“[In The Bedroom Popstar] I took a deep dive, talking about things that are hard to talk about in person, forcing myself to put them in songs,” Ahmad says. “I just had to get what was on my mind out into a place where I could hear it and analyze my thoughts.”

Depression and mental illness threads through the melancholy “Therapy,” a manifesto for facing self-assessment: “Why am I so good at making love had love lost/ Why am I so good at running from my thoughts...”

Here Ahmad stares down their false sense of confidence, and turns to self-healing as Byers’

Byers did far more on The Bedroom Popstar than play guitar. Ahmad credits Byers as executive producer on the collection for helping shape and sharpen messages and songs.

“He helped me along in the process of being vulnerable and teaching me confidence. The album wouldn’t sound or be the same without his presence on it,” Ahmad says. “He was definitely my Yoda.”

Vive la homecoming

Another track on The Bedroom Popstar, “Cauchmars,” pointed the way ahead for Ahmad. The title means “nightmares” in French, and the track began to take shape as Ahmad’s last relationship came to an end. When Ahmad’s girlfriend checked into a psychiatric ward, Ahmad had a panic attack and could not bring themself to contact her. Awash in uncertainty, they plunged into learning French online. Not only did they gain facility with the language, Ahmad also gained confidence in taking control of their life. They made the fateful decision to take a hiatus in Europe.

Eventually meeting Mars in France, the couple took many trips across the continent, including to Geneva, which would become Ahmad’s favorite city.

“I want to make music whenever I go back [to Europe], and find a studio and a hotel to record out of,” Ahmad says.

Mars will be in town for the Charlotte homecoming show, and the couple is making plans for her to join Ahmad in Charlotte permanently. Ahmad says they’re in a happy place and that it will be an interesting challenge to perform the traumaand doubt-stricken material from The Bedroom Popstar in their more peaceful state of mind.

That upbeat optimism is apparent on the EP Kttn, where Ahmad’s confident wordplay corkscrews around experimental production, beats and backing instrumentation on “L’avion Freestyle.” Entwining melodic hooks and staccato verses through a thicket of splashy hi-hats, Ahmad sounds jubilant on the Django Reinhardt-does-acid-jazz gem “Kindly.”

coiling acoustic guitar threads through the track. This too is linked with healing. Ahmad says medieval doctors once played guitars over bodies that were sick or inflamed.

“They had this theory that the vibrations from the music would [heal].”

On a more prosaic level, Ahmad has taken medication for their anxiety and depression, and continues to do so to this day.

As for the Homecoming Festival, Ahmad says they and their talented friends hope to foster a family reunion atmosphere, or possibly recall the satisfaction you get when you’ve seen a great movie in a theater.

“I want the show as well to feel like you just walked out of one of the best movies you’ve ever seen,” Ahmad says. “You relate to it; it has a happy ending. It was a matinee and the sun is out, and you’re still thinking about that movie and the characters.” PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

TRÉ AHMAD PHOTO BY LOU VACQUIE

A FRESH TAKE

‘The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster’ puts a new lens on Mary Shelley’s famous tale

BY DEZANII LEWIS

“Death is a disease,” Vicaria whispers. “If death is a disease then there’s a cure … And I’m going to find it.”

The line comes from the opening of The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. Written and directed by Bomani J. Story, the film was shot in Charlotte and stars a number of local actors.

As one of countless reimaginations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein — the famous American novel in which Dr. Frankenstein reanimates a corpse, creating Frankenstein’s monster — Story’s film is one of a kind, a fresh take that centers around a brilliant Black teen named Vicaria who tries to reanimate her brother following his violent death, instead creating a monster.

It opened in select theaters on June 9 to critical acclaim — it sits at 86% in both Audience Score and Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing — including a run at Independent Picture House that included a panel discussion with some of the local stars and crew members who helped bring the film to fruition.

Following the event at Charlotte’s only art house theater, Queen City Nerve spoke with a couple of the actors about the film and the significance of its plot — injecting an old tale with new energy and social relevance — and location.

“I would say that it’s not a faithful 100% recreation of the source material, but that a lot of the themes and ideas that Mary Shelley planted in Frankenstein are still very relevant today,” said

Jeremy DeCarlos, who plays Curtis in the movie. “Especially the idea of kind of playing God, in a sense. And I think that Bomani ... very carefully picked and chose what he wanted to bring over from Mary Shelley.

“So I think that in the final products, it’s very interesting,” he continued. “It’s kind of a mix of staying faithful to the source material and being able to have enough mileage to reflect on some of the things that the African American community experiences today.”

The film offers viewers a chance to revisit Shelley’s story, but also experience how death affects community members who may be more familiar with violence than others.

“The story is definitely not just a twist because it’s set in the current day, but also because it’s set in the Black community,” said Tracie Frank, who plays Secoiya. “And so that adds, I think, even more of a twist to it. Vicaria is not just Black, she’s a Black girl. So she’s got that intersectionality thing happening.”

Bringing film back to Charlotte

Charlotte served as an East Coast hub for the film industry for years, with feature films ranging from The Color Purple (1985) and Nell (1995) to The Hunger Games (2012) and Talladega Nights (2006) shot in the Charlotte area. Production companies came to North Carolina thanks to generous incentives from the state government, a program that Republican Gov. Pat McCrory allowed to expire in 2014, diminishing the industry in our state.

“I think that there was a lot that was happening in Charlotte,” Frank said. “A lot of films were being shot in North Carolina and a lot of TV shows. And then the incentives died and went away and changed. And we had to watch a lot of our film and television industry sort of move four hours away. And that was hard and depressing, not just for the actors around here, but for a lot of the people who

lost work as crew and everything.”

“To put it politely, I do believe that there is a lack of belief in North Carolina’s ability to generate an industry of film,” DeCarlos said. “It was a privilege to be a part of a production like this [for] several reasons, the main of which is that it brought film back to North Carolina, that this particular production company was very adamant about shooting this project in Charlotte to get our Charlotte feel. So I’m very happy to have participated in that way.”

To be clear, there have been other big-name projects filmed in Charlotte recently. Released in January 2023, the film adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret starring Rachel McAdams was filmed in Charlotte in 2021. SNL comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy spent months in Charlotte in late2022 filming an as-yet-untitled movie produced by Judd Apatow, set to release on Peacock in November. TV shows such as Showtime’s Homeland and the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Delilah have also shot in Charlotte, signaling a potential comeback for the

PHOTO BY MAGEN MARIE TRACIE FRANK

PHOTO BY AMANI SUMMER BEHIND THE SCENES OF ‘THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER.’

ARTS FEATURE

Queen City’s lm industry.

The COVID pandemic, of course, slowed that progress, but DeCarlos and Frank both remain optimistic about the industry’s future in Charlotte.

“To see something as cool as this come back, it’s exciting and encouraging,” Frank said. “It’s really cool to have that to be part of something so cool right here in Charlotte. It feels sort of like revisiting some of the greatness that we know we’re capable of.”

“Not only do I believe that this area can and is absolutely capable of sustaining a lm industry, I am wholeheartedly behind that,” DeCarlos said. “But if we do not put up competitive numbers to actively attract productions to this area, then we will not see those productions.”

The monster

The unique relationship between Shelley’s original work and Story’s reimagination is an interesting one. To portray the story in a community that often experiences trauma and a sense of helplessness is not something many might have attempted to explore, which was an intentional departure from other adaptations, said DeCarlos.

“I think it allows for a more interesting transition into the African American community, as if we were to just do a historical recreation of Frankenstein,” he said. “A lot of people have seen that particular story, and I think the way that we have updated it for our particular time frame and the way that the story is kind of told from the African American perspective makes it something that a new audience would, I believe, nd very interesting. So it’s a very fresh way to tell something very old.”

Frank similarly felt that the story’s design was meaningful and would force the audience to consider questions they may never have before.

“I love how it’s not just about some crazy doctor trying to bring someone back to life, but it’s a brilliant young girl who wants to bring someone back to life because she cares about that person,” she said. “It adds a whole di erent dimension to the story. It’s really cool to delve into the idea of what happens if you can reanimate a dead body, like, what could we do with that?

“But add to that that it happens in the ‘hood,” she continued. “It’s a little poor Black girl. Like poor Black people — Black people, period, but then she’s poor, but then it’s a girl. We’re not supposed to be able to do anything, and she has literally done the impossible. So how is that going to be taken

by people who couldn’t do it? For example, white doctors with all the resources and everything that they would need — the labs, all that kind of stu — and they can’t do it with all of their resources and with all of their shiny materials. But she did it in

the ‘hood with some stu she found and her brain. The story of bringing the dead back to life is really cool. But add all of that to it, and what does it look like? What does it even mean? How is it going to present itself? It’s a di erent story than if it’s a white

man bringing somebody back to life. Instead of, ‘Oh, what an intrepid pioneer,’ now it’s, ‘Well, how dare she? Don’t mess with it.’ Depends on who’s doing it, right? And I think that that’s kind of sad, but it’s an interesting truth.”

There are metaphors throughout the lm all the way down to the title, which Frank wants people to consider and try to understand on their own terms after they’ve watched the movie as compared to how they felt about it coming in. Hopefully, she said, that will allow audiences to consider that we’re all dealing with our own monsters.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster was released in select theaters on June 9 and is now available on various streaming platforms.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

PHOTO BY TAYLOR MONTALTO A PANEL DISCUSSION FOLLOWING THE SCREENING AT INDEPENDENT PICTURE HOUSE.

WHAT FRESH HELL

Tracing Charlotte’s obsession with the goddamned espresso martini

BY TIMOTHY DEPEUGH

Along one of the more hopping stretches of The Plaza, where aggressive traffic patterns and aggressively priced real estate zig-zag through rows of tattoo parlors, sacrosanct bodegas and smoke shops — all still safe (#blessed) from (oh em gee) The Latest Instagrammable Things just to the north or south — friends Larry Suggs and Andy Schools joined forces to resurrect a space in one of those new retail developments that, thanks to the pandemic, was a skeleton way before it ever had a chance to show the neighborhood what it could do.

Not that either of them had anything else to prove.

Humbug, their brief in-residence pop-up in the lobby of the Refuge Hotel, joined the pantheon of Great Queen City Cocktail Bars from the moment it opened. Now with its own permanent home, which officially opened on June 21, the two friends hope to ride that wave of popularity far off into the Fernethued sunset. From the early preview I was granted, I see nothing stopping them.

The venue itself is one thing — a dive bar ratcheted up three income brackets and crafted with a sort of dark, modern aesthetic confidence that is likely to make even the biggest bro go, “Bruh.”

The cocktail list, of course, is entirely another.

“No Mango For You!” — the opening menu’s most quaffable — uses matcha to make mango somehow taste more like mango, and the namesake “Humbug Martini” eschews olives in favor of a pickled tomato, which sends the citrus notes — here orange, instead of lemon — up into the stratosphere.

But there is one cocktail, not that either Larry or Andy had anything else to prove, that appears to be designed for the masses, by two men who have built reputations on deigning to pander, who nevertheless now pander. Its ingredients are simple, ranging from the obvious (vodka, espresso liqueur) and the obviously sourced (espresso from neighbors Summit Coffee), to the ones of the “always delicious, never pretentious” sort that Humbug calls its trademark — in this case salted coconut foam and,

in a stroke of genius that should surprise no one who follows upscale cocktail bars in Charlotte, Fernet Branca.

By now, dear readers, it should be clear to you what cocktail they have wrought, but the punchline to this very long setup is the best part: the drink’s name. Embossed beautifully albeit obscurely in the middle of the menu, it reads simply as: “The Goddamned Espresso Martini.”

The espresso martini is not a crime ... is it?

My triggers are complicated, so I sought the opinions of those far wiser than me.

Kathleen Purvis — friend, mentor and Eternal Sunshine Goddess of Southern Food Writing — wrote to me that, “Nothing good can come from being that drunk and that wide awake.” If her view, as clear as proper cocktail ice, were correct, then surely the police would have been involved at some point.

To that end, over the past couple of years, how many drunk and disorderly arrests do you think have been made in Charlotte where the contributing factors involved one too many espresso martinis?

It’s a trick question.

I, of course, was too shy to call the CharlotteMecklenburg Police Department myself, so I fobbed the research off onto my editor, who laughed or may have waited until he got off the phone. Unless I had the name of a victim, he said, I would never be able to find out: espresso martinis, Hennessy, Cristal, or White Claw — all are equal in the eyes of Charlotte’s men in blue in that none is worthy of mention in a police report.

And while at many points while doing research for this story I did actually feel like a victim, name dropping myself would get me nowhere, especially when it doesn’t even get me invited to restaurant openings or media events in this town.

Dejected, I went to Billy Sunday on a Monday.

There, Brian DuBois — assistant manager and

resident papa bear — growled when I asked about his take on the espresso martini’s takeover.

“Oh God,” he roared. “Don’t ever make me make one of those things again.”

Instead, he delegated the task to a protege behind the bar whose last name has far too many letters to be real, so we shall call him, “Joe.”

Joe took the task seriously — as one should for a drink that can account for 18% of Billy Sunday’s sales on any given night — mixing, squirting, shaking and such. They call it “Mexi’Spressi” here, and one can only assume it’s because it contains ancho chili. Even without being able to actually taste the chili, the drink both drinks and looks cute, but therein was another one of this bitter old queen’s triggers.

You see, I ate pie here once at Billy Sunday. On Thanksgiving. With drag queens. Would any drag queen worth her weight in glitter and struggles be caught dead drinking an espresso martini, even if it were served in her grandmother’s wedding china?

Maybe. But then again, this research was taking place during Pride Month, so give a girl a break.

Perhaps wisdom is just lost on this boy who grew up treating his TV like his only sibling.

Sex and the City informed my early cocktail choices after I had turned 21, not once but many times before and after the actual event thanks to two guys in my college dorm and their laser-printed fake IDs.

In fact, now that I think about it, whatever actually happened to the Cosmopolitan? Lord Jesus, I downed those things when I was a 20-something twink. I felt cool, I felt alive. I was a Carrie! Living life as a Miranda! While secretly a Samantha! Dressed as a Charlotte! I was living in Tokyo at the time, and every time I ordered one, even the bartenders there

would roll their eyes.

Was (is!) the Cosmopolitan my generation’s espresso martini? I’m not that old, but nevertheless, I traveled to South End for perspective.

A history lesson

Amanda Britton is a lot of things, and at Lincoln Street Kitchen and The Green Room, that includes librarian.

Her cocktails, as have always been the case, have more wit and insight than anything found in The New Yorker, but this time around, they also have history.

On a recent afternoon pre-service, she both schooled and humored me, while in her own special way telling me to back off coming for the espresso martini.

“What you may not realize is,” she said, “this drink was created by someone who’s super well respected in the industry.”

Dick Bradsell, the late British cocktail legend who was a mixologist before that word became cringe, invented many a drink in his day that are now considered to be classics.

The Bramble was one, and another, according to Amanda, he created when a supermodel walked into his bar and asked for something that was going to “fuck her up and wake her up.”

“You’re talking about Kate Moss, aren’t you?” I asked.

This may have been the late ’80s, but instead of cocaine, Dick mixed vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso with ice in a tall Collins glass. The supermodel (“It’s Naomi Campbell, isn’t it?”) approved, thus forever making Dick to cocktails what Oppenheimer was to plutonium.

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY DEPEUGH A FEW ESPRESSO MARTINI OPTIONS AT SALTED MELON.

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

The version Amanda created for Lincoln Street Kitchen may be zhuzhed up — the coffee liqueur is house-made, and the drink is served in a martini glass — but it is nevertheless a straightforward nod to the Bradsellian original.

The drink’s popularity would almost seem a given, but for the fact that it doesn’t even appear by name on the menu, a detail that Amanda left until the end in order to illustrate the espresso martini’s Cheers factor: in a bar, everyone knows it by name.

At The Green Room, though, Lincoln Street Kitchen’s bar-within-a-bar, Amanda strays gallantly from the straightforward, possibly to save herself from an early death by “Oh God, not again,” but really in order to keep things interesting with a more sophisticated point of view that will also challenge customers who might have by now taken the original for granted.

Called “Carojillo,” it’s an homage to a cocktail typically found in Latin countries that is mostly equal parts spirit and espresso, but the really clever upleveling here comes from Fernet Branca infused with cacao nibs.

“Now this is an espresso martini,” I told her. I may have in that instant even come close to forgiving it for almost wiping away entirely my precious memories of the Cosmopolitan.

“But you know what the reason for that is, right?” Amanda asked. “You came of age right when Sex and the City was becoming a phenomenon. People today came of age after years of Starbucks when Frappuccinos were becoming a phenomenon.”

I remained cool as I learned two years ago when I first met Amanda that I should always be ready for sudden droppings of wisdom.

Could the explanation really be as simple, though, as popular culture and the fickleness of human nature? Maybe. I’m sure my grandparents missed the cocaine when the makers took it out of the cola.

Salted and sweet

Perhaps the Frappuccino and the espresso martini needed for the other to be around in order to exist. If astronomers keep claiming to have no existence of dark matter, despite the universe being composed mostly of it, then look no further than the drink the Frappuccino begot.

Or maybe it’s less complicated than the Big Bang, and in true Z-illennial fashion, the Frappuccino just needed to be validated. Yes, this is crass and condescending to Z-illennials, but then so are the espresso martinis at Salted Melon, where I went for more research.

What drew me into the bowels of South End right to the corner of Instagram and Ashleigh was not the desire to see yet another market-cum-cafécum-bar community space concept in this town, but to instead work my way through their internetfamous “make your own” espresso martini menu. Surely it couldn’t be as bad as it sounds?

Right off the bat, Salted Melon assistant GM and bartender Lexi Davis had me figured out. She made a great show of apologizing that they had run out of biscotti liqueur, and I made a great show of shaking my fist at no one in particular in defiance of the amazing drink that might have been.

There were still three other choices of base spirit: two types of vodka and an orange liqueur. After that, a choice of flavor and of topping, none

of which would look out of place scattered all over the counter at a Starbucks. I went all in because how could I not? Orange liqueur, hazelnut and a dusting of cocoa-flavored matcha powder.

While there are far worse things to drink and far healthier ways to come down with diabetes, I — Tim DePeugh, victim to things having now gone way too far — thought the whole thing really did belong in a police report, despite what my editor or CMPD thought. But only after I took the perfect aesthetic shot for the ‘Gram.

Only when I left did it occur to me that, while Amanda’s Frappucino theory clearly had merit, there might also be something more socioeconomic at play. There in South End, where Charlotte’s young and upwardly mobile all somehow find their way, appearances, more than anything else, mean everything. I have never truly believed that so many people actually love dogs, for example.

And as far as espresso martinis are concerned, on those late crazy nights that end only a few hours before church on Sunday, remember the drink that our forefathers sought out? A vodka Red Bull.

This is South End, friends, not a dive bar; those can stay in LoSo. In this version of Charlotte, therefore, it could be that ordering a vodka Red Bull has become unattractive or even gauche. But an espresso martini? Take my new money!

Last call

This isn’t the first time I’ve destroyed my liver for a story, and it won’t be the last. If my writing ever does serve as the basis for charging me with a crime, then let the facts clearly state that I first conceived of this conspiracy to make Charlotteans drink better espresso martinis at Idlewild in NoDA.

The versions at Idlewild — all deliciously diverse — are heavily dependent on the person making the drink on the particular night one decides that ordering an espresso martini is the right thing to do in a place like this.

Bartender Amanda Wallace’s version came swirling with coffee and hints of chili and candied orange, tasting clean and invigorating, like the first deep breath outside on a cold winter morning. Bartender Tristan Hunt’s version was richer, creamier and tasted of egg nog. That both versions of the same superficial cocktail had such new and profound things to say told me that there still might be hope for the victims of things having gone just way too far.

But if and when a jury returns a verdict of not guilty on those charges due to reasonable doubt, I will point to Fin & Fino in Uptown as my savior. Bar manager Brittany Kellum, more than anyone else I had spoken to over the past few weeks, seemed at peace with the espresso martini when I asked her how she felt about it being a thing that is now forever a part of our lives.

Instead of pandering, upleveling or going off the deep end, her version owes itself to the technical prowess on display in mixing spirits just so, and serving them at temperatures just so, that when I took my first sip and placed my hand on my suddenly palpitating heart, I finally understood the ask behind that supermodel’s brief.

She wasn’t trying to be difficult; she just wanted something to fuck her up and wake her up, goddamn it. And despite my mentor’s concerns, I suspected but would never admit out loud — I would only write it all down here to you, dear readers, on the silent page — that there might be a glimmer of something good coming from it, whether that be a trend that’s been a boon for bar business across Charlotte in these post-COVID times, or that it gets me an appointment with a cardiologist.

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY DEPEUGH

HOROSCOPE

JUN 28 - JUL 4

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You might have to turn your Arian charm up a few degrees if you hope to persuade that persistent pessimist to see the possibilities in your project. Whatever you do, don’t give up.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A “tip” about a co-worker’s “betrayal” might well raise the Bovine’s rage levels. But before charging into a confrontation, let an unbiased colleague do some fact-checking.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Although a relationship still seems to be moving too slowly to suit your expectations, it’s best not to push it. Let it develop at its own pace. You’ll soon get news about a workplace change.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A continually changing personal situation makes you feel as if you’re riding an emotional roller coaster. But hold on tight; stability starts to set in early next week.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Believe it or not, someone might dare to say “No!” to the Regal One’s suggestion. But instead of being miffed, use this rebuff to recheck the proposition and, perhaps, make some changes.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) You might find it difficult to make a decision about a family matter. But a delay can only lead to more problems. Seek out trusted counsel and then make that important decision.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Concentrate your focus on what needs to be done and avoid frittering away your energies on less important pursuits. There’ll be time later for fun and games.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Although the conflicts seem to be letting up, you still need to be wary of being drawn into workplace intrigues. Plan a special weekend event for family and/or friends.

JULY 5 - JULY 11

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Your quick wit helps you work through an already difficult situation without creating more problems. Creative aspects begin to dominate by the week’s end.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Be patient. You’ll soon receive news about a project that means a great deal to you. Meanwhile, you might want to reconsider a suggestion that you previously turned down.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) There are still some aspects about a new job offer that you need to resolve. In the meantime, another possibility seems promising. Be sure to check it out as well.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Opening up your emotional floodgates could leave you vulnerable to being hurt later on. Watch what you say in order to avoid having your words come back to haunt you.

BORN THIS WEEK: You’re usually the life of the party, which gets you on everyone’s invitation list. You also have a flair for politics.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You are selfreliant and rarely ask anyone for help. But this time, you might want someone you trust to be there for you while you deal with a difficult matter. Cheer up. Things improve soon.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your patience begins to pay off. Look for the first sign that your goals are in plain sight. Also, take time out from all your hard work for some fun with someone special.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) There could be some lingering effects from a recent setback. But it’s all for the best, as you’re now beginning to appreciate. Use the lessons you’ve learned to start over.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) What seemed to be a difficult goal to reach is now — or soon will be — all yours. Congratulations. An unexpected travel opportunity holds an intriguing new prospect.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) A chilly reception to your presentation shouldn’t cause you to abandon your ideas. Instead, do tweak up those weaker parts and then, once again, show them what you have.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Hiding your feelings might make you feel safer against rejection. But this could be the time when you’ll need to speak up or risk losing out on an important event in your life.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Some co-workers might try to talk you out of accepting a promotion. But you need to follow your own instincts -- and if you believe you’re right for the job, then take it.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Some changes are in order, as you come to realize that you need to sort out several areas in your life. Your remarkable insight helps you make the right decisions.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) It’s time to act on your own behalf and separate yourself from those whose selfish needs threaten your personal and/or professional survival.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Resist your tendency to close yourself off from unpleasant situations. Instead, open up to how things are so that you can help change them to what they could be.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) An unspoken problem could be driving a deep wedge between you and that special person. Some honest talking between the two of you starts the healing process.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) You might feel you’ve been going around in everwidening circles trying to deal with recent workplace problems. Lighten up. A successful end is finally in sight.

BORN THIS WEEK: You’re authentic and unafraid of using thr large emotions that overtake your heart. Originality is your super power.

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

SUDOKU

BY LINDA THISTLE

TRIVIA TEST

BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

1. GEOGRAPHY: What is the tallest building in the world?

2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What does HTTP stand for in a website address?

3. LITERATURE: Which kind of animals are featured in the novel “Watership Down”?

4. HISTORY: When was the first iPhone released?

5. MOVIES: What kind of fish is Nemo in “Finding Nemo”?

6. GAMES: What is the final course on Mario Kart video games?

7. ASTRONOMY: How many planets in our solar system have moons?

8. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which president was licensed as a bartender?

9. MEDICAL: What is a more common term for somniloquy?

10. TELEVISION: How many castaways are on “Gilligan’s Island”?

CROSSWORD

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.

SAVAGE LOVE

TOPSIDE

Take it slow

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a 41-year-old cis female and have experienced a signi cant amount of physical and emotional abuse in my relationships. I recently started dating again and met a really great guy who told me that he was interested in having a Dom/sub relationship. I thought that would be it and told him so — given my experiences, I wasn’t interested in being his sub — but it turns out he wants me to be his dom. The thought of being the one in control kind of fascinates me and it feels very sexy to think about. But I am so used to worrying about the very scary and very real repercussions of even having an opinion after everything I have experienced in the past that I’m nding it di cult to navigate this. His interest aren’t in the whipsand-chains wheelhouse; it’s more like wanting to please someone who is demanding and bossy. Do you have any tips, suggestions, or resources you would recommend for me to learn more and be the best Dom Goddess I can possibly be?

WOMAN HAVING EXTREME EXCITEMENT

“Take it slow,” said Midori. “That’s always my rst piece of advice: Take it slow. Then take small steps while remembering to center yourself and your joy rst.”

An author, artist, educator, and public speaker on sexuality and kink for more than two decades, Midori created the ForteFemme Women’s Dominance Intensive (fortefemme.com) to help women explore domination thoughtfully and authentically.

“Everyone talks about new relationship energy, and NRE is real,” said Midori, “but new relationship dynamic energy — NRDE — is just as real. NRDE feels just like NRE in important ways. In both cases, enthusiasm can get the better of us. We nd ourselves wanting to do all the things all at once. In our excitement we can bite o more than we can chew, and then wind up feeling queasy and upset after. Right now WHEE should allow the sweet spiciness of all the new and exciting things she’s thinking about to continue to percolate while building con dence in herself.”

Once you’re ready to get started — once you’re ready to experiment — take small steps.

“There’s a giant di erence between Dominance and submissive play scenes and D/s relationships, even if the names imply they’re the same thing,” said Midori. “I always refer to the latter as Consented Hierarchical Opted-In Relationships, or CHOIR for short — I know, too cute by half — but it’s helpful to make this distinction

between saying yes to a small scene and entering into a D/s relationship.”

Even if you ultimately want a D/s relationship, you should start with some simple play.

“Play is about your fun for tonight,” said Midori, “CHOIR is about structures of decision-making that can encompass ordinary daily life stu as well as play time. It’s common for folks to mix these up, which can lead to unnecessary pressure, confusion about boundaries, expectation con ict, and other decidedly un-fun feelings. This confusion is so common that I have an online class called “So You Want D/s? Now What?” to help people gure out which is which and how to enjoy them both.”

And your rst small step — that rst playful scene — doesn’t have to look like BDSM porn. You don’t need gear, out ts, or a dedicated play space.

“WHEE should experiment with adding a power dynamic to her already existing sex life,” said Midori. “It’s an exercise I call ‘Will You to You Will.’ Take all the hot vanilla sex stu you’re already enjoying — the things you’re probably already asking for — and turn the ask into a directive. ‘Will you kiss me?’ becomes ‘You will kiss me.’ ‘Will you lick me?’ becomes ‘You will lick me.’ ‘Do you want to fuck me?’ becomes ‘We are going to fuck.’”

It’s about what you want.

“Think about what would please you,” said Midori. “That’s what centering yourself and your joy is about. Many of us have been conditioned to, in the course of our daily lives, think of others rst and not check in on our own wants. A consensual, collaborative D/s play scene can be a lovely way to break down these self-erasing, destabilizing habits. But to do that — to go there — you have to honestly ask yourself, ‘What would please me right now?’ It might not be something thought of as kinky or sexual. Do you want your hair brushed? You can tell him to brush your hair. Do you want a story read to you? You can tell him to read to you. Do you want dinner cooked and served with him dressed or undressed in a pleasing manner? And then for him to do the dishes? As Westley says to Buttercup, ‘As you wish.’”

To learn more about Midori, to check out her art, and to buy her books, go to planetmidori.com. The next ForteFemme Women’s Dominance Intensive takes place July 7-9, and dates for the fall will be announced soon. To learn more or register, go to fortefemme.com.

Fourteen years ago, I fell for a woman who was into watching guy-on-guy oral sex. I indulged her fetish on multiple occasions at play parties

and during pre-arranged hotel encounters with bisexual guys. While I only did this to please her, I enjoyed these MMF encounters because I got o on her getting o . At the time I thought maybe I was bisexual and had been in denial. But after we broke up, and after becoming more thoroughly educated on D/s dynamics, I’ve come to believe I am in fact not bi and instead straight. I can just be really subby for the right woman. Most people to whom I disclose my history insist that I’m not straight because of what I did for that one woman. I even encounter this in the kink community, where the D/s perspective should be better understood. My argument that I am straight and not bi is that I’ve never been romantically attracted to a man. I’ve never gone down on a man without a woman telling me to — and it’s not as if there aren’t any opportunities for me to do so, as I live on the north side of Chicago. (You might be familiar with this neighborhood?) All that being said, do you think I’m straight?

SUCKER FOR DOM WOMEN

Sure.

How do furries happen? The kink just seems so random. And why are there so many furries now but no furries in ancient history?

FATHOMING UNUSUAL ROLES

Cartoons. Disney. Mascots.

While not everyone who gets o on dressing up in fursuits and/or animal mascot costumes has the same origin story, FUR, many furries trace their kink to — many credit their kink to — the anthropomorphized animal characters they were exposed to in childhood. Now, most kids who watch Disney movies don’t grow up to be furries, just as most kids who take a swim class don’t grow up to have speedo fetishes or rubber swim cap fetishes. But a certain tiny percentage of all three groups do. Since we can’t predict which random environmental stimuli a kid might xate on — and therefore can’t predict whose childhood xations will become adult sexual obsessions — there’s no controlling for kinks. Some people are gonna be kinky when they grow up, no one’s kinks are consciously chosen, and if they seem random, it’s because they kinda-sorta are random.

As for the ancients…

Anthropomorphized animal characters didn’t come to dominate childhood (mass media, imaginations) until the 20th century — Disney was founded in 1923, Looney Tunes was founded in 1930 — but there were adults running around out there with marionette fetishes acquired at puppet shows before Mickey and Bugs took over. (There are still marionette fetishists out there.) As for the actual ancients, the Roman emperor Nero (37-68 AD) used to dress up in animal skins and pretend to be a wild boar at orgies — according to historians who may have been biased against him — and there are lots of examples of ancient people dressing up as animals for religious festivals

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and holidays; some of festivals included sacred sexual rites, but some of them were just fuck fests because people are — and have always been — kinky freaks.

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