Queen City Nerve issue 12_2019

VOLUME 1 - ISSUE 12 MAY 8 - MAY 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

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Charlotte’s Cultural Pulse

NEWS & CULTURE STAFF

PUBLISHER • Justin LaFrancois jlafrancois@qcnerve.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@qcnerve.com

EDITORIAL

ASSOCIATE EDITOR • Courtney Mihocik cmihocik@qcnerve.com STAFF WRITER • Pat Moran pmoran@qcnerve.com

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MARKETING MANAGER • Jayme Johnson jjohnson@qcnerve.com Queen City Nerve welcomes submissions of all kinds. Please send submissions or story pitches to rpitkin@qcnerve.com.

Queen City Nerve is published every other Wednesday by Nerve Media Productions LLC. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

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6 It Happened Here Shooting at UNC Charlotte leaves everyone looking for answers By Ryan Pitkin 10 School’s Out Local organizations connect families with affordable summer programs By Courtney Mihocik 4 Editor’s Note 8 The Seeker by Katie Grant 9 The Scanner by Courtney Mihocik 10 Get Fit with Britt by Brittney Pereda

ARTS

12 Don’t Stop the SHOUT! There’s still time to celebrate CLT250 By Ryan Pitkin 15 Put on for the City West Charlotte boutique puts collaboration over competition By Kassidy Brown

LIFELINE

16 How not to kill your social life

MUSIC

18 The Transfiguration of Andy the Doorbum Charlotte’s favorite doorman passes through another Milestone By Pat Moran 19 Mic Check: Anthony Hamilton by Pat Moran 20 Soundwave

FOOD & DRINK

24 Not Smoke and Mirrors New Midwood Smokehouse menu proves the reputation is earned By Ryan Pitkin 26 The Buzz Cover Design by Dana Vindigni

NIGHTLIFE

28 Tips From Last Night by Justin Zalewski 28 Sudoku 29 Crossword 30 Savage Love 31 Horoscope

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University

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9010 Glenwater Drive 704-547-1199

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A WITNESS TO CHARLOTTE STRONG

Covering a story that hits close to home

BY RYAN PITKIN

NOTHING COULD HAVE prepared me for the experience of returning to my alma mater to cover a mass shooting.

Since graduating from UNC Charlotte in 2012, I’ve been back to campus a few times. Because I was relatively grown when I first arrived there ­about 24 when I started, 26 when I finished ­and never lived on campus, I had a different college experience than most, but I still treasure that time I spent there, and look back on it longingly.

I was sitting in the CMPD headquarters in Uptown on Tuesday, April 30, when I started getting texts about what was unfolding at UNC Charlotte.

I immediately left the department and started the drive to UNC Charlotte, a drive I had made countless times before, but never with that same heartsick feeling that I felt that Tuesday.

I pulled up to the Town Center Plaza parking lot where an email from CMPD had asked that media set up in. For about two and a half hours we stood around waiting to hear details about what exactly had happened. You can read how the rest of that night went in my news feature about it on page 6.

The next day, I went to campus around 2 p.m. for a press conference. There was a vigil planned on campus for 6 p.m., so I decided to stick around for the rest of the afternoon and wait.

My publisher Justin LaFrancois and I took a stroll around the campus, including by the Kennedy building, where two people were killed and four were injured in Tuesday night’s shooting.

On the steps of the building, one lone bouquet of flowers served as a memorial to the victims.

By week’s end, the steps would be covered with flowers.

The flags on campus were at half-staff. In the courtyard outside of Kennedy, students gathered here and there, but for the most part, the campus was very quiet at a time when students should have been everywhere, worried about their final exams with their minds far from concerned with random violence.

I got in touch with Nikolai Mather, an editor at the student-run newspaper Niner Times where I worked as an Arts & Entertainment editor during my years there. I knew Mather from last year when

I interviewed him about his efforts to create an LGBTQ Student Union on campus. I went down to the basement of the Student Union where the Niner Times offices are to catch up with Mather.

Editors and contributors like my former intern Alex Sands, David Clancy and Madison Dobrzenski had been working through the night since the shooting occurred, all the while checking up on contributing writer Drew Pescaro, who had been injured in the shooting and went through surgery that night.

It was a surreal feeling to be back in a place where I had so many great memories, but to be visiting under such a dark cloud. It was easy to forget the reason I was there. I took a selfie with some folks in the newsroom, then rethought the idea of posting it on social media after considering what brought me to campus in the first place.

I know I wasn’t alone in this torn feeling, because it’s something I saw on the faces of so many students later at the vigil in Halton Arena.

Any time you put thousands of college students together in a place that they associate with positive experiences — whether it be basketball games, concerts or graduations — they’re going to want to have fun.

Multiple times I watched people recognize someone in the crowd and yell out excitedly to them, or laugh at a joke from a friend while they filed into the building, only to suddenly remember why they were there, then the look of somberness would return to their face.

It’s a terrible thing to feel like you shouldn’t be happy, but it’s a struggle those students will deal with for weeks, months and even years for those closest to the victims.

The end of an academic year should be a time of celebration for these students, yet they they were, packed into Halton Arena together on Wednesday night for the worst of reasons. The shooting will forever be a black mark on their memories of that year.

As time passes, I hope they can all find that balance to remember the victims while also remembering to let happiness back in.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

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Thursday, May 23

Friday, May 24

Saturay, May 25

Police set up a rendezvous point for parents and students across from the UNC Charlotte campus following the shooting on April 30.

IT HAPPENED HERE

Shooting on UNC Charlotte campus leaves everyone looking for answers

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T

BY RYAN PITKIN

HE MOOD in the parking lot at Town Center Plaza in University City on Tuesday night, April 30, was one of confusion, but

not chaos.

In the parking lot of O’Charley’s, media gathered, waiting for answers from representatives of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department or UNC Charlotte Police. A few hundred feet over, at the opposite end of the parking lot, CMPD set up a staging center and rendezvous spot for parents to meet with students. About 50 students milled around in the lot somberly, not knowing what was happening right across the street on the campus of UNC Charlotte. They had all heard the reports of a mass shooter opening fire in a classroom on Kennedy. Most had heard that at least two people were dead and one person was in custody, but there wasn’t much more to be known at that point.

In the O’Charley’s lot, former state senator Malcolm Graham talked to reporters about Charlotte joining a long list of U.S. cities where similar random shootings have taken place. Graham knows what it’s like when a mass shooting hits close to home. His sister, Cynthia Hurd, was killed in Charleston during a racially motivated mass shooting in a church in 2015.

Graham scoffed at the notion that, just hours after the UNC Charlotte shooting, it was too soon to talk about the elephant in the room: guns.

PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN

“Unfortunately, public spaces aren’t safe anymore because of the proliferation of guns. We cannot say that it is not time to talk about that,” Graham said. “We say that after every shooting. So if we can’t talk about guns after what happened at UNC Charlotte today, let’s talk about the guns at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, since time has passed.

Let’s talk about the guns in Pittsburgh; six months have passed. We don’t know the circumstances of what happened or why he did what he did, but we know this: two are dead, four injured at a university in a country that still stands silent and these mass shootings have become normalized.”

At around 8:30 p.m., UNC Charlotte Police Chief Jeff Baker addressed the media, which by then included reporters from throughout the state.

Baker confirmed that a shooter had opened fire on students on campus with a handgun, confirming Graham’s statement that the shooter had killed two and injured four. He cleared up some rumors about the possibility of a second shooter and the location of the shooting, but could not share much else.

Following the press conference, Charlotte City Council member Greg Phipps, who represents District 4 where the university is located, said he was thinking of the school’s nearly 29,000 students,

many of whom live on or near campus.

“Unfortunately, in our society today these things have become far too frequent,” Phipps said, “but for it to happen so close to home, right here in our city, that’s going to be hard to get through.”

In the days following the shooting, more details would emerge about what happened on Tuesday afternoon. According to police reports and eyewitness accounts, the shooter entered room 236 in the Kennedy building and began shooting without comment at about 5:45 p.m.

According to CMPD Chief Kerr Putney, he was met by 21-year-old Riley Howell, who took the shooter to the ground. When asked at a press conference on Wednesday whether Howell tackled the shooter, Putney said, “That would be an understatement.”

According to a firsthand account from Adam Johnson, the Anthropology professor leading the class at the time of the shooting, after the shooter was tackled, he emptied the magazine, laid the gun down and said, “I’m done.”

That is when Sgt. Richard Gundacker and officer Sarah Smyer with UNC Charlotte Police entered the room and subdued the suspect. Howell was shot and killed in the confrontation, along with 19-year-

old Ellis “Reed” Parlier. Howell has since been nationally hailed as a hero.

The text alerts that go out to students in an emergency like the one that occurred on April 30 say, “Run. Hide. Fight.” Though Howell was already dead by the time the text alert went out that day, nobody had to tell him to fight.

“But for his work, the assailant may not have been disarmed,” Putney said on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process, but his sacrifice saved lives.”

When asked about telling students to fight a shooter in situations like the one Howell faced, Putney said it’s an unfortunate reality, but some students do need to make that decision if faced with it.

“If you want to close your eyes, hold your breath and pray, most likely you are going to die,” he said.

Howell, who’s from Waynesville, had aspired to join the military. He was buried on Sunday with full military honors.

Also injured in the shooting were Drew Pescaro, 19, of Apex; Rami Alramadhan, 20, of Saudi Arabia; Emily Houpt, 23, of Charlotte; and Sean DeHart, 20, of Apex. As of Queen City Nerve’s press deadline, Pescaro was the only victim who remained in

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the hospital, though he’s expected to make a full recovery.

On May 5, Pescaro posted a picture of himself in his hospital bed next to Carolina Panther wide receiver DJ Moore, who had gone to visit him. “Huge thanks to Carolina Panther DJ Moore for stopping by and brightening the day #charlottestrong,” he wrote.

The shooter, a 22-year-old white man, was enrolled in the class but withdrew in January, according to Johnson. No motive is yet known for the shooting. According to multiple news reports, while he was being brought into custody the shooter told officers, “I went in and shot the guys.”

According to Johnson, at the beginning of the semester the shooter was a “completely typical” student who was engaged with the course material and asked and answered questions in class. His grandfather has told media that the idea of his PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN grandson being a killer is “foreign” to him, and that Mayor Vi Lyles speaks at a press conference on May 1. he does not know what could have led him to such a violent act.

“BUT FOR [RILEY HOWELL’S] Campus on Wednesday, May 1, was quiet. The shooting occurred on the last full day of classes, WORK, THE ASSAILANT MAY and campus remained closed on Wednesday. Some students hung around in the Student Union in the NOT HAVE BEEN DISARMED. afternoon, while downstairs the staff at the studentrun newspaper Niner Times continued reporting on UNFORTUNATELY, HE GAVE the tragedy on their campus. They regularly checked on the status of Pescaro, a sports writer for the HIS LIFE IN THE PROCESS, paper, while they worked.

Just before 6 p.m., students began streaming BUT HIS SACRIFICE SAVED into the James H. Barnhardt Student Activity Center LIVES.” for a vigil honoring the victims.

CMPD Chief Kerr Putney Inside the center, Halton Arena filled quickly as students showed up to pay their respects. Students stood on the track that circled the arena and filled PHOTO BY JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS each staircase looking down on the stage, where graduating senior Kristine Slade, student body president Chandler Crean and Chancellor Philip Dubois waited to speak.

“Yesterday’s violence and the loss of Riley and Reed cut us to our core as a university,” Dubois told the crowd. “We’re heartsick to believe that anyone would act with such complete disregard for human life, and we hope beyond hope for the full recovery of Drew, Sean, Emily and Rami.”

Crean, who broke down during Dubois’ speech, addressed the crowd tearfully.

“We come together as a community and a Niner Nation family, standing together with love and support because no one should go through this alone,” Crean said. “As a student here at UNCC, it is hard for me to stand before you, knowing that this incident occurred on our campus. Yesterday’s The shooting took place in the Kennedy building in the middle of campus.

PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN

tragedy was a complete shock and the saddest day in UNC Charlotte history … Please know that this does not stop here. It cannot stop here. No matter what happens, we will keep moving forward.”

Following the vigil inside, students poured out into the courtyard surrounding the student activity center and lit candles while a student choral group sang songs.

Two days later, students held another rally, this one more political. The UNC Charlotte chapter of March for our Lives held a rally on campus on Friday that attracted about 150 students, staff and others. Students spoke about voting for stricter gun laws to help stem the wave of mass shootings around the country. Police have confirmed that the shooter legally purchased the firearm he used in the shooting.

Government representatives addressed the crowd, including Charlotte City Council members Braxton Winston and Dimple Ajmera, Mecklenburg County Commissioner and UNC Charlotte professor Susan Harden and U.S. Rep. Alma Adams. One speaker read a letter from Gov. Roy Cooper addressed to the students that read in part, “We all must work together to address this crisis and keep North Carolina safe.”

Later in the day, many of the same students joined other organizers at a Stop the Violence rally at Romare Bearden Park in Uptown organized by the local chapter of the NAACP. Organizers at the Uptown rally presented a petition to make April 30 a “Day of Remembrance” in Charlotte to honor the victims of Tuesday’s shooting.

Counselors on campus have been offering services to anyone struggling with the effects of Tuesday’s shooting. Students were given the option of accepting their grades as they were on the final day of classes rather than take final exams with the potential of being retraumatized by returning to campus.

While no one has all the answers, Johnson looked at the systemic issues behind the trend of mass shootings through an anthropological lens in his blog post, before making a call to action.

“I believe that addressing the structural issues that allow for mass shootings to be the consequence is key to preventing them in the future,” Johnson wrote. “We have a moral obligation to each other, our children, and future generations to tackle this now and head on. Reducing inequality, providing our citizens with security in life, and coming together to strive for a better future for all is our duty as citizens of our country and the world.”

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

THE SEEKER LOOK INTO MY CRYSTAL BOWL

A sound healing retreat in the mountains

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BY KATIE GRANT

FEELING MORE burnt-out than usual, I recently sojourned to the mountains for three days of meditation, yoga and sound healing facilitated by The Meditation Room in Cornelius and hosted by The Prama Institute & Wellness Center. With over a decade of experience practicing yoga and two years of teaching under my mat, it may come as a surprise that this was my first yoga retreat, but as Iyanla Vanzant says, everything happens when it needs to happen.

The weekend agenda was abound with newage healing modalities, including a full moon yoga practice, tarot card reading and crystal singing bowl sound healing.

That may sound like a jumble of random words pulled from a dictionary, but it’s a thing, I promise.

CSBSH is based on vibrational frequencies that affect us on a cellular level because a majority of the human adult body is water, which makes our bodies intense conductors of sound, our facilitator explained. According to H.H. Mitchell in the Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, the lungs 83%, the skin 64%, muscles and kidneys 79% and even the bones are watery at 31%.

Because I had limited knowledge of how sound healing actually works, besides that it appearing to be relaxing, I did some research and found that, according to Los Angeles sound healer Alison Ross, “Sound healing works on vibration. Everything is a vibration and you tune your body like you tune an instrument. Different instruments are set to certain frequencies. Sound healing allows your body to heal itself by slowing down your brain waves, which affect every cell in your body, shifting them from diseased to being in ease. It’s just aligning it with whatever you need.”

When you feel unwell, it’s because you’re “out of tune,” so to speak. I looked forward to my spring tune-up. While our facilitator Jules Wyatt unpacked seven brightly-hued crystal bowls, I settled onto my mat and gently closed my eyes in anticipation.

Sound healing demands little to no physical activity for the participant, which seemed perfectly aligned with my personal goal of unwinding over the long weekend. All that was expected of me was to lie back, absorb and be transported by the sound.

While preparing her instruments, Jules informed us that sound vibration helps move emotional blockages. This means we could expect to feel a wide range of emotions swell in our bodies during the session, afterward and even throug the rest of the weekend.

According to Jules, some participants cry a great deal during their sound healing experience.

This was the antithesis of good news for someone who hates crying as much as I do.

Once the healing session initiated, words can’t explain the harmony created by the echoing, layered waves of sound emanating from the hollow crystal singing bowls. Some were played individually, while others were played in-sync, all by circling a crystal baton around their colorful, frosted edges.

Laying on the floor with my eyes closed, the reverberating sounds and vibrations of the multi-sized bowls lulled me into a deep, meditative state. I understood why the term “sound bath” was so often used to describe this type of therapy. It seemed as though the vibrations were enveloping my body from all sides.

The sound healing session lasted somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour, and honestly, I didn’t want it to end. While the session came to a conclusion and the vibrations rolled to a stop, I took a deep inhale followed by an equally deep exhale, taking mental note of how I felt physically and emotionally. I had zero expectations walking into this, which may be the best way to approach life, as I’m learning. Expectations lead to disappointment.

While I didn’t have any emotional meltdown, I did feel more aligned, at ease and clear-headed.

Self-care instructions for afterward included drinking plenty of water and getting some rest.

I drove home from feeling recalibrated, but sound healing is something I’m struggling with in terms of how I can incorporate it into my wellness plan. I haven’t done the math, but if it’s multiple times per month, that could get expensive. I think for now I’ll save crystal bowl sound healing for special events like wellness retreats and stick to my daily yoga practice for now. I can do that for free at home. Although I will speed up my previous rate of once every 10 years.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

SCANNER

BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK

NEED A HAND A Circle K cashier in south Charlotte tried to not get bamboozled by a suspect, but failed anyway. Late last week, a suspect entered the gas station and hung around until one of the two cashiers left the register, then made their move. The suspect went to the beer cooler and grabbed three 18-packs of Modelo, then attempted to get the remaining cashier to help them carry a fourth. This cashier probably knew what was up and denied helping the suspect, but “advised the suspect to bring the three packs to the register” instead. At this point, you probably think it ends well for the witty cashier, but the suspect approached the register, then turned left and just exited the store with the three 18-packs of beer without paying.

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SPRING CLEANING Household cleaning supplies seem to be a common weapon in Charlotte last week, as two separate reports have come in where

victims have been assaulted with items meant for tidying up the house. A 36-year-old man in east Charlotte reported that he and a separate person were in a heated argument that was about to escalate to a physical fight. It was at the apex of the argument that a third person swept in and swung at him with a broom stick. Unfortunately, the suspect made contact with the victim’s left forearm, which required medical attention. A similar report came in the same day from the Eastway neighborhood in which a 21-year-old man was struck with a vacuum cleaner. The two reports don’t seem to be connected, but somebody apparently needs to clean up their attitude.

leave the store without buying anything at all. The three suspects entered the store and placed IKEA shopping bags into a cart, then walked around the store filling them up with items. Once they figured they had enough OUMBÄRLIG frying pans and RICKARUM table lamps, the three suspects took the bags out of the carts and attempted to leave the store through the marketplace area.

Only one suspect slipped through security, while the other two were stopped. It didn’t hinder them from returning to their shopping cart and making a break for it through the emergency exit door and jumping in the getaway cart that their friend had pulled up.

EXIT THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE The IKEA store can be quite a maze, and many people report not being able to leave the store without buying unnecessary Swedish household items. But last week, three suspects decided they were going to

WE WILL ROCK YOU An electrifying act of absentmindedness was reported last week when a driver was found dumping rocks in the driveway of a house in north Charlotte with a dump truck. While the bed of the truck was raised, it caught the overhead

power lines and pulled them down, breaking a power pole in the process. Instead of sticking around to own up to the $50,000 in damages, the driver fled in the truck without leaving driver or insurance information. It’s OK, Duke will just pass the cleanup costs on to us customers.

SET IN STONE Not 10 minutes away from the broken power lines, a different kind of driveway mishap occurred. A 69-year-old man in north Charlotte reported that while his new driveway cement was drying, someone came by and left their mark in the mixture. According to the report, the unknown suspect drew obscene words and numbers in the drying cement, which resulted in a whopping $1,000 in damage.

All Scanner entries come from CMPD reports. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

SCHOOL’S OUT

Local organizations connect Charlotte families with affordable summer programs

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BY COURTNEY MIHOCIK

INE MONTHS out of the year, parents can be pretty certain as to where their children are during the day: in school, one would hope. But what happens during the summer when schools are closed and those after-school programs working parents rely on are no longer in session? Do you hire an expensive child care professional or enroll them in a summer-long sleepaway camp?

Options like these are viable for affluent and high-income families, but not for working-class and low-income parents looking for a way to engage their children in safe and enriching activities.

These experiences are important, especially for young children, according to Dr. Ross Danis, president of MeckEd, a local education fund dedicated to ensuring students have the tools and knowledge to be successful in life after public school. MeckED facilitates Charlotte NEXT, a program focused primarily on middle school-aged children for enrichment and experience programs, for

reasons far beyond passing standardized tests and students reaching benchmarks. “[Charlotte NEXT’s] interest in middle school has more to do with social justice ... well-resourced kids have access to coding and forensics, dance, drama theater — all of the things that build social capital and cultivate creativity and critical thinking — and their lives get bigger and brighter,” Danis explained.

“Then you have a whole other set of kids who don’t have the resources, who now have absolutely nothing.”

Charlotte NEXT is a resource for parents, communities, social workers and educators to use to connect to after-school and summer programming for kids by managing an interactive map called The Locator, which launched June 2017 and lists 429 programs throughout the county that host kindergarten to 12th grade students.

According to Google Analytics data pulled by Charlotte NEXT, the top two age filters applied to the interactive map are grades 9 through 12 and grades

6 through 8.

MeckEd has a separate program called Career Pathways that matches high school students at Vance, Independence, Garinger and Harding University high schools with relevant job experience and internships throughout the city, but organizers wanted to start further down the line to prevent problems that high school-aged students face when they don’t gain the skills, enrichment and knowledge needed earlier in life. That’s where Charlotte NEXT comes in.

“We have these young kids in high school and many of them are in foster care or aging out of foster care, or pregnant, or parenting. They’re under the poverty line and they’re skills-deficient,” Danis said.

“That population is served through Career Pathways and we started to think, ‘Well, we need to upstream a little bit, so let’s go to middle school and see if we can’t expand their horizons before they get to high school.’”

While The Locator indicates that there’s a pool of summer programming to pull from for parents to enroll children, there’s a lack of awareness in the community about these programs. Most parents have their children enrolled in after-school

programs and activities, but are at a loss when the summer rolls around.

Charlotte NEXT coordinator Tiyana Brown knows there’s a bridge to gap between the community and the resources available to them.

“Parks and [recreation], they have summer programs. Freedom schools, they have summer programs,” Brown explained. “There’s definitely a bigger space when it comes to the actual afterschool portion than there is in the summer program.

I think there could be a better way to bridge that gap.”

For organizations to list their programs on The Locator, they simply fill out an online form. There aren’t many requirements to be listed; just an online presence and a mission to serve students.

“As long as you serve students and you have some type of online presence, so like a website, or Facebook page,” Brown said. “Just so we can screen you just to make sure that you’re actually a program, and a program that parents will want to send their children to.”

The second-most visited program out of 429 is the YWCA Central Carolinas, directed by former teacher and education administrator, Dr. Sheila Ijames.

The YWCA offers a year-round after-school program that transitions into a summer program in which after-school students are guaranteed enrollment. The program is completely funded by outside donors and is a no-cost, no-incomerequirement-based literacy program that serves students from kindergarten to grade 5.

“We target literacy skills for that because reading is so important. If a child can read by third grade, they’re going to do well academically. If they can’t, then all those negative things that we hear in society — like pipeline to prison or early dropout rates —those things will occur if we don’t have them on grade level by third grade,” Ijames illustrated. “What we try to do is disrupt all that by offering literacy.”

In the literacy program, students spend a threestation rotation working on vocabulary, phonics and read-aloud activities. In the summer, students have the opportunity to pursue physical activities like golfing and swimming while also being exposed to conflict resolution and intra- and inter-personal skills and lessons.

Although Ijames has only been with YWCA for a year, she’s already seen improvements from the students they serve through the after-school and summer programs, but it will be another year or so until the data shows the bigger picture about

GET FIT WITH BRITT POOF! TOXINS BE GONE

Can a detox flush do it all?

Pg. 11 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

BY BRITTNEY PEREDA

improvement.

“We’re able to see attendance is better, behavior is better, these were children that were being suspended even in kindergarten, and a lot of that has been decreased,” she said. “What we’re doing now is gathering numbers to see how much of what we do has made an impact on the children that we serve.”

One of the biggest obstacles between parents and enrolling their children in these programs is transportation. Of all the people who searched for programs in Charlotte NEXT’s Locator, 63% wanted to know if transportation would be provided.

“It goes back to that access piece, because in the summertime, nine times out of 10, you’re required to provide your own transportation, whereas the after-school program might be already in your school or might be around the corner,” Brown said.

“I think it makes it harder for students to get to summer programs because you have to get dropped off and picked up and sometimes programs don’t provide that, especially during the summertime.”

Ijames doesn’t see a problem with transportation for the summer program she directs at YWCA, but the after-school programs, she sees parents struggling to transport their children to the facilities after school hours. Because YWCA’s programs aren’t in the schools or near schools in the nine facilities’ areas, it can cause a problem.

“The biggest issue is getting the CharlotteMecklenburg Schools to say, ‘Yes we will drop the children off at this location.’” Ijames said. “That’s the biggest issue because the children come directly from their elementary school to our learning center and oftentimes if they’re not in a particular zone or the drop off is too far away from the center, [CMS] won’t drop them off even though we’re partners.”

To mitigate this issue, YWCA utilises family support coordinator Wendy Hernandez to help parents organize carpools and find other solutions to transportation struggles.

MeckEd hopes to conscript community organizations with vans or busses to help transport children as needed or collect a fleet of their own transportation. For the Career Pathways program currently, they employ a small group of drivers to drop students off at internship and job locations when bussing is not a viable option.

Another obstacle that Ijames, Brown and Danis see is awareness. Parents not knowing that resources for summer programming are available or schools not connecting after-school students with summer enrichment curricula create a disconnect between the students and the organizations.

“It’s just getting the word out,” Ijames stated.

“For us in particular, we target low-income families and unless we can advertise on the radio stations that they listen to or the social media that they use, they don’t get the word.”

The root of the problem in finding affordable and accessible child care in the summer may be in the fact that families — particularly public service employees like teachers, firemen, bus drivers and city officials — have to worry about it at all.

“It’s a shame and a disgrace, especially in large urban city like Charlotte where you have an NFL team, an NBA team, a hockey team, and a minor league baseball team,” Ijames stated. “Child care should be free as far as I’m concerned ... there should be little to no charge for that, because you’re doing a service for the city that you live in.”

CMIHOCIK@QCNERVE.COM

EVERYONE ALWAYS WANTS A QUICK FIX. This goes for anything, really. In the fitness and health industry, we see it time and time again. This concept often comes up when a person has finally decided that they are overweight, unhealthy, sluggish and disgusted with themselves. They search for an easy way out — anything that makes them feel like their body is “cleansed,” or that they can quickly lose the weight they put on over years of eating processed Doritos and drinking liters of Diet Coke on a daily basis. The quick fix is a natural desire, especially in the era of the life hack, as technology has offered us so many shortcuts. So when an advertisement about a new detox supplement or diet regimen pops up on the TV, why not jump at the chance?

These “cleanse” commercials typically begin by telling you they will rid your body of all harmful substances — or toxins — through some type of restrictive diet paired with a box of amazing powder packets or capsule supplements. For example, there is “The Master Cleanse,” which prescribes 6-12 glasses of lemonade with cayenne pepper and maple syrup mixed in. This one drink all by itself for an entire 7 days will be your saving grace! You didn’t really fall for that, did you?

Before we dive in, let’s look at what the word “toxin” really means? In the nutritional context, toxins are substances — believed to be destructive — that accumulate in your human body over a certain amount of time. There are heavy metals, pesticides, pollutants, preservatives and food additives like high fructose corn syrup, artifical sweetener and food coloring, just to name a few.

These toxins have always been around and always will be, but we need to take them in context.

Whether a substance is natural or synthetic, anything can be detrimental to our health in extremes. People have died by drinking too much water in a small amount of time because the sudden flood of H20 depleted their electrolytes and in turn stopped their muscles (including the heart) from working. Last time I checked, water isn’t a bad thing. But like anything else, it needs to be taken in portions. While it’s not comparable to water, consuming high fructose corn syrup every once in

a while will not be the death of you. It will start causing issues, however, when consumed on a daily or near-daily basis, leading to quick and dangerous weight gains.

Cases of acute toxicity from any substance are serious medical emergencies and call for the proper response. If you’re dealing with such an instance, please hang up and call 911. If you’re worried about toxicity on a more long-term level, however, your best approach will always be a steady, healthy diet, rather than any cleanse, detox supplement or old wives’ tale that has you dumping pepper in your lemonade. It’s important to understand that the vast majority of the organs inside of that wonderful body of yours are actually doing all of the detoxing for you without all of those fad diet protocols. You just watch what you eat and do you, let the body do its thing.

Any time I have a client who comes to me having eaten Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell and Cook Out (gotta add the sweet tea) for so many years, I will typically put them on a nutrition regimen that benefits their organs to help them naturally remove any harmful substances through excreting waste. The human body uses so many internal mechanisms to get rid of the bad, but it must be aided by good nutrition.

No pills, powders or silly, disgusting drinks.

So, why do these fad cleanses and detoxes spread like wildfire despite their awful lack in benefits?

Because people tend to lose a decent amount of weight doing them. The problem is, the weight they lose is mostly from water and glycogen stores being depleted because they are underfed. And yet people will continue to attribute great health benefits to their fad detoxes and cleanses because they are uneducated in the matter. And sure, there are more micronutrients in some of these pills and powders then you have ever eaten before, but its a temporary burst that won’t do you much good if you aren’t going to continue eating fruits and vegetables in the amounts you need once the cleanse is over.

Do yourself a favor: Don’t waste your money.

And if you are ever actually poisoned with “toxic” substances, please refer to a health care practitioner, not the sexy juice cleanse you saw yesterday on TV. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

DON’T STOP THE SHOUT!

It’s not too late to celebrate CLT250

BY RYAN PITKIN & VERONICA COX

Pg. 12 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

S

OMETHING WEIRD happened on The Green in Uptown at the end of April.

As if from nowhere, a gang of gigantic inflatable bunnies appeared on The Green at South Tryon Street. As big as those bunnies are, they signaled the arrival of something much bigger: Charlotte SHOUT!, a 13-day festival of arts, music, food and just all-around cool shit. This year’s festival is meant to be the ending of a yearlong celebration of Charlotte’s 250th birthday called CLT250, though we’re right there with you if you’re currently thinking, “Uhhhh, what celebration?”

Nevermind the underwhelming extent of CLT250 thus far, because there’s no denying the extended birthday party is going out with a bang — or a shout, rather.

Charlotte SHOUT! kicked off on April 29, and there’s already been plenty of cool stuff going on beyond big rabbits, but worry not if you haven’t been able to check any of it out. Blumenthal Arts, who organized the festival, saved the best for last. There’s hometown hero Anthony Hamilton performing in Romare Bearden Park on May 9 (turn to page 19 for our interview with him), a Soul Food Sessions planned for May 11, all sorts of local talent stopping by the Queen City Podcast Network stage throughout the weekend and a ton of other creative stuff going on during the last three days of SHOUT! Seriously, there’s too much going on for us to tell you about it all, and since we’re in the Arts section (in case you hadn’t noticed), we’re going to highlight 10 of the coolest arts installations, performances and events you still have time to check out. Unless, of course, you’re reading this after SHOUT! is over, in which case, better luck next year?

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE SHOUT!

CONSTELLATION

When: May 9-11; 9-11 p.m.

Where: Trade & Tryon streets Cost: Free Enjoy an evening under the stars — or better yet, just one big-ass star.

It can be tough to see the stars from Center City, but it will not be difficult to see this star-shaped canopy made up of more than 5,400 LED modules that will hang above the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets.

Sculptor, musician, computer programmer and LED artist Christopher Schardt began making sculptures in 2000, inspired by a 1998 trip to Burning Man. It wasn’t until 2013 that he got lit and began focusing on LEDs. He has since developed an app called LED Lab, from which he controls his installations.

Schardt’s work isn’t meant to just be passed under. Constellation creates a vibe, inviting those underneath to stay a while, maybe find a place to sit. Our best suggestion would be to head to Trade & Tryon for Constellation’s first night on May 9.

Opera Carolina will be performing a special paired performance under the star at 8 p.m. that night.

Prismatica is a futuristic public art installation that has turned the 5th and 6th street blocks into a scene reminiscent of the vivid cityscape in Blade Runner.

The psychedelic exhibit comes from the minds at RAW Design, an architectural company based in Canada known for their colorful and often mindbending creations. Twenty-five pivoting prisms provide a kaleidoscopic view of the surroundings, thanks to the dichromatic film that covers each panel.

Visitors are encouraged to manipulate the prisms to see the endless color shifts that are refracted by sunlight during the day, and the rainbow color projections that light each prism at night.

ENTRE LES RANGS While you may not need the prisms to appreciate When: May 9-11, all day the beauty of the city, the temporary installation Where: First Ward Park is the easiest way to see Charlotte through roseCost: Free Created by the Canadian arts collective KANVA for the colored glasses.

Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal, Entre Les Rangs was originally meant to revisit the agricultural history of Quebec, but it’s doubtful that the row settlements along the St. Lawrence River will be the first thing that comes to mind for Charlotteans.

No matter, the beauty of the white reflectors bending in the wind on their flexible stems won’t be lost on anyone as the projector hits them and sends passersby into a trippy, light-up wheat field to frolic through. Yeah, that’s right, frolic.

This award-winning installation is partnered with a musical score to complete your trip down the rabbit hole. Just don’t daydream so hard that you think you’re in a real field in the middle of nowhere THE FUTURE IS NOW and end up walking out onto 7th Street.

When: May 9-11; all day

PRISMATICA

When: May 9-11; 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. / All Day Where: 5th and 6th block Cost: Free

Where: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Cost: Free Charlotte has seen a lot of change in its first 250 years. Hell, a lot of it has come in the last 25. So what will the next 250 years look like? About Face Charlotte, an organization that puts human faces on complex social issues through storytelling and community engagement, will try to begin answering that by putting human faces on a literal building.

AFC founder Scott Gardner will create a multimedia, multicultural, interactive installation that will feature hundreds of portraits of local youths pasted on the wall of the CharlotteMecklenburg Library in Uptown. It’s not just about the faces, though, as the project will also include an audible aspect, allowing viewers to hear these faces voice their concerns, hopes and plans for the future. The local AFC organization has partnered with the international InsideOut Project, which has implemented similar projects around the world.

THE FACES OF CHARLOTTE

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When: May 9-11; sunset-11 p.m.

Where: Polk Park Cost: Free Did you already visit the Future Is Now installation but still want to look more people right in the face?

Fret no more.

As soon as the sun goes down, faces come to life in Polk Park for The Faces of Charlotte, an installation that projects moving faces onto a cascading wall of water (also known as a waterfall). In celebration of CLT250, international food service group Compass Group interviewed 250 Charlotteans at the Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art in South End and will share those folks’ stories over the nights of the weekend.

Fun fact: The water and the falls in this installation were designed to represent the early days of the Catawba River, which was not always as flat as it is today, but rocky and chaotic. Useless fact: the Urban Dictionary defines a “Face Waterfall” as the act of dragging your fingers vertically down another person’s face as seen in the movie Face/Off.

PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF CHARLOTTE

When: May 9-11; sunset-11 p.m.

Where: McColl Center Cost: Free

As the city wraps its 250th birthday, the McColl Center is still in the first half of its year-long celebration of 20 years. It’s only right that the Uptown museum will play a role in presenting a history lesson about the city of Charlotte, and do it in a futuristic way.

The multimedia installation will use 3D-projection mapping software to project videos, still images and music onto the facade of the McColl Center, telling Charlotte’s history from the time Spanish explorers began attacking and enslaving indigenous people through the arrival of ScotsIrish settlers and the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras, and finally Charlotte’s emergence as a vibrant modern city known as the New South — still with more than its fair share of problems.

his new work, since the images in a mirror move when we do, too. Napoletano is one of the most talented, not to mention innovative, artists in the city. You’ll want to see this before your friends do.

MACFLY OPENING: THE MAKERSPACE

L’HOMME CIRQUE

NICK NAPOLETANO’S INTERACTIVE AUGMENTED MURAL

When: May 9-11; Thursday, 5-11 p.m.; FridaySaturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Where: Trade and Tryon streets Cost: Free You’ve seen Nick Napoletano’s hyperrealist murals around town — Aerial CLT, the Hal Marshall Building, Providence Auto Repair — but you’ve never seen anything quite like what he’s been cooking up. Napoletano has begun implementing virtual and augmented reality in his art, and the result is a two-dimensional mural that comes alive for the viewers, responding to their movements using projection mapping. Viewers need not use any external devices to interact with Napoletano’s mural, so turn your phone off and enjoy technology in a more natural environment.

According to Napoletano’s website, “his installations are meant to function as a mirror, identifying a truth about the community, while paving the way for positive change.” That is especially true in

When: May 9, 7 p.m.; May 10, 5 p.m., 7 p.m.; May 11, 1 p.m., 7 p.m.

Where: First Ward Park Cost: $20 Kids aren’t always interested in art installations, but SHOUT! has come up with some great ways to keep their attention and make the festival a familyfriendly event. Besides the seesaws and giant bunnies, there’s also L’homme Cirque, David Dimitri’s one-man circus, in which the performer combines dramatic feats like a human cannon and high-wire flips with humor and accordion music.

A veteran of the Big Apple Circus and Cirque du Soleil, Dimitri has been dubbed the “Lord of the Wire” by The New York Times, and you’ll get a glimpse of why when he ends his show with a grand finale, on a small wire 150 feet up in the air.

When: May 9-11; Thursday, 5-11 p.m.; FridaySaturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Where: Intersection of Trade and Tryon streets Cost: Free You don’t exit through the gift shop when you leave Charlotte SHOUT! You are the gift shop. The creatives at MACFLY are rolling out screen-printing equipment, vinyl cutters, embroidery machines, heat-presses and everything else you need to create custom designed SHOUT! swag. You won’t just be left on your own. A team of experts will help teach you techniques used in the apparel design world.

MACFLY is a Charlotte-based collective of screen printers and streetwear enthusiasts who not only offer apparel services to local businesses and individuals but also travel throughout the region bringing their form of live art to museums, festivals and schools. The team has a space at Camp North End, from which they run their FACTS program, encouraging underserved youths to pursue careers in the creative field.

LEGACY OF LYNCHING Now Open!

HEAR THE STORIES FROM DESCENDANTS OF LYNCHING VICTIMS

APRIL 24 - JULY 17, 2019

855-238-6305

Pg. 14 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

*Bundle price is $99.97/mo. yr 2; standard rates apply after yr 2; qualifying bundle includes Spectrum TV Select service, Spectrum Internet and Spectrum Voice. Additional services are extra. Install, other equipment, taxes, fees and surcharges extra. General terms: TV: TV equipment required, charges may apply. Channel, HD programming and On Demand titles availability based on level of service. Account credentials may be required to stream some TV content online. INTERNET: Available Internet speeds may vary by address. VOICE: Unlimited calling includes calls within U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands and more. Taxes and fees included in price. Restrictions apply. All Rights Reserved. Š2018 Charter Communications.

Summer Camp Info:

Half-Day and Full Day Summer Theatre Arts Camps for Children (Pre-k thru grade 12)

Musical Theater Intensive Acting Intensive Improv AND Many More!

June 7 - June 23

Tickets on sale now! visit: mathewsplayhouse.com

ARTS FEATURE PUT ON FOR THE CITY

West Charlotte boutique puts collaboration over competition

Pg. 15 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

BY KASSIDY BROWN

PEOPLE OFTEN TALK of Charlotte as being two cities: the haves and the have-nots, the gentrified and the not-yet-displaced ­­— two populations that are socioeconomically and racially segregated.

Quietly nestled between these two worlds sits a quaint boutique appropriately called The Store of the City. Its art-adorned walls and graffiti-painted shelves filled with statement clothing shed light on an underrepresented area of Charlotte. In an era of dog bars and countless breweries, this one-of-akind shop is a breath of fresh air; perfectly blending authenticity and unapologetic drip.

Cantwell Street isn’t part of those trendy neighborhoods you’ll hear about every five minutes in Charlotte’s media landscape. In fact, if you’re not a Charlotte native, you’ve probably never heard of it. Tucked between Freedom Drive and Brookshire Boulevard, between Enderly Park and Chemway, the Thomasboro-Hoskins neighborhood isn’t one that could be defined as hipster, and God forbid it ever becomes that. Yet therein lies one of Charlotte’s coolest new spots, a clothing store that serves up three local, independently owned clothing brands from up-and-coming Charlotte entrepreneurs.

As native Charlotteans know, the west side hasn’t always been a mecca for breweries and coffee shops. In fact, just a few years ago, the same Sunday brunchers and IPA sippers wouldn’t have dared to venture through the streets of the now-trendy Walnut Avenue, let alone further down Freedom to Cantwell Street. The influx of growth and development has been welcomed by some and shunned by others. Where some see progression, others see displacement.

Born and raised in the Queen City, Store of the City owner and local artist Demetrius Ross has witnessed Charlotte’s growth firsthand. He looks at things optimistically. The growth around him coincides perfectly with his mission to help other local artists reach their full potential.

“I love Charlotte and I do like how it’s developed and continues to grow,” he said.

Ross and co-owner James Donel opened Store of the City in October 2018 “out of need and necessity.”

“When you’re an independent clothing brand,

it’s harder to get your merchandise in a store,” Ross explained. “So, we as a team decided to cut the middle man out and make our own way.”

Make a way they did. The idea for the store was birthed to host the in-house brand Trap Society Inc., started by Ross and Donel, and other up-and-coming artists. Ross explains,“I came up with the name because I’m from Charlotte and I’m always representing.”

He sticks to that mission by not only representing his own brand, but putting others on as well. Featured within the store are brands like 930E, 1 of a Kind and LVC. Not only are all the brands locally owned, but you’re likely to find the owners of a couple of them kicking it any given time you stop by the store.

On a recent Friday afternoon, Teezy the Don, founder of 930E, was behind the counter when Queen City Nerve stopped by.

“That’s why Demetrius came up with the name Store of the City,” Teezy explained. “We really wanted to incorporate everybody that got something going on. Each of one of us had something going on before we even met each other and we just happened to bump heads and created this. The first few months it wasn’t as fast as we wanted it, but now we got steady clientele coming in, we got steady customers, everybody’s happy, so it’s pretty much ‘of the city.’”

Although the name was derived from Ross’s pride in being a native Charlottean, he chose his grandiose title with world domination in mind. “I can take the store name and concept anywhere in the world and the name and concept will work,” he said, with implications of the growth he has in mind.

You can feel the hustle mentality as you peruse the one-of-a-kind merchandise on the shelves at Ross’ store. Shirts with the words T.R.A.P skillfully printed to resemble the ’90s drug education organization D.A.R.E hang next to abstract paintings from local artists. Beauty products, accessories and even gold grills are sprinkled throughout the store’s wide array of merchandise.

Donel said the main focus of The Store is to collaborate rather than compete.

“Our whole thing was to really just put on for

1 of a Kind is just one of the local brands available at The Store of the City.

Charlotte because there’s not many people that do things together for the city’s sake,” he said. “We have a lot of people doing certain things that can make a city come up … we’re just not doing it together. When we go out we see pop-up shops, we see people shopping, we see people asking for T-shirts, so we’re trying to fill that lane right now.”

The Store of the City is more than just a place to shop. It’s also a fully functioning recording studio and art gallery. Hosting local talent like Teezy, Ruger and Perry A, who also launched 1 of a Kind. In fact, almost everyone who works and sells clothes out of The Store records music there as well, save for Ross, who Teezy called “the brains.”

The store is dripping with artistic expression.

“I’ve always worked in the field of fashion, music and art.” Ross said. “With my background in photography and cosmetology, I just combined everything. It’s all part of [my] evolution.”

Evolving from a local artist to full-fledged entrepreneur is a journey that began with the inspiration of a few familiar names. Ross attributes his business mentality to well-known entrepreneurial legends like Jay-Z, Master P and the late Nipsey Hussle.

Nipsey was a beloved member of the Compton community in Los Angeles because of his entrepreneurship and willingness to give people jobs. He was shot and killed in front of his store, The Marathon Clothing, on March 31.

“What I’m trying to get people to understand around Charlotte, especially around areas like this right here, is you got Nipseys,” Donel said. “You got Nipseys that’s ready to step up and have been doing this stuff forever, so let’s put the light on them because they’re gonna put the light on somebody else anyway.”

PHOTO BY JAYME JOHNSON

In addition to local brands, The Store of the City offers up hot sneaker releases like the coveted Jordan 1s, 13s and 9s. A sneakerhead myself, I asked Ross what his favorite shoe was. “The Vapormax,” he answered, immediately and impressively. “They’re comfortable and they come in a million color schemes.”

Color isn’t something Ross shies away from.

A true artist at heart, his love for making unique products is hands-on. In one of his store’s Instagram videos, you’ll see him standing on a ladder, spraying custom graffiti on the store sign. How many store owners have you seen taking their brand in their own hands with that sort of dedication?

The Store of the City is a symbolic representation of Charlotte itself. A predominantly corporate city, hints of creativity bubble up from beneath the surface if you know where to look. By capturing the essence of Charlotte’s diversity within a clothing boutique, The Store of the City embodies what it truly means to be a creative and an entrepreneur in a city known for its bankers.

On a deeper level, The Store of the City is holding on to its authenticity like an anchor. In a part of town where entire neighborhoods are gutted and replaced with high-rise apartments, these enterprising creatives have staked out their spot while embracing the sea of change around them.

While they’re currently dug in on the west side, Ross has big plans for the future of The Store of the City. “[My goals are] to continue to grow our store and individual brands while ultimately franchising in the future,” he said.

The marathon continues, after all.

[Ryan Pitkin contributed reporting to this article.]

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

WEDNESDAY, MAY. 8TH

IT HAPPENED HERE

What: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Rememberance Project is working to establish a monument to memorialize the victims of the two documented lynchings that occurred in Mecklenburg County. Members of CCRP will host an interactive discussion about Mecklenburg’s unacknowledged history.

More: Free; 5:30 p.m.; Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th St.; tinyurl.com/CCRPLevine

THURSDAY, MAY. 9TH

INDIA.ARIE

What: After 20 years, four Grammys and 10 million records sold worldwide, India.Arie doesn’t need another song to cement her standing as a legend. She does it because she has a message to spread. With her newest album, Worthy, she continues making beautiful songs like “What If” and “Rollercoaster,” both with powerful messages.

More: $15 and up; May 9, 7:30 p.m.; Ovens Auditorium, 2900 E. Independence Blvd.; ovensauditorium.com

FRIDAY, MAY. 10TH

LIFELINE

Pg. 16 May 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

MAY 8TH - MAY 14TH

END-TO-END FESTIVAL

What: The inaugural END-to-END Festival is an ambitious weekend-long party featuring digital art installations, immersive exhibitions, 20 live murals, a tech symposium and kickass lineup that includes local artists like Quentin Talley & the Soul Providers and Astrea Corp, national acts like Kelly Moran and international acts Siete Catorce.

More: Free; 5 p.m., runs through May 11; Camp North End, 1824 Statesville Ave.; tinyurl.com/EndToEndFest

SATURDAY, MAY. 11TH

BACKYARD AQUAPONICS WORKSHOP

What: Do you like urban gardening? Do you like to keep fish as pets? Better yet, do you like fish as a food source?

Sam Fleming of 100 Gardens hosts this workshop to teach you how to breed fish and grow veggies without the weeding, watering and back-breaking cultivation.

More: $25-50; 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; Canvas Tattoo & Art Gallery, 3012 N. Davidson St.; tinyurl.com/VeggieFish

SUNDAY, MAY. 12TH

ONE DEEPER POOL PARTY

What: The weather is starting to seriously warm up and we know that it’s tempting to jump in a fountain Uptown to cool off. Well, don’t do that. Head to Coin Bar for a weekend pool party hosted by DJ Red, featuring a full restaurant and bar menu.

More: Free; 1-5 p.m.; Coin Bar, 132 E. Trade St.; tinyurl.com/OneDeeperPool

MONDAY, MAY. 13TH

PRÖWESS, BLACK COFFEE, WARPATH

What: Charlotte’s own Pröwess invites their friends Black Coffee as both bands come off Epicenter Festival to join other Charlotte rockers Warpath, who have been building a name for themselves as a hard-rock-and-heavy-metal act with call backs to New Wave of British Heavy Metal and The Big Four.

More: Free; 8-11 p.m.; Skylark Social Club, 2131 Central Ave.; skylarksocialclub.com

TUESDAY, MAY. 14TH IGNITE CHARLOTTE 9

What: Who’s got the attention span to sit through a whole TED Talk? This is a quicker take on the PechaKucha style of storytelling, as speakers have five minutes to present on a diverse range of topics as 20 slides auto-advance in the background. We’re all for quickly moving to the next subject here on the Lifeline, so on to next week.

More: $12; 6:15-9 p.m.; Heist Brewery, 2909 N. Davidson St.; ignitecharlotte.org

Social Calendar a little light?

Check out

QCNERVE’S LIFELINE

for cool events happening in the queen city!

WEDNESDAY, MAY. 15TH

GRETA VAN FLEET

What: Old dudes may gripe that Greta Van Fleet is just a bunch of damn kids playing rock ‘n’ roll, but that’s the way it’s

supposed to be, right? The three Kiszka brothers plus a drummer, bash out meaty, beaty, big and bouncy RAWK that worships at Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, before ascending a “Stairway to Heaven” to dance at the “Misty Mountain Hop.” More: $71; 8 p.m.; CMCU Ampitheatre, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd.; charlottemetrocreditunionamp.com

THURSDAY, MAY. 16TH

HEAVEN IN A-FLAT

What: The multimedia exhibit We See Heaven In Upside Down opened at Elder Gallery on May 3, now put things in perspective with poetic performances from artists hailing from the U.S., Argentina, Syria, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany. It’s a concert. It’s an installation. It’s an exhibit. It’s a film. It’s everything.

More: $25-30; 6:30-8 p.m.; Elder Gallery, 1520 S. Tryon St.; movingpoets.org

FRIDAY, MAY. 17TH

LIFELINE

Pg. 17 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

MAY 15TH - MAY 21ST

INTERSECTIONS: ARTS & AFFORDABLE HOUSING

What: Artists, researchers and facilitators share examples from around the country of how creative community development projects and placemaking strategies can help to meet affordable housing goals. Artists from Nashville and Charlotte will add their voices to the conversation, sharing poetry, photography and more.

More: $10; 8-11 a.m.; Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1000 E. Morehead St.; tinyurl.com/CovenantIntersections

SATURDAY, MAY. 18TH

BRUT BEAT LIVE ALBUM RECORDING

What: It’s not just a live album recording of Charlotte’s up-and-coming influential and abrasive jazz group Brut Beat, but it’s also a congregation of Queen City musicians and DJs ready to throw a party at Snug Harbor in celebration of Brut Beat’s first album.

More: $7-10; 4-7 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; brutbeatclt.eventbrite.com

SUNDAY, MAY. 19TH

SUM 41

What: It’s been 18 years since this Canadian punk band’s debut album, All Killer No Filler. Since then, they’ve released a plethora of singles and albums, switching out members and undertaking tours, but the true spirit of Sum 41 still lies in the resistance of conformity.

More: $39.50; 8 p.m.; Underground, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

MONDAY, MAY. 20TH JEWISH IN THE SOUTH COOKING EXPERIENCE

What: Watch your dinner made right in front of you by chef Rob Clement from Saveeda’s American Bistro. North Carolina Trout, matzo ball soup and sweet potato latkes are on the menu for this intimate and open-for-questions dining experience.

More: $45-95; 6-7:30 p.m.; 7th Street Public Market; 224 E. 7th St.; tinyurl.com/JewishInTheSouth

TUESDAY, MAY. 21ST FROM COTTON FIELDS TO SKYSCRAPERS

What: Everyone’s favorite Charlotte historian Dr. Tom Hanchett, author of Sorting Out the New South City, looks into how his 20-year-old book remains relevant on issues like gentrification and affordable housing.

More: Free; 12:30 p.m.; Central Piedmont Community College, Central Campus, 1201 Elizabeth Avenue, Zeiss Building, Room 1106; tinyurl.com/CottonSkyscrapers

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THE TRANSFIGURATION OF ANDY THE DOORBUM

Andy the Doorbum

PHOTO BY SARAH SITKIN

Charlotte’s favorite doorman passes through another Milestone

Pg. 18 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

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BY PAT MORAN

ORKING AT THE MILESTONE was a dream job for Andy Fenstermaker. He means that literally. “I look back at my time there as though I actually lived in a dream, [one] that allowed me to realize my own dreams and present them to other people,” he says.

In 2005 the self-described rural weirdo from Gastonia befriended Neal Harper, then-owner of the west Charlotte punk club, and badgered him for a job. At the tender age of 20, Fenstermaker started working the door at the funky, graffitistrewn venue, even living there for eight months in 2006. The club on Tuckaseegee Road became part pressure cooker, part arts lab — an alchemical cocoon that housed the metamorphosis of guitarist and songwriter Fenstermaker into the performance artist known as Andy the Doorbum.

“I was witness to three to four bands a night for six to seven nights a week, which helped me hone my craft in ways I could not have otherwise,” Fenstermaker remembers.

His first move from doorman to onstage performer came in the form of a gruff-voiced solo acoustic set. By 2014, Fenstermaker had also developed his performance art, a conflation of myth, risk and ritual. While there’s no such thing as a typical Andy the Doorbum show, a recent gig uploaded to YouTube provides the curious with a teaser. At the 2019 show in Telc, Czech Republic, Fenstermaker is a hooded magician on a darkened stage, singing a cross between a wistful folk song and a Gregorian chant. Then he’s hit with a full spotlight, and we see him bedecked in a horned headdress, which casts a shadow like an ancient glowering god. We might be watching Merlin weaving a pop incantation, a knot of conflicting primal emotions, at the edge of the abyss. Or it could be something entirely different. The interpretation is left open to the audience.

In retrospect, it was inevitable that Charlotte could not contain Fenstermaker’s explosive curiosity, creativity and insight for long. In the summer of 2015, he decamped for Los Angeles, where he currently lives with Sarah Sitkin, a multifaceted artist who combines sculpture,

photography, special effects and body art. There he continues to create and tour, which is good news for those who failed to catch a show while the Doorbum still stalked among us. Fenstermaker’s Musing on a Mass Extinction Tour will log four stops in Charlotte, including a set at his old homestead, The Milestone. The Queen City shows will comprise a mix of performance sets and acoustic performances depending on the venue, he says.

“The themes for the performance-based sets involve the dynamics between light and darkness throughout life, and finding a place in an ailing world,” he explains.

Fenstermaker won’t disclose more than that, just that he wants each audience member to draw something personal from the experience.

The mystical and mysterious Doorbum, who turned 35 in April, grew up in a musical family.

Gatherings where everyone sang and played traditional, country and bluegrass tunes were common. When Fenstermaker was 10 years old, a neighbor telephoned crying because Kurt Cobain had just died. The tragedy opened a window for Fenstermaker onto a whole new world of music. Not long after that, a friend gave him a Butthole Surfers tape. The tape became a gateway to the Melvins, Pixies and Leonard Cohen. At 14, Fenstermaker’s father bought him a guitar, which he taught himself to play. As he developed his songwriting, his family continued to support his endeavors, even when his creativity took a decidedly weird turn.

After a string of seven albums and EPs, the first of which was recorded in the small, cramped door booth at The Milestone, Fenstermaker reached another, well, milestone, in 2014. That’s when he released The Fool, a mix of song, ceremony and personal discovery laced with ritualistic drums and spoken word with nary an acoustic guitar in sight.

Fenstermaker immersed himself into developing his performance pieces, presenting them at venues throughout the Charlotte area.

April 2015 marked another transformation for Fenstermaker when he launched his Alien/Native Movement, which spawned a pop-up street

ANDY THE DOORBUM, CESCHI, FACTOR CHANDELIER, ZETA, THE EMOTRON

May 11, 8 p.m.; $10-$15; The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road; themilestone.club

performance assault he dubbed the Art War. The Alien/ Native Movement, a term that refers to being part of a scene while also feeling separate from it, started as a moniker to place on Fenstermaker’s self-released records, a kind of fake label name. It also became a fitting label for the group of out-of-state artists and performers he invited to take part in the Art War. One unforeseen result of the Art War was that it also became Fenstermaker’s unintended swan song to Charlotte. One of the artists he invited to participate was Sitkin, and when she invited Fenstermaker to accompany her back to Los Angeles to explore their budding relationship, he readily complied.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Fenstermaker has pursued his music and art, while also working as a set builder in the art department for television shows. It seems a strange occupation for Fenstermaker, who has in the past attributed much of his creativity to his avoidance of watching television. Yet he sees no contradiction here. He respects the people who work on the productions, and he finds the behindthe-scenes work interesting, he explains. But he still refuses to watch the finished product. He continues

to shun media targeted towards mass consumption.

“There’s something hollow about it that does not speak to me in any way,” Fenstermaker says.

That said, he believes video is a valid art form and he enjoys working on independent film projects.

After the Mass Extinction tour, Fenstermaker will perform late May in London, and he’s also currently putting the finishing touches on his next album, tentatively titled, Of Tears, No Amount Can Quench Mouths Maimed By Drought.

For now, though, he’s looking forward to returning to Charlotte and the gritty club that nurtured his ambitions. After all, The Milestone and its extended family, particularly Harper, supported Fenstermaker as he was coming into his own personally and artistically.

“I’ve traveled a lot and performed in many amazing venues, but you just don’t find places that special very often,” Fenstermaker says. “Charlotte is extremely fortunate to have it, and I was fortunate to be part of it for 11 years. I will always sing its praises.”

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

MIC CHECK

ANTHONY HAMILTON AT CHARLOTTE SHOUT! May 9, 9 p.m.; $35; Romare Bearden Park, 300 S. Church St.; charlotteshout.com

HEART AND SOUL MAN

Not only is it for white America, it’s for black America today. And now everybody knows what we’ll take and what we won’t take. And it’s still going on.

Anthony Hamilton headlines Charlotte Shout

BY PAT MORAN

Pg. 19 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

ANTHONY HAMILTON’S gravel-voiced country soul has music writers reaching for their cookbooks instead of their thesauruses. Down-home cooking metaphors — from chicken bones on the table to Coca-Cola warming in the sunlight — abound in descriptions of his sound.

These interpretations circle the target, but leave it to Hamilton to hit the bullseye when he says that no one has a voice blacker than his.

The Queen City native drops this declaration over the phone to me as he drives from the airport to his home near Waxhaw, and it’s no boast. It’s just a statement of fact that Hamilton is, above all else, authentic. Though he’s preparing to perform the Charlotte Shout Festival with a show at the Atrium Health Main Stage at Romare Bearden Park on May 9, at heart Hamilton is still the former choir boy at New Shiloh Baptist Church in west Charlotte who went on to sing in the choir at South Mecklenburg High School.

Since then, he’s been nominated for 12 Grammys and garnered one, been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and performed for Barack and Michelle Obama. Despite all that success, he’s still sure to give his high school chorale instructor Mark Setzer a shout out when he speaks to Queen City Nerve.

The man who composes and croons timeless tunes about heartbreak, faith and enduring love, and sings them in a smooth yet rugged voice, is the real deal, a humble and down to earth native son.

Queen City Nerve: Did you grow up in a musical family?

Anthony Hamilton: Music played around the house, and there were always groups coming in to church. Back then we called it the Anniversary [Celebration] where all the different churches would send their best quartets, [with] banjos, guitars and drums. These guys would come with their suits on and they would sing the church down for 14 weeks.

I’ve read that Michael Jackson’s “Ben” was a favorite when you were growing up.

Yes. There was something about the Jackson Five and Michael Jackson that drew me in. They were always on point. It was such a well-put-together sound. You could tell there was unity and hard work behind it. It paid off.

Speaking of hard work, you hit a lot of road blocks on your road to success. A couple record labels went belly up on you, records went unreleased or didn’t get much support. What kept you going in the face of disappointment?

I kept going because there were always these pockets of sweet spots that God would allow. Those were always really special, and they came at a time when I wanted to give up. It was almost like a sign to me, more of a spiritual journey. “Don’t give up because here I am making it work out for you.

Your passion and the love that you have for this is far too deep for you to give up anyway so don’t fool yourself. Keep at it.” So I just stayed the course.

Have you made your peace with the song?

It depends on who it’s for and what it’s for. I don’t just represent that song. I represent the people who feel like [I do]. If it’s for them, I’ll sing it. But if it’s for those who don’t respect or value us, I won’t. And I’ll do it exactly how I did it, even more black.

Anthony Hamilton

PHOTO BY TED HIMBUSH

If you could time travel, what advice would you give to a younger version of yourself?

I’d tell him how to learn how to play guitar and piano, to not only be a great vocalist, producer and writer, but to be a great musician as well. That way you’ll never have to depend on anybody to produce anything for you. That way you can interpret yourself so organically, so pure and so matter of fact.

Visit qcnerve.com for the full interview

been given a powerful voice. There’s no other voice blacker than yours. I’ll take this song, and I will put black on this song — this song that had been stolen, that didn’t belong to us, that didn’t really represent Why has the music that called to you — soul, us, and I put us back in it.” I put community back. I put R&B and gospel — endured for so long? the soul back in. I put the black experience back on it.

Because it’s not just sonic noise. There’s a skill behind tit. There’s a message. There’s an inner life. There’s a potential in it that you can’t often get today. And it feels so good. It gets in your bones for real and you VOICE OVER can’t shake it. That enables [the music] to stay in our lives and our hearts. It’s the soundtrack of some of the CASTING most important moments of our lives.

MIX

You took a break from singing the national anthem, but returned to it in February for the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte. Why the break, and why did you feel the time was right to return to it?

America had let me down and had let some other people down. It had let our communities down. It was just disrespectful, and I didn’t want any part of it. I didn’t want anything to do with it — not the song, not the flag, not anything. If I could have renounced myself as an American at that moment I would have. I was over all the injustice and the unfair treatment of people of color, people that are poor. I felt that we had a right to feel how we feel, and people were supposed to respect [those feelings]. I had no patience for allowing law enforcement to have the power to trample over us and treat us like we’re dogs, worse than dogs. I had none whatsoever.

As time went on I thought, “You know what, you’ve

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VINYL

Garbage, Ioanna Gika (Fillmore) Choir! Choir! Choir! (McGlohon Theater) Planet Loser, Ol’ Sport, Feelings Club, Halloween Costume Contest (The Milestone) Home Free (Ovens Auditorium) May Residency: The Business People, Mammabear, PNLTYBX (Snug Harbor) Josh Daniels, Jeremy Shaw (Smokey Joe’s) Temperance League (Mac’s Speed Shop South End) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Open Mic with Leebo (Comet Grill) Son Volt, Ian Noe (Neighborhood Theatre) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Chief Keef (Underground) Con Brio (The Tent at Romare Bearden Park)

MAY 9

LOTS OF CDS, TAPES, & TURNTABLES TOO tons of new & used vinyl needles, sleeves, frames, boxes, cleaners, all of your record needs shop local!

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MAY 8

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Shure SM 58 Day: Jade Moore, Dane Page, Colby Dobbs Band, Chuck Johnson, Kevin Marshall, George Banda, Randy Franklin, Curtis Hayes, Ross Adama, Alexa Jenson (Evening Muse)

POP

Music Open Mic (Crown Station) ROCK/PUNK/METAL

India.Arie (Ovens Auditorium) MICVH, Yung Citizen (Evening Muse) Lovelytheband (Underground) Veaux, Starboarders, Jason Jet (Skylark Social Club) Open Mic Night (Tommy’s Pub) Lee Child & Naked Blue: Exploring Jack Reacher through Music (Neighborhood Theatre) Iration (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) The Stranger: Billy Joel Tribute (Amos’ Southend) Shana Blake & Friends (Smokey Joe’s) The Remarks, Nordista Freeze, Gardeners (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern) Jerry Jacobs (Tin Roof) Webb Wilder (Free Range Brewing) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Chris Payne Experience (Comet Grill) Lucky Dogs (Mac’s Speed Shop Steele Creek) DJ/ELECTRONIC

Le Bang (Snug Harbor)

Headphone Disco (The Tent at Romare Bearden Park) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Anthony Hamilton (The Main Stage at Romare Bearden Park) Shamarr Allen (U.S. National Whitewater Center) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Cody Jinks, Corrosion of Conformity (Coyote Joe’s)

MAY 10

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Nashville Pussy, Guitar Wolf, The Turbo A.C.’s (Neighborhood Theatre) Johnny Orlando (Underground) Umphrey’s McGee (The Main Stage at Romare Bearden Park) Shakey Graves, Illiterate Light (Fillmore) City of the Sun (Evening Muse) Red Dress Amy, Labia Minor, The Local Odyssey (Petra’s) Doom Flamingo, Ryan Stasik (Visulite) Summer Cannibals, Bad Karol, Faye (The Milestone) Angwish, The Foes of Fern, The Whiskey Predicament (Tommy’s Pub) Raisin’ Cane (Mac’s Speed Shop Southend) Glow Co. (Tin Roof) Wicked Powers (RiRa) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Ryan Trotti (Coyote Joe’s) Grayson Jenkins Band (Thomas Street Tavern) Oliver Hazard (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Mike Strauss Trio (Summit Coffee, Davidson) Lee Gantt (Tin Roof) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Player Made: An Ode To Southern Rap Of All Eras (Snug Harbor) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

Kai Kight (Knight Gallery)

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Headphone Disco (The Tent at Romare Bearden Park) Open Decks (Skylark Social Club)

MAY 11

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Ceschi, Factor Chandelier, Andy the Doorbum, Zeta, The Emotron (The Milestone) PJ Morton (Neighborhood Theatre) The Mystery Plan, Knives & Daggers, Candy Coffins (Snug Harbor) Feather Pocket Album Release w/ David Taylor & The Tallboys, Johnny Holliday, Monty Mak (Snug Harbor) Funk You (Visulite) Bleachers (The Main Stage at Romare Bearden Park) The Big Sing Mixtape (McGlohon Theater) Trash Boat, bloom. (Skylark Social Club) Brut Beat, Jazzology, David Childers (Petra’s) Lisa DeNovo, Forest Bailey (Evening Muse) The Pintos (Comet Grill) Roy West Band (Thomas Street Tavern) Eric Congdon (Primal Brewery) Cardfall (Tin Roof) Raisin’ Cane (Mac’s Speed Shop Steele Creek) DJ/ELECTRONIC

STR8 HOUSE Taurus Edition (Crown Station Pub) DJ Kato’s White Party (Crown Station Pub) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Scott Mulvahill (Evening Muse) Olivia Lane Trio, Joe Rathbone & the Mercy Alliance (Evening Muse) Jacob Bryant (Coyote Joe’s) Kendall Street Company (U.S. National Whitewater Center)

MAY 12

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Slingshot Dakota, Expert Timing, Alright (The Milestone)

Metal Church (The Milestone) Wolf Skin (Skylark Social Club) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Lisa De Novo (Mac’s Speed Shop South End) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

DJ/ELECTRONIC

Bone Snugs-N-Harmony (Snug Harbor) Keith Sweat, Marsha Ambrosius, MC Lightfoot (Ovens Auditorium)

GLBL (Snug Harbor)

ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Bluegrass Open Jam w/ Greg M Clarke & Friends (Tommy’s Pub)

MAY 13

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Speedy Ortiz, Empath (Neighborhood Theatre) The Struts (Underground) Pröwess, Black Coffee, Warpath (Skylark Social Club) Ghost Trees Spring Residency: Hectorina, Space Saver (Petra’s) Open Mic with Lisa De Novo (Legion Brewing) Cito Jamorah & Friends (Smokey Joe’s) Find Your Muse: Joshua Carpenter (Evening Muse) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Jazz Jam hosted by Occie Davids, Troy Conin, & Ron Brendle (Crown Station) Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Pg. 21 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Tennessee Queens Tour: LOLO, Garrison Starr (Evening Muse) Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill)

Johnnyswim (Fillmore) Country Music Monday (Hattie’s Tap & Tavern)

MAY 14

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Cloven Hoof, Nemesis, Morganton (The Milestone) Murphy’s Law, No Anger Control (Snug Harbor) Tash Sultana, Pierce Brothers (Fillmore) ARIZONA (Underground) Smokin’ Js Open Jam (Smokey Joe’s) Nita Strauss (Amos’ Southend) Second Tuesday Songwriters (Tommy’s Pub) Uptown Unplugged: Spencer Rush (Tin Roof)

MAY 15

The East Pointer, The Sweet Lillies (Evening Muse) May Residency: The Business People, Sunset Cassette, Coughing Dove, Bergenline (Snug Harbor) Josh Daniels, Jeremy Shaw (Smokey Joe’s) Skewed, Truth Club, Patois Counselors (The Milestone) Ziggy Pockets (Mac’s Speed Shop South End) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Open Mic with Leebo (Comet Grill) The Contenders (Free Range Brewing) ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL

ONDAS do Brasil: May Edition (Petra’s)

MAY 16 POP

Music Open Mic (Crown Station) ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Pullover, Lassyu, Mint Green, Futurists (The Milestone) Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (PNC Music Pavilion) The Go Rounds, Flipturn (Evening Muse) Mitchel Evan, Moses Jones, Sam Rae and Kelsey Ryan (Skylark Social Club) Pink Mercury, Pocket Sounds (Petra’s) Shana Blake and Friends (Smokey Joe’s Café) David Gans Grateful Dead Archivist (Smokey Joe’s Café) Open Mic Night (Tommy’s Pub) Pluto for Planet (Mac’s Speed Shop Steele Creek)

Mike Strauss Trio (Comet Grill) DJ/ELECTRONIC

Le Bang (Snug Harbor) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Taylor Dean & the Dean’s List (Tin Roof) Travers Brothership (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Mike Alicke (Summit Coffee, Davidson) Scott Miller (Free Range Brewing) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Demun Jones and Adam Calhoun, Crucifix (Amos’ Southend)

MAY 17

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Porch 40, The Get Right Band, The Eccentrics (Visulite) Delta Rae, Noah Guthrie (Underground) Downtown Abby & the Echoes, Daniel Jordan (Evening Muse) Ella Mai (Fillmore)

Blessthefall, Palisades, Slaves, Glass Houses, Aim High (Amos’ Southend) Stunner, Voltage, Van Huskins (The Milestone) Hush Kids feat. Jill Andrews & Peter Groenwald, Lydia Luce (Neighborhood Theatre) Stress Fractures, Charles Walker, Cicala (Snug Harbor) Doctor Ocular, LBF, The Bloodworth Project (Skylark Social Club) Swansgate, Shutterings, Broke Jokes (Petra’s) The Armory (Tin Roof) Bald Brotherhood (RiRa) Royal Johnson Band (Mac’s Speed Shop Southend) Late Bloomer, Acne (Resident Culture) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Chris Young (PNC Music Pavilion) Chris Trapper, Bill West (Evening Muse) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Billy Walton Band (Thomas Street Tavern) Old Salt Union (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Acoustic Night w/ Kris Atom (Crown Station Pub)

MAY 18

SOUNDWAVE ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Brut Beat Live Album Recording: LeAnna Eden, Mara Robbins, Indigo Jo, Justin Aswell, That Guy Smitty, Bluz (Snug Harbor) Arielle (Evening Muse) The Devil Made Me Duet: Robyn O’Ladies, Charlotte Douglas (Visulite) The Maine, Greyscale (Amos’ Southend) Brangle Bros Band Release Party (Tommy’s Pub) Distillery Cats (Mac’s Speed Shop Steele Creek) The Turnstiles (Comet Grill) Heroes at Last (RiRa) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Pg. 22 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

The Southern Gothic w/ Dane Page (Petra’s) Vintage Pistol (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Jay Taylor (Tin Roof) Jamie McLean Band (Free Range Brewing)

Charles Walker (Primal Brewery) Colby Deitz Band (Primal Brewery) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Sugar Ray Rayford (Neighborhood Theatre) Tall Black Guy, Preach (Snug Harbor)

MAY 19

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Big Lazy, Don Telling’s Island Mysteries (The Milestone) Metal Church (The Milestone) The 1975 (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) Trismalux, Band of Tomorrow (Evening Muse) Andy Frasco & the U.N., The Trongone Band (Visulite)

Sum 41 (Underground) The Veer Union, Scars Remain, Neverwake, Hollow Intent (Amos’ Southend) Haymaker, Cadaver Creator, Dragged by the Neck, Divine Treachery (Skylark Social Club) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL

Greg M Clarke & Friends (Tommy’s Pub) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Pat McGee (Neighborhood Theatre) Willy Porter (Neighborhood Theatre)

MAY 20

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Open Mic with Lisa De Novo (Legion Brewing) Find Your Muse Open Mic: McKenzie Lockhart (Evening Muse)

Cito Jamorah and Friends (Smokey Joe’s) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Occie Davids, Troy Conin, & Ron Brendle (Crown Station) Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)

MAY 21

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Hey Thanks!, Right On, Kid, Dutch Tulips, Big Wave Small Wave (The Milestone) Cracker, Taylor Phelan (Neighborhood Theatre) Anchor Detail, Mountainwalker, Uncle Buck (Snug Harbor) Smokin’ Js Open Jam (Smokey Joe’s) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Uptown Unplugged with Ellie Morgan (Tin Roof)

Pg. 23 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

The Pollo Texano fried chicken sandwich

NOT SMOKE AND MIRRORS

PHOTO BY REMY THURSTON

New Midwood Smokehouse menu proves the reputation is earned

BY RYAN PITKIN

Pg. 24 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

W

HEN MATT BARRY graduated

from North Carolina State University in 2008, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life.

There just aren’t that many exciting jobs with promising career paths for 27-year-olds with history degrees. So he returned to The Q Shack, a small barbecue joint he had worked at between dropping out of college at 21 then returning later to finish.

As a child growing up in North Carolina, barbecue had always been a part of his life. As with any Carolina kid, he came across barbecue at picnics, parties and family reunions. As an adult, he enjoyed smoking meats and would always cook something up for the tailgate at football games. At The Q Shack, his hobby

became a passion, but it wasn’t until he met Charlotte restaurateur Frank Scibelli that his passion became a career.

Barry’s uncle introduced him to Scibelli in 2011, and Scibelli told him about a new barbecue concept he was planning for Charlotte as part of his restaurant family, FS Food Group.

Barry cooked for Scibelli that weekend, and within two weeks he moved down to Charlotte to work in the new Midwood Smokehouse on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood. He began as a sous chef, but by August 2012 he was the executive chef, and now oversees the menus at five locations: Plaza Midwood, Ballantyne, Park Road, Birkdale and Columbia, South Carolina.

In his seven years as executive chef, Barry has turned Midwood Smokehouse into one of

Charlotte’s most popular barbecue spots. Not only has the restaurant built a name for itself with locals, it’s apparently tossed around all the right circles nationally, as the original location has attracted some huge names in recent years: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Justin Timberlake, Bill Murray and Bob Dylan to name a few.

Kristin Bobenage, general manager at the Plaza Midwood location, says she doesn’t even know how some of these A-list celebrities hear about her restaurant, but she does her best to make them feel comfortable when they show up. She can recognize when someone like Bill Murray is playing up his celebrity as opposed to when someone like Justin Timberlake just wants to get his food without much fuss.

“You can tell with different people based

on their vibes how their experience is going to go, and if they pick a table that’s far back in the room and they’re facing a wall, you can tell they just want to eat. They want to be normal, they want to have that hour out of their day where they’re not being bombarded,” Bobenage says.

“Sometimes it’s the other guests that are in the restaurant that jump in, but we try to keep it as lowkey as possible up until that point.”

It’s not as though there’s a special celebrity version of Yelp these folks are using. Most of the times, it’s old-fashioned word of mouth that leads them in. With Bill Murray, his musical partner Jan Vogler happened by for a bite while he was in town for a show at Belk Theater and promised the unknowing servers he’d bring his bandmate by the next night.

BARBECUE 101 WITH MIDWOOD SMOKEHOUSE

Pg. 25 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

June 1, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; $25; Midwood Smokehouse Park Road, 540 Brandywine Road, #C; tinyurl.com/SmokedUpSmokedOut

Barack Obama’s Secret Service agents were in town a week or so before his appearance on the campaign trail with Clinton and had a meal there. The restaurant was added to the president’s itinerary.

And so it seems that celebrities are attracted to Midwood Smokehouse for the same reasons anyone else is: because they heard about some damn good food.

To what does Barry attribute this success?

Authenticity.

Since taking over at Midwood, Barry has traveled the Carolinas to work alongside famed pitmasters like Ed Mitchell and Sam Jones.

He’s gone to Texas to attend Camp Brisket and Barbecue Summer Camp. It may sound like a fantasy to your average Joe, but to Barry, it’s life.

In a world where many pitmasters use gasignited or gas-assisted smokers, Barry says he’s sticking to his all-wood smoker and that, among other traditions, makes all the difference.

“We tried to go back to the roots of what everything is. We’ve taken the time to go and look at what the best people in the industry are doing,” Barry says. “Things evolve over time and things change a little bit, but the basics don’t really ever change.”

A rule that Barry implemented in all Midwood kitchens years ago serves as one example of how he keeps food quality top rate.

A large sign in view of the chopping board at each Midwood kitchen states that the chef on duty must eat the first slice of every brisket that reaches the block. If it doesn’t pass the taste test,they set it aside.

“We’re never going to sell something that’s inferior product,” Barry says. “Cooking brisket is difficult, it’s not a very easy thing to find that perfect spot on it and checking every brisket, I’m not sure if anybody else does that. They may do that, but I doubt it. That’s a lot of brisket. You get sick of eating brisket sometimes.”

The policy paid off in more ways than one, however. Barry wasn’t about to toss all that

PHOTO BY REMY THURSTON

Matt Barry

brisket just because it wasn’t perfectly cooked, so he began using those briskets to make burnt ends, a staple of Kansas City barbecue that has since become one of the restaurant’s best sellers.

“It’s crazy now,” Barry says of the unexpected hit. “We did it originally so we could control the brisket we were selling, or if we have an extra brisket, but we actually cook brisket just to have for burnt ends now, which I knew my life was going to change forever the first time we did that.”

It’s not the only happy mistake that Barry has made. In fact, one of the items on the new menu that Barry rolled out in March was meant to be a way to consolidate food scraps, similar to the burnt ends, and has already turned into the restaurant’s newest hit.

The smoked meatballs, made of the trimmings and scraps from a brisket that are run through the grinder, mixed with bread crumbs and spices, smoked and topped with jalapeno BBQ sauce, mixed melted cheese and green onion have garnered popularity with restaurant patrons since its launch.

For Barry, it was like burnt end déjà vu.

“I certainly wasn’t thinking that was going to be a thing,” he says. “We ran it as a special before we put it on a menu and it sold, but there wasn’t anything crazy going on. Then it went on the menu and we’re now talking about whether we should buy ground brisket to supplement, which defeats the whole purpose of what we were trying to do. It’s a good problem to have.”

Other new menu items include the Fat Matt, a sliced brisket sandwich that’s a holdover from the now-closed Smoke Shack, a casual, counterservice iteration of Midwood Smokehouse

Brisket meatballs

in Matthews that never quite took off. The “ridiculous-sized sandwich,” as Bobenage calls it, is topped with an apple jalapeno slaw.

The slaw, like almost everything in the restaurant, is house-made. It’s a point that Barry holds close to his heart.

“That’s a matter of pride. It’s hard to take pride if you’re not making everything and not accountable for everything,” Barry says. “When you’re hiring people and interviewing people — especially in this industry — who hold themselves to a high standard, they want that.

They don’t want to go work somewhere that’s bringing in gallons of ranch dressing or buckets of potato salad. That’s not a good feeling.”

Barry also added two new fried chicken sandwiches: the Pollo Texano, tossed in honey chipotle glaze and topped with apple jalapeno slaw and Angry Pickles (housemade pickles with jalapenos and red onion); and the Appalachian Yard Bird, topped with pimento cheese and Angry Pickles on a brioche bun.

As important as it is to Barry that he spreads things around from Texas to Kansas City to any other style he can pay homage to, the fried chicken brings things back home.

“Midwood Smokehouse is a barbecue restaurant first, but we’re also in the South and we’re a Southern restaurant,” he says. “We wanted to have another chicken option, and a fried chicken sandwich is just good. Who doesn’t like Chick-fil-A?” Chick-fil-A sandwiches these are not. Barry brines his chicken thighs, then smokes them, then marinates them in the restaurant’s housemade buttermilk batter before he fries them up.

PHOTO BY REMY THURSTON

“We wanted to put our little twist on it,” Barry says.

On June 1, Barry will teach some of those twists at a Barbecue 101 workshop he’s hosting at the restaurant’s Park Road Shopping Center location. Barry held one of the workshops last summer and loved it. For him, any reason to shoot the shit about his passion is a good enough reason to host an event, but he also sees it as a way to spread knowledge in a culture that’s still growing — similar to a once-small subculture that has since blown up in Charlotte.

“It’s like the microbrew thing that we have here,” he says. “People like to do homebrew at their home and make their own beer, barbecue is kind of like the same thing. They’re both kind of craft sections; like craft beer, that little niche of the beverage industry, barbecue I think is a crafty niche of the food industry. People want to do that stuff themselves and there’s a lot of interest there.”

But before June, Barry will be focused on celebrating National Barbecue Month with a couple new(er) menu items. Every day his restaurants will be serving pork belly burnt ends with a peach bourbon barbecue sauce.

The pork bellies will be provided by Joyce Farms, a Winston-Salem farm that Midwood has begun partnering with as they roll out their line of pork products.

On weekends, Barry is throwing down family-style with a Tex-Mex beef-rib platter made to feed four. The three pound platter offers groups a chance to build their own tacos by peeling the meat off the ribs themselves.

It will be a National Barbecue Month to remember, which is only right coming from a history graduate.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

DILWORTH

DILWORTH NEIGHBORHOOD GRILLE

BAKERSFIELD

Monday: $3 Jack Daniels Tuesday: $3 Tres Generaciones, $10 Don Julio 1942 Wednesday: $3 Bulleit Bourbon Thursday: $3 Espolon Friday: $3 George Dickel No. 8 Saturday: $3 Lunazul Sunday: $3 Larceny Bourbon

Monday: $4 Crown & Down Tuesday: $4 drafts, $12 pitchers, $5 flights of North Carolina drafts Wednesday: 1/2 off wine bottles and martinis Thursday: $12 domestic buckets, $18 import buckets Friday: $3 craft drafts, $5 flavored vodka Saturday: $5 mason jar cocktails Sunday: $4 bloody marys

300EAST

SUMMIT ROOM

Thursday: $3.50 local drafts, $8.50 Matilda Wong cocktails Sunday: 1/2 off wine bottles, $5 mimosas & bloody marys, $6 Bellinis

SOUTH END

Tuesday: $4 drafts Monday: 1/2 off wines by the glass Tuesday: 1/2 off beer cans and glasses of Italian Wednesday: 1/2 off glasses of wine Thursday: $7 Summit cocktails reds

BAD DADDY’S BURGER BAR

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Monday: 20-oz. draft for 16-oz. price Tuesday: $5 specialty cocktails Wednesday: $3.50 local drafts Saturday-Sunday: $5 mimosas & bloody marys

COMMON MARKET SOUTH END

Monday: 1/2 off select pints Tuesday: Free beer tasting 5-7 p.m.

Wednesday: $2 off select pints, wine tasting 5-7 p.m.

BIG BEN PUB

Monday: $5.50 20-oz. NoDa craft beer Wednesday: $5.25 20-oz. Spaten, 1/2 price wine bottles Friday: $5.50 20-oz. Crispin and Guinness, $5 Dale’s Fireball shot Saturday: $5.50 20-oz. seasonal beers, $5 mimosas & bloody marys Sunday: $5.25 20-oz. Boddington, $5 mimosas & bloody marys

Wednesday: $4 draft beer Thursday: $2.50 PBR, $5 Jack Daniels and Titos

UPTOWN THE LOCAL

Monday: $7 Casamigos, $2 Natty Boh and Miller High Life, $5 Jager Tuesday: $3 Modelo, $5 house margaritas, $5 Don Julio Wednesday: $5 Crown & Down, $3 Southern MAC’S SPEED SHOP Tier Monday: $3 pints, $5 Titos Thursday: $5 Captain Morgan, $7 craft mules, Tuesday: 1/2 price wine, $3 mystery draft $16 Bud Light buckets Wednesday: $4 tall boys, $5 Lunazul Blanco Thursday: $3 mystery cans and bottles, $4 Jim Friday: $3 Jell-O shots, $4 drafts, $5 wells Saturday: $3 PBR, $5 Jager Beam Friday: $1 off brewery of the month (Stone), $5 Sunday: $7 loaded mimosa, $7 Grey Goose bloody mary, $16 Bud Light buckets Fireball Saturday: $1 off North Carolina pints THE DAILY TAVERN Sunday: $4 mimosas & bloody marys Wednesday: $5 whiskey Thursday: $4 pint night GIN MILL Sunday: $4 Miller Lite, $6 bloody marys Monday: $5 Titos and New Amsterdam, Tuesday: 1/2 price wine DANDELION MARKET

Monday: $3 select drafts

I REMEMBER MY FIRST TIME, DO YOU?

Tuesday: $15 select bottles of wines Saturday-Sunday: Bloody mary bar ROXBURY

NODA CABO FISH TACO

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Monday: $5 El Cheapo margarita Friday: $5 flavored vodka drinks, $5 fire shots, Tuesday: $3.50 Tecate and Tecate Light, $5 Altos $3 bottles silver tequila Saturday: $5 fire shots, $4 ZIMA, $3 bottles Wednesday: $7 Absolut Lime Moscow mule Thursday: $1 off neighborhood beers on draft WORLD OF BEER Friday-Saturday: $8 margarita special Monday: $2 off North Carolina drafts and spirits Sunday: $5 mimosas, $6 Absolut Peppar bloody Tuesday: 25 percent off bottles and cans, $5 mary, $7 Absolut Lime Moscow mule mules Wednesday: 1/2-priced wine, wheats and JACKBEAGLE’S sangrias Monday: $5 Cuervo margaritas Thursday: $4 old school, $4 well, $4 signature Tuesday: $3 drafts, $5 vodka Red Bull shots Wednesday: $1 off whiskey Friday-Saturday: $3 shot of the week Thursday: $6 Deep Eddy’s vodka Red Bull Sunday: $2 mimosas, $3 bloody marys & Friday: $5 Fun-Dip shots, $5 Crown Black beermosas Saturday: $5 Gummy Bear shots, $5 big mimosa, $6.50 double bloody mary PROHIBITION Sunday: $5 big mimosa, $6.50 double bloody Tuesday: 1/2 off everything mary Wednesday: $3 drafts Thursday: $2 PBR, $4.50 wells, $6 vodka Red SANCTUARY PUB Bull Monday: $7 Bulleit and Bulleit Rye, $3 Friday-Saturday: $4 call-its Yuengling and PBR APA

Saturday: $4 mimosas $5 Brunch Punch, Tuesday: $6 Tuaca, $6 Tullamore Dew Sunday: $4 mimosas, $5 Brunch Punch, $5 Wednesday: $3 Birdsong beers, $5 Sauza, Thursday: $2 Bartender Bottles, $6 Crown Royal Fireball, $10 champagne bottles Sunday: $3 Birdsong, $3 Tall or Call NODA 101

Monday: $4 Ketel One Lemon Drop, $4 well liquor, $5 Camerena Tuesday: $6 seasonal cocktails, $6 Jameson, $4 Grape Gatorade Wednesday: $5 Green Tea Shot, $6 Blue Balls Thursday: $5 Jagermeister, $6 vodka Redbull, $6 Oxley Gin Cocktail Friday: $5 Fireball, $6 vodka Red Bull, $6 Jameson Saturday: $5 Fireball, $6 vodka Red Bull Sunday: $5 Deep Eddy Flavors, $1 off tequila, $5 White Gummy Bear shots BILLY JACK’S SHACK

Monday: $1 off moonshine and moonshine cocktails, $3 domestics Tuesday: $1 off all drafts, $7 Jameson Wednesday: $1 off bottles and cans Thursday: $4.50 wells Friday: $5 Fireball, $1 off local bottles and cans

PLAZA MIDWOOD HATTIE’S TAP & TAVERN

Monday: $6 Pabst & Paddy’s Tuesday: $5 Fireball Wednesday: $3 mystery craft beers Thursday: $6 margaritas Friday-Saturday: $5 well drinks Sunday: $10 domestic buckets INTERMEZZO

Monday: $4 Makers Mark, $2 domestic bottles Tuesday: $4 margaritas, $7 Titos mules, $3 Blanche de Bruxelles, $3 OMB Copper Wednesday: 1/2 price wine bottles, $2 off bourbon of the week Thursday: $6.50 Ketel One Botanical Series, $4 Stoli Friday: $4 20-oz. Birdsong LazyBird Brown Ale and Birdsong Jalapeño Ale Saturday: 1/2 price martinis Sunday: $3 drafts

Do you want your bar or restaurant featured in The Buzz?

Contact Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@qcnerve.com

THE AVENGERS: SERVICE WAR

Online reviews are not the endgame

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BY JUSTIN ZALEWSKI

When I was just a wee little boy, I had a certain vision of what the future would look like. Flying cars zoomed around a prosperous, joyful world in which I had led the Detroit Red Wings to 10 consecutive Stanley Cup Championships. I was way the fuck off.

Here we are in 2019; there are no flying cars, the world is a horrifying place to live in, I bartend at the bar that I manage and the Red Wings have the fourth worst record in the NHL this year. Sounds like they could have used my help after all.

Although there have been many amazing advancements in the way we live today, some of the technologies have created a disconnect and have actually taken the human race back quite a bit. From Facebook to dating apps to Urbanspoon and so on. Visit a restaurant for the first time and the meal or service isn’t up to your standards? Jump on Urbanspoon or Yelp and blast the entire establishment. Have an opinion on a controversial topic that you have very limited knowledge on? Facebook and Twitter are there to help you stir the social media cauldron with a wooden spoon.

Before you know it, you’re alienating close friends and no longer speaking to family members. On the internet, everyone’s a critic, an expert and an asshole.

In my experience, the biggest source of fake news on the interwebs is the bar/restaurant reviews and ratings. Plenty of sites and apps can be helpful when you’re looking for places to spend your hard-earned money, whether you’re in search of a good Sunday brunch menu or a spot to kick it on a Friday night.

However, there is a dark side to everything and, yes, there are supervillains waiting in the wings, hiding behind anonymous cloaks of darkness.

The most powerful supervillain has a short bob haircut and can usually be found wearing highwaisted jeans with a floral sleeveless button-front

blouse. She goes by many names: Sharon, Deb or, in most cases. Karen. Let’s not forget her sidekick, whose uniform consists of thigh-high salmon pink shorts, a Polo golf tee, a pair of Dockers and sunglasses secured around the neck with Croakies. His name is usually Jack, Harrison or Todd, and his power is all the recent knowledge he picked up on a 10-minute brewery tour.

This diabolical duo has armed themselves by binge-watching Top Chef and Bar Rescue until they’ve built up the mastery that makes them experts in all things food and drink There’s another group of villains out there: the Brads, Chads and Beckys. These fools travel in hoards and are easily identifiable. You already know what they look like. If you’re reading this in public, there’s probably one nearby. Don’t make eye contact. This group will invade your bar or restaurant with a confident assumption that they are the only people in your establishment and must be taken care of before anyone else. Do not take them lightly. They will hoot, holler and go to no end to make your life a living hell.

Do not fret, for there is hope. A force of superheroes has assembled to combat these villains. These heroes come in many types. The Gadgeteers, who can be found in the kitchen: chefs, cooks, dishwashers, etc. I would consider them the new pirates of the world. They are armed with many apparatuses to create tasty meals for the masses. They work long hours in a high-paced, loud, dangerous and hectic environment. Most work several jobs, have late hours and take their dinner breaks eating over a trash can or sink by themselves.

Gadgeteers could not work without the Energizers: the servers, busboys and barbacks who make their jobs possible. They serve on the frontlines, doing battle armed with only a pen, a pad and nerves of steel.

There are the Masters of Mixology, wizards of the service industry. Bartenders stand tall in the trenches, bodies half shielded by fortification, half exposed. They are armed with a bar tool, mixing tin and a myriad of liquor used to create potions consumed in countless varieties. On a nightly basis, they fight off hordes of shapeshifters, walking dead, Chads and Beckys, Karens and Todds.

There will always be bad service, bad food, bad drinks, bad bartenders and shitty experiences. I simply ask that you think before you jump to criticize a person or establishment.

Some of the hardest working people and finest humans in this world work in the service industry.

We are here to serve you and give you an enjoyable experience. Just think about what it’s like to live in our world for a minute before you leave a review. And as always, tip your Avenger!

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

LILLY SPA 704-392-8099 MON-SUN 9AM-11PM EXIT 37 OFF I-85

WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS

SOUTH ON BEATTIES FORD THEN FIRST RIGHT ON MONTANA DRIVE (LOCATED 1/2 MILE ON THE LEFT 714-G MONTANA DRIVE

10 CELEBRITIES TURNING 90

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ACROSS

1 Back in time 4 Papas 8 Ordinarily 15 “All By Myself” singer [1] 19 Neighbor of Thailand 21 “Fire and Ice” singer Pat 22 Carpal or tarsal lead-in 23 Common wrapped sushi item 24 Anna who won Best Actress for “The Rose Tattoo” 25 Old Russian ruler 26 “Bedazzled” co-star [2] 28 “Little House on the Prairie” co-star [3] 30 Stately tree 31 Dying rebuke from Caesar 32 Year, in Portuguese 33 -- Mae (loan offerer) 35 Olympic figure-skating gold medalist of 2002 [4] 40 Road goop 41 2002-09 “American Idol” judge [5] 44 “Inception” director Christopher 45 Peace Nobelist Root 46 Rod on a car 48 Makes another proposal 50 Nine-sided shape 52 Periods of note 55 Driver’s license fig., e.g.

56 Crater part 59 Toronto loc.

60 Conk 61 Like many survey questions 63 Party server 64 Folk rocker DiFranco 65 Restrained 68 Chuckle gleefully 70 Plops (down) 71 Laura of “ER” 72 Got too big for 74 Church parts 75 Head, in Metz 76 In some way 78 Bruce Springsteen hit of 1985 81 “Just -- suspected” 82 151, to Cato 83 “Skyfall” star Daniel

85 Suffix with dull 86 Top-secret govt. org.

87 Tax form fig.

88 Tumults 90 “Auld Lang --” 91 Large game bass 93 Sports centers 95 Tests for coll. seniors 97 Boot out 98 “The Way -- Flesh” 101 [7] 104 -- loss 105 [6] 106 Roping tools 108 Without end, to poets 109 Shreds 111 I, in Berlin 112 [8] 115 [9] 121 Dell 123 Yellowish pink color 125 Wee babies 126 Early garden 127 Came into 128 Steer a ship 129 [10] 130 Ones sowing 131 Yale students 132 P followers

18 [1] 20 Luhrmann who directed 2013’s “The Great Gatsby” 27 [2] 29 [3] 34 -- Angeles 35 Misses, in Mexico 36 Isolation 37 Heroic dog of old TV 38 “Bingo!”

39 [4] 42 Oahu garland 43 [5] 47 Ones putting up buildings 49 Apropos of 51 Suffix with human 53 Pale silvery color 54 Sounding like an angry bull 56 Pastry with dried grapes 57 Cross each other 58 Annual international beauty pageant 62 Rich rock 66 Once called 67 “... -- thousand times ...”

69 Lead-in to light or night 70 Tanning lotion abbr.

73 Golden State sch.

74 “Christina’s World” painter [6]

DOWN

1 See 119-Down 2 France, once 3 All: Prefix 4 “Explorer” of cartoons 5 Building brick 6 Arty dabblers 7 Levy on a food preserver 8 Mil. interceptor 9 Chart for mariners 10 Severe chest pain 11 Acrimony, to Brits 12 Provo’s state 13 Pop singer Del Rey 14 Iroquois tribe members 15 CPR pro 16 Hawk again 17 Napoli’s land

SOLUTION ON PAGE 30

76 Ye -- shoppe 77 Grammy winner for “Criminal” [7] 79 Ability to interest lots of people 80 Food scrap 82 “Smooth” guitarist [8] 84 1990 Cyrano de Bergerac portrayer [9] 89 Maple fluid 92 Climbing vine 93 Jolson and Pacino 94 Stabbed 96 Stephen, French-style 98 “Gladiator” was his last film [10] 99 False front 100 Singer Simpson 102 Maiden in “The Raven” 103 Pencil top 107 Fills up 110 2009 horror film sequel 113 Maui goose 114 Poet Allen 116 Sac fly stats 117 Boxer, e.g.

118 Baghdad site 119 With 1-Down, play intermission 120 Functions 122 Stop 124 Mag VIPs

that’s what I call it, CREEP. It’s like wishful thinking, but with dicks. Men convince themselves of something improbable (“I bet she’s one of those women who like unsolicited dick pics!”) or unlikely (“Showing up at her workplace will convince her to take me back!”) because it’s what they want. Think of all the guys you’ve ever known who said, “She wants me!” when in reality he was the one who wanted her. Clitful thinking may be rarer than dickful thinking — women being less likely to think with their genitals and/or being more risk-averse due to socialization, slut-shaming and the ever-present threat of gendered violence — but it’s not unheard of for a woman to rationalize unacceptable behavior (contacting

BY DAN SAVAGE this man at work) or deploy a self-serving justificaI’m a 43-year-old straight woman, and I spent tion (it’s just ONE email) or solicit a “You go, girl!” the majority of my 30s celibate. At 40, I real- from a sex-advice columnist when what she needs ized that while I wasn’t interested in dating, I to hear is “Hell no, girl!” was tired of my vibrator. I also realized that it was time to go forth and fuck with the body I I have a desperate question for you. I’ve had instead of waiting for the idealized body worked with a vivacious 30-year-old for five I was going to have someday. Over the past years. For three and a half years, she had a three years — despite being as fat as ever — live-in boyfriend. She had a different boyI’ve consistently had fun, satisfying, exciting, friend recently. I’m 58 years old and not creative, sometimes weird, occasionally scary, good-looking. She is always sweet to me and but mostly awesome sex. One guy I met on always compliments me. She’s said that I’m a Craigslist was particularly great: awesome genius and a gentleman, that I’m a hoot and kisser, amazing dick. He came over, we fucked, that I have a confident walk. I’ve also overit was excellent, we chatted, he left. This hap- heard her say that she likes older men. Howpened about four times. And then CL shut ever, a few months ago she walked up to me down the personals section. The only contact out of the blue and said that she just wants info I have for the guy is the anonymous CL ad- platonic relationships with coworkers. Then I dress, and it no longer works. He has my Gmail overheard her say to another coworker: “I put address (the one I use for dating sites), but he out a sign, he will figure it out eventually.” But has not emailed me. I’m not a crazy stalker (I which sign did she mean? The “platonic” thing swear!), but he once told me he teaches at a or the constant kindness? university in our area, and I managed to find WONDERING ON RECIPROCATED KINDNESSES his photo and contact info on the school website. So I know how to reach him — but that’s This probably isn’t what you wanted to hear either, a spectacularly bad idea, right? Unless you WORK, but this woman isn’t interested in you — and think it isn’t? If a dude I’d fucked a few times if you weren’t engaged in dickful thinking, you’d know tracked me down at my job, I would freak out. that. But your dick has somehow managed to convince But I keep thinking: Would it really be such a you that you’re the “he” she was referring to when she bad idea to send him one email? Should I just talked about sending someone a sign. But you need accept that it was great while it lasted? Or to ask yourself — and it’s best to ask right after you should I email him and run the risk of pissing masturbate, as that’s when we’re least prone to dickful off/freaking out a nice guy? thinking — which is likelier: she went out of her way CAN REALLY ENVISION EVERY POSSIBILITY to let you know she’s not interested in dating anyone at work and you’re the “he” she was referring to, or the “he” Don’t do it, CREEP — don’t do that thing you al- she was referring to was one of the roughly four billion ready know you shouldn’t, that thing you wouldn’t other men on the planet and not a coworker? I don’t want some dude to do to you, that thing you were mean to be cruel, WORK, I just want to stop you from probably hoping I’d give you permission to do. doing something that could get you fired or screw up That thing? Don’t do it. You’re engaged in what’s what has, up to now, been a pleasant work relationship. called “dickful thinking” when guys do it — at least While kindness can sometimes signal romantic interest,

BEST WISHES

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Dickful thinking

the full weight of the evidence here — including the fact that she didn’t send an unambiguous signal when she was briefly single — indicates otherwise.

I’m a cis, white, gay male — partnered 15 years, monogamous for the first 14. About a year ago, my partner agreed to let me play on my own outside of the relationship. The rules: not when he’s in town, no one comes home, no regulars. I’ve taken good care of myself (sexual frustration + gym) — and at 50, I find that I’m attracting guys half my age. Sometimes, in the heat of passion, they call me “daddy.” This took a lot of getting used to, but am I going to stop what we’re doing to discuss nomenclature? Anyway, I refuse to call them “son,” because I find that creepy. “Baby” doesn’t really work for me, either — it’s what I call my partner. That leaves “boy.” Which is fine if they’re white. The problem

is, some of the jaw-droppers calling me “daddy” have been black. And I absolutely refuse to call a black guy “boy.” So what does a beautiful, darkskinned, daddy-loving young man want to be called by the older white guy pounding him?

DADDY’S UNCOMFORTABLE RACE RELATIONS

Good for you for being able to think clearly even when your dick is hard — even when it’s buried in some hot guy — but I have to fault you for not reasoning your way to the obvious answer.

You’re a white guy who doesn’t feel comfortable calling a black sex partner “boy,” which is usually what gay guys who call older partners “daddy” want to hear. But instead of asking the black guys you’re fucking what they want to be called, DURR, you opted to ask some other old white dude what he thinks the black guys you’re fucking might want to be called. Do you see the problem here?

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

MAY 8 - MAY 14

MAY 15 - MAY 21

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You might be tempted to be more assertive when dealing with a jobrelated matter. But a carefully measured approach works best at getting the cooperation you’re looking for.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) This is a good week to look at healing bruised feelings and re-establishing weakened relationships. It’s also a good week to start new projects and make new job-linked contacts.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) While others urge you to act now, you instinctively recognize that a move at this time is not in your best interests. You should know when to do so by week’s end.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A busy schedule keeps you on the move for much of the week. But things ease up by the time the weekend arrives, allowing you to reconnect with family and friends.

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CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Travel dominates the week, and despite some delays in getting to where you want to go, the overall experience should prove to be a positive one in many ways.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your Leo self-confidence comes roaring back after a brief period of doubt and helps you get through a week of demanding challenges and ultimately emerge triumphant.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Virgos who have made a major commitment — personal or professional — should be able to tap into a renewed reservoir of self-confidence to help them follow through.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You soon could receive news from a surprising source that could cause you to change your mind about how you had planned to deal with an ongoing job-related problem.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A surprise move of support from a colleague who has never been part of your circle of admirers helps influence others to take a new look at what you’ve put on the table.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Music and art dominate the week, giving the sensual Bovine a lot SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) While a bold decision to take an “I know what I’m doing” to appreciate. On the practical side, deal firmly but approach impresses some colleagues, it also raises fairly with those who might try to undermine your work efforts. the risk of causing resentment among others.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A misunderstanding ‘twixt you and a friend might not be your fault at all, despite what he or she suggests.

Talk it out to see at what point the confusion might have started.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Good feelings continue to flow from your recent efforts to reconnect with family and friends. But be ready to defuse a dispute before it can disrupt all that peace and harmony.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) A practical view of a AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Getting into romanticized situation could help to clarify some a community operation fulfills the Aquarian’s need of its more confusing aspects before you make a to help people. It also can lead to new contacts that decision that could be tough to undo later on. might one day help you with a project.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Pay more attention to what a recent spate of workplace criticism might PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A minor problem could delay the start of a long-anticipated trip for say about your performance and not what you think two. Use the time to recheck your travel plans. You it implies about you personally. Some flexibility might find a better way to get where you’re going. might be called for.

BORN THIS WEEK: You are a dedicated romantic VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) With new who seeks both excitement and stability in your information and new promises of support (not to mention growing self-confidence), this could be relationships. a good time to restart a project you couldn’t quite handle before.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Before you decide to close down a problem-loaded project and make a fresh start with someone else, try once more

to reach a compromise with your balky partner. He or she might surprise you.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) While you continue earning points for your sharp negotiating skills, be alert for an attempt to undercut your efforts. You’ll need to provide solid facts and figures to stay in the game.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A minor health problem might cause you to ease up on your usually busy schedule. But you’ll soon be back in the saddle and ready to pick up the reins and charge ahead.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) The adventurous Sea Goat might be eager to take on a new challenge. But before you do, you might want to take some time to check out previously overlooked factors.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A feeling of being overwhelmed by all that you have to do can be eased by setting priorities. Deal with the most urgent and time-sensitive situations first, and then work down the line.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Creating a calm, peaceful place for yourself in the middle of a roiling emotional whirlpool this week starts when you, and no one else, decide how to make decisions about your life.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your determination to stick with your principles wins the admiration of everyone who knows you.

2018 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

April 30, 2019

Pg. 32 May. 8 - May. 21, 2019 - QCNERVE.COM

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