Queen City Nerve - February 12, 2020

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6; FEBRUARY 12 - FEBRUARY 25, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

NEWS WHAT WILL REPLACE THE CIAA? PG. 4

FOOD GRADING THE ANOMALY GIMMICK PG. 19

TABLE OF CONTENTS Tune in to WCCB News Edge every week night at 10:30 p.m.

Get a glimpse at the next issue with our editor-in-chief every other Tuesday night

NEWS& OPINION

4 C.I. DOUBLE WHO? BY KIA O. MOORE The Official Blackest Weekend fills a void 6 THE SUFFRAGIST BY RHIANNON FIONN 7 THE SCANNER BY RYAN PITKIN

ARTS

10 THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE BY PAT MORAN New art exhibit explores how we show affection

12 HOW TO NOT KILL YOUR SOCIAL LIFE

MUSIC M-F: 5PM - 2AM SAT & SUN: 12PM - 2AM

LIFELINE

14 AULD LANG SING BY GRANT BRITT ClannDarragh hosts monthly Irish jam session for young and old 16 SOUNDWAVE

18 PAPER PLANE TAKES FLIGHT BY RYAN PITKIN Amanda Cranford opens new deli & market in Belmont

Pg. 2 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

19 AERIN IT OUT BY AERIN SPRUILL

Drinks.

Games.

Music.

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LIFESTYLE

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ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS NEWS WHAT WILL REPLACE THE CIAA? PG. 4

FOOD GRADING THE ANOMALY GIMMICK PG. 19

THANKS TO THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN, KIA O. MOORE, GRANT BRITT, RHIANNON FIONN, AERIN SPRUILL AND DAN SAVAGE.

COVER DESIGN BY: JAYME JOHNSON ARTWORK BY: MEGAN GONZALEZ

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE C.I. DOUBLE WHO? The Official Blackest Weekend Ever fills a void

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BY KIA O. MOORE

One homegrown event series that’s entering its we can put our people on,” says Fant. “We always third year and growing momentum is celebrate what comes into Charlotte, The Official Blackest Weekend but we never celebrate what is Ever (TOBWE). The already here,” said Fant. brainchild of Mosaic The TOBWE kickoff Live co-founders party is scheduled Nakisa Glover for Friday, Feb. 28, and Tiffany Fant, and will feature TOBWE consists a 90-minute of three days of per formance events focusing incorporating on low cost music, art and and high social social justice, impact. followed by a This year’s mix-and-mingle events, purposefully networking event with scheduled to coincide with local artists like Jason Charlotte’s last CIAA experience, Woodberry, Marcus Kiser and will include an art show, basketball Quentin Talley. shootout tournament, career expo, spades tournament The roots of social impact are deep in the and Sunday brunch featuring conversations about ethos of TOBWE. According to Glover, it’s the entire social issues in the Black community. foundation on which the event series was built.

“WE ALWAYS CELEBRATE WHAT COMES INTO CHARLOTTE, BUT WE NEVER CELEBRATE WHAT IS ALREADY HERE.” -TIFFANY FANT

When the Collegiate International Athletic Association (CIAA) basketball tournament and all the events that come along with it march into Charlotte on Feb. 25, it will be a bittersweet occasion for those who have celebrated the annual week of hoops, parties and performances in the Queen City since it first arrived in 2006.

That’s because as the CIAA tournament celebrates its 75th year, 2020 also marks the last year of the tournament being held in Charlotte, at least for the foreseeable future. Next year, CIAA moves north to Baltimore.

It’s an inarguably big loss for Charlotte financially, as the annual economic impact of the tournament hovers around $50 million, according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors’ Authority.

Culturally, however, it may be an even bigger loss. As most Charlotteans know, the CIAA is made up of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and each year, the tournament served as the epicentre for — if not a distraction from — countless parties featuring big names in rap and R&B, with HBCU alumni flying in from all over the country to be a part of the fun.

Can anything fill that void? Economically, there’s nothing on the horizon. The THE CIAA TOURNAMENT HAS BEEN A CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC BOON IN CHARLOTTE FOR 14 YEARS. recent announcement of the PHOTO BY KEVIN COLES/COURTESY OF CLTBLOG Big South Conference basketball The events will all take place at either Duke “We are celebrating our entire Blackness. tournament arriving in Charlotte next year won’t have nearly the impact that the CIAA had. Culturally, Energy Theater in Uptown or Camp North End in the Because yes, Black is a culture,” said Glover. “We can get together and celebrate the things that make our however, some local organizers have already been Druid Hills area.

“This was a thought in a living room about how culture what it is in a way that is celebratory and working on that exact thing.

that recognizes our local lived experiences, as well.”

Fant continues: “Taking it a step further, when you say Blackness, it is in alignment with the African-American descendants of slaves because we have a unique experience as Black Americans that I think, culturally, when you say certain things, it means something. Like when you say ‘red Kool- Aid’ that means something within the Black culture here in America. So just really putting it on [the] level saying there is a uniquely Black American experience that needs to be celebrated like every other cultural experience that happens.”

This celebration of Blackness does not come at the exclusion of non-Black attendees that want to participate in TOBWE, Fant explains.

She says sometimes you have to be out among the people that you don’t understand in order to get a better understanding and build better relationships. That is the opportunity TOBWE affords to other demographics in Charlotte.

“I go to the Greek Festival every year,” she says.

“I am not Greek by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to learn about the culture, so I go. I go to the Greek church, try the food, go to some of the performances.

Same thing with the Puerto Rican Festival. I am definitely not Puerto Rican, but I go to see the performances and support the businesses and just see how they celebrate their culture. White, Puerto Rican, Indian, whatever are welcomed to come to celebrate and participate as we celebrate our Blackness.”

For Fant and Glover, one factor that has caused folks of all races to stay away from the CIAA in recent years is the cost, which is one reason they see TOBWE not only as a potential replacement in years to come, but an alternative option for this year as well.

“What we see that has been the trajectory of CIAA has been a high price point for promoted events and a lot of celebrity events,” Glover says. “CIAA has become a national event, but what we do with Mosaic Live and TOBWE

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

Pg. 5 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

is take these national moments and make it have a local impact and local presence,” explained Glover.

Over the past three years, Fant and Glover have capitalized on culturally significant moments in the Black community to reinvent the locally-driven TOBWE events. The first year was a celebration of local black comic book creators in relation to the release of the Marvel Comics blockbuster hit Black Panther.

“We were like, ‘We are going to get ready to spend our money to go get dressed up to support this Marvel Comics and we have Black artists here in Charlotte who have done comic books. How do we celebrate them along with celebrating what Black Panther means as well?’” recalls Fant. “This is where The Official Blackest Weekend was birthed.”

The Black Panther event grew to numbers Fant and Glover didn’t expect, and helped to shape what

THE MALE’S PLACE SERVED AS USHERS FOR A ‘BLACK PANTHER’ SCREENING DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF THE OFFICIAL BLACKEST WEEKEND EVER.

from Charleston, South Carolina, come to celebrate their wedding anniversary with us. It grew to a place where it expanded [to other] states and we did not expect that.”

Having that many people interested prompted Fant and Glover to add events that would introduce visitors to Charlotte in a major way.

They added a “Welcome to Charlotte” event and a vendor expo, then hosted the Sunday brunch that would become a staple of TOBWE. In its second year, TOBWE was BARS & BEATS DURING THE OFFICIAL BLACKEST WEEKEND EVER scheduled for NBA PHOTO COURTESY OF MOSAIC LIVE All-Star Weekend TOBWE would become. in Charlotte and was targeted at a different The pair originally only planned to host two demographic. Surprisingly, the Black Panther movie screenings in two theaters that held 70 people weekend had drawn mostly folks of an older apiece. If they could actually reach 140 people, they demographic, which was fine, Fant says, but in 2019 would have been happy, they agree. she and Glover adapted.

By the last two weeks of December 2017, the “We put a focus on our young people,” Fant says. event had gone viral. The 200 Facebook event invites “That was the element that was missing. We had the they sent out somehow reached up to half a million adults and we had the community organizers, but people by January 2018. we realized we did not have young people included Just like that, TOBWE grew beyond the pair’s in the process.” imagination, Fant says.

They worked with Mecklenburg County Park “We had people as far as Connecticut that had & Recreation to host a basketball tournament, purchased a ticket,” she says. “We had people as far including free-throw and three-point shootouts as Atlanta come to the event. We even had a couple complete with trophies. They then wrapped with

PHOTO COURTESY OF MOSAIC LIVE

the Sunday brunch, at which participants could unwind while discussing social issues.

This year, the focus will be on the Black college experience at both HBCUs and predominantly white institutions. There will also be a conversation about how to get the older and younger generation to work together to solve issues, with a focus on events and activities that appeal to both.

The Intergalactic Soul art and performance

showcase on Friday should pull in the adults while the Mom I Don’t Want to Go to College Career Expo will target young people.

“It is a skill and trade expo,” Fant explains. “Within that, we will be hosting the basketball competition. So giving pathways to careers for 16- to 24-yearolds and still keeping the entertainment component with basketball, DJs, musical performances at Camp North End. If everything aligns there will also be a spades tournament and cookout.”

And just like that, saying goodbye to the CIAA became that much easier.

For more information about The Official Blackest Weekend Ever, visit tinyurl.com/TOBWE. INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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NEWS & OPINION COLUMN

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THE SUFFRAGIST AN EXCLUSIVE ANNIVERSARY Not every woman is celebrating 100 years of suffrage

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BY RHIANNON FIONN

While the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote in 1920, it’s imperative to remember what that really means as this year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of white women’s first opportunity to vote.

For black women, it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, that voting became a reality. Though, in a time when we face a gerrymandered political map and fluctuating rules regarding voter I.D. requirements, one could argue their fight continues to this day.

The suffrage movement was born of Quakerism; since the 1650s, Quakers have held equality as a core tenet. However, when women were banned from Quaker abolitionist meetings in the mid-1800s they set out to fight for their right to vote … in the north.

“Southern women, black and white, lagged behind northern women” when it came to suffrage, and those who did speak up were considered “radical,” according to North Carolina Women Making History, a book by Margaret Supplee Smith and Emily Herring Wilson.

One argument against women’s suffrage was that the “man of the house” spoke for their entire family in the voting booth. However, as Smith and Wilson explained, both black and white women’s clubs asserted, “… it was women’s domestic role that qualified them to tackle problems of social and public welfare that men overlooked.”

An example of that is in education. In 1900, there were only two high schools for black students in all of North Carolina, and those schools were focused on teaching students how to be agricultural workers or maids.

Enter Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, a North Carolina native educated in Massachusetts who returned to her home state determined to better educate black children.

In 1902, she established the Palmer Memorial Institute

(PMI) in Sedalia with 20 students. The school was, at first, largely funded by white people from the north who, according to the same history book, urged her to “be more modest in her expectations of her race.”

But she wasn’t having that. Despite many setbacks and “periods of despair and rage in Brown,” PMI’s dozen buildings sat on roughly 350 acres in the 1930s, and by the following decade the school was offering the traditional liberal arts education one could expect from a prep school.

Brown also helped organize the National Council of Negro Women. According to Smith and Wilson: “Most white suffragists had backed away from efforts to educate black citizens to vote, but [Brown], in her role as state president of the Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, encouraged black women (to vote). Despite a smear campaign, Brown directed a statewide offensive …”

Still, in the 1950s, black voters faced illegal literacy tests. Then, in the 1960s, when Elreta Melton AlexanderRalston lost her bid for the N.C. Supreme Court to a fire extinguisher salesman with no college education or legal background, state voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring judges to be licensed attorneys in North Carolina. Alexander-Ralston was the first black woman accepted to Columbia Law School in 1943 after facing limited access to law schools here. In 1947, she became the first black woman to practice law in North Carolina. Within a couple decades she was the first black judge elected in the state, then the first District Court Judge.

Last year, Cheri Beasley made history when she was appointed as North Carolina’s first black female chief justice to serve on the Supreme Court.

To get a sense of how far our state has come in the last 100 years, I encourage you to visit the free Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum near Greensboro. On April 18, the museum will host the traveling exhibit An Absolute Moral Certainty: The Woman Suffrage Movement in North Carolina. (It will not stop in Charlotte.) There you can see the original copy of the 19th Amendment, as sent to the N.C. General Assembly in 1919 for ratification.

Our state didn’t ratify the 19th Amendment until 1971, the same year the Palmer Memorial Institute closed after graduating more than 2,000 students.

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NEWS & OPINION COLUMN

THE SCANNER

BY RYAN PITKIN

DEAD

A 23-year-old woman who works at Rosadale Funeral Parlor on Central Avenue was brutally attacked by a coworker after a workplace controversy finally came to a head, according to a report. The victim told police her coworker had been using one of the company’s vehicles “outside the scope of the intended operation,” and boy do we wish we had more details on that, just in case it was a hearse.

When the suspect was informed that she was fired for misusing the vehicle, she refused to return it. She would return, however, and with a vengeance. The victim was reportedly inside the funeral home at around 2:30 p.m. when the suspect walked in and suddenly attacked her with a broomstick, striking her in the head and face.

She then took the victim’s purse and got into a companyowned van and drove off. The victim suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment.

I’LL TAKE IT

Police responded to Hendrick Automotive car dealership on East Independence Boulevard in southeast Charlotte after a man jumped the gun on a new purchase … by skipping the purchase part.

When officers arrived, an employee told them that a man was planning to test drive a Lexus LX 570 worth $98,460. Just before 7 p.m., according to the report, “the suspect stole a vehicle before going on a test drive.”

Maybe he just didn’t know that you’re supposed to bring an employee on the test drive … or that you’re supposed to come back.

MINE NOW

SCREEN TIME

Kids these days love their phones, and God help the adult who tries to take it away from them. One teacher at Harding University High School learned this the hard way on a recent morning, when a kid lost his shit after being told to put his phone away. The student refused to put the phone up, then refused to report to in-school suspension and began really making a disruption. At one point, he “violently threw a soda bottle against the wall,” causing a mess that the custodian had to come and clean up, presumably with plenty of eye rolls.

The student continued to cause disturbances SHIT throughout the building and was eventually taken into A recent disorderly conduct report filed from the custody and charged with disorderly conduct as a juvenile Charlotte Douglas International Airport stated, “The listed and released to his mother. suspect was found to be using profane language while on Charlotte airport property.” Well if that’s a crime, we’re all READ MORE BOOKS Some shoplifting crimes are more wholesome than fucked. others. Staff at a Hobby Lobby on Ikea Boulevard in the University City area called police at lunchtime on a recent MINE NOW II A 25-year-old woman filed a police report recently Wednesday after someone stole some items that would make for a quaint afternoon. after her phone was lost … then found … then stolen.

According to the report, the thief concealed a The woman told police that she dropped her phone while package containing a bookshelf and some hot glue sticks. walking her dog near her NoDa apartment one morning, We’re all about supporting reading, and when you’re and that afternoon, someone found her phone and called stealing from a business run by a Christian conservative her from her own phone (how that’s possible is beyond blowhard who’s done some hugely harmful things over me), and said that he would drop the phone off in her the years — well, we’re not going to condone it, but we’re not going to condemn it either. leasing office.

The mystery man must have had a change of heart, in the wrong direction, because he never did return the RECEPTACLE A 38-year-old woman found some unsettling phone and stopped responding to calls and texts after the changes to her yard when she got home from work on a original call. recent afternoon.

The woman, who lives near the Park Road Shopping Center, said that at some point between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on a Tuesday, someone dumped garbage on her doorstep.

Another suspect in the Starmount area of south Charlotte was actually allowed to leave the lot with his take, only to ignore calls to return. According to the police report, the suspect purchased a Mitsubishi Mirage from Larry Jay Mitsubishi with the understanding that his loan for the $17,000 car would still need to be approved.

Sure enough, the loan was declined, but when the dealer was able to reach the suspect, he refused to return the car.

WORKING REMOTE

A 59-year-old southwest Charlotte woman fell for a scam that we’ve not seen in the pages of The Scanner before. According to the report, the woman received a call one recent morning from someone claiming to be a federal government employee who had just raided a drug house in Dallas, Texas. The man told her that agents had found “her information” alongside drugs in the house, and that “she would have to pay a fee to protect her assets and to avoid an arrest.”

He then transferred to a second man, who had the victim go and buy three eBay gift cards and read the pins over the phone to him. The woman lost $600, and according to the report, “[the suspect] tried to get more money from the victim but upon arriving home her husband spoke to [the suspect] who hung up when the husband questioned him.”

PICKPOCKET PANHANDLE

A 31-year-old man was just trying to help someone out when he offered up $2 to a woman who asked him for cash outside of a business park near Sugaw Creek Park in north Charlotte one recent morning, but he ended up helping her out more than he could have imagined.

According to the report, “After the victim gave the suspect $2 she put her hand in his pocket and removed his wallet from his pocket and ran away.” The woman made off with his camo wallet, his ID card, his Social Security card and $175 in cash.

ALL SCANNER ENTRIES ARE PULLED FROM CMPD REPORTS. SUSPECTS ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.

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Join Queen City Nerve in discussions about local news topics over cocktails with featured guests on the Queen City Podcast Network.

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Important Facts About DOVATO

Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: (cont’d) This is only a brief summary of important information about DOVATO and • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take DOVATO. does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and ° You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. treatment. ° One of the medicines in DOVATO (lamivudine) passes into your breastmilk.

What is the Most Important Information I Should Know about DOVATO? ° Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

If you have both human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis B virus Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including (HBV) infection, DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

• Resistant HBV infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV infection before Some medicines interact with DOVATO. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your you start treatment with DOVATO. If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B, the hepatitis B virus can change (mutate) during your treatment with DOVATO and become harder to treat (resistant). healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

It is not known if DOVATO is safe and effective in people who have HIV-1 and HBV infection. • You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with DOVATO. • Worsening of HBV infection. If you have HIV-1 and HBV infection, your HBV may • Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking DOVATO. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take DOVATO with other medicines. suddenly returns in a worse way than before. Worsening liver disease can be serious and What are Possible Side Effects of DOVATO? may lead to death.

DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: ° Do not run out of DOVATO. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider • Those in the “What is the Most Important Information I Should Know about before your DOVATO is all gone.

DOVATO?” section. ° Do not stop DOVATO without first talking to your healthcare provider. If you • Allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider right away if you develop a stop taking DOVATO, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do rash with DOVATO. Stop taking DOVATO and get medical help right away if blood tests regularly for several months to check your liver. you develop a rash with any of the following signs or symptoms: fever; generally What is DOVATO? ill feeling; tiredness; muscle or joint aches; blisters or sores in mouth; blisters or peeling DOVATO is a prescription medicine that is used without other antiretroviral medicines to treat of the skin; redness or swelling of the eyes; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; HIV-1 infection in adults who have not received antiretroviral medicines in the past, and problems breathing. without known resistance to the medicines dolutegravir or lamivudine. HIV-1 is the virus that • Liver problems. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus may have an increased causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is not known if DOVATO is safe and risk of developing new or worsening changes in certain liver tests during treatment with effective in children.

DOVATO. Liver problems, including liver failure, have also happened in people without a Who should not take DOVATO? history of liver disease or other risk factors. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests Do Not Take DOVATO if You: to check your liver.

• have ever had an allergic reaction to a medicine that contains dolutegravir or lamivudine.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following signs • take dofetilide. or symptoms of liver problems: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow What should I tell my healthcare provider before using DOVATO? (jaundice); dark or “tea-colored” urine; light-colored stools (bowel movements); nausea Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including or vomiting; loss of appetite; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your if you: stomach area.

• have or have had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis is a serious • have kidney problems. medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. One of the medicines in DOVATO (dolutegravir) if you get any of the following symptoms that could be signs of lactic acidosis: may harm your unborn baby. feel very weak or tired; unusual (not normal) muscle pain; trouble breathing; stomach Your healthcare provider may prescribe a different medicine than DOVATO if you pain with nausea and vomiting; feel cold, especially in your arms and legs; feel dizzy or ° are planning to become pregnant or if pregnancy is confirmed in the first 12 weeks lightheaded; and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Lactic acidosis can also lead to severe liver problems, which can lead to of pregnancy. death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver ° If you can become pregnant, your healthcare provider will perform a pregnancy test before you start treatment with DOVATO. (steatosis). Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the signs or symptoms of liver problems which are listed above under “Liver problems.” ° If you can become pregnant, you should consistently use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with DOVATO. You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female or very overweight (obese). ° Tell your healthcare provider right away if you are planning to become pregnant, you become pregnant, or think you may be pregnant during treatment with DOVATO.

Pg. 8 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

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SO MUCH GOES INTO WHO I AM HIV MEDICINE IS ONE PART OF IT. Reasons to ask your doctor about DOVATO: DOVATO can help you reach and then stay undetectable* with just 2 medicines in 1 pill.

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Results may vary. *Undetectable means reducing the HIV in your blood to very low levels (less than 50 copies per mL). † As compared with 3-drug regimens.

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Pg. 9 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

Living with HIV

What are Possible Side Effects of DOVATO (cont’d)?

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having new symptoms after you start taking DOVATO. • The most common side effects of DOVATO include: headache; diarrhea; nausea; trouble sleeping; and tiredness.

These are not all the possible side effects of DOVATO. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Where Can I Find More Information?

• Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

• Go to DOVATO.com or call 1-877-844-8872, where you can also get FDA-approved labeling.

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Pg. 10 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

ARTS FEATURE THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE

installation comprised of a park bench where people will be encouraged to hang out.

“I’m asking individuals to sign up and sit for two minutes and they can do whatever kind of PDA they want,” Gonzalez says. He’ll be photographing all interactions and using the photos for a large-scale project later. Even here, cultural expectations came to the fore. Although he left the ground rules for the bench invitations open to interpretation, Gonzales discovered that some people psychologically limited themselves.

in Uptown a few years ago, she would see men buying flowers at vendor stalls every day at lunch and carrying them home to their partners. Gifts, she says, are not part of her love language, but she realized that carrying flowers was the men’s way of displaying PDA. She was struck by the paradox that PDA is prevalent — even among Uptown banker bros New art exhibit explores — while at the same time taboo. how we show affection “I’ve always wondered why it’s so taboo to express something that’s so natural and innate in all

BY PAT MORAN of us,” she expounds.

“I realized that people Julio Gonzalez was traveling in express it in different Mexico when he spied a couple ways, and I thought huddled across the plaza in which that would be he stood. They were in their own interesting to explore world, kissing, hugging and [in the show].” cuddling, oblivious to the bustling For her part, crowds crossing the paving stones.

Mueller will be doing “I thought of the joke, ‘Get a a yarn bomb outside room,’” Gonzalez remembers. “But Crown Station, they probably couldn’t afford to festooned with all move out of their parents’ houses, sorts of Valentine’s so there was no room to get.”

Day-themed items.

Heading back to his home Since the show is so in Charlotte, the 40-year-old close to the greeting multidisciplinary artist couldn’t card holiday devoted shake the image of the couple, to hearts and flowers, now indelibly stamped in his brain.

Mueller is drawing Back in America, Gonzalez realized on her childhood he didn’t see any displays of public memories of trading affection at all, not even two people Valentine’s Day cards chastely holding hands. with classmates at the “Then I saw a YouTube video,” Catholic school she Gonzales says, “’How to do PDA the attended as a child in Right Way’ or something like that, Raleigh. and it was giving advice on when “I am making overto touch, [and] when not to touch.” JULIO GONZALEZ IN FRONT OF A MURAL HE PAINTED AT CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL. PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIO GONZALEZ the-top squishy adorable Soon after, Gonzalez was talking goodness,”she says. with his friend, 29-year old fiber artist and He’s heard people say they don’t have a partner There will also be plenty of flowers. Mueller group of artists to explore their serious, funny or journalist Jillian Mueller. Mueller had been following heartfelt takes on how each of us expresses affection. to comprise a couple. On the other hand, many says most of the people she’s dated in the past 10 Gonzalez’s work since she visited his groundbreaking The result of their call to arms is PDA: An Art Show professed to being completely cool with sitting down years have shown affection through gifts, so during exhibit Dia de Los Casi Muertos, or Day of the Almost Exploring Displays of Affection, going up at Crown and holding hands with a stranger. “It’s interesting that decade she’s received more than her share of Dead, in 2013. Gonzalez had begun the exhibit in Station on February 15, one day after Valentine’s when you pose a question, what people arm it with,” flowers. “That’s not how I’ve interpreted and received reaction to Halloween revelers appropriating Day of Day. The exhibit is free and will be open to the public Gonzales concludes. affection, so I’m going to be working with that.” the Dead-style face paint for a quick costume without through March 15.

While these micro-connections are taking place Inside the venue, patrons will be confronted with regard for the Mexican celebration’s social and In addition to Gonzales and Mueller, 12 other on a park bench in Charlotte, Gonzalez extrapolates a flurry of sights, sounds and experiences, Mueller spiritual underpinnings. artists will be sharing their visions of empathy and what this simple process could mean on a wider and Gonzalez promise.

Over time, as Gonzales adorned volunteers with tenderness in the public sphere. Contributors include scale. Too often people allow television, newspapers Sanchez will show a set of ink paintings and skeletal-yet-colorful body paint and interviewed Elisa Marie Sanchez, musician Sweat Transfer, avant- and social media to tell them what they see and drawings on layered paper and vellum. them about mortality, the exhibit snowballed into garde theatre troupe XOXO, painter and mixed-media know, he explains. But if people broke through their “My works pull from recent and past travels to an examination of how different cultures deal with artist Dammit Wesley, spoken-word performer preconceptions, and actually touched and hugged cities that I’ve noticed are open and colorful in their death. visual culture and affectionate nature,” she says. de’Angelo Dia, fiber artist Sarah Terry Argabrite and people from other cultures, divisions could vanish.

Mueller remembers the show as the first more.

Mueller also believes in the power of XOXO artistic director and founder Matt Cosper exhibition she saw in Charlotte that made her As the show’s philosophical fulcrum, Gonzalez transformative touch, but that too often affection is says his troupe will present a non-linear impressionist excited about the local art scene. Soon after, she is developing a de-facto performance piece, an expressed in material ways. When she was working performance called Tender Care. Actors Kadey Ballard met Gonzalez at Petra’s in Plaza Midwood, and the two started talking about collaboration. Everything gelled as the summer turned to fall, and Gonzales told Mueller about the affectionate young couple in Mexico City. Just like that, the kernel of an idea that would turn into an art exhibit was born.

“We started thinking about people not just on a cultural basis but [their] individual vulnerability and personality,” Mueller remembers.

The two friends decided to gather a diverse

ARTS FEATURE

Pg. 11 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

(Cosper’s wife), Jon Prichard, Cody Frye and Will Rudolph will be performing a series of looped actions, he explains.

“There’s a development to the loops but the whole is all contained in each of the pieces,” Cosper says. He also promises that the performance will not be interactive, so people weirded out by potential touchy-feely encounters at Gonzales’ installation won’t have to worry about being ensnared by Cosper’s merry pranksters if they stray too far from the bench.

When Cosper and his cohorts started developing the piece, they considered drawing audience members into their ritualistic movements but thought better of it. It turns out XOXO may be a little squeamish about getting up close and personal with strangers, too.

“It’s [a series of] standalone performances that people don’t have to engage with, and we actually encourage folks not to. Do not feed the animals, so to speak,” Cosper says.

Gentleness, intimacy and care are not what people think of when they first hear the term PDA, he continues.

“The easy choice with PDA would be making out. That’s a cliché performance art response to the prompt PDA: ‘Let’s have a kissing booth. We’ll just make out with everyone.’” But Cosper feels the more radical choice — and perhaps the more necessary choice — is to explore tenderness and non-erotic intimacy.

Performance artist de’ Angelo Dia will also be exploring non-erotic affection and intimacy. Set to music by Matt Tully, Revolutionary & Militant Love

DE’ANGELO DIA PHOTO BY DE’ANGELO DIA

will incorporate movement and spoken word with a possible soupcon of audience interaction. The piece will explore how we use the word love with interchangeable meanings.

Admiration and appreciation for things we can do

without is often conflated with genuine affection for whatever you want to do.’” Gonzalez enthuses. “It’s people and places we need in our lives, Dia explains. one of the beautiful things about Charlotte. It’s a great The conflict is that we say this overused verb “love” sandbox. It’s small and it’s easy to know who we need to get something [to] conflate together on short people with notice.” things.

“I’m theologically For Mueller, examining how can coordinating the I say I love apple show has been pie and then I like seeing the turn around and snowball effect in say I love my action. She and mother,” says Gonzalez got the the performance word out, people artist, who is responded, and all also a chaplain at the pieces started Trinity Episcopal falling into place.

School and an “We have associate minister so many great at St. Paul Baptist professional artists “BARCELONA” BY ELISA SANCHEZ Church. who will be there, Dia will examine but it also feels like a how love and touch, particularly between male peers, group of friends making something cool and having can bring healing. In his day jobs, Dia works with a good time,” she says. “I think that’s how it’s going to young black men who don’t often experience love, feel for people coming in.” affection and encouragement, he says, and he feels Sanchez hopes people leave the show excited that affectionate interactions can be transformative.

“I hope that we’ve evolved to the point where saying publicly ‘I love you’ to a brother, with no romantic connection or intention, is getting closer to a place of universal acceptance,” Dia says.

Jimi Thompson, better known as artist Dammit Wesley, says that being in love while being a person of color is almost taboo in America. Since the narrative he’s developing through art is multi-layered, Thompson is allowing his canvas to determine the arc of his story.

“The primary focus of my piece specifically is to show the fetishization of black sexuality,” Thompson says .

When we speak, Thompson says that his contribution to the PDA show will be a painting, though he cautions that it might turn into a mixedmedia piece by the time it’s finished. In any medium, the content promises to be explosive.

“I’m working through my feelings in my mental rolodex,” he expounds. “What do displays of public affection look like in different eras, like the 1950s in Charlotte? I want to show the horror of being in love and being a person of color at that same time.”

Despite that cautionary note, Gonzalez feels the PDA show will represent a coming together for the city. He’s excited about how quickly and easily the show has gotten on track.

“The conversation [with Mueller] happened, we reached out and Crown Station said, ‘Yeah, do

to see their culture and themselves represented, and a little curious about the way others express themselves.

“I want people to have a great time and experience great art,” Mueller says, though she also hopes the event prompts people to think about how they express affection and vulnerability, and how they can tap into those feelings.

“Public displays of affection are important to make people feel seen and loved,” Mueller concludes.

“If we can encourage people to do more of that, then [the show] will have been a success.”

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

PDA: AN ART SHOW EXPLORING DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION Feb. 15, 6-9 p.m.; Free; Crown Station, 3629 N. Davidson St. tinyurl.com/PDAExhibit

Connect with free arts and culture experiences for all ages, close to home.

CULTURE

BLOCKS

Find upcoming events at ArtsAndScience.org/CultureBlocks

FEB 12 - FEB 18

WED02_12 LOVE & WAR COMEDY TOUR

What: One thing they tell you as a straight woman entering the comedy scene: Don’t date a comic dude. Local comic Blayr Nias was hearing none of it, and now she’s hitting the road with her beaux and fellow stand-up Ryan Van Genderen to pull back the curtain on their blissful trainwreck, which they describe with the question, “What if Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez were broke millennials?”

More: $10-$15; 8 p.m.; Comedy Zone Charlotte, 900 NC Music Factory Blvd.; cltcomedyzone.com

THURS02_13 VHYES

What: Long before primitive life crawled out of the seas and Netflix started streaming, people watched movies on a low-res tape format called VHS. This retro comedy revolves around a 12-yearold boy accidentally recording late night crap over his parents’ wedding tape, leading us all into a sea of nostalgic clips. The gimmick is the entire movie was shot on VHS. More: $5-10; 7:30 p.m.; C3 Lab, 2517 Distribution St., charlottefilmsociety.com

FRI02_14 KAMASI WASHINGTON

What: Like a shaman, soul-jazz composer and saxophonist Kamasi Washington raised a cone of power at the late, lamented Chop Shop in 2015.

His tenor sax spiraled as soulful as John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” before escalating into splintered hard bop. Since then, Washington has released the magisterial Heaven & Earth and spearheaded a jazz renaissance.

More: $29.50; 8 p.m.; Underground, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com KAMASI WASHINGTON

BLAYR NIAS AND RYAN VAN GENDEREN

02/12

SAT02_15 ODDITIES & CURIOSITIES EXPO

Pg. 12 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

What: The showcase of all things weird is back in Charlotte, featuring vendors’ taxidermy, preserved specimens, original artwork, horror-inspired pieces, handcrafted oddities, quack medical devices, jewelry, funeral collectibles, skulls, bones and more. N.C. vendors this year include Dark and Deviant Oddities along with Girl & Goblin, both from Asheville, and the return of The Pickety Witch from Charlotte.

More: $11; 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College St.; odditiesandcuriositiesexpo.com

ODDITIES & CURIOSITIES EXPO: THE PICKETY WITCH

02/15

02/14

SUN02_16 EARTHGANG

What: This duo from down I-85 consists of Olu and WowGr8, the two founding members of the Spillage Village collective with 6LACK, J.I.D and friends.

Incorporating Southern hip-hop with funk and soul, EARTHGANG signed with J. Cole’s Dreamville Records in 2017 and had a heavy presence on the label’s Grammy-nominated Revenge of the Dreamers III album in 2019.

More: $68; 8 p.m.; Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

MON02_17 JAY & SILENT BOB REBOOT

What: When Kevin Smith released his new movie Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, bringing back the iconic stoner duo first introduced to fans 25 years ago in Clerks, he didn’t want to just put it in theaters and let everyone have their own respective experiences; he wanted to be there. So he’s touring the country and inviting everyone in each city he hits to watch it with him.

More: $26.50 and up; 7:30 p.m.; Knight Theater, 130 S. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org

TUES02_18 PHAZE GAWD

What: The Gawd himself brings in fellow leaders of the local new-age hip-hop movement for a murderer’s row of talent including the uplifting lyrics of Farragami, the heartfelt vocals of singer/ songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Paulina Simone, and the experimental sounds of local producer AMWA, also known as A Man With Antlers.

More: $5; 10 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com

EARTHGANG

02/16

FEB 19 - FEB 25

WED02_19 SWAP SERIES: BOOK SWAP

What: In partnership with That’s Novel Books, set to open across from the new Free Range Brewing location at Camp North End, the brewery will host the first event in its new Swap Series with everyone’s favorite bartering tool: books. You’ve read ‘em, you don’t need ‘em, so bring ‘em to the original Free Range spot and leave with the same amount that you came with.

More: Free; 6-9 p.m.; Free Range Brewing, 2320 N. Davidson St.#D; tinyurl.com/SWAPSeries

THURS02_20 HI-LITES FIRST NIGHT

What: Petra’s hosts an evening of indie flicks and music. Tyler Baum, who dropped his solo album Thrift Store Shampoo last month, will screen an animated music video odyssey. Krizia Maria Torres premieres All of Them Women, and Brett Green of Skewed brings a cinematic surprise. Brennan Fowler, Koosh and NDK provide the soundtrack.

More: $5; 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave., petrasbar.com

FRI02_21 CARISSA JOHNSON

What: On tunes like “Deleria” Carissa Johnson combines buzzy guitars, growling bass, galloping drums and candy-coated choruses in a careeningthrough-the-guard rail rush that recalls the glam rock bubblegum of Joan Jett. It’s 70s in a good way, even down to Johnson sawing her guitar with a violin bow like she’s Jimmy Page. Motel Glory and Alexa Jensen fill the bill.

More: $7; 8 p.m.; The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Rd., themilestone.club

MYSTIC’S BALL: SOUTHERN GOTHIC

JUNIOR BROWN

02/22

SAT02_22 MYSTICS’ BALL: SOUTHERN GOTHIC

Pg. 13 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

What: Y’all know there’s some deeply creepy shit bubbling under that wafer-thin veneer of Southern hospitality. This gothic hootenanny celebrates voodoo curses, psychopathic snake-handling preachers and crumbling moss-encrusted mansions.

Master of ceremonies Martin “The Evil Clown” Barry hosts dark DJs, salacious burlesque performers and music by Mandy and the Bastard Band.

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

CARISSA JOHNSON

02/21

02/25

SUN02_23 CLT DONUT FESTIVAL

What: The most annoying part of journalism by far is the fact that, according to the all-knowing Associated Press, you’re supposed to spell it doughnuts. It doesn’t matter if you grew up with Dunkin Donuts and now go to Duck Donuts all the time and see donuts everywhere. We’re stuck using that cringey-ass spelling. Anyway, this festival is pretty self-explanatory. Go stuff your face.

More: $20-$30; Noon-4 p.m.; Norfolk Hall, 2905 Griffith St.; tinyurl.com/CLTDonutFest

MON02_24 ALLEN STONE

What: If we mentioned the sonic forebears we hear in the dance pop of self-styled soul hippie and new jack swinger Allen Stone, you’d probably say, “Who’s that?” How about the idealistic/ individualistic lyrics and melodies of Dino Valentiera Quicksilver Messenger Service crossed with the ebullient swagger of Joboxers? (See? We said you’d go, “Who?”) More: $25; 8 p.m.; Underground, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

TUES02_25 JUNIOR BROWN

What: Junior Brown comes across as a comic deputy sheriff, an image bolstered by his rollicking breakout tune “Highway Patrol.” But Brown’s an innovator, devising a mix of rockabilly, the Bakersfield sound and alt country, and he plays it on the guit-steel, an instrument he invented that combines a six-string guitar with its steel-string counterpart.

More: $22.50-32.50; 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com

CLT DONUT FESTIVAL

02/23

Pg. 14 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

MUSIC FEATURE AULD LANG SING

of us left.”

Today the band, whose name derives from the Irish word for oak, is composed of original members Fitzsimons, who plays bodhrán and guitar and sings; Ken Lee on guitar, vocals, and tin whistle; and Diarmuid O’Sullivan on tin whistle and recorder. Irish dancers show up on occasion, but their appearance ClannDarragh hosts is usually reserved for holiday celebrations like Christmas and, of course, Saint Patrick’s Day. monthly Irish jam session “In-between we have a couple of dancers show for young and old up, but we don’t ever really know who is coming — musicians or dancers” Fitzsimons says. “Sometimes

BY GRANT BRITT we have new people show up with the rhythm Walk into Tyber Creek Irish Pub in South End on the instruments, banjo or fiddle or whistle or whatever.”

Lee, who’s also an Irish native, reveals more last Sunday of any given month, and you’ll hear about the lax entry requirements for the session. the instruments of a far-away land wafting down from the second floor, where Charlottebased traditional Celtic band ClannDarragh hosts its monthly Irish music sessions, inviting any and all nearby residents to grab their flutes, fiddles and tin whistles to join.

Charlotte Irish Connection hosts the event, which allows patrons to fully immerse themselves in Irish music and cuisine for a few hours.

At January’s event, a group of around 20 people were still going strong three hours after the start time of 6 p.m. They played ClannDarragh songs and improvised jams before wrapping with “The Parting Glass,” a traditional Scottish song dating back to the 1600s that had everyone on the top floor of the bar singing along, no instruments needed.

After the event came to an end at 9 p.m., some players stuck THE CLANNDARRAGH CLAN JAM OUT AT TYBER CREEK PUB around and kept jamming, with one woman leading a more contemporary set with her While the core members will often play a few set acoustic guitar, injecting some blues and soul into songs near the beginning of the evening — a the Irish vibes as two men with a flute and a fiddle setlist that’s been cut way down from the 30 or 40 songs the band played when it first started at Tyber played along.

According to ClannDarragh’s Leo Fitzsimons, Creek — it often turns into a melodical free-for-all who emigrated from Belfast in 1977 and landed relatively early, he says.

“A lot of the session musicians, they have tunes in Charlotte in ‘87, as his band has gotten smaller, and know the same tunes, so if one guy starts there’s been all the more reason to bring on friends. playing a reel or a jig or whatever, you’ll have a few “It’s a music session, so it’s not a band per se; it’s other musicians who know the tune and they’ll hop open to musicians of any nature and any level,” he says. “There was seven of us like 10 years ago and on as well,” Lee says.

“And similarly with a song, most of the Irish some of the members moved away and there’s three songs we’ll either join in on the chorus or we’ll do

“The Kerry Polka” is one of the most popular polkas in Ireland and a common beginners’ piece for tin whistle players.

The tin whistle was the first instrument Lee learned in Ireland in primary school, where learning to play traditional instruments was part of the curriculum. He still remembers taking part in a halfhour of music lessons every day in 6th grade.

“I’m 49 years old, and 37 years later I can still play the tunes I learned when I was 12,” he says.

That experience planted the seed, and Lee added the guitar to his repertoire at 15 years old, playing and singing Irish ballads in local competitions.

After moving to Dublin for work, he found a lively sessions scene and played a couple of nights a week with different bands around the city.

About 20 years ago, Lee married an American woman, and they lived together in Ireland for about five years before moving to the States together in 2004, which is when Lee began connecting with members of the local Irish community and helped found ClannDarragh.

Lee says that, despite the downsizing of the band over the years, Irish music is a healthy and growing enterprise in the Charlotte area, with four or five Irish bands playing regularly and performing specifically Irish traditional and ballad singing.

Most of the players from those bands have joined in ClannDarragh sessions at one point or another.

“The ClannDarragh group was the original, [with] very little going on 15 years ago when we started in terms of PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN Irish music in the bars.” Lee says.

“Connolly’s and Tyber Creek “Of all the money that e’er I had/ I spent it in were the two main Irish bars in town when I got good company/ And all the harm I’ve ever done/ here and now there’s probably 15 to 20 Irish bars Alas it was to none but me/ And all I’ve done for across the region.”

The Carolina Irish Fest, held in September, had want of wit/ To mem’ry now I can’t recall/ So fill to me the parting glass/ Good night and joy be to you a good turnout this year, with eight bands playing to a crowd Lee estimates at around 5,000 attracting all.”

Another crowd-pleaser that’s always included bands from the Northeast, with two Irish dance in the set is the 1840-era Irish song “A Nation Once schools participating as well.

The local Irish-American community in Charlotte Again,” written to bolster the Irish independence are trying to build a Charlotte Irish American Center, movement.

Traditional Irish music began with three genres: and the annual festival raises funds toward that jigs, reels and hornpipes, Lee explains, though goal. polkas eventually slipped into the mix as well. harmonies or something like that,” he continues.

Anyone who knows how to play an Irish instrument, [or] knows how to sing an Irish song, come along and do your party piece … It’s one of these open gigs where anything goes.”

One thing that has remained the same are the pieces the band starts and ends the sessions with.

“The Parting Glass” usually ends the evening. The popular song was long ago considered a go-to farewell song, at least until Robert Burns came along with “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788.

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem cut a version of “The Parting Glass” in 1959, Bob Dylan used the melody for his ‘64 song “Restless Farewell,” and most recently the Wailin’ Jennys recorded a version.

Pg. 15 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

MUSIC FEATURE

something that’s almost a brand,” Fitzsimons says.

The branding has been helped by the Charlotte Irish Connection (CIC), which Fitzsimons used to “The Irish community is getting bigger and preside over. bigger,” Lee says. “The Charlotte Irish Connection “Basically what [the CIC] does, it invites anyone is all about celebrating Irish culture, of course. And of Irish descent or who are connected to Ireland or the membership is open to anybody that’s got an want to be connected,” he says. “You don’t have to interest in Irish culture. Whether you’re from Ireland, actually be Irish. [or] of Irish birth. You could be from Timbuktu, If In fact, many people who show up at the Tyber you’ve got an interest in Irish culture, [and] Irish Creek sessions just like Irish music. They might music, we embrace everybody.” be of German descent or Polish or whatever. So The music session began about five years ago, everybody’s invited to be in the solidarity of the as ClannDarragh invited musicians of all types to Charlotte Irish Connection.” participate at Tyber Creek, which itself is part of an Fitzsimons points out that the CIC is no longer a Irish culinary and bar empire in Charlotte. The bar, dues-paying organization, so anyone can sign up to be notified about events.

Older patrons may remember ClannDarragh’s initial appearances at one of Tyber’s sister locations in Uptown: the Dandelion Market. They moved down to Tyber Creek because of better parking access.

According to Tyber Creek general manager Heather Sonnentag, that’s also brought them more musicians.

SOME MUSICIANS CONTINUE JAMMING AFTER THE FACT. “We have people who PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN will be stumblin’ upon us on Sunday evening and be like, established by Tommy Timmins, Tim Krot, Kevin ‘What’s going on upstairs?’ They’ll go check out a Devin and Maynard Goble, will celebrate its 21st session, and if they have an instrument of their own anniversary in May. The owners have five other or a musical background they might bring their spots in Charlotte: Dandelion Market, Prohibition, instrument next time and try to join in. It’s cool how Connolly’s Irish Pub, the Daily, and Workman’s Friend you have your main band members who turn up, in Plaza Midwood. but then there’s always somebody who’s like, ‘It’s my The Irish theme runs through all of the first session, and I wanna tag along,’ and they always establishments, though each location has a slightly have a good time and they’re bringing their family different take on presentation. While the food is the along.” main draw at Tyber Creek, many have come for the The sessions and the restaurant, after all, are cuisine but stuck around for the Sunday sessions. for people of all ages, which allows for some added The vibe is similar to a bluegrass jam session, entertainment. where anybody can step up and flex their musical “There’s a few Irish dancers that will come muscle — or lack thereof — without fear of being and dance through the aisles during the session,” judged.

Sonnentag says. “It’s not something that we line “Tyber Creek is totally open to any musician of up, but they just get up and do their own thing. any ability who can come and bring their guitar or It’s nothing that’s listed as a performance. There’s their flute or whistle or fiddle and join in and play a not gonna be an itinerary, it’s just people coming tune or sing,” Fitzsimons says. together to have a good time.”

The sessions have been instrumental in involving local musicians as well as lay people who INFO@QCNERVE.COM just want to join in.

“It’s well-known, and many times we’ll have up to 20 people wanting to participate in the music sessions on that last Sunday. It’s grown into

UPCOMING SHOWS

Tickets are available for both shows at www.matthewsplayhouse.com

FEBRUARY 21, 22, 23 28

MARCH 1

Directed by Sidney Horton

JUNE

12, 13, 14 19, 20, 21 26, 27, 28

Directed by Paula Baldwin Choreography by Ron Chisholm

MUSIC FEB 12 - FEB 25

FEBRUARY 12

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Robert Childers & His Luciferian Agenda (Snug Harbor) Bart Lattimore & The Old North State (Dish) Szlachetka & Bryan Elijah Smith (Evening Muse) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill) Jeremy Shaw, Josh Daniel (Smokey Joe’s) Arlo Guthrie, Folk Uke (McGlohon Theater)

FEBRUARY 13

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Je Suis France, Patois Counselors, Psych Ops, Sleep Now (The Milestone) Open Mic: Kat & Barry (Tommy’s Pub) Milli, Apostate, Moonshine (Petra’s) The Sea The Sea, Sarah Burton (Evening Muse) Shana Blake (Smokey Joe’s) Sweet Grass Serenade (Comet Grill) Magnolia Boulevard (Free Range Brewing) DJ/ELECTRONIC Le Bang (Snug Harbor) Techno Syndicate 008: StyleX, b2b DJCKOLE, DJ Natii-Lee, Lara Lovell (Skylark Social Club) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Warren Sax Experience, Ashanti Munir (Middle C Jazz) Duda Lucena Quartet (Stage Door Theater)

Pg. 16 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

FEBRUARY 14

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Idlewild South (Amos’ Southend) Queen City Blues Festival: Calvin Richardson, Pokey Bear, Roy C, Lenny Williams, Lacee (Ovens Auditorium) Vortex Of Old Men, Power Assassin, Grown Up Avenger Stuff (The Milestone) Moon Hooch, Paris Monster (Neighborhood Theatre) Through N Through, Queen City Rejects, October (Tommy’s Pub) 69 Love Songs Tribute-A Benefit for Time Out Youth: Heckdang, Phil Pucci, JPH, Laurence Maher, Josh Shabtai, Rasmus Leon, Brian Franklin (Petra’s) Periphery, Plini, Covet (Fillmore) Lespecial, West End Blend (Heist Brewery) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Alice Wallace, The HawtThorns (Evening Muse) The Willie Douglas Band (Smokey Joe’s) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Noah Guthrie (Coyote Joe’s) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Player Made: An Ode To Southern Rap (Snug Harbor) DJ/ELECTRONIC Heartbeatz: Jinx, Freaky, Irewl (SERJ)

FEBRUARY 17

ROCK/PUNK/METAL The Beak Trio, Joules (The Milestone) Cuzco, Wreath, Knowne Ghost (Snug Harbor) Find Your Muse Open Mic: ahaCOMA (Evening Muse) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Knocturnal (Brooklyn Lounge) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Monday Night Jazz Jam (Crown Station)

FEBRUARY 21

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Carbon Leaf (Neighborhood Theatre) Cosmic Charlie-Grateful Dead Tribute (Visulite Theatre) Cathy Music, Friends & Neighbors, Zodiac Lovers (Snug Harbor) Anything Goes, The L.A. Maybe (Amos’ Southend) Boo Hag, Dead Regions, The Menders (Tommy’s Pub) Marc Anthony (Spectrum) Wallows (Underground) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Subtronics, He$h, Bommer, Chee, Level Up, Gravedancer Charlotte Symphony: Chopin Piano Concerto 1 (Knight FEBRUARY 18 (Fillmore) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Theater) Ceschi Ramos& David Ramos, RickoLus, Gregory Pepper Whoa Dakota, Bad Karol (Evening Muse) Dave Stryker (Middle C Jazz) Ben Gaitlin Band (Smokey Joe’s) and His Problems, Hectorina (The Milestone) Kamasi Washington (Underground) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA AhaComa, Spybaby, House of I (Tommy’s Pub) Stephanie Jordan (Stage Door Theater) The Kind Thieves (Evening Muse) Smokin’ Js Open Mic Jam (Smokey Joe’s) Jeanette Harris, Terence Young (McGlohon Theater) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Uptown Unplugged: Rotie Salley (Tin Roof) The LACS (Coyote Joe’s) FEBRUARY 15 RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B ROCK/PUNK/METAL Phaze Gawd, Farragami, Paulina Simone, A Man with JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Such (Middle C Jazz) Dollar Signs, The Callous Daoboys, Stress Fractures, Antlers (Snug Harbor) Charm, Dollhands (The Milestone) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Telefon Tel Aviv, Steve Hauschildt, Nadia Khan, Stevie P Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) (Snug Harbor) Paul Cauthen, The Kernel (Neighborhood Theatre) Winter Mixer: Warpath, The New Creatures, GreyRender, JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL A Reason To Live, City Lights Drive, On the Spot (Amos’ New Music Open Mic: Matthew Darsey (Crown Station) Southend) FEBRUARY 19 Hectorina, Identikit, GASP, JPH (Petra’s) ROCK/PUNK/METAL Digital Suede (Evening Muse) Ol’ Sport, Ultra Deluxe, I Love You, I Love You, Joshua Brangle (Smokey Joe’s) Cotterino (The Milestone) Mike Strauss Band (Comet Grill) Robert Childers & His Luciferian Agenda (Snug Harbor) Kindo (Free Range Brewing) Remember Jones & 12-Piece Orchestra (Neighborhood Theatre) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Time Sawyer, Caroline Keller Band (Neighborhood Theatre) Betty White Bronco (Dish) Foxfire Run, Oceanic, Trent Thompson (Evening Muse) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Dave Stryker (Middle C Jazz) Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill) Stephanie Jordan (Stage Door Theater) Charlotte Symphony: Chopin Piano Concerto 1 (Knight Theater) Jeremy Shaw, Josh Daniel (Smokey Joe’s) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B DJ/ELECTRONIC #LocalOnly Saturday: DJ Teddy,Mike Boyer (The Milestone) Raw Artists: Appollona Khan (Fillmore) ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL DJ Velvetine, Johnny Starr (Tommy’s Pub) ONDAS do Brasil (Petra’s) Spencer Brown (SERJ) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Chieli Minucci and Special EFX (Middle C Jazz) Wale (Fillmore) LOTS OF CDS, TAPES,

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FEBRUARY 16

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Oldsoul, Cicala, Heckdang, Pictures of Vernon, Luck Doom (The Milestone) Flor, Winnetka Bowling League (Neighborhood Theatre) Open Mic: Fundraiser for Douglass Thompson (Tommy’s Pub) The Brook & The Bluff, Carly Bannister (Evening Muse) Tony Bennett (Belk Theater) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Karaoke (Snug Harbor) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Charlotte Symphony: Chopin Piano Concerto 1 (Knight Theater) Bill Hannah’s Jazz Session (Petra’s) Jackie O’and the All of Us Band, Gena Chambers (Middle C Jazz) DJ/ELECTRONIC Hazy Sunday (Petra’s)

FEBRUARY 20

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Shana Blake (Smokey Joe’s) Yes Chef, Lunch,Alright, Couch Surfer (The Milestone) Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, The Hellfire Choir, Greevace, Turboblood (Tommy’s Pub) Revelry Soul (Tin Roof) The Snozzberries (Heist Brewery) DJ/ELECTRONIC Le Bang: Leather Daddy Disco (Snug Harbor) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Blue Cactus, ChrisFrisina(Neighborhood Theatre) Railroad Earth, Handmade Moments (Fillmore) Jason Eady, Courtney Patton, Channing Wilson (Evening Muse) Whiskey Contradiction (Comet Grill) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater)

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MUSIC FEB 12 - FEB 25

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Allen Stone, Samm Henshaw (Underground) Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater) Find Your Muse Open Mic: Big Break (Evening Muse) The Kerry Brooks Kollective (Comet Grill) FEBRUARY 22 JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL ROCK/PUNK/METAL Forges, Sunday Boxing, True Lilith, Izar Estelle (The Milestone) Monday Night Jazz Jam (Crown Station) Horseburner, Bathe, Cosmic Reaper, Torrents(Skylark Social Club) DJ/ELECTRONIC Killakoi, Falling Through April, Den of Wolves, American Knocturnal (Brooklyn Lounge) Wide the Fuck Open Jam:Pete McCoil (Skylark Social Club) Theory (Amos’ Southend) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B The Fetish, Ray Deez Test (Tommy’s Pub) Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers Greeicy (World) (Duke Energy Theater) ABBA The Concert (Ovens Auditorium) Lauren Daigle, Johnnyswim (Bojangles’ Coliseum) Queensryche, Eve to Adam, John5 (Underground) Will Blackburn, John Sheehan (Evening Muse) Tosco Music Party (Knight Theater) Tonya Wood Band (Smokey Joe’s) Justin Butler Band (Comet Grill) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Kobie Watkins Grouptet (Middle C Jazz) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Erick Lottary, Well$, Cheeno Ghee (Snug Harbor) NiiTO (Evening Muse) Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater) Shonuff Saturday: DJ Shogun (The Press Box) ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL A Night in Rio (Neighborhood Theatre)

Pg. 17 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

FEBRUARY 23

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Reversels, Solemn Shapes, Iioioioii, EarthThatWas(The Milestone) Terms x Conditions, The Dirty Low Down, The Word Around Town, Windley’Dead Casual, Janet Flights (Skylark Social Club) Ruston Kelly, Valley Queen (Visulite Theatre) Cody Canada and the Departed (Amos’ Southend) Lisa De Novo Duo (Free Range Brewing) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Laura Rabell, Jeff Thorneycroft, Dave Coleman (Evening Muse) Jake Scott, Sawyer (Neighborhood Theatre) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Karaoke (Snug Harbor) Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater)ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL Bluegrass Open Jam: Greg Clarke & Friends (Tommy’s Pub) JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Bill Hannah’s Jazz Session (Petra’s)

FEBRUARY 24

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Shot Down South, Artessa (The Milestone) Matt Ples (Tommy’s Pub)

FEBRUARY 25

ROCK/PUNK/METAL The Almas, Messy Stains, Rosewave (The Milestone) Dermot Kennedy (Fillmore) Smokin’ Js Open Mic Jam (Smokey Joe’s) Music Open Mic (Crown Station) COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Carolina Country Review: The Old North State (Snug Harbor) Junior Brown (Neighborhood Theatre) Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) DJ/ELECTRONIC Lost Cargo: A Back Patio Tiki Party (Petra’s) RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater) VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING.

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Pg. 18 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE PAPER PLANE TAKES FLIGHT

Now, after spending a year away from Reid’s, disclosure, Queen City Nerve’s offices are located. the dive favorites of the surrounding neighborhoods during which she helped her friend build up the She sees Advent and its nearly 300 members as will remain staples: PBR, Miller High Life, Tito’s Charlotte-based Tayste Catering company, Cranford a beginning point to building that same sense of vodka, Jameson whiskey. is ready to strike out on her own. In early March, community within Paper Plane.

“When I go somewhere right now, as somebody she’ll open Paper Plane Deli & Market at Hub 933 in “You guys will be what keeps my lights on,” she who’s in the mid-millennial generation, I really just the Belmont neighborhood, taking over the space says, laughing, “and hopefully will be the people that want something simple that’s not complicated,” she left by the recently closed Trade & Lore.

I get to know and build relationships with, which is says. “Everything else that we do all day long is just Amanda Cranford opens Cranford hopes to make Paper Plane a really what I want to do. I want to build a cool spot so overly complicated. new deli & market in neighborhood market, similar to how Reid’s that offers good food — simple, convenient, and “When I got into the industry, I really was into Belmont was when she first arrived there before its rapid that people want to go to on a regular basis.” molecular gastronomy and fine-dining and the expansion.

Building that loyalty all begins with the food, elaborate way that you can create a story on a plate,

BY RYAN PITKIN “It was just Selwyn’s neighborhood place to go and Cranford means it when she talks simplicity and then I got tired,” she continues, “and so many to shop and hang out, and it drove such a sense of and convenience. Her breakfast and lunch menus people started doing it and the pretension became If that one guy hadn’t gotten so stoned, who community,” she says. “How do you hate on seeing will range in price from $3.50 to $11. Mornings will so much that it’s like, can I just get a grilled cheese knows where Amanda Cranford would be. the same people all the time, knowing all their feature bowls of oatmeal or grits with a toppings bar, sandwich and a cup of soup? That’s it. Can I just get Ten years ago, the 21-yeara rum and coke? That’s all I want. I old barista was working the front don’t want to have to ask you what of house at a restaurant called the 19 aperitifs are in this drink.”

Eggheads in the Latta Arcade when Though she’ll close up shop at the chef walked in one day and it 9 p.m., she says she’ll be happy to quickly became apparent that he stay open later if people come in was too high to function. Cranford late. She’d like to build the bar into a had been begging for a gig in the smaller version of one of her favorite kitchen to no avail, but now an dives in Charlotte: Smokey Joe’s. opportunity presented itself.

Specifically, she wants to bring ping “They had to call him a cab and pong to Hub 933. send him home, and the owners She’s been in talks with were like, ‘What are we going to do? management at Advent about It’s 10 minutes from lunch and all placing a table on the covered patio the regulars will be coming in.’ They and hosting tournaments on it. looked at me like, ‘Can you cook an “I’m an avid ping-pong player,” egg?’ And I lied.” she says. “I’m looking very much Cranford made it through the forward to trying to get everybody shift with no complaints, getting here very invested in ping pong.” orders out quicker than the chef on It’s just a part of the happy-gohis most sober day. lucky vibe Cranford desires for Paper “I wound up running their Plane, one that’s embodied in the kitchen for them with no experience, piece of folded paper that gives the PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN and in hindsight, dear lord, they AMANDA CRANFORD IN ADVENT COWORKING, ACROSS THE HALL FROM HER NEW DELI. deli its name. should not have let me do that,” she “It’s just this ubiquitous, simple says now, laughing. orders or knowing that their kid had a dance recital? with bagel options and a few breakfast sandwiches. thing that everybody gets,” she says, explaining the A decade later, and Cranford has continued to I loved it, and I held onto that for so long for them, She hopes to introduce a pastry program later down name, but somehow herself and her mission at the jump on every opportunity thrown her way, landing as long as I could … but I also knew that I would the road. same time. a job with Xenia Restaurant Group, for which she probably never be fully fulfilled by it because at a For lunch, she’ll start with a straightforward “Everybody’s made a paper plane at some point split time between an Ilios Noche location on a Red certain point I just had to admit that I wanted to sandwich menu including pastrami, turkey, in their life, and they’re my version of an act of Ventures campus and the now-closed Nolen Kitchen eventually do something on my own.” pimento cheese, tuna salad, grilled cheese and kindness in a weird way — something that makes on Selwyn Avenue.

The Paper Plane name, as well as the tagline — veggie options, plus a soup of the day and an open- people laugh. It comes back to, that’s really what I At the latter, she studied under chef Aaron Simple. Convenient. Kind. — come from Cranford’s air reach-in fridge with grab-and-go items from wanted the concept to be: Simple. Convenient. Kind.

Rivera before eventually moving across the street penchant for making people happy with simple Charlotte-based Beverly’s Gourmet Foods.

Something that was approachable and simple. The from Nolen to Reid’s Fine Foods. She would work for gestures, including her regular use of “the perfect At night, she’ll feature a small bar menu convenience factor is a bit different, but kindness, seven-and-a-half years at Reid’s, spending her last paper plane” that she might gift someone or chuck featuring a meat-and-cheese plate called Adult that’s really where it came from.” four years there running an off-site kitchen where at them to brighten their day.

Lunchables, along with a buffalo chicken or spinach That is, until you’re on the other side of the pingshe developed retail products, including creating As I talk with Cranford, we’re sitting inside artichoke dip. Local craft beers will be available from pong table. the products and branding behind the grocer’s Advent Coworking in Hub 933 where, for full the retail market to drink on site, but behind the bar, RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM TruSouth Biscuit Company line.

FOOD & DRINK COLUMN

AERIN IT OUT GRADING A GIMMICK

Anomaly needs to go back to school

Pg. 19 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BY AERIN SPRUILL

When I found out my boyfriend was offered a job out of state in December, the drama queen briefly resurfaced, yet I held on to the fact that we’d be able to share one more exciting dining experience in the Queen City before putting him on a plane. That experience would be the Anomaly Pop-Up. Anomaly is the brainchild of chef Sam Hart and sommelier Erin Skaryak. The duo will reportedly open a brick-and-mortar this spring, but they’re teasing things out with these exclusive (and by that I mean pricey) pop-up dinners in the meantime.

A highly anticipated event on local food blogs, January’s pop-up was titled Cafeteria and was to feature an explicit playlist; a rotating, carefully curated menu; wine pairings; and an intimate crowd in an undisclosed location. An ode to a love affair between Bardo and SoFar Sounds?

It reminded me of the scene from Always Be My Maybe when Keanu Reeves goes on a double-date with Ali Wong at a restaurant called Maximal. Following his dramatic slow-mo entry to AWOLNATION’s “Sail,” he proceeds to order for everyone a course that “plays with time” accompanied by headphones featuring “the sound of the exact animal you’re about to consume illustrating nature’s life to death cycle.” As you can imagine, it was as ridiculously tragic and comical as it sounds.

Nevertheless, I purchased two $125 tickets for my boo’s Christmas present surprise.

Almost a month later, I received an email informing me about the pop-up’s cafeteria theme.

I was instructed to send any dietary restrictions, our favorite middle/high school songs, pictures and a wine preference.

We exchanged uncomfortable glances at one another upon reading the email, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I would actually taste the heartbreak of young love at this dinner — and not just

figuratively, but literally, as I pictured us hunched over a table eating a cold pizza Lunchable for our last intimate dinner in the immediate future while Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” played in the background.

I held out hope that our love would survive as we parked our car in front of the “surprise” venue in South End: Lincoln’s Haberdashery.

We sat at a table for four and were later joined by a lovely German couple who quickly took us under their wing. We were genuinely smitten at our charger plates being plastic lunch trays — cute start — then we opened our “report cards,” and things unraveled from there.

The report card was to be used to grade each course, and inside the same envelope there were passport-sized pictures of some unknown individual. I soon realized that the pictures were supposed to be the ones I sent in of us in high school.

(I guess the mix CD I was told would also be in there was reserved for Charlotte’s more elite influencers.)

Saddened by the missed opportunity for a memento, I held it together as I turned to my boyfriend and said in a menacing tone that I’ve only recognized in my mother, “If this means our songs don’t get played, I’m going to be pissed!”

I held back the “Can I speak to your manager” attitude, forced a smile at the couple across the table and we all readied our ears for “instructions on how to enjoy the meal” from our “teacher.”

I never was a good listener in school. In fact, I was sentenced to silent lunch on a regular basis, but I did gather the first course would be a play on a fruit cup and would incorporate elements of a planetary science project.

Now, let me just say this: My boyfriend and I are no stranger to the concept of “it’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean” when it comes to small plates, single bites, tapas, snacks, etc. This was not our first rodeo with the froufrou and it certainly won’t be the last.

When our science project featuring six single pieces of fruit arrived, the four of us looked at one another, and I turned to my boyfriend and in a resigned tone, which I’m sure comforted his fear that I was going to flip a table, said, “Oh, we got got.”

It already looked like the $315 we spent after taxes and fees was just a joke on us. (Course 1: D)

There was no getting off the boat now, however, and my spirits were lifted once I accepted defeat and embraced each imperfection that followed — starting with the wine.

With each menial taste poured into our counterparts’ respective glasses (each poured into the same solitary glass, I might add, sometimes on top of the previous wine that hadn’t been finished yet) I thanked the Lord himself that I overcame the urge to drink. (Though I admit that it may have made the experience more enjoyable.)

The second course offered an “elevated Lunchable.” I can’t hate; the plastic container that looked just like the old-school lunchtime favorite brought a smile to my face.

The salmon roe may have been covered up by its creamy counterpart but the caviar with accompanying dip made the cold blini well worth my time. (B+)

THE FRUIT CUP PROJECT PHOTO BY AERIN SPRUILL

At this moment an egregious oversight at another table became known: Someone’s allergies/ dietary restrictions had not been taken into account!

While she was assured a refund, our table looked on in envy.

Course three: corn dogs remixed with cold, flavorless sautéed bass. I’ve made my feelings clear about corn dog nuggets, but long story short, they’re a travesty. (C) Course four: a take on “nuggets” featuring chicken liver mousse, pickled Daikon, and a honey

mustard that would clear your sinuses for days.

The course impressed the whole table so it received an A. Course five: square pizza. Now, this is where you wow ya girl. I thought “ruin corn dogs if you want, but don’t ruin pizza.”

I wasn’t wowed, however, as the dish was cold (by this point, we wondered if all of the food was cooked off site and brought to Lincoln’s…) but at least the idea of cheese, tomato sauce, crust and pepperoni were present. (C+) Course six: Sloppy Joes were another hit. Who would’ve guessed Sloppy Joe mix in a bao bun would change your life? Golf claps all around (B+).

We were asked to hold on to our silverware for the next course … French Toast. My eyebrows kissed my hairline as I confirmed that I wasn’t mistaken in my hearing.

By this time, everyone had accepted their fate, and no one was truly angry, it was just the principle of the matter. (B-, it’s hard to eff up after all.)

Course eight was one of my guilty pleasures from The Stanley: PB&J + FG. Foie gras served chilled with dollops of jelly and, in this case, “peanut butter snow,” as they called it. (B+) Course nine, pimento, gave me great pleasure because my boyfriend can’t stand poor table manners and we were instructed to lick the dollops off the plate!

It was only a fleeting afterthought that maybe this creative way of consumption was due to a lack of silverware, but an A anyway for making my bae look like Boo Boo the Fool.)

The course I most looked forward to was the final dish: a take on Dunkaroos and chocolate milk! However, the dish was quickly overshadowed by the fact that three out of four of our glasses were filthy, and we gathered the residue was leftover from serving the same chocolate milk cocktail the night before. (B, but only after new glasses were requested.)

My takeaway: The experience didn’t end in a breakup by any means. At best, the food was decent, if lukewarm. The implementation, however, left lots to be desired.

I’ll take this as a lesson: Gimmicks are like significant others. Take a step back and let other folks deal with the kinks while they’re being worked out. It’ll be well worth the taste later.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

LIFESTYLE

HOROSCOPE

FEB 12- FEB 18 ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your natural Arian leadership qualities make you the person others will follow in tackling that important project. But don’t get so involved in the work that you neglect your personal life.

FEB 19 - FEB 25 LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Whether it’s for business purposes or just for leisure, a trip might be just what you need right now. You would benefit both from a change of scenery and from meeting new people.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) All that flattery and fawning shouldn’t affect any decision you have to make. Keep your focus on the facts and ignore all the hyperbole, especially if it gets uncomfortably personal.

LIBRA

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Aspects favor sorting SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) While through your possessions, both at work and at things generally go well this week, a romantic home, to start giving away what you don’t use, don’t situation seems to have stalled. But you can restart need or don’t like. Relax later with someone special. it if you want to. Then again, maybe this is a chance to reassess the situation.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your Bovine instincts are on the mark about that “favor” you’re being asked to do. Agree to nothing unless you get a full explanation — which you would check out first, of course.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Getting a

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) The issues are not

(September 23 to October 22) Getting advice on your next business-related move is a good idea, but only if your advisers are trustworthy. Get references that you can check out before you make any decisions.

boost in your self-esteem is one benefit that comes with a job well done. There are other plusses as well, including being noticed by all the right people. Good luck.

quite as clear as they should be. That’s why you SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) A GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A somewhat unsettled SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) need to avoid getting involved in disputes between meeting that was promised quite a while back could recent period should give way to a smoother time Make time to deal with family matters, especially colleagues at work or between relatives or personal finally happen. So be sure you’re prepared with going through the week. Use this quieter time to where they concern your elderly kinfolk. Being there friends. everything you’ll need to make your case sound catch up on matters you might have had to let slide. for them from the start can help resolve problems convincing and doable. sooner rather than later.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You’ll get lots of support from others if you own up to your mistake CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Feeling a little quickly and include a full and honest explanation. workplace blunder could create a problem down the confused is understandable with all those mixed CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Learn from this experience so that you don’t repeat line unless you deal with it right now to see how and messages. Take time to list the questions you have. Getting a project started can often be difficult. But why it happened. Don’t be surprised at what you Then present them and insist on answers that make the good news is that you won’t want for lack of it. might learn. sense. assistance from colleagues who would like to work with you. So, let them!

LEO (July 23 to August 22) There might be some early confusion over a major move, whether it’s at AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) This is LEO (July 23 to August 22) Cupid can be very work or at home. But once you get a full breakdown a good time to re-sort your priorities and see if helpful for Lions seeking a love connection. The AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A lot of of what it entails, it should be easier to deal with. adjustments are called for. Be honest with yourself chubby cherub also brings warm and fuzzy feelings work-related issues might be raised this week, and Good luck. as you decide what to keep, what to discard and to paired Leos and Leonas who already share a you need to be prepared for whatever comes along. what to change. special love line.

Things should be easier when it comes to matters in

Pg. 20 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Creating order

your private life. out of chaos, even in the most untidy spaces, should PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Letting yourself be no problem for organized Virgos. So go ahead be bathed in the outpouring of love and support VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Travel is and do it, and then accept praise from impressed from those who care for you will help you get favored this week, whether you’ll be globe-trotting PISCES (February 19 to March 20) What might colleagues. through a difficult period sooner rather than later. or taking a trip to a nearby getaway. You might be appear to be a much unwanted change in your life surprised (or maybe not) by who wants to be your right now could turn out to be a very welcome event Good luck. traveling companion. after all.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have an uncanny gift for reaching out to all people and creating bridges of understanding among them.

BORN THIS WEEK: You exercise your strong leadership qualities well, which is why people believe in you and feel reassured by you.

2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

BY LINDA THISTLE

©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

Pg. 21 Feb. 12- Feb. 25, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

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

ACROSS 1 While away the hours 9 Amorphous, sunken-into seats 17 Book divs.

20 Adopts, as a belief 21 Do a new layout of 22 Marina del -, California 23 Start of a riddle 25 Musician Yoko 26 Fixes a seam, say 27 Drink served with scones 28 Suffix with final or solo 29 Heroic poetry 30 Riddle, part 2 37 7-Eleven drink 41 Isn’t on target 42 Contract inker, e.g.

43 “Stones for -” (1988 film) 44 San -, California 46 Most fake 48 Riddle, part 3 51 With 57-Across, descent before pulling a rip cord 52 Chilean cheer 53 Praise publicly 54 Margarita glass liner 57 See 51-Across 60 1990s Philippine president 62 Ad entreaty 64 ET of TV 67 Riddle, part 4 71 “Rock and Roll, Hoochie -” 72 Gel alternative 74 Bow rub-on 75 “- Cassius has a lean and hungry look”: Julius Caesar 77 - Sunday

78 Let out 79 Xenon, e.g.

81 Fesses (up) 85 Riddle, part 5 92 Deliver news about 94 Capacious 95 One of Jupiter’s moons 96 Rare Italian violins 97 Trial run 98 Watched kids for cash 99 End of the riddle 104 Tip jar bills 105 Mimicker 106 “- There Was You” 107 - ghanouj 111 Poetry Out Loud org.

112 Riddle’s answer 119 Wind up 120 Tendency to stick together 121 “Casino Royale” Bond girl player 122 Rds. 123 Outburst of wild emotion 124 Tokyo “ta-ta” DOWN 1 Sunday seats 2 Court champ Arthur 3 Shoot forth 4 Male heirs 5 “Tsk!” 6 “Semi-” suffix 7 Get together 8 Road twists 9 Male sib 10 Always, to bards 11 Astern 12 Feature of a perfect ball game

13 Audacious 14 Just slightly 15 Slender fish 16 Hog home 17 Certain liquid fuel container 18 High-tech map subjects 19 Natalie Portman’s childhood home on Long Island 24 “Bali -” 29 Most tense 30 Twist 31 Skin cream brand 32 Ensnares 33 Cookie giant 34 Lead singer 35 Beginning on 36 Have supper 37 Son of Willy Loman 38 Skyscraper beam 39 Many an app 40 Anguish 44 Actor Gibson 45 Had supper 46 Sainted pope 47 FDR follower 49 Hit the links 50 Boxing punch 55 London lav 56 16 eighths 58 Tummy “six-pack” 59 Actor Marvin 60 Interstate stop 61 Pal, in Calais 62 Earlier 63 “No - do!”

64 Rock blaster 65 Mauna -

RISING TO THE DEBATE

©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

66 Big magazine pitches 68 Suze with financial tips 69 Stir up, as silt 70 NASDAQ kin 73 Polishes 76 Bride’s belongings 78 Green start?

79 Big Red, e.g.

80 Poet Lowell 82 “- calling?”

83 California’s - Valley 84 TDs, e.g.

86 Fortitude 87 - -bitsy 88 Looking up 89 Attend 90 Imminent 91 Lard holders 92 Seminal punk band 93 Distinguished 97 Feared fly 98 Luxury watch company 100 Vows 101 In a tizzy 102 Dol. divisions 103 Quotes 107 Farm building 108 Cruising 109 South African Dutch 110 Actress Faris 112 “- bin ein Berliner” 113 Nerf ball, e.g.

114 Make public 115 “- will not!”

116 Genetic ID 117 Actor Liotta 118 Swelled head

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE THE GIRLS

For those on all parts of the femme spectrum

BY DAN SAVAGE

My boyfriend and I were having relationship issues until we tried something new: pegging. He wanted to try it, but he was afraid and sometimes said the idea disgusted him. Then we tried it, and it was better than normal vanilla or even kinky bondage sex. It was the most emotionally connected sex we’ve ever had. I actually pegged him three times in 24 hours. He says now he wants to be “the girl” in our relationship. He doesn’t want to transition to become a girl, but to be more “the girl” sexually and emotionally. I see this as sexy and loving. I’ve always taken care of him in a nurturing way, but this adds so much more. I feel bad about sending this long story just to ask a simple question, but … how do I be more “the guy” for my boyfriend who wants to be more “the girl”? Not just sexually, but in everyday life?

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THE BOYFRIEND EXPERIENCE

“It’s amazing these two found each other,” said Key Barrett, a trained anthropologist. “They communicate and obviously create spaces to be vulnerable together and explore.”

Barrett has studied female-led relationships (FLR) and written books — fiction and nonfiction — about them, TBE, and his first concern was your boyfriend succumbing to “sub-frenzy,” or a burning desire to realize all his fantasies at once. You guys aren’t new to kink — you mention bondage — but you’ve found something that taps into some deep-seated desires, and you don’t want to move too fast.

“Pegging opened up a huge box of shiny new emotions and feelings,” said Barrett. “That’s great, but they should take it slow, especially if they want this dynamic to be a part of the day-to-day relationship.”

You also need to bear in mind that pegging, while wonderful, won’t solve your underlying (and unspecified) “relationship issues.” Unless, of course, the issue was your boyfriend feeling anxious about asking you to peg him. If he was worried about walking back his previous comments, or worried you would judge, shame, or dump him over this, that could have been the cause of your conflict, and the pegging — by some miracle — was the solution.

But, hey, you didn’t ask about those other issues — you didn’t even name them — so let’s focus on your actual question: you being “the guy” and your boyfriend being “the girl.”

“The boyfriend wants TBE to be ‘the guy’ in the relationship to reinforce his desire to be ‘the girl,’” said Barrett, “and she seems okay with this, although she

does acknowledge that this would require more than the nurturing and caretaking she’s already showed toward him. That’s a valid concern. His desire to take the kink out of the bedroom and merge it with the day-to-day risks turning her into a kink dispenser. There’s also the aspect of the boyfriend’s gender stereotyping. Being dominant isn’t unique to men, and being submissive isn’t a ‘feminine’ trait. There are a lot of alpha men in FLRs who shine in support roles for the women they trust. Femaleled relationships don’t rely on stereotypes. Indeed, they often flout them by relying not on stereotypical behaviors but on what is a natural dynamic for the couple. In that sense, each FLR is unique.”

While it’s possible that “I want to be the girl” are the only words your boyfriend has to describe the dynamic that turns him on, for some men, sacrificing their “male” power and privilege is an intrinsic part of the eroticism of submitting to a dominant woman. And that’s okay, too.

“If he legitimately wants to take on a role of supporting her and being her adoring submissive partner while thinking of that role as ‘feminine,’ it could work for them,” said Barrett. “He might really enjoy supporting her decisions and being more of a domestic partner.

She might enjoy the support and validation that comes from having a partner who revels in her successes and strength. This could fulfill the ‘caring for him as if I were the boyfriend’ portion (what a loving a statement!) while still feeling natural for TBE.” So how can you get started as “the guy” in this relationship?

“They should, again, start small,” said Barrett.

“Maybe delegate a few tasks that were ‘hers’ to him, and she can tell him how she wants them done,” whatever it is (dishes? laundry? cocksucking?), “as this will help ensure the outcome they both want. I would also recommend they both read about what FLRs are and aren’t. FLRs are often kink-friendly, but kink is not required. And they need to remember the key word in ‘female-led relationship’ is ‘relationship.’”

Follow Key Barrett on Twitter @KeyBarrettMSc. I’m a woman, and I was contacted on an app by someone claiming to be a “guydyke.” Based on their profile pictures, I was basically looking at a white, cis, masc-presenting man who’s said he is queer but only attracted to women. And by masc-presenting, I mean I could not pick him out of a lineup of the most average of average-looking straight dudes: drab clothes, a week’s stubble, bad haircut. Granted, nobody is obliged to announce their gender identity through clothing or grooming choices, but how is this guy not straight?

MULTICULTURAL STAFF 20 + GIRLS!

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.Bodyrubscharlotte.org

Always Selectively Hiring

#1 American Spa in Charlotte was always perceived to be a man — claimed he was a lesbian or a dyke, we’d shut them down. But in 2020, it’s only acceptable to accept everyone for what they say they are. I disagree. Part of being a lesbian, being a woman, is also cultural and societal. It’s not simply an identity.

Living in the world as a woman matters. A biological male who presents as a man and has sex only with women will never know what it’s like to be treated as a woman or a lesbian. He can identify however he likes, of course, but he will be perceived as a straight man who’s fetishizing queer women.”

It’s not normal — in the literal, non-pejorative sense — for an “assigned male at birth” person who presents as male to want to slap large boobs on his otherwise malepresenting physique. But so what? If you’re worried about how your boobs will be received there in the Midwest, perhaps you could get yourself a pair of what drag queens call “chicken cutlets,” i.e., silicone breasts enhancers that tuck into a bra, and try wearing them out. For the record, kids, I’m not equating being genderfluid with drag, even though many drag queens (but not all) identify as genderfluid and many genderfluid people (but not all) do drag. (I never get tired of tap-dancing my way through this minefield.) But back when I was doing drag, BOOBS, a pair of chicken cutlets artfully placed under my pecs created a pretty realistic looking set of big ol’ titties. Think of chicken cutlets as a temporary, nonsurgical breastenhancement option — to test the locals as well as your desire to have breasts.

I’m in my late 20s and genderfluid. I have a male physique, but at times I feel more feminine.

I suddenly can’t shake the desire to have more feminine breasts. I’ve been looking at women with C or D cups and wishing I had boobs that big. I’ve spent time looking into breast enhancement, but I PERPLEXED live in the Midwest. It’s not as bad as the South, but there are still plenty of people who believe violating On the Lovecast, spanking is for grown-ups! With “I happen to be one of those ‘old-school’ lesbians, gender norms is a sin. I guess I don’t know what I’m Jillian Keenan: savagelovecast.com; mail@savagelove.net; despite not actually being what most consider to be old,” trying to ask other than whether this is normal.

Follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage said Arielle Scarcella, a popular lesbian YouTuber (youtube.

BRO OBSESSED OVER BUST SIZE com/Arielle) with more than 600,000 subscribers. “Back INFO@QCNERVE.COM when I was coming out in 2005, if a male person who lived as a man — a male who lived in such a way that he

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