FEBRUARY 21–27, 2018 I VOLUME 42 I NUMBER 8
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The Homeless Shuffle
St. Louis shut down the area’s shelter of last resort just in time for its worst winter in years. What could go wrong? DOYLE MURPHY
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PHOTO BY THEO WELLING
“I would like people to be less comfortable in ignorance. The whole ‘it doesn’t affect me, so I don’t have to think about it,’ it’s detrimental to our society. It’s not gonna help anything progress.”
—Eboni TurnEr, phoTographEd wiTh KylE hayEs afTEr angEla davis’ TalK aT sainT louis univErsiTy on fEbruary 14
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FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE
12.
The Homeless Shuffle
St. Louis shut down the area’s shelter of last resort just in time for the worst winter in years. What could go wrong? Written by
DOYLE MURPHY Cover by
NICK SCHNELLE
NEWS
ARTS
DINING
CULTURE
5
18
23
35
The Lede
Calendar
Your friend or neighbor, captured on camera
Seven days worth of great stuff to see and do
8
20
Immigration
Doyle Murphy checks in with Alex Garcia, whose support is growing while his sanctuary stay continues
8
Film
Robert Hunt admires A Fantastic Woman, while Megan Anthony writes about a local filmmaker who got the story by moving into a homeless camp
Racial disparities in lending in the St. Louis area are even worse than during the Jim Crow years, a report finds
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FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
36
Side Dish
Nowell Gata has put down roots in St. Louis and at Guerrilla Street Food
30
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Courts
Musician David Grelle’s supporters did everything they could after a brutal hit-and-run, but the judge still held the power
38
Out Every Night
Sarah Fenske visits the city’s first ciderworks, now open in Downtown West
The best concerts in St. Louis every night of the week
32
40
Chloe Yates of OSP Tap Haus takes a trip to Flavortown
With Annie Rice’s victory in a special election, the Democratic Party contemplates new rules for members who step out of line
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TV
Politics
Homespun
With Superheroes of Blackness, Lamar Harris goes black to the future
First Look
Investment
6
Cafe
Cheryl Baehr visits Cafe Piazza and finds an experienced restaurateur returning to his roots
This Just In
This week’s new concert announcements
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FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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NEWS
After Rice Win, Dems Ponder Loyalty Rules Written by
SARAH FENSKE
L
ast week, Annie Rice won a resounding victory, with nearly 60 percent of 8th ward voters choosing her to represent them on the city’s Board of Aldermen. But this weekend, the Democratic Central Committee’s agenda included a bylaw change directly aimed at punishing Rice’s supporters. If members approve the proposed amendments, anyone who “supports or endorses” candidates like Rice “shall be subject to censure.” Committee members who follow in Rice’s footsteps and run for office without the party’s blessing could face removal. The ugly situation says a lot about the mutinous mood — and old guard pushback — roiling the St. Louis Democratic Party these days. Progressives have taken aim at the Democratic establishment in recent years, winning some key victories (Bruce Franks Jr. for state rep) and coming tantalizingly close in others (Tishaura Jones for mayor). In St. Louis, it’s no longer enough to ask whether someone is running as a Democrat; the real question is whether they’re allied with the upstart progressive wing or the establishment one allied with the powers-that-be and the party’s longstanding donors (developers, lawyers, lobbyists). Rice’s victory was a big win for the progressives. A supporter of Black Lives Matter who publicly opposed a pay raise for police, Rice has fervent support within the movement. But not, as it turned out, among the establishment. Tasked with choosing the Democratic Party’s candidate to replace longtime Alderman Stephen Conway, the Central Committee had to choose between two of its own Continued on pg 10
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Alex Garcia is still hoping immigration officials will stay a deportation order. | DOYLE MURPHY
SUPPORT GROWS DURING SANCTUARY
A
lex Garcia, never a big fan of the spotlight, was the guest of honor last night at two parties. Friends and supporters held simultaneous dinners as fundraisers for the married father of five, who took sanctuary from immigration agents nearly five months ago in a Maplewood church. By moving into Christ Church, Garcia hoped to stop deportation — the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has a policy of not forcing arrests at sensitive locations like churches unless there is an emergency. The 36-year-old construction worker greeted guests in person at a Fat Tuesday potluck in Christ Church’s basement hall of Christ Church. He spoke via webcam to a second crowd gathered for a banquet with his family in Poplar Bluff near their home. “I could not do it without your support,” he said, sitting behind a laptop in the church hall. Quiet by nature, Garcia sees publicizing his situation as his best hope to persuade ICE to give him at least
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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a temporary reprieve from a deportation order. Officials previously granted two year-long stays but denied his request for 2017 when the Trump administration shifted enforcement priorities. They have also rejected subsequent petitions, including one signed by hundreds of people in Poplar Bluff. There is no court for Garcia to appeal to because ICE is technically enforcing a judge’s expulsion order from 2000, when Garcia was caught during a previous attempt to cross the border. The only avenues remaining are to return to his native Honduras for a minimum of ten years and reapply for entry, or persuade ICE to reverse its decision. The prospect of Garcia being separated for at least a decade from his wife and children — all American citizens — is the family’s nightmare. They have chosen a public path in hopes enough people will hear their story and ultimately appeal to ICE. Garcia was on the cover of the Riverfront Times in November and has since been interviewed, filmed and photographed in multiple stories by multiple media outlets. Tuesday’s dinners were both an opportunity to raise money while Gar-
cia cannot work and bring more even more attention to their situation. “What we’re doing is begging ICE to take mercy on this family,” says Garcia’s attorney, Nicole Cortés of the MICA Project in St. Louis. Cortés was in Poplar Bluff on Tuesday with Garcia’s family, Pastor Rebecca Turner of Christ Church and Sara John of the St. Louis Inter-Faith Community on Latin America, an activist organization assisting the family. They joined Garcia’s wife, Carleen, as she addressed both groups. “The letters, the prayers, everything,” she said, trying not to cry. “It’s all helped very much.” Carleen and the kids come to Maplewood to visit at least every other weekend. Otherwise, it is more like this, talking through a webcam in the evenings. On Tuesday, Garcia spent much of the night on the edge of the crowd, but he moved to front to speak through the computer. He smiled as his kids took turns in front of the camera. “There’s my boys,” Garcia said as his two oldest popped up on the screen stretched across a wall of Christ Church. “I love you guys.” —Doyle Murphy
STL Blacks Denied Home Loans Written by
DANNY WICENTOWSKI
COURTESY OF EHOC
A
new analysis of 31 million records covering “nearly every time an American tried to buy a home with a conventional mortgage in 2015 and 2016” adds to the evidence that the nation’s lending landscape is tilted along racial lines. According to the report, published last week by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, black applicants for mortgages in the St. Louis metro area were 2.5 times as likely to be denied a home mortgage as white applicants. That’s true for a broad swath of our region, with borders stretching in a roughly 60-mile radius around the city. And the pattern persists nationwide. The report argues that the trend in the racial home-ownership gap has taken a significant turn after years of apparent progress. While the gap shrunk after the 1970s, the recent housing crash seemed to turn back the clock. That gap, the report contends, “is now wider than it was during the Jim Crow era.” When it came to banks and financial institutions nationwide, nearly two-thirds denied home
loans for people of color at higher rates than for white people, though some were worse than others. That lending disparities follow racial lines isn’t a secret in St. Louis. Last year, the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment
Alliance partnered with the Washington, D.C.-based National Community Reinvestment Alliance to release their own findings on the lending disparities in predominantly black neighborhoods locally between 2012 and 2014.
Last week, along with the release of the Reveal report, the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance released an updated map of its own research — and the contrast separating where lending gets approved, and where it doesn’t, remains stark. In a statement released yesterday, Jackie Hutchinson, co-chair of the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance, emphasized that the lack of lending in predominately black neighborhoods is at a generational low. “We hope that this research is call to action that brings lenders, nonprofits and community leaders to the table for a real discussion about what needs to be done to create an equitable lending ecosystem in St. Louis,” she said. The challenge is how to actually do that. Earlier this month, city leaders participating in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities Initiative gathered with representatives in one of the city’s hardest-hit northern neighborhoods to workshop solutions to reverse the decade-long trends of disinvestment, poverty and crime. Patrick Brown, the city’s Chief Resilience Officer, noted that only one new home loan was approved in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood in 2017. The loan applicant was white. The Reveal report features an interactive map, which allows users to view lending data in their own neighborhoods. The report and map can be found online at revealnews.org. n
STREAK’S CORNER • by Bob Stretch
riverfronttimes.com
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
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ANNIE RICE Continued from pg 8 members — both Paul Fehler and Rice were elected to its membership by Democratic primary voters in August 2016. The committee chose Fehler, which both placed his name on last week’s special election ballot and let him run with a big “D” next to his name. Yet after the committee chose not to let Rice’s supporters speak at the meeting, she said, she decided to run anyway. She mounted a challenge as an independent, gathering sig-
natures to earn the right to enter the race. Last week, she won, and handily. But some longtime members of the Democratic committee found themselves in a sour mood even before her victory. Some of Rice’s most fervent supporters on the committee had refused to support Fehler even after he got the nod; they continued to campaign for Rice, even though she was challenging the party’s nominee as an independent. Their colleagues questioned why a Democratic elected official would challenge the party’s nominee — and
why other Democratic elected officials would openly campaign for her. The changes to the committee’s bylaws would allow that unhappiness to become discipline. The first new article that had been set for discussion on the February 24 agenda would create a mechanism for censuring any members who fail to toe the line. The second would create a path for censure and removal — and makes clear that “running for office in any capacity other than as a Democratic candidate” is enough to trigger a vote for removal. (The
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Under the bylaw proposal, members found in violation would lose the right to vote on the committee or even address it. current bylaws have no mechanism for censure and no mention of what happens if someone supports an independent, or runs as one.) In Rice’s case, removal would be a moot point. Now that she’s the newly elected alderwoman, she will be vacating her seat as committeewoman. (Ironically, it’s Fehler who will be tasked with choosing her replacement.) But censure could have real consequences for committee members who supported her. If the proposals are approved, members who backed Rice would be forced to defend themselves at an “administrative hearing.” If found in violation, they could lose the right to vote on the committee or even address it. “The majority vote of the officers will determine the severity and duration of the censure,” the proposed bylaw warns ominously, “but in no case shall the duration exceed six months.” That committee members — who are, after all, voted in by Democratic primary voters, not party bosses — must defend themselves against charges of impurity has drawn pushback. Marie Ceselski, the committeewoman for the 7th Ward and a Rice supporter, calls it the “great activist purge.” On Twitter, the always outspoken Ceselski also compared it, visually, to a garbage fire. Facing backlash over the proposals in light of Rice’s victory, the chairman of the committee, Bob Hilgemann, suggested last week to other media outlets that the amendments would be withdrawn. And on Monday, the meeting that had been scheduled for Saturday was canceled. “After discussion with a number of members of the by-laws committee and the Executive Board, the meeting will be rescheduled after the by-laws committee has a chance to reconvene to address some proposed changes,” the notice read. “The next meeting will be scheduled within the next few weeks.”n
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The Homeless Shuffle
St. Louis shut down the area’s shelter of last resort just in time for its worst DOYLE MURPHY winter in years. What could go wrong?
O
nly the top of the St. Louis skyline is visible from the collection of tents and homemade sheds huddled together on a slab of concrete just east of the Mississippi River. From here, on the edge of Illinois, inhabitants of the camp can see the smoke rise from the stacks of an old brick factory on the far banks. A slash of neon pink traces the outline of the Four Seasons Hotel in the Lumiere Place casino complex. And beyond the barren tree branches, the spidery trusses of the Martin Luther King Bridge point the way back, should they have any interest in going. The people here — most of them, anyway — have taken their turns sleeping in St. Louis’ streets and homeless shelters, and they have decided this is a better alternative. They at least know where they will be tonight. They will not be rousted out of their sleeping bags for violating a city curfew. They have no waiting lists to join, no hotlines to call. “You don’t have the people over there bugging you,” Will Painter, 45, says, nodding toward the far side of the river. St. Louis has in recent years tried to overhaul the way it coordinates services for people who are homeless. The goal is to shift so completely toward putting people in homes right away that only a
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small number of shelter beds will be necessary, and then only for short amounts of time. But while nearly everyone agrees that is the right direction, St. Louis has not proven capable of pulling off the arrangement yet. The coldest winter in years has combined with the forced closure of New Life Evangelistic Center, previously the city’s largest walk-up shelter, to overload the system with emergency cases. So far, at least two people have died in the cold — one in a dumpster and the other in the downtown porta-potty where he was apparently living. Concerned church leaders opened “pop-up shelters” to fill the gap. Weeks later, they continue to pack their halls night after night with folding cots. Some of their volunteers have not spent a night at home in weeks as they struggle to feed and house the overflow of people in need. For anyone not lucky enough to get into a city shelter, the pop ups can be a godsend, even if they sometimes end up across town from where they started. Otherwise, they find themselves sleeping outside or simply wandering until the sun comes up and they can try again. Robert Gibson, the founder of the camp near the river, is happy to be away from all of that. Two years ago, he and a friend were walking nearby when they spotted the slab through the trees. They cleared away the brush and debris
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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Robert Gibson started building a homeless camp two years ago on the east side of the Mississippi River after he got fed up with St. Louis. | NICK SCHNELLE until they had a clean flat space. Gibson, a former diesel mechanic, built a shed out of scavenged and donated plywood, siding the walls with roofing tiles. Other refugees from the city soon followed, until a half-dozen tents and hybrid wood-and-tarp structures appeared on the slab. A second, even larger camp sits back in the trees. A dirt footpath curves through the forest camp
around a series of plywood huts, one a communal kitchen where the residents cook, keep a pantry and sometimes hang out around a wood-burning stove. “I got tired,” Gibson says of his time in the city. “Every time you turned around there was a police officer saying, ‘We’ll throw your butt in jail for 48 hours.’” He is 58 years old and suffers from a bad heart. His “winter
beard” is in full effect, and he wears a T-shirt that says, “At my age I’ve seen it all; I’ve heard it all; I’ve done it all; I just can’t remember it all.” Between his camp and the one back in the trees, twenty or so people now live within the two communities. Many, like Gibson, have fled St. Louis in frustration. Dee Dunn, 50, says she lived with her son and daughter-in-law until the son “got a little violent with
me.” She slept on friends’ couches for a while but says she needed at least a temporary bed. “I called all the shelters in St. Louis, and they just kept giving me numbers and numbers — and they were the same numbers I was calling,” Dunn says. She eventually hopes to qualify for disability benefits and move into an apartment, but for now, the camp is home. Gibson clearly
prefers it out here to what he saw in the city, but he cuts through any “off the grid” romanticism. Living through a dangerous winter without reliable heat, power or even running water is treacherous, he says as he limps around below a sign that reads, “NO PLACE LIKE HOME.” Another camper tackled him into a pair of bicycles several weeks ago — what he says was the camp’s first dispute in two years riverfronttimes.com
— and cracked six of his ribs. His list of chores for the day includes finding fire wood; the pallets they were burning to keep warm are all gone. The weather is freezing even during the day. “You got to have it up here,” he says and points to his head. Then he points to his heart. “You got to have it in here, because you can die out here real easy.”
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
Continued on pg 14
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St. Louis is capable of ending homelessness. Talk to enough of the social workers, police officers and outreach workers who confront the problem day after day, and you will hear this. Every year, volunteers go out at 4 a.m. on a day in January and count as many homeless people as they can find. The 2018 numbers are not in yet, but a total of 1,336 were recorded in 2017. The majority are tallied at shelters and transitional housing, but about 140 of those are described as “un-sheltered” — basically, people found living on the streets. And while the count surely misses people who are couch surfing or hidden away from the volunteers in St. Louis’ warrens of vacant buildings, city officials say it suggests a number that is manageable. “We have the resources,” says Irene Agustin, the city’s director of human services. “We have the heart to do it, but we need to be coordinated.” The city is trying to centralize what has often been a cluttered, sometimes redundant collection of stand-alone services. The most visible part of that effort is Biddle Housing Opportunities Center on the north end of downtown. Opened in August 2016, it was designed to be not only a shelter but literally the front door to a network of services available through the city’s Continuum of Care, a partnership of more than 60 organizations that work against homelessness in myriad ways. The center is operated for the city by nonprofits St. Patrick Center and Peter & Paul Community Services, and the idea is for Biddle House’s 98 shelter beds to see less and less use as the service providers drain the need by rapidly moving people into permanent housing — or better yet, preventing them from becoming homeless at all with some well-timed, well-placed assistance. It is part of a “housing-first” model. In the past, people who were homeless might start on a multi-step path of programs with an end goal of landing an apartment or house. Housing-first moves finding a permanent home to the front of the path and then attempts to follow it with support services. Officials say it is much easier for someone to, say, follow a regimen of prescribed medications if they do not have to constantly
pack up everything they own and worry about where they will sleep each night. Across the country, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has pushed similar priorities by setting conditions on funding. An $11 million HUD grant funneled through the city and distributed by the Continuum is required to go toward permanent housing, not shelters. The problem is that St. Louis still needs shelters. That was made plain this winter, as people have massed outside of an overbooked Biddle House. On nights when the temperatures drop below 20 degrees (or 25 if there is snow or sleet), Biddle goes into emergency mode and sets up extra cots, doubling its occupancy to nearly 200. The volunteer St. Louis Winter Outreach program also kicks in, sending teams to scour the city in search of people they might coax inside or at least persuade to accept a few extra blankets. The city has partnerships with emergency shelters in churches and social organizations that open on those nights, too. All of that helps blunt the worst of the problem, but there are still plenty of frigid nights when temperatures are dangerously low but do not quite trigger the emergency measures. On those nights, Biddle has repeatedly turned people away after hitting capacity, leaving them to scramble for a bed elsewhere. Churches and a handful of freelance volunteers have taken it upon themselves to pick up people outside the shelter and shuttle them in vans and personal cars to anywhere that has an opening. One of those volunteers, Kimberly-Ann Collins, says there are nights when it is below freezing and 30 to 40 people are shut out. “The city is not taking accountability,” she says. “You see the residents, you see the community — we’re stepping up to take accountability.” Critics argue that the city might have better weathered this winter if it had not forced the Rev. Larry Rice to shut down New Life Evangelistic Center. The mammoth building at 14th and Locust streets offered more than 200 beds for men, women and families. And although many social workers questioned Rice’s methods and the shelter’s safety, they concede that in a storm, it was at least a port. New Life Evangelistic Center is now an empire in exile.
The Rev. Larry Rice was forced to shut down his shelter. Now he’s “homeless with the homeless.” | NICK SCHNELLE
With the church’s St. Louis headquarters locked in a seemingly endless legal battle with neighbors and the city, Rice and his followers convene every Friday morning at the base of City Hall — just below Mayor Lyda Krewson’s office window. They set up long folding tables and hand out bus tickets, along with clear plastic bags filled with sandwiches, cans of tuna and chips. “We’re homeless with the homeless,” Rice explains. “We’re out on the street with them.” At 9 a.m., it is fifteen degrees, and a line of 40 or so people snakes from the building’s steps to the sidewalk. The bus tickets are the main draw. A 30-minute walk on a day like today can be painful, and even if you have nowhere to go, the bus is at least a warm place to hang out for a while. Rice distrusts the Continuum of Care and has refused to join, frustrating a succession of city officials over the years. He says New Life’s building was targeted to clear the way for further gentrification of the surrounding neighborhood. The city says his building was unsafe — not to mention lacking permits — and neighbors blame him for lawlessness in encampments that once lined the sidewalks near his building. When New Life closed in April 2017, Rice predicted the ousted residents would flood downtown,
camping all over the place. The effect has not been quite that dramatic, but it is not invisible either. Rice points to the death of Grover Perry, a 56-year-old man found dead in December. The headline in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after his body was discovered read, “Homeless man dies in the downtown St. Louis port-a-potty where he was living.” There are some questions about whether another man later found dead in a dumpster was really living on the streets, but Perry was clearly homeless and in trouble. By most accounts, he was an alcoholic who had shrugged off offers of help, probably because he was mentally ill. “He would drink and holler and holler and holler,” one woman told the daily. “He’d just be screaming like he was tormented or something. I guess in the soul.” Rice says Perry had stayed at New Life and was one of dozens of people who struggled after it closed. Ray Redlich, the ministry’s soft-spoken vice president, says that in more than 40 years of outreach work, this is the first when he cannot tell people he has a warm bed for them. “This year, emotionally, it’s the hardest for me because of that tension,” says Redlich, who routinely travels the city and even into the
“Those groups that have stepped up over the winter have been awesome. What I would love to see is a more feasible plan for next winter.” Illinois camps, handing out sandwiches. “If I find someone who needs to come in, where do I take them?” If New Life was still open, maybe Perry would have gone there instead of the port-a-potty. Maybe he would not have. Humans are complicated. “I think the hardest part of all of this is homelessness is a really complex issue,” says Tammy Laws, chair of the Continuum, the consortium of groups that partners with the city. “I think there are a lot of folks out there who think we should just have a shelter for them or we should just do that, and the reality riverfronttimes.com
is we have to do all of it.” Striking the right balance between emergency shelters and plans for long-term fixes is particularly difficult. With the bulk of funding geared toward permanent housing, Laws says organizations that depend on those grants can be left with limited flexibility. That’s one reason the organization she works for, Gateway Housing First, accepts relatively little government funding. “That allows us to go to the bus stop and say, ‘Hey, do you feel like moving into an apartment? Let’s go see your apartment,’” she says. The housing-first model works, Laws says. But not every organization has the same flexibility, and this winter highlighted gaps that had to be filled by church leaders who moved rapidly to open their doors. “Those groups that have stepped up over the winter have been awesome,” Laws says. “What I would love to see — and we’ve talked to some of these groups already — let’s come to the table and come up with a more feasible plan for next winter.” Joel Mixon, his wife and their twelve-year-old son landed in the Carousel Motor Hotel on North Kingshighway Boulevard after an eviction. He says they were staying with a woman, paying rent to her, until one day she told them to keep an eye on the place while she went out of town for a few days. It was only when the landlord showed up that he realized she’d been pocketing the money and had skipped out ahead of the eviction. “The way she played me…,” Mixon says. A towering figure who goes by Slim, Mixon is wearing his work uniform from Bill & Dan’s Transmission Service under his sweatshirt. After a brief stay in the motel, he and his family moved into St. Peter AME Church in north city’s Penrose neighborhood. His wife had tried calling the city’s housing number, but they were told there was no room, he says. This is his first time being homeless. He plans to find a new place as soon as possible, and being able to save money instead of spending it on a motel should speed the process, he says. On a recent night, he and his family are among 45 people staying the night at St. Peter. “It’s all a blessing, regardless of what we’re going through,” he says.
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
Continued on pg 16
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Joel Mixon moved his family into a “pop up” shelter this winter at St. Peter AME Church in north St. Louis. | DOYLE MURPHY
THE HOMELESS SHUFFLE Continued from pg 15 Mixon’s family has its own room, but the majority of the men will help clear the floor of the church hall and arrange cots across the hardwood. The Rev. Steven Shepard opened the church in early January for the first time as an overnight shelter. Some nights, they have had almost twice as many people. Shepard captains the kitchen, turning out huge pans of chicken marsala, Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and salad for this evening’s dinner. For dessert, he makes bread pudding. Opening the church is the right thing to do, he says, but he is furious with what he sees as the city’s lack of support. In an open letter to Mayor Krewson, he writes, “Madam Mayor, it seems to me that your only concern for the people of this city is the gentrification and the economic prosperity of the central corridor in which you served as the alderperson. This becomes more apparent to me each day that you refuse to show-up at the churches that have opened their doors to house the ‘homeless’ in our city, a job that the city receives local, state and federal dollars to do.” Krewson did not respond to several requests for comment, though her office did connect the RFT with Agustin, the city’s human services director, to talk about the bigger picture. Agustin says that resources are limited and figuring out the best way to deploy them can be complicated. For example, some of the operators of the pop-up shelters have suggested the city help out with utility bills. Mandates on how the funding is used make that impossible, she says. “First of all, we can’t just give them the money,” she says. “And second, we have to see how it fits into the partnership.”
She praises the churches for getting involved but says now everyone needs to determine the best way to work together. That could mean instead of taking on the mammoth effort of running emergency shelters, churches might serve as a place to connect people with existing services. A number of the people arriving at the new shelters are there because their utilities have been shut off. Could the group work together to connect those people with heating assistance and keep them in their own homes? With the help of the Continuum, she hopes they can shift the mindset of providing services toward more lasting and efficient solutions. She is reviewing multiple ideas, including the feasibility of creating a respite center in the future. Still, she concedes the long, cold stretches this winter stressed the system, and that has “shined a light that on the street level more services are needed.” Pastor Michael Robinson of Destiny Family Church in the Greater Ville neighborhood has converted the day center he runs with Bridge of Hope into a night emergency shelter. He says the city should have seen the problems coming long before the freezing cold arrived. “They’re not prepared to handle that, and they’re being very slow at being prepared,” he says. The burden has taken a toll. At St. Peter, Shepard says their utilities have skyrocketed and some in his congregation have stayed to oversee the shelter every night since they opened on January 4. Robinson and his volunteer staff have been forced to close a couple of nights because all of them were sick with the flu. He understands there are restrictions on the money the city receives for homeless services, but he would like to see some of the same urgency and ingenuity
Outreach worker Alvin Ferguson of St. Patrick Center and St. Louis police Officer Larry Dampier work with the homeless every day. | DOYLE MURPHY
that is devoted to other projects deployed on behalf of people sleeping outside. “If you can create a funding structure for [Major League Soccer] and Amazon proposals, surely you can create a funding structure to take care of human beings,” Robinson says. Alvin Ferguson drives south, scanning the parks and bus shelters. “I sort of feel my way around the city,” he says. An outreach worker with the nonprofit St. Patrick Center, he has been doing this work for nearly eighteen years. His SUV is loaded with care packages, hats, gloves, hand warmers and even shoes. He is someone who believes St. Louis could wipe out homelessness with the right strategies and resources, but he also recognizes the sometimes maddening complexity of each person’s situation. As he reaches Soulard, he drives past temporary plywood counters set up in anticipation of Mardi Gras and makes his way to Soup Alley, literally an alley behind Trinity Lutheran Church where volunteers serve hot meals through a window like a pedestrian-friendly drivethru. A handful of men are milling around, and Ferguson pauses to check in with each one. He’s known some for nearly twenty years. He asks how they are doing, maybe
where they are staying and asks after other regulars who are missing today. Dennis, a charismatic “homeless farmer,” says he is going to have to have brain surgery, probably in the summer. “And you still want to be outside?” Ferguson asks. “It’s in my blood,” he replies. A man with long hair is facing into the church wall when Ferguson rolls up beside him. “Do you need any gloves?” Ferguson asks. The man turns when he sees who it is and begins to speak in formal, almost mechanical sentences: “I do possess some gloves, but at present they are not readily accessible.” Each interaction goes a little differently: Joke with some, cajole others and know when not to press too hard. The number of people who are chronically homeless in St. Louis may be small compared to other cities, but it can begin to seem large as Ferguson moves from one complicated universe to another. Police Officer Larry Dampier says Ferguson has taught him everything he knows about working with people who are homeless. He was first assigned to focus on the population six years ago. He began by dutifully writing bunches of “quality of life” summonses but quickly recognized that was not solving anything. “I realized I was dealing with the same population, sometimes the same person, two or three times a
week,” he says. A sergeant suggested he reach out to advocates and service providers. Most of the social workers were suspicious, given that many of their clients were routinely ticketed and jailed for offenses that amounted to not having a proper bathroom or a place to sleep at night. But Ferguson took Dampier under his wing, the two of them riding together night after night. Instead of writing tons of tickets, Dampier learned to ask people about their case workers or doctors and keep logs so that he would know who to call if he later found that person in crisis. His commander, Captain Renee Kriesmann in the city’s Fourth District, has a small unit of about a half-dozen outreach officers. All do the job their own way and have their own strengths, but she says Dampier stands out for his patience, experience and intense interest in working with people who are homeless. “Larry has the best qualities,” she says. “If I had six of Larry, it would be helpful.” Dampier and Ferguson are now like partners. They trade information about programs and available beds. “He says I’m more the social worker than he is now,” Dampier says. On this day, Ferguson is riding solo. After Soulard, he sweeps along the riverfront. Dozens of people riverfronttimes.com
used to live here in encampments until 2012 when the city bulldozed the shacks and tent sites. Now, it is mostly empty. He eyes the upper reaches of an overpass that people begging for money on the roadways above sometimes use as a hangout. He spies a neatly stacked pile of blankets on an abandoned loading dock, but whoever was sleeping there has already gone. By late morning, he is making another circuit through downtown when he passes the city morgue. “I got to deal with these guys, too,” he says. More times than he can remember. Right now, he has the funeral bulletin of a veteran he was working with clamped to the front of his clipboard. He has helped some people sort through all their paperwork for benefits only to learn they died within days of moving into a new apartment. Others die in the streets or go to the hospital and never return. “They tell you in those social work schools not to get your feelings involved,” he says. “I don’t know who wrote that.” Shortly before lunch, he drives along Martin Luther King Drive in north city’s Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood. He soon sees a man stop on the far side of an intersection, scoop up a flattened beer can and drop it in a bulging trash bag. “This guy might tell me to take a hike, but I’m going to approach him anyway,” Ferguson says. He whips a U-turn and pulls up alongside him. The man’s tan pants are shredded at the cuffs, and he’s wearing a pair of slides better suited to summer. “You need some shoes?” Ferguson asks. The guy says he does — size ten and a half. “Well, you might be in luck.” Ferguson roots around in the back of the SUV and finds a pair of sturdy low-tops with dark rubber soles and leather uppers. The man turns them over in his hands. “Oh, wow! Wow! These are awesome!” he says. Ferguson chats awhile about programs. Before the two part ways, Ferguson tells him to stop in at Biddle to get set up with some services. “I see a guy like hustling like that, I got nothing but respect for that,” Ferguson says as he drives away. It is almost noon, and the man is still on his mind as he steers the SUV past collapsing buildings and vacant houses. “That just made my whole morning,” he says, suddenly grinning. n “I’m good.”
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THURSDAY 02/22 Jeffrey Haas Fred Hampton was a rising star among black activists in the late 1960s. He was handsome, charismatic and level-headed when tempers frayed, and he was intelligent enough to know how to put those gifts to work for his community. Despite his calm demeanor and gift for forging peace between Chicago’s warring gangs, the police felt he was a threat. A squad of officers stormed Hampton’s apartment late one night with guns blazing — claiming the residents opened fire on them as soon as they announced they were police. And yet later investigations determined that while the police fired 99 shots, only one bullet was fired by a building resident, and that was by an associate of Hampton’s who’d been shot dead and reflexively squeezed the trigger. Jeffrey Haas was an attorney with the People’s Law Office at the time. At the request of Hampton’s fiancée, Haas and his partner spent years working to find proof that the police had killed a young black man in cold blood. Haas’ book The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther recounts the decade-long struggle to unearth the truth from years of official cover-ups and evasions. He reads from and signs copies at 7 p.m. tonight at Left Bank Books (399 North Euclid Avenue; www. left-bank.com). Admission is free, and only books purchased from Left Bank will be signed.
FRIDAY 02/23 The Unrepentant Necrophile Love is a strange force that can make people take desperate actions. In 1979, a young woman abducted the object of her affection and hid out with him for three 18
RIVERFRONT TIMES
Dorothy and friends go in search of the Wizard at the Fox Theatre this weekend. | © DENISE S. TRUPE
BY PAUL FRISWOLD days. It was a profoundly weird act, because he was dead when she met him and she stole his corpse out from under his own funeral. The outlandish true story of a mortician who really loved her work inspired the Coldharts (Nick Ryan and Katie Hartman) to create a punk-rock opera (with help from collaborator Mark Benzel) titled The Unrepentant Necrophile. It’s a gothic musical that deals with sexuality and consent through an exceptionally warped lens. Local theatrical collective YoungLiars hosts the Coldharts for a two-night run of their grisly musical. Performances take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (February 23 and 24) at the Centene Center for Arts and Education (3547 Olive Street; www. thecoldharts.com). Tickets are $20.
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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The Wizard of Oz Back when there were just three television channels, the Easter weekend broadcast of The Wizard of Oz was an annual event. It’s not quite Easter yet, but who cares? In St. Louis, the Wizard returns for one full weekend of shows, live on stage. The whole gang is here — the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, good old Lion — trying to help Dorothy (and Toto) get back to Kansas and win a heart, some brains and courage in the process. Howard Arlen’s great songs, the menace of the Wicked Witch of the West, the Munchkins — you know the story, and more than that, you love it. The Wizard of Oz is performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday (February 23 to 25) at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; www.fabulousfox.com). Tickets are $35 to $105.
SATURDAY 02/24 Basil Kincaid: Gates Quilting is viewed as an “old-fashioned” craft, which is a slightly more polite way of saying “unnecessary.” But quilts represent compassion, comfort and a connection to the old way of doing things. St. Louis artist Basil Kincaid taps into this heritage with his new exhibition, Gates. This site-specific piece comprises folk art, assemblage and performance as a means of opening a channel to Kincaid’s past and the collective past of everyone affected by the African diaspora. A gate is a passageway from here to there, from one side Continued on pg xx
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SUNDAY 02/25 The Dark Crystal Jim Henson took his Muppets into an epic battle between the forces of good and evil, and all it got him was a cult classic. His 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal features beautiful world-building, amazing sets and a likably dorky hero in main character Jen, a Gelfling who believes he’s the last of his kind. His master the Old One sends him out into the world to find the missing piece of the Dark Crystal, which could heal the schism between the evil Skeksis and the good Mystics and perhaps save
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to the other. Basil Kincaid: Gates is a physical representation of the crossing over from past to present, from traditional methods to modern art. Gates opens with a free reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, February 24, at Gallery 210 on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; www. umsl.edu/~gallery). The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday.
The long-running arts benefit Wall Ball returns for another year of fresh art, live music and food from 7 to 11 p.m. tonight at Third Degree Glass Factory (5200 Delmar Boulevard; www. artscopestl.org). It’s a simple process: People roam the building and watch local artists create a brand-new, one-of-a-kind piece of art right before their eyes. If you like it, put in a bid; if you’re not sure whether you like it, keep moving and check back on it later. Proceeds from Wall Ball benefit Artscope, the nonprofit arts organization in Tower Grove Park. Participating artists include Jeff Sass, Dr. Amber Johnson and Sukanya Mani, while 18andcounting provides the music. The St. LouisianaQ and Russo’s Truckatoria food trucks will be feeding the masses. Tickets are $40 to $70.
THUR. FEBRUARY 15
URBAN CHESTNUT PRESENTS backup planet Thur. February 22 Voodoo Players voodoo players FRI. february 16 10pm
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alligator wine February 22 dead TRIBUTEThur. TO the grateful Basil Kincaid opens a passage to the past with his new exhibition Gates. | BASIL KINCAID the world. Jen encounters strange creatures, a female Gelfling and more adventure than he thinks he can stand. Fathom Events gets this beloved film back in theaters for a limited run. You can see it locally at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday (February 25 and 28) at Marcus Theatres’ Ronnie’s Cinema + IMAX (5320 Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $12.50.
WEDNESDAY 02/28 St. Louis Blues In the old days of the NHL, the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings beat up on each other a halfdozen times a year, but no longer. The Red Wings were shunted into the Eastern Conference and now visit St. Louis infrequently. There were years when these teams
skated down each other’s throats, trying to settle old slights and prolong grudges — there’s nothing like honest hatred on the ice. Now the two teams are strangers with only professional dislike separating them. Ah, well. We still have the Blackhawks to loathe, those scum. The mediocre Red Wings take on the valiant Blues at 7 p.m. tonight at Scottrade Center (1301 Clark Avenue; www.stlblues.com). Tickets are $41 to $185.
9pm PRESENTS URBAN CHESTNUT
alligator wine TRIBUTE TO the grateful dead 9pm
Planning an event, exhibiting your art or putting on a play? Let us know and we’ll include it in the calendar section or publish a listing on our website — for free! Send details via e-mail (calendar@riverfronttimes.com), fax (314-754-6416) or mail (308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103, attn: Calendar). Include the date, time, price, contact information and location (including ZIP code). Please submit information three weeks prior to the date of your event. No telephone submissions will be accepted. Find more events online at www.riverfronttimes.com.
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FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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FILM
Orlando and Marina (Francisco Reyes and Daniela Vega) are a couple until tragedy strikes. | MICHELLE BOSSY, COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS [REVIEW]
Lady Is a Champ Daniela Vega’s star-making turn in A Fantastic Woman shows us a heroine with courage under pressure Written by
ROBERT HUNT A Fantastic Woman
Directed by Sebastián Lelio. Written by Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza. Starring Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes and Luis Gnecco. Opens Friday, February 23, at the Landmark Tivoli Theatre.
T
here may be a double meaning in the title of Sebastián Lelio’s new drama. From one point of view, Lelio’s heroine, Marina (Daniela Vega), lives up to the title, displaying considerable courage under pressure. From another 20
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view, “fantastic” can mean unbelievable or even a bit unreal. I don’t think Lelio is endorsing that slightly more pejorative description, but the ambiguity of the title is a reminder that not every character in his film is prepared to accept Marina as openly or charitably as the first meaning would suggest. Lelio begins his film by slowly and casually introducing Marina, a waitress and singer currently living with a considerably older man. After a romantic night out, her partner Orlando (Francisco Reyes) wakes up in the middle of the night feeling ill and then collapses. In what seems like just minutes later, after rushing him to a hospital, Marina is told that Orlando has died. Those events are essentially a prologue to the rest of A Fantastic Woman, which becomes a story about Marina’s grief, filtered through the sudden hostility of Orlando’s family and, by extension, society itself. Though nothing up to this point has directly addressed the subject (or tried to disguise it, for that matter), Marina is a transgender woman, comfortable with her sexual identity but suddenly
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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treated like an anomaly by the rest of the world. For much of the first half hour, Marina’s sexual identity is almost irrelevant — you could almost miss the sole reference to it when a policeman switches pronouns in the middle of a conversation. Lelio doesn’t treat it as a titillating plot twist or sudden shock. It becomes an issue not for Marina, but solely for other characters who can’t accept it. That sense of avoidance — or perhaps deference — is deliberate. When the subject is forced, as when Marina is subjected to a physical examination, we share the sense of awkwardness and embarrassment, as if her very identity was being challenged. More than anything else, A Fantastic Woman is a tour de force for Daniela Vega, whose subtly charismatic performance shapes the entire film. (Next month Vega will become the first transgender presenter at the Academy Awards.) Her creation of Marina is not autobiographical, but it’s obviously personal. She’s on screen for almost every minute, so the viewer has no choice but to observe closely, to
see how she defines herself. Every dramatic moment and every relationship is defined by how Marina fits in. Vega lets us understand her defensiveness, her sense of being an outsider, but also her self-assuredness. She understands the importance of an image and keeps control over her own. Though there’s not a trace of exploitation to the film, director Lelio is not above adding a playful touch to a film that avoids melodrama and even hovers close to noir. (Is it stretching a point to see the name of Marina’s partner as a nod to Virginia Woolf’s famously gender-fluid hero/ ine?) Mirrors and multiple images remind the viewer of the changing nuances of gender identity; there’s even a crucial scene where Marina has to pass herself off as a man. Lelio chooses his images carefully, but with a respectful sense of fascination for both character and actress. Gender is a source of conflict in A Fantastic Woman, but only for those who choose to be judgmental. Lelio addresses the conflict, but his film is no polemic. It’s a celebration of a strong character and of an equally powerful performer. n
[FILM STORIES]
They Called It Tent City Written by
MEGAN ANTHONY
T
ucked away on the banks of the Mississippi River, in the shadows of the Edward Jones Dome, once sat Tent City. The little-known homeless community existed in St. Louis from 2010 to 2012. Now filmmaker Paul Crane has captured the day-to-day lives of residents and volunteers in his documentary Living in Tents, set to premiere this week at the Tivoli Theatre. Like most people who live in St. Louis, Crane had never even heard of Tent City until he came across it while driving around. “You had to know about it to get there,” says Crane of the camp. The Olivette native had been looking for places to capture for a photography class he was taking at St. Louis Community College; instead, he found a subject for his first feature film. In fact, Crane was so captivated by the camp’s stories that he actually moved in himself part time in January 2011, hoping unfiltered access would help him capture the lives of its residents. Having just started out in filming, Crane says he was a little naive when the project began. “I was eager to have the experience, but I wouldn’t do it again,” he says. Still, he credits the experience for opening his eyes to issues surrounding mental health and the programs the city has to help homeless individuals — even as it made him question the idea of homelessness in general. Living in Tents follows five residents and two volunteers of Tent City, which was founded after its residents were kicked out of a different encampment in a railroad tunnel. The homeless community in the camp was very much that — a community. “The community aspect is really what made it desir-
Frankie, a resident of Sparta, walks back to the encampment after a trip downtown. Filmmaker Paul Crane was embedded in the camp. | PAUL CRANE able,” says Crane, who is now 34. For him, the camp was filled with “good vibes,” and for the most part, people were friendly. During its two-year existence, Tent City was an experiment in self-governing and alternative lifestyles. Three smaller, separate camps made up the city, each with a person seen as its leader while others pitched in with various tasks to help keep their camp running. Crane spent most of his time in the camp known as Sparta, and found that many who lived there preferred this style of living to being on the streets or in homeless shelters. In fact, many did not just prefer it, but had chosen it. Crane met one resident who had moved into an apartment, but not too soon after was back on the streets. The film raises a surprising question: Does society need to rethink the idea of homelessness as a problem? And are there other ways to help those who choose to live differently than we do? As for the volunteers helping the camp, they not only brought supplies but also provided companionship that connected the residents to the rest of society. In the trailer for the film, a resident named Blake describes two of the volunteers as mother and father figures.
Camp residents find a way to stay cool. | PAUL CRANE “People are not surviving on their own,” says Crane of Tent City’s denizens — something that became more evident as the years passed. While things started off well enough, Tent City was plagued with problems. Crane describes it as self-imploding, saying that crime and violence began to occur more often. When the city shut down the camp in 2012, it was easy to assume that was the reason, although Crane claims city leaders were always intent on putting a stop to it. However, the city did not simply kick out the residents. Instead they raised enough private money to put riverfronttimes.com
everyone up in an apartment for a year. Although intentions were good, Crane says he is aware of very little, if any, job training. Crane kept up with a few of the residents after the encampment was closed and says it’s interesting to see who went back to streets. He wonders how much good moving them out of their chosen lifestyle accomplished. Living in Tents offers an in-depth look at homelessness in St. Louis, letting viewers get to know people they might rather look past. The film will screen at the Tivoli at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 22. It is a free event, but donations of socks, shoes, hand warmers and other necessities are appreciated. n
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CAFE
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[REVIEW]
Straight Out of Sicily With Café Piazza, an experienced restaurateur returns to his roots Written by
CHERYL BAEHR Café Piazza
1900 Arsenal Street; 314-343-0294; Mon.-Thurs. 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 9 a.m.midnight; Sun. 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
V
ito LaFata III wants to capture Sicily in a box. Though his first restaurant, Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria & Ristorante, has become an institution in its 23 years of existence, the second-generation pizzaiolo just doesn’t feel it fully encapsulates what it’s like to be on the island off Italy’s boot. The hustle and bustle of casual cafes, the banter with world-class bullshit artists preparing pizzas in open kitchens, the coffee, gelato and sense of community — he may have nailed the food at Vito’s, but the Sicilian spirit, at least in his mind, has proven more elusive. Café Piazza is his answer to this, a love song both to his family’s Sicilian homeland and his father, whose pizza shop in Gaslight Square in the 1960s was even more famous for the way its owner remembered each customer’s order than its delicious pizza. LaFata grew up watching his dad, awestruck by the way he interacted with his customers. It was the part of the business he loved most, and the part that got away from him while running his successful Midtown restaurant. There, he does the bookkeeping, the bill-paying and the human resources — the drudgery, not what inspired him to open a restaurant in the first place. After visiting the old country a few years back, LaFata left reinvigorated and determined to reclaim his passion. To do this,
Cafe Piazza’s highlights include (clockwise from top) the “Il Paesano” pizza, baked goat cheese dip, chicken pesto pizza and arancini. | MABEL SUEN he decided to open a place that would embody the spirit of a Sicilian piazza, a gathering place for neighbors to convene over food and drinks. But though he knew exactly what he wanted to create, he kept hitting stumbling blocks. He eventually tabled his idea, taking a detour into the prepared foods market to produce his mother’s red sauce, Mama’s Sugo, for distribution. Things finally came together when LaFata found out that the building at the corner of Lemp and Arsenal in Benton Park was becoming available. He partnered with his sous chef at Vito’s, Tim Meinecke, and got to work gutting the space and turning it into a combination sit-down cafe (Café Piazza) and a fast-casual takeout spot (Café Piazza Now). Originally, LaFata had intended for the fast-casual side to be the business, as he wanted a concept that could be replicated elsewhere. That changed when he met graffiti artist Paco Rosic, whose claim to fame was painting a graffiti-influenced, trompe l’oeil-style replica of the Sistine Chapel in his parents’ Iowa
restaurant. LaFata hired him to do the artwork for Café Piazza and was so impressed with the results that he decided the entire concept had to change. The ceiling mural depicting aspects of St. Louis history from Lewis and Clark to the Clydesdales was such an interesting conversation piece he felt it deserved a more formal setting — a place where strangers dining together could discuss it and find a sense of community. In other words, exactly the Sicilian experience he had been hoping to capture all along. LaFata did not throw out the fast-casual idea altogether. Instead, he opted for a two-restaurants-in-one concept, with one side of the building for takeout, quick meals ordered at the counter and a forthcoming housemade gelato counter called Café Piazza Now. He dedicated the other side to the sit-down Café Piazza. The two entities share a kitchen, menu and wall, but not the room; you have to exit one to get to the other. Stepping inside, it’s no wonder LaFata felt the room with the artwork deserved more than a riverfronttimes.com
fast-casual counter. Rosic’s mural is indeed impressive, taking up the entire Café Piazza ceiling with all of its vivid and colorful detail. The painting spills onto the whitewashed walls, with various portraits providing a street-art take on St. Louis luminaries. Even the bar carries the theme: Rosic’s discarded spray-paint cans are built into the bottom of the bar near the foot rest. The bar takes up almost the entire length of the space; the rest is filled with metal tables and chairs that allow the room’s colors to bounce off them. The bulk of Café Piazza’s menu is made up of pizzas, courtesy of the massive, four-ton deck oven nicknamed “Big Mamma” that serves as the restaurant’s workhorse. The searing hot, wood-fired behemoth allows the thin-crust pies to crisp up and get little specks of char around the edges — not quite as extreme as a Neapolitan pie, but approaching it. In that sense, the Margherita is inspired by, not a replica of, the quintessential Naples pizza. A simple crushed tomato sauce coats the dough, which is topped
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
Continued on pg 24
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CAFE PIAZZA Continued from pg 23
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with mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. More like the hybrid of a New York-style slice and a classic Margherita, it may not be traditional, but it is solid. Bucking tradition entirely, the “Bogart’s BBQ Pizza” is one of Café Piazza’s standouts. A welcome change from the ubiquitous barbecue chicken pizza, this version features succulent pulled pork atop sweet, molasses-y barbecue sauce from local Bogart’s Smokehouse and just a touch of mozzarella cheese. Unlike chicken, the pork stays tender and juicy when cooked, giving this the feel of a mouthwatering pulled-pork sandwich in pizza form. A handful of pizzas, though tasty, did not come out as advertised. The “Prosciutto & Arugula” was supposed to pair uncooked prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and white-balsamic-tossed arugula on a simple sauce-less crust, brushed with olive oil. Instead, the base was covered with tomato sauce, muddying the delicate flavor of the ham. It was inoffensive, but would have been better as described.
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Likewise, I expected the “Quattro Formaggi” to be in the style of a traditional Italian four-cheese pizza: all cheese, no sauce. This, too, had a tomato-sauce base. Though I cannot vouch for how it would have turned out without this addition, it was welcome, if not unexpected. The simple, rustic sauce marries smoked scamorza mozzarella, fontinella mozzarella and shaved parmesan for the cheese pizza of your dreams. If this was an accident, may accidents keep happening. The Sicilian-style pizzas are thick and square-cut — and represent the best of Café Piazza. Though it sounds straightforward, the “Traditional Sicilian” dazzles with its lightly spiced and herbaceous chunky tomato sauce and molten mozzarella that melds into the focaccia-like crust so that it’s hard to say where one ends and the other begins. The marriage of crust, sauce and cheese is simple yet heavenly. The same preparation serves as the base for the Sicilian-style “Il Piesano,” although on this version, prosciutto, marinated portabella mushrooms and ricotta are added. As with the thin crust
“Prosciutto & Arugula,” I would have preferred a white sauce for the preparation. The red sauce proved just too heavy for the prosciutto, and its delicate flesh shriveled like the skin of a lifelong sunbather in the searing hot oven. Compared to the “Traditional Sicilian,” the additional ingredients were unnecessary. Though pizza is the focus, Café Piazza’s sandwiches are solid, reminiscent of the sort of East Coast Italian fare you’d find in a New Jersey diner. Both the chicken parmigiana and meatball sandwiches are exemplary: gooey melts of cheese, meat and tomato sauce in crusty bread, the sort of pure, simple comfort you expect from the genre. There were a few misses in the appetizer department, though. “Gus’ Prosciutto Pretzel,” a nod to Café Piazza’s neighbor, tasted stale and bland. The panzanella, a traditional version of the Italian bread salad, tasted fine enough, in the sense that a sweet Italian salad you get on the Hill is fine enough. However, there was more lettuce than bread, making it seem more like a salad with a lot of croutons rather than a true
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Paco Rosic’s vibrant ceiling mural helped change the restaurant’s concept. | MABEL SUEN bread salad. And the chili was simply quizzical. On one occasion, it was a rich, beefy ragout, flecked with Italian spices — so hearty, you could eat it with a fork. It was so delicious, I ordered it on a second occasion, only to be disappointed with a thin, liquidy dish of soup overwhelmed by Tabasco. The inconsistency was confusing. Arancini, however, made up for just about every misfire. The fried rice balls, a Sicilian mainstay, are perfection of the style: perfectly round spheres of rice, breaded, fried and served with a beefy tomato sauce. These alone are worth a trip to Café Piazza. It might be a lengthy trip, however. On one of my visits, Café Piazza clearly had some flow-ofservice issues. The three pizzas we’d ordered arrived one at a time, with significant delays between them. Though we had planned on trading pieces amongst ourselves, we were forced into an outright sharing arrangement, lest several guests eat while the others waited. Appetizers took a while, too. Our server was polite and apologetic, but it seemed like something was off in the kitchen.
LaFata seems to be aware of this, likening Vito’s to a grown, self-sufficient child and Café Piazza to a fussy newborn that requires you to remain in near-constant crisis mode. And his business model is ambitious. Though my visits were limited to Café Piazza’s dinner service, the restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch as well. Likewise, the fast-casual Café Piazza Now is an additional car in the train he is driving. LaFata is a well-seasoned restaurateur, and I’d place my bet on anyone who knows how to make arancini like Café Piazza’s. I’m hopeful that he and his crew will get their feet under them and deliver a solid neighborhood pizzeria. In the meantime, though, is there really all that big of a hurry? Sitting amongst friends with the wine and conversation flowing while listening to the banter of the bartenders and soaking in the awe-inspiring artwork, Café Piazza is doing its job if it gets us to slow down a little — just like they do in the old country. n
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SHORT ORDERS
[SIDE DISH]
From Manila, He’s at Home in St. Louis Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
N
ow that he is cooking Filipino food professionally as executive chef at the forthcoming Grove location of Guerrilla Street Food (4104 Manchester Avenue), Nowell Gata feels much closer to his mom. In fact, he finds himself calling her every day for advice. “It’s incredibly cute to her,” Gata laughs. “I call her every day and ask for her advice and what to do with different ingredients, like bitter melon. She likes to remind me how much I hated it when I was a kid and that she used to punish me by making me eat it.” Gata may not have liked bitter melon, but he soaked up just about every other aspect of Filipino cooking when he was a kid. Born in Manila to Filipino parents from different parts of the country, Gata grew up eating what he describes as the “entire Filipino flavor profile.” Gata would continue to feast on his mother’s homemade Filipino cuisine even after his family left Manila. His parents’ jobs in the Air Force took them all over the world — but no matter where they lived, his mom’s cooking was their connection to their home country. But Gata didn’t limit himself to what he knew. He would acclimate to new places by exploring the local food culture. Those explorations ignited a passion for different types of global flavors, though he wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the local eats when he arrived in Mascoutah, Illinois, at age fourteen. “I went from Tokyo to a cornfield in the middle of Illinois,” Gata recalls. “It was complete culture shock. Up until two years ago I couldn’t find good ramen in the area. I didn’t know what to do.” 28
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A military brat, Nowell Gata traveled the world before landing in Metro East and, ultimately, Guerrilla Street Food. | AMY DONKEL Gata remained in the St. Louis area after high school, attending Fontbonne University for journalism. After graduation, he traveled the world as a freelance writer, then returned to town to take a job with Yelp as the company opened its St. Louis market. “I don’t like to tell people that,” Gata laughs, hinting at the site’s controversial reputation amongst restaurant owners. “But it put me in every restaurant around town. I realized that it would make me a better expert if I went into the kitchen, so I got a job working at the Vine on South Grand.” Gata may have started at the Mediterranean restaurant to enhance his job at Yelp, but he soon found that he had both a passion and a knack for cooking. He came on full time at the Vine, eventually becoming a baker and ultimately kitchen manager. To further his newfound career, he enrolled in culinary school at St. Louis Community College–Forest Park and eventually found himself in the food truck business, working for Completely Sauced. Gata met Brian Hardesty and Joel Crespo of Guerrilla Street Food
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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during his time with the truck and was instantly blown away by their concept because it showcased the food he grew up with. “They were the competition,” he says. “But I remember thinking, ‘Man, if they can pull off doing Filipino food, they can pull off anything.’” Gata kept in touch with Hardesty and Crespo as he worked in a variety of kitchens around town: the Restaurant at the Cheshire, Seven Gables Inn, Baileys’ Restaurants, Winslow’s Home and Tin Roof. When the Guerrilla Street Food team was putting on a dinner featuring several of the area’s Filipino chefs, they reached out to Gata to see if he was interested. That’s where things clicked. “We had so much fun together,” Gata says. “It was like working with old friends, because, really they are old friends. They liked how I worked and what I put out, and when they needed a guy who could be their chef to hop into any kitchen and help out, they knew I’d have their back.” Hardesty and Crespo tapped Gata to be the executive chef of the Grove location of Guerrilla Street Food, which will open sometime later
this year. Though he is comfortable around the kitchen and has eaten his fair share of Filipino food, this is the first time that Gata has cooked it professionally — and he is relishing every minute of it. “I ask myself every day, ‘How do I make this fun, and in a Filipino format?’” he says. “This is a reconnection to my past, and a reconnection to all the people in my life who have cooked for me.” Gata took a break from the kitchen to share his thoughts on the St. Louis food-and-beverage scene, his love of slingers and St. Paul sandwiches, and why he’d love to see a revolution in the way we feed our kids. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they knew? I’m big into martial arts, primarily Brazilian jiu jitsu and boxing. What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Seeing my family before leaving for work. Making a daily meaningful connection with my wife and son is a top goal for the day. And coffee. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Teleportation, so Continued on pg 32
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[FIRST LOOK]
St. Louis Gets a Ciderworks Written by
SARAH FENSKE
A
t Brick River Cider Co. (2000 Washington Boulevard), the new ciderworks that opened last Friday in Downtown West, you can get a beer and a burger, a glass of wine and a New York strip. You can even get a Jack and Coke, if you’re so inclined. But if you’re going to come here — and you really should come here — you ought to try the cider. This is the first ciderworks in St. Louis, and it’s doubling down on the hard cider that’s captivated the coasts. The staff at Brick River isn’t just making enough of the fermented beverage for the four taps on site. It’s also filling kegs, cans and bottles, with an aim of supplying retailers and bars across the region. Brick River is the brainchild of Russ John, who moved here from Boston five years ago when his wife, Sharon Price John, was hired as CEO of Build-A-Bear. Russ John’s family has long owned a farm in Elmwood, Nebraska, which is closer to St. Louis than it sounds (it’s a 90-minute drive north of Kansas City). They have a long history of dabbling in cider. “There’s some cider my grandfather made during Prohibition that we’ve still got,” John says. Not that he’s planning to open the bottle anytime soon, he adds. “It’s a better story than it would be to drink; it’s probably a bottle of vinegar by now. But it was originally a bottle of cider.” When John sold his business — a children’s retailer in Boston — he found himself with the free time and funds to pursue cider dreams of his own. The vast majority of the apples used at Brick River don’t come from his family’s farm, as he hastens to explain. But he’s able to use his acreage to grow the apples that are otherwise hard to source locally. Brick River acquires the rest from other Midwestern orchards. As John explains it, cider has a glorious history in the U.S. — before Prohibition, it was more popular than beer, in part because it was easier to store. But when tem-
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Brick River currently has four ciders on tap; try one or order a flight to learn more about your cider preferences. | SARAH FENSKE perance advocates burned down cider orchards, the industry never recovered. With refrigeration making beer an increasingly easy proposition, America moved on. That is, until recently. Some analyses have the hard-cider industry even outpacing craft beer, and that’s something John hopes to take advantage of locally. He and his crew are currently offering four ciders: Homestead, an unfiltered, easily accessible style; Cornerstone, a crystal-clear, effervescent style that may remind you of ciders you’ve quaffed in New England; Firehouse Rose, an off-dry cider infused with sour cherry and hibiscus that will be pleasing to wine drinkers; and Brewer’s Choice, a cider that’s made with hops for a lightly hoppy taste. There’s also a non-alcoholic apple soda for kids. Just like a brewpub, Brick River makes its product in the same building where it’s running a full-service restaurant. After pondering any number of impractical locations, John ended up choosing an old city fire station at Washington Avenue and 20th Street as the ciderworks’ home. It was a mess when he got it — the windows had been bricked over, and the place largely used for storage. But after extensive renovations, it’s looking terrific. The bones of the fire station are now more visible than they’ve been in years — look at the ceiling near the bar and you can see where the poles were. And now the place is filled with light, with huge windows overlooking Washington.
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The second floor has a high ceiling and large windows overlooking the street. | SARAH FENSKE Black-and-white photos from the Missouri Historical Society provide the main decoration. The first floor serves as something of a tasting room, with long communal tables and high-tops along with a bar overlooking the ciderworks. Upstairs is the dining room — a large, high-ceilinged space with a terrific view of the cityscape. There’s room to seat 120. And for those diners, there’s a full menu. You can order shareables and flatbreads, salads and soups, or choose from a half-dozen sandwiches (cider-braised pork makes an appearance, as does a grilled cheese-and-apple sandwich). If you’re ready to really dig in, the trout is a house specialty. Or try the pork Normandy, with pork shoulder and apples braised in, yes, cider and served with Swiss chard.
The ciderworks has been making its product since October, but it’s more recently that the kitchen staff has been in place and readying for customers. After a few days of hush-hush soft openings, John was feeling optimistic last Thursday as he looked ahead to the real deal — with his eye on the most important thing. “The cider’s good, the cider’s ready,” he says. “The kitchen would like to have another month to get ready. But I could feed half of St. Louis with the food they’d be practicing on in that time.” Why not open instead? For now, Brick River is open from 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. n
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NOWELL GATA Continued from pg 28
[ T V S TA R S ]
I can travel everywhere. What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year? An increasing voice in ethnic-influenced restaurants. It’s exciting to see more Asian and Latin restaurants not only thriving, but expanding and raising the bar on cuisine. What is something missing in the local food, wine or cocktail scene? As a parent, there needs to be a serious, sweeping change in how our children are fed in school. Appreciation for good, real food should start at a young age. I think it would be a good idea for St. Louis restaurants to chime in on local school menus in a fresh way, as well as put out kids’ menus that aren’t frozen chicken strips. Who is your St. Louis food crush? The person running To Go Sushi, the drive-thru sushi place in Brentwood. Much respect! Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene? Rob Connoley at Squatter’s Cafe. He does good things, boldly. Which ingredient is most representative of your personality? Coconut milk. High-five to anyone who figures that out! If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? I’d split my time teaching jiu jitsu and surfing. Name an ingredient never allowed in your restaurant. Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. What is your after-work hangout? The gym, or Fortune Teller Bar. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? I have an infatuation with slingers and St. Paul sandwiches. What would be your last meal on earth? Ginger-scallion lobster, Mama’s lumpia and a pint of Civil Life Brown. n
A Trip to Flavortown Written by
HAYLEY ABSHEAR
C
hloe Yates has never been to culinary school. In fact, the St. Louis chef’s background is in the medical field. But when she got a call to be on Flavortown Mayor Guy Fieri’s show Guy’s Grocery Games, she could not say no. “I thought my boss was calling me, joking with me,” Yates says. “I didn’t take it seriously at first.” Months later, Yates was standing with three other top chefs from around the country inside a Santa Rosa, California, grocery store. They had just 30 minutes to grab grocery foods, cook with them and serve a dish up hot before their time was up. Each round got progressively more difficult with games and obstacles. “It was very nerve-wracking and exciting,” Yates says. “I felt like a fish out of water.” Still, Yates is no kitchen naif. Just shy of two years ago, the St. Louis native found herself dying of boredom and desperate for something new. She called up her friend who owns Oakville Sports Pub and offered to work in the kitchen there. Now, she has been a chef at the bar’s sister establishment, OSP Tap Haus (6346 Telegraph Road, 314-293-9642), for the past year and a half. Yates, 30, owes her TV stardom to her personal Instagram, where she posts photos and descriptions of the special dishes she makes.
Chloe Yates of OSP Tap Haus, far left, is now a TV star. | COURTESY OF CHLOE YATES
“I grew up on the Food Network, so the whole thing was an out-ofbody experience.” The show found her, liked her stuff and reached out to her. Next thing she knew, she was on a plane to California to film an episode. The episode, called “Clash of the Classics,” first aired on the Food Network last month. Yates had a viewing party in the OSP
Tap Haus with her friends and coworkers. “They are like family to me,” Yates says. “I grew up on the Food Network, so the whole thing was an out-of-body experience.” The winner of the show scores $20,000. Yates didn’t win, but says she wasn’t in it for the money. “I didn’t wanna go home,” Yates said. “It was the best experience of my life.” Apparently, Guy Fieri was great too. Yates says the show’s staffers called him the “kitchen angel” because he was always there if you need him. “He was nicer than I could ever imagine him to be,” Yates n says.
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CULTURE
35
[HOMESPUN]
Black to the Future Lamar Harris’ multimedia show Superheroes of Blackness mixes Afrofuturism with the world of comic books Written by
CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER Superheroes of Blackness
7:30 p.m. Friday, February 23, and 6:30 p.m. Saturday, February 24. .ZACK, 3224 Locust Street. $20. 314-533-0367.
A
ll the best superheroes have alter egos, another facet that adds humanity to their heroic personae. Mild-mannered Clark Kent labored as a gumshoe reporter when he wasn’t leaping tall buildings as Superman. Bruce Wayne could, depending on his mood, operate as the dashing playboy or brooding humanitarian when he was out of his bat-suit. Being able to take off the mask is as important as the willingness to put it on in the first place. Lamar Harris knows the value of the alter ego: By day, he’s an in-demand trombonist, educator and musical director, leading his own combos in gigs at Jazz at the Bistro or coordinating music for public events such as Shakespeare in the Streets. By night, he steps behind the decks and transforms into DJ Nune, putting funk, soul and hip-hop into the blender and letting his mix liven the pulse of the party, be it at regular gigs at Lumiere Place or private functions, weddings and corporate events. His latest project, though, will merge both of his musical personae. He’s the brains behind Superheroes of Blackness, a multimedia experience taking place over two performances this weekend at the .ZACK theater in Midtown. Not quite a musical and not quite a concert, Harris has taken to calling Superheroes a “digital,
Lamar Harris, also known as DJ Nune, wears many hats in the local music scene. | VIA ARTIST WEBSITE theatrical, musical experience.” For a musician who rarely stands still for long, it’s a fitting mishmash of genres and narratives. “It’s kind of a mixture of Afrofuturism, but at the same time it’s an exploration of African American superheroes you would never think of,” Harris says of the show, expounding on lesser-known heroes like Blue Marvel and one of the earlier incarnations of Captain Marvel. And as the season’s biggest superhero movie Black Panther was on the cusp of its release, Harris notes the synchronicity, but says that he aims to dig deeper into black identity and how it has been portrayed on the page. “Black Panther is dope, and I’m glad to see that they’re finally doing it the way they should be, out of the comics,” says Harris. His show is both focused on telling its own narrative while highlighting other, lesser-known black superheroes from throughout comics’ history. “There’s a whole ’nother type of narrative. We’re trying to explain some of this stuff but also just feature some of these characters.” Like many of the best superhero stories, Harris’ production is no
mere diversion from real-world problems. “The twist we’re dealing with in this particular production is that we’re dealing with a lot of real issues, too,” he says. “The scene is set in 2609, so we’re jumping back in time. The main character, LJay, who is artificial intelligence, is traveling back in time to deal with a lot these issues that are affecting her timeline. We’re dealing with murder, homicide, sex trafficking, food deserts, miseducation — you name it, we’re tackling it.” Harris sought assistance on many elements of the show, from script-writing to stage direction to set design. The music, though, retains some of his signature sounds — a mix of horn-fired soul and jazz with elements of hip-hop and beat-oriented music as well. “It’s all over the place. Some of my original stuff, it’s weird as it is sometimes — it has its own weird little space. It’s kind of an expansion on my sound a little bit more,” Harris says. A few weeks before the show’s debut, he was still arranging parts and players, but he plans to include musicians from across St. Louis’ many scenes, including soul-pop singer riverfronttimes.com
Paige Alyssa, jazz trumpeter Kasimu Taylor and turntablist Charlie Chan Soprano. In keeping with Harris’ pantheistic approach to genre, the score for Superheroes refuses to stay in one lane. “It has some rock elements, it has some house elements, it has some movie-theme-type elements. When you hear it, it’s all over the place,” he says. “I took the cuffs off and I just go.” Harris and his collaborators will perform Superheroes of Blackness over two nights this weekend, and he has hopes to stage productions in future, both at home and abroad (Harris’ recent award of a $20,000 grant from the Regional Arts Commission may help make this, and other projects, a reality). But as he takes the long view of his many musical alter egos, Harris thinks back to the advice given by his mother, shortly before her passing in 2015. “My mother’s birthday was yesterday, and I always go back to our last conversation,” Harris recalls. “She asked, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘I want it all.’ “She said, ‘Just do it. Don’t apologize. Just get up and work.’” n
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[COURTS]
For David Grelle, It’s Been a Long Way Home Written by
DANIEL HILL
D
avid Grelle doesn’t remember a whole lot from the night of the accident that changed his life. In fact, ever since that fateful evening, he has trouble remembering a lot of things. “I have no short-term memory anymore,” he says. “Even with all the pain and shit every day, having no memory anymore is definitely the most frustrating.” But despite those troubles, Grelle, 38, is sure of one thing: It was Michelle Conway who hit him with her car on the night of November 2, 2016, breaking 22 of his bones — including his legs, scapula, nose and nine ribs — and lacerating his liver before driving away and leaving his body on the ground in the rain. “My wife was nine months pregnant, and it was actually Game 7 of the World Series, when the Cubs beat the Indians,” Grelle says. “I was going to pick up dinner at Treehouse on South Grand — we live right in that area. I was probably about halfway when I got hit, in the middle of the crosswalk.” Grelle was struck near the intersection of Connecticut and Grand and says he was carried north about a block before he fell off the car just past CBGB. “I hit the hood and the windshield,” he says. “She dumped me in the middle of the road.” A good samaritan named Isabelle Raymond came upon the badly injured Grelle, initially thinking his body was a bag of garbage. It wasn’t until she saw his socks move — Grelle had been knocked clean out of his shoes by the force of the impact — that she realized it was a human being lying in the middle of the road. Raymond stopped her car and blocked traffic. Fortunately there was already an ambulance in
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RIVERFRONT TIMES
A talented musician, David Grelle has found support from the community after nearly being killed by a hit-and-run driver. | COURTESY OF THE GRELLE FAMILY the neighborhood, and Grelle was quickly rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery and blood transfusions. He would end up staying in that hospital for a month, getting out just a couple days before his daughter was born. “I mean, I don’t really remember it, but I got to at least be there,” Grelle says. Grelle’s long road to recovery would next take him to a hospital bed in his living room. Grelle’s semi-retired father had to quit his job at Menard’s to care for his son. Grelle found himself using a wheelchair for four or five months, then a walker, nowadays a cane. The person who hit him, meanwhile, simply went about her night as though nothing had happened. “She literally just drove around the corner, parked her car and met friends for drinks at the Upstairs Lounge right there,” Grelle alleges. “She actually saw me getting put in the ambulance.” That night, Kasey Grelle, David’s wife, got a call from a number she didn’t recognize around 11 p.m. Initially she ignored it, assuming it to be a telemarketer or wrong number. When the phone kept ringing she googled the number and found that it was registered to SLU hospital. “I ran outside; my car was gone. I called Dave’s phone; it goes
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
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straight to voicemail,” she says. “Then I called SLU and they said, ‘All we can tell you is your husband is here in stable condition with several broken bones.’” Kasey Grelle rushed to the hospital to find out what had happened to her husband. She found more questions than answers. “I said, ‘What happened to him? Did he get beaten up? Did he get in a car accident? Where is my car?’ They said, ‘We don’t know.’ I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t know?’ They said, ‘Well, he just showed up in the hospital in an ambulance.’” Kasey contacted police, but was told that the officer who had arrived on the scene had left for the night already. He’d be returning the following day at 3 p.m. In the meantime, Kasey — a former reporter for KSDK — set to work piecing together what happened herself. She traced her husband’s bank account records and found a purchase at the grocery store across from Treehouse, where she found her car. When she finally did get in touch with police, they told her that the police report didn’t contain anything — when the officer arrived, Grelle had already been taken away in an ambulance. They told her that there was no evidence, and therefore nothing to investigate. That’s when the pregnant Kasey
decided to take matters into her own hands, telling police, “Fine then. I’ll investigate.” Kasey started canvassing in search of witnesses and soon put together a witness sheet for police. She even found Raymond, the good samaritan, through a Tower Grove South messageboard. Raymond had called 911 at 9:40 p.m.; Kasey meanwhile had a receipt from Grelle’s wallet that showed he’d made his purchase at the grocery store at 9:37 p.m. Kasey contacted a police-officer friend who works in the Real-Time Crime Center, which runs a network of city and privately owned security cameras. With only a three-minute window to comb through, the officer soon found video of a badly damaged vehicle driving thought the intersection of Grand and Juniata, near where Kasey’s car had been parked. Kasey turned all of that evidence over to police, and weeks after the hit-and-run, officers found Conway at her home and confronted her. Conway, 28, denied any wrongdoing, and claimed that the damage to her vehicle was caused by someone throwing a brick at it, according to police records. But Kasey persevered. She says she personally took the dossier of evidence she’d assembled to a St. Louis prosecutor. Continued on pg 38
DAVID GRELLE Continued from pg 36 On November 17, 2016, some two weeks after the incident occurred, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office filed against Conway for leaving the scene of an accident, a felony. Initially Conway pleaded not guilty, but she later entered a guilty plea. Kasey believes the reason for the change in plea might be a statement by one of Conway’s friends. According to Julia Jonczyk, who is listed in court filings as a witness and was Conway’s roommate at the time of the incident, Conway arrived at the bar with damage to her vehicle that she claimed came from being struck with a brick. As Jonczyk would later tell the police, she viewed the car and said she didn’t think it looked like damage from a brick. When Jonczyk suggested Conway call the police, Conway declined, saying she didn’t want her insurance rates to go up, according to Jonczyk’s statement to police. As they walked to the bar, Jonczyk saw Grelle being loaded into an ambulance; she then asked Conway if that could possibly have anything to do with her accident. According to what Jonczyk told police, Conway responded by saying that “her parents were going to take care of this.” Since the ordeal began, Grelle’s family, friends, fans and supporters have packed the courthouse for each and every hearing. A well-respected musician in the local scene, Grelle has performed on keyboards and piano with the Funky Butt Brass Band, Mathias & the Pirates, Kevin Bowers’ Nova, Hip Grease, Celebration Day, Street Fighting Band and the Feed. He even manned the keys for the Hail! Hail! Chuck Berry concert that took place at LouFest in September. In keeping, there have been a lot of musicians and music fans hanging around the courthouse lately. “It’s been insane. The first few hearings were standing-roomonly, and people had to wait outside,” Kasey explains. “The last one there were probably about 40 people. To the point where the bailiff is going through and saying, ‘Are you here for this case? What are you guys all doing here?’
“It’s like a who’s who of music in St. Louis,” she adds. “We’ve got really great friends.” One of those friends is Off Broadway’s Kit Kellison. Kellison even started a Facebook group to keep people updated on the case and to encourage folks to come out for each hearing. “All we do is show up, and we pack the courtroom,” Kellison says. “I really think it changed a lot as far as making a difference on how seriously they took the case.” She notes that T-shirts have been printed with Grelle’s face on them to raise money to help out. Off Broadway did a benefit show as well. The group wants one simple thing in this case: justice. “The fear obviously is that she’s just gonna get away with a slap on the wrist,” Kellison told RFT a few days prior to the sentencing. And yet that’s exactly what she got. Last Friday, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Steven Ohmer sentenced Conway to five years of probation. She must also wear an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet and complete twenty hours of community service. She’s barred from any establishment whose primary function is to serve alcohol (as well as the South Grand neighborhood). Ultimately, Grelle’s friends say, Judge Ohmer expressed concern that a felony conviction would affect Conway’s future employment options. He also noted that Conway had spent 130 days in custody at the county workhouse before being able to make bail. A few days before the sentencing, Grelle was philosophical while contemplating the kind of punishment he’d want for the woman who nearly took his life. “For me, it’s all about some sort of permanence. Some sort of reminder,” he says. “You know, I’ll never be able to run again, jump again, ski, hike, do a lot of the things I enjoyed doing. I can’t even throw my son up in the pool, or even carry my kids up the stairs. “I’m gonna be living with this forever, my family is gonna be dealing with it forever,” he continues. “If anything I just want — I don’t really care if she does any jail time. For me it’s more just to have that reminder, you know?” If Conway completes her probation without any violations, she will be able to move on with her life without so much as a felony conviction. n
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2/15/18 10:01 AM
38
OUT EVERY NIGHT
[WEEKEND]
ALAN SMITHEE: w/ Buttercup, Bear Cub 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St.
BEST BETS
Louis, 314-352-5226. A DAY TO REMEMBER: w/ Papa Roach, Falling in
Five sure-fire shows to close out the week
Reverse, the Devil Wears Prada 7 p.m., $29.50-
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23
LEROY JODIE PIERSON: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz,
A Day to Remember w/ Papa Roach, Falling in Reverse, the Devil Wears Prada
436-5222.
7 p.m. Chaifetz Arena, 1 South Compton Avenue. $29.50 to $49.50. 314-977-5000.
LUCKY’S “BATTLE CRY” BENEFIT SHOW: w/
Strictly for the fan who wants to wipe their ass with the logo of their favorite band, A Day to Remember offers what they call the “Pit Package,” complete with a custom-printed toilet-paper roll. Don’t worry, fashion-forward diehards can adorn their jean jackets with the included commemorative enamel pin. Commemorating what, you might ask? A Day to Remember celebrates fifteen long years as a stand-out in the mid2000s set of mall-chic metalcore. St. Louis has already exhausted the band’s stock though, so fans will have to take to eBay for that screamo TP — or wait for the long-rumored Papa Roach tampons.
White 6 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.
Grace Basement Album Release Show w/ the Native Sons 8 p.m. Foam Coffee and Beer, 3359 South Jefferson Avenue. $5. 314-772-2100.
Mississippi Nights is a loaded album name for the roots-rockers in Grace Basement, though, for better or worse, the LP never directly refers to the long-shuttered venue that stood on the landing from 1979 to 2007. The title itself is innocuous to any non-native of the river city, yet provocative and nostalgic to the thousands who still miss the renowned gathering ground. That the new record offers an unguarded set of songs that slowly unfurl is a credit to band leader Kevin Buckley and his enduring sense of songcraft. Grace Basement celebrates the release of Mississippi Nights at Foam, a current core of underground music and art in the Cherokee Street neighborhood.
Looprat w/ Monkh & the People, Le Ponds, Tonina Saputo
$49.50. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000. Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314LOOPRAT: w/ Monkh & the People, Le Ponds, Tonina Saputo 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. Squidhammer, All Kings Fall, Brad Noe, Pat Louis, 314-289-9050. MVSTERMIND: w/ Jordan Ward, Brock Seals, Najii Person 8 p.m., $15-$18. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. NEW POLITICS: w/ Dreamers, The Wrecks 7 p.m., $25-$27. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
[CRITIC’S PICK]
OLD TIME ASSAULT: w/ Ayesirowl, Sam Golden 9 p.m., free. Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337.
Future Thieves. | VIA BLACK PIKE FAVORITES PR
free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis,
Future Thieves 8 p.m. Sunday, February 25.
ROLAND JOHNSON & SOUL ENDEAVOR: 9 p.m., 314-773-5565. THE SCHWAG: 9 p.m., $10. Old Rock House, 1200
There’s just enough countrified soul and red-blooded twang in the sound of the indie-rock quartet Future Thieves to help the group fit in amongst the boots and Stetsons of its native Nashville. But increasingly, the band has adopted some synthy washes and heavily chorused guitars to give its sound a hint of ’80s pop sheen — at least 2017’s
stand-alone single “Sucker” pointed in that direction. Future Thieves released its debut in 2015, quickly followed by a live album; a new one — recorded at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, Texas — should be out soon. Past LouFest, Future Thieves, Present Day: You may have caught the band at last year’s LouFest. This week’s gig at Off Broadway will be its first proper club show in town. —Christian Schaeffer
THURSDAY 22
St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
BIG EASY: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar & Grill,
EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE’S: THE GREAT SATAN: 8
R.LUM.R: 8 p.m., $15-$18. The Firebird, 2706
3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-8300.
p.m., $12-$15. The Ready Room, 4195 Manches-
Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.
BIG GEORGE JR. & THE NGK BAND: 9 p.m., free.
ter Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
SISTER HAZEL: w/ Carbon Leaf 8 p.m., $25-$28.
Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-
JEREMIAH JOHNSON ACOUSTIC DUO: 4 p.m., free.
Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-
773-5565.
Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-
726-6161.
BLAKE SHELTON: w/ Brett Eldredge, Carly
773-5565.
THAT 1 GUY: 8 p.m., $13-$15. Old Rock House,
Pearce, Trace Adkins 7 p.m., $52-$92. Scottrade
JOE METZKA DUO: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues
1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888.
& Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-
TORREY CASEY & THE SOUTHSIDE HUSTLE: 8 p.m.,
THE BONBON PLOT: 8 p.m., $10. Jacoby Arts Cen-
5222.
$5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway,
ter, 627 E. Broadway, Alton, 618-462-5222.
MATT ODDSOUL KLOSE: w/ Deadly Ned Watson,
St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
BRIAN CURRAN: 6:30 p.m., $10-$15. St. Louis
Kelly Tsaltas aka The Flava, Kvar Black 9 p.m.,
WALK THE MOON: w/ Company of Thieves 8
Artists’ Guild, 12 N Jackson Ave, Clayton, 314-
$7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St.
p.m., $35-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd.,
727-6266.
Louis, 314-352-5226.
St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
CAREY MORIN & TOM HALL: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s
Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $10. 314-4986989.
S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. TAYLOR SCOTT BAND: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314436-5222. THE ST. LOUIS UNDERGROUND HIP HOP TOURNAMENT: 8 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THROW THE THORNS: 8 p.m., $7. Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, 105 E. Jefferson Ave, Kirkwood, 314-966-2739.
SATURDAY 24 ALTAMIRA: w/ Tracing Wires, Old Hand 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
8 p.m. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $10. 314-498-6989.
NATE MOORE: w/ DJ Fourth Dimension 8 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-
FRIDAY 23
There’s a reason why this show comes with the tagline “All The Way Live.”
9050.
AL HOLLIDAY AND THE EAST SIDE RHYTHM BAND:
DROP THE MIC: w/ Squidz, Hello Jizoo, Hippy,
OC45: w/ The Winks, Powerline Sneakers,
w/ Rastasaurus 9 p.m., $10-$13. The Bootleg,
Dre Fire, Slim Beezy, Ill Side, Platinum Inter-
Small Claims 8 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St,
4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-775-0775.
tainment 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706
Continued on pg 48
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Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
[CRITIC’S PICK]
Celebration of Stax Records
Despite St. Louis’ rich (and underestimated) history of soul, R&B and funk, the city never had a label or studio that could compete with the heavy movers and shakers. Judging by the evolution of St. Louis soul, from the fine records still being made by artists such as Roland Johnson and Gene Jackson, the influence of Stax Records is massive. Hence this tribute night is more than apropos. “I Can’t Turn You Loose: A
Celebration of Stax Records” features our greatest living blues singer, Kim Massie, and will be amped up by the aforementioned Johnson and Jackson, as well as legend Eugene Johnson and soon-to-be-legend Emily Wallace (if she keeps cutting her titanic voice loose). How hot can St. Louis soul get? Find out at this all-star revue. Dress to Thrill: Leave the low-heeled sneakers at home, and break out your sharpest outfits and coolest dancing shoes. This night will look as funky as it sounds. —Roy Kasten
Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.
BLACK & WHITE BAND: 5 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz,
FABULOUS MOTOWN REVUE: 8 p.m., free.
Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-
Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, 105 E.
436-5222.
Jefferson Ave, Kirkwood, 314-966-2739.
FUTURE THIEVES: 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway,
HUM: w/ Spotlights 8 p.m., $25-$28. Delmar
3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-
IN THE MOOD: 2:30 p.m., $39-$49. Blanche M
6161.
Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Dr
I CAN’T TURN YOU LOOSE: A CELEBRATION OF STAX
at Natural Bridge Road, Normandy, 314-516-
RECORDS: w/ Kim Massie, Roland Johnson,
4949.
Gene Jackson, Emily Wallace, Eugene Johnson
LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz,
8 p.m., $12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St.
Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-
Louis, 314-498-6989.
436-5222.
MACHINE HEAD: 8 p.m., $25. Pop’s Nightclub,
MICHAEL BARR: w/ Apache Chief, Gossip Ma-
401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-
chine 6 p.m., $12-$15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.
6720.
Louis, 314-289-9050.
8 p.m. Saturday, February 24. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $12. 314-4986989.
MARQUISE KNOX BLUES BAND: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,
MONDAY 26
314-436-5222.
DJ SEXAUER: 10:30 p.m., free. Atomic Cowboy,
THE RADIOMEN: w/ Blue Hypergiant, Biff
4140 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-775-0775.
K’narly and the Reptilians, The Judge, L84DNR
NATHAN KALISH & THE LASTCALLERS: w/ Nick
6 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.
Gusman, Jenny Roques 8 p.m., $7. Foam Coffee
Louis, 314-289-9050.
& Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-
RICH MCDONOUGH AND THE RHYTHM RENE-
2100.
GADES: 3 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S.
PSYCHOTIC REACTION: w/ Limp Wizurdz, the
9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.
Public, Stepfather 8 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole,
RODNEY CARRINGTON: 7 p.m., $49.50-$59.50.
7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309.
River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino
PVRIS: 7 p.m., $25.50-$27. Delmar Hall, 6133
Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777.
Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: 8 p.m., $19-$49.
SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $5. Broadway
Blanche M Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1
Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-
University Dr at Natural Bridge Road, Norman-
621-8811.
dy, 314-516-4949.
THIRD SIGHT “SPECIAL EDITION”: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s
TRIGGER 5: 4 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups,
Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,
700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
314-436-5222.
WE GOT NEXT KID’S CONCERT: 2 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
SUNDAY 25
VOTED ST. LOUIS’
2017 BEST OF ST. LOUIS Readers Poll
BEST BAR & BEST SPORTS BAR
It’s ON at Duke’s EVERY MAJOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME WINTER OLYMPICS
BLUES &
EVERY NHL HOCKEY GAME
h s c y a n d n u Br s & Su y a d r u Sat
TUESDAY 27 BEN KRONBERG: w/ Tina Dybal, Max Price, Kenny Kinds 8 p.m., $10. The Ready Room, 4195
BIANCA DEL RIO: 8 p.m., $39.95-$199. The
Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-
ETHAN LEINWAND & FRIENDS: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s
6161.
Like & Follow us on Facebook @dukesinsoulard
2001 Menard (at Allen) In the Heart of Soulard
Continued on pg 40
riverfronttimes.com
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
39
THIS WEEKEND Continued from pg 47
OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 39
p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broad-
Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-
way, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
2778.
BROTHER LEE DJ NIGHT: 9 p.m., free. The Ready
SONREAL: 8 p.m., $15-$85. The Firebird, 2706
Looprat reaches well beyond its expansive collective of hip-hop luminaries (a full band with four MCs) to pull in the electro-folk of Le Ponds, the renowned songwriting of Tonina Saputo and the rock-reggae of Monkh & the People. Looprat itself injects heady rap into a jazzy funk fusion that offers the expansive feel of psychedelia with the brevity of punk. Sure, that looks like a long list of genres, but this crew mystically absorbs them all while being beholden to none.
Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,
Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-
Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.
314-436-5222.
833-3929.
STEVE WINWOOD: 7 p.m., $47.50-$125. The Fox
GAELIC STORM: 8 p.m., $25-$30. Old Rock
THE CLASSIC CRIME: w/ Matt & Toby 6 p.m.,
Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-
House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.
$22-$40. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-
1111.
LADY RE’S “JUST FOR LAUGHS”: 9:30 p.m., $10.
289-9050.
BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St.
DONAVON FRANKENREITER: 8 p.m., $20-$22. Old
THIS JUST IN
Louis, 314-436-5222.
Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-
ANTHONY GOMES: Fri., April 6, 8 p.m., $15.
NF: 8 p.m., $27.50-$30. The Pageant, 6161 Del-
0505.
Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis,
mar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
MIRRORS FOR PSYCHIC WARFARE: w/ Path of
314-588-0505.
RAW EARTH: 7 p.m., free. Nadine’s Gin Joint,
Might 9 p.m., $15-$16. Fubar, 3108 Locust St,
AUDRA MCDONALD: Sun., May 6, 7 p.m., $39-
1931 S. 12th St., St. Louis, 314-436-3045.
St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
$125. Blanche M Touhill Performing Arts
NOT SO LATE NIGHT: w/ Eve L. Ewing, Hanif
Center, 1 University Dr at Natural Bridge
Abdurraquib, Katarra & the Sofolkz, Cheeraz
Road, Normandy, 314-516-4949.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24
BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 7
Gormon 7 p.m., free. 2720 Cherokee Perform-
BIG UP: A NOTORIOUS TRIBUTE TO B.I.G.: W/ DJ
p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broad-
ing Arts Center, 2720 Cherokee St, St. Louis,
Reminise, James Biko, Sat., March 3, 8 p.m.,
Hum w/ Spotlights
way, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
314-276-2700.
$5-$6.50. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester
BLIND WILLIE & THE BROADWAY COLLECTIVE: 10
SONGBIRD CAFE: 7 p.m., $15-$20. The Focal
Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
8 p.m. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard. $25 to $28. 314-726-6161.
WEDNESDAY 28
BILLY STRINGS: Fri., April 6, 8 p.m., $16. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis,
The last show of 105.7 the Point’s birthmonth — a series that brought K. Flay, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and others to town — presents alt-rock axe-wielders Hum. If ’90s revivalism stays hipster-chic — and given the glut of bands adhering to those sounds at present that seems a distinct possibility — Hum’s durability may last another two decades (2019 marks its twenty-year anniversary). The group’s homeland of Champaign, Illinois, might be seated in the landlocked Midwest, but Hum’s shoegaze-affected grunge has since reached both coasts, as evidenced by the fresh crop of overhyped bands aping its sound.
314-775-0775. BUNNYGRUNT’S 25TH BIRTHDAY WEEKENDER: W/ Wagon Blasters, Rose Ette, Town Cars, Karen Meat, Sat., March 24, 8 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. CAMILA CABELLO: Tue., April 24, 8 p.m., $37.50-$50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. CHRISTOPHER THE CONQUERED: W/ Le’Ponds, Thu., April 5, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. COURTNEY BARNETT: W/ Vagabon, Tue., July 17, 8 p.m., $27-$30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE CUBAN MISSILES: W/ Breakmouth Annie, Brasky, Boston Profit, Sat., May 5, 8 p.m.,
Qu’art presents: Black Is the New Black w/ Bates, Eric Donte, AndroBeat and many more
$8-$10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-
8 p.m. The Crack Fox, 1114 Olive Street. $10. 314-621-6900.
nity Music School, 535 Garden Ave., Webster
Qu’art caps three years of elevating queer artists with Black Is the New Black, a seven-hour sensory overload of visual art, live music and drag performances. Lady Ashley Gregory, Tishaura Jones and Dan Guenther are the featured panel speakers for the night, and their comments will likely be the only time dancers can come up for air from a stacked lineup including celebrated rappers Bates and Eric Donte. The black perspective is painted in full with pieces on display from De Nichols, Amber Johnson and Basil Kincaid, among many others. These many moving parts blend and coalesce into a showcase that celebrates the power of the groundbreaking acts and innovative artists on hand. —Joseph Hess
FUTURE FUSION 314: W/ JD Hughes, Waiting
Each week we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the weekend. To submit your show for consideration, visit riverfronttimes. com/stlouis/Events/AddEvent. All events subject to change; check with the venue for the most up-to-date information.
40
RIVERFRONT TIMES
289-9050. EMERGING COMPOSERS CONCERT: Sat., March 24, 3 p.m., free. Webster University CommuGroves, 314-968-5939. For Flynn, Two Cities One World, Sat., March 10, 7:30 p.m., $10. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-775-0775. GEOGRAPHER: Sun., April 15, 8 p.m., $12-$14. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. GOODBYE OLD FRIEND: W/ Lights Over Acadia, Obsidian, The Underground Lemon Experience, Sat., March 24, 7 p.m., $7-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. GRETA VAN FLEET: Wed., Aug. 1, 8 p.m., $35$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. GURF MORLIX: Sun., April 8, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314498-6989.
Saturday, March 10th, 12-3:30pm The MOTO Museum & Triumph Grill www.RFTMacNCheese.com
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
HANDS AND FEET RECORD RELEASE: W/ CaveofswordS, Syna So Pro, Seashine, Fri., April 13, 8 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. IN TALL BUILDINGS: Sat., April 7, 8 p.m., $10$13. The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-935-7003. JENNIFER HARTSWICK & NICK CASSARINO: Sat.,
riverfronttimes.com
SOULARD’S HOTTEST SECTION HEAD
5
[CRITIC’S PICK] Mirrors for Psychic Warfare. | JOHN STURDY
Mirrors for Psychic Warfare 9 p.m. Wednesday, February 28.
The members of legendary Oakland postmetal act Neurosis all have their side projects, but guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly is busy even for them. He’s on the road now with Sanford Parker as Mirrors for Psychic Warfare, a guitar-and-electronics duo that creates aural sculptures of a claustrophobic’s nightmares. Parker builds the foundation from slowly developing sound
loops and skittery clouds of harshtronics, while Kelly adds mournful electric guitar and his familiar weather-beaten vocals. The pair isn’t afraid to get loud — “A Thorn To See” off their 2016 full-length 43 roars into life after six minutes — but Mirrors for Psychic Warfare is more about building a path to the noise than noise itself. Arrive Early: A trio of heavy-hitting local metal bands — Lion’s Daughter, Path of Might and Grand Inquisitor — will open the show. —Paul Friswold
March 24, 8 p.m., $10-$13. The Bootleg, 4140
THE MATCHING SHOE: Fri., March 16, 8 p.m.,
Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-775-0775.
$10. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St.
JR GEARS: W/ Morning Mtn., Prairie Rehab,
Louis, 314-775-0775.
Sat., March 3, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor,
MATT ODDSOUL KLOSE: W/ Deadly Ned Wat-
5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
son, Kelly Tsaltas aka The Flava, Kvar Black,
KEEP FLYING: W/ Nominee, Something More,
Thu., Feb. 22, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor,
Pastures, Goaltender, Tue., March 20, 7 p.m.,
5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
$5-$8. Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson Ave.,
MITCHEL EVAN: Tue., April 17, 7 p.m., free.
St. Louis, 314-664-7638.
Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis,
KERPLUNK: A TRIBUTE TO GREEN DAY: W/ Shots
314-367-3644.
Fired, Fri., March 9, 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108
MY CITY MY MUSIC RADIO 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
SHOW: W/ Inner Outlines, Thieves To Kings,
KSHE PIG ROAST 2018: W/ Charlie Daniels
The Cinema Story, Stringz, Oddity, Slick
Band, Dave Mason, Marshall Tucker Band,
Nicky, Hippy, Sat., May 19, 7 p.m., $10-$12.
the Outlaws, Poco, Rick Derringer, Molly
The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-
Hatchet, Sat., June 9, 3 p.m., $19.95-$150.
535-0353.
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 &
NAUGHTY PROFESSOR: Thu., April 5, 9 p.m.,
Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-
$10-$13. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave.,
298-9944.
St. Louis, 314-775-0775.
KYLE COOK: Thu., March 22, 8 p.m., $12-$25.
NOAH LEINER: W/ Matt Basler, Jared Baehr,
The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis,
Sat., April 7, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor,
314-775-0775.
5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
LITTLE RIVER BAND: Sat., Oct. 6, 8 p.m., $39-
NOVENA: W/ Low Watermark For Ghosts, Fri.,
$59. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City
March 30, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor,
Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777.
5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
LORD HURON: Fri., Sept. 21, 8 p.m., $33.50-
O’SHAUGHNESSY’S TOUPEE: W/ The Radio
$38.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.
Buzzkills, Sat., March 17, 9 p.m., $7. The
Louis, 314-726-6161.
Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis,
LUH HALF: W/ Dayomurda, Fri., March 23, 8
314-352-5226.
p.m., $10-$12. The Ready Room, 4195 Man-
PAPERKITE: W/ Kevin Lux, Digital Gnosis,
Fubar, 3108 Locust Street. $15 to $16. 314-2899050.
chester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
DANCE PARTY
COLLEGE NIGHT - THURSDAY $2 Tall Boy (16 oz) Cans Neon Beer Pong DJ Ryan - 9 PM to Close
FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHT DJ DAN-C
9 PM - CLOSE 2001 MENARD (AT ALLEN) IN THE HEART OF SOULARD LIKE & FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: @dukesinsoulard
Continued on pg 43
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FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
41
Bowl with friends Griddled Cheese Burger with Fries
drinks, pizza, pop-tarts
Love the sweet price of a burger and fries – $5.50
It's social!
OPEN 24 HOURS PeacockLoopDiner.com
6191 Delmar · 314-727-5555 PinUpBowl.com
6261 Delmar in The Loop
Rated 5 bones out of 5! • • • • 6177 Delmar in The Loop 314-721-1111 MoonriseHotel.com
42
RIVERFRONT TIMES
FEBRUARY 21-27, 2018
Bowling Cocktails Late Night Food Parties
On Wash Ave 1117 Washington Open 'til 3 am, food 'til 2 am
riverfronttimes.com
THIS JUST IN Continued from pg 41
SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS: Fri., May 25, 8 p.m., $22-$25. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City,
Fri., March 23, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor,
314-727-4444.
5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
STACKED LIKE PANCAKES: Tue., April 24, 8 p.m.,
PATTY GRIFFIN: Sun., May 6, 7 p.m., $35-$40.
$12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504
The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St.
Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.
Louis, 314-533-9900.
TAYLOR SCOTT BAND: Fri., Feb. 23, 10 p.m.,
PETER FRAMPTON: Tue., July 24, 7 p.m., $64-
$10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broad-
$84. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City
way, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777.
THE COMEDY SHIPWRECK PRESENTS: FIRST
POWERGLOVE: Fri., Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $15-$17.
THINGS FIRST: Fri., March 16, 8 p.m., free. The
Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-
Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis,
9050.
314-352-5226.
POWERHOUSE 747: Sat., April 14, 9 p.m., free.
THE ST. LOUIS UNDERGROUND HIP HOP TOURNA-
Nightshift Bar & Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St.
MENT: Fri., Feb. 23, 8 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108
Peters, 636-441-8300.
Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
RAHEEM DEVAUGHN: Sun., March 11, 6 p.m.,
TODD RUNDGREN’S UTOPIA: Wed., May 9, 7
$15-$40. Ballpark Village, 601 Clark Ave, St.
p.m., $32-$72. Peabody Opera House, 1400
Louis, 314-345-9481.
Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600.
RED FOREMAN: W/ Only Sibling, Unamused
TRIXIE MATTEL: Sat., April 28, 8 p.m., $40-
Dave, Ben Diesel, Thu., March 1, 9 p.m., $7.
$110. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St.
The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St.
Louis, 314-726-6161.
Louis, 314-352-5226.
TROUT STEAK REVIVAL: Fri., May 4, 8 p.m., $10-
RIVER CITY OPRY: MARCH EDITION: Sun., March
$13. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St.
18, 1 p.m., $5. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave.,
Louis, 314-775-0775. TRYING SCIENCE: W/ MotherFather, Thu., April 12, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. VINTAGE PLUTO: W/ Modern Gold, Scotty Bergt Band, Fri., March 9, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314352-5226. YOU VANDAL: W/ Breakmouth Annie, Daytime Television, Thu., March 22, 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.
St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SEAN CANAN’S VOODOO PLAYERS TRIBUTE TO FLEETWOOD MAC: Sat., April 21, 9 p.m., $15-$20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SONS OF APOLLO: W/ Felix Martin, Sun., April 22, 8 p.m., $27.50-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
VOTED ST. LOUIS’
2017 BEST OF ST. LOUIS Readers Poll
BEST PLACE TO SING KARAOKE
Karaoke Thursdays with KJ Ray Ortega
KJ Kelly’s Friday Night Karaoke Dance Parties
RUNNER-UP
2017 BEST OF ST. LOUIS Readers Poll
ST. LOUIS’ BEST WINGS
FIRST EVER
NEO ORLEANS 5 COURSE DINNER TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 7PM MENU PREPARED BY CHEF MIKEY CARRASCO AND HIS TEAM OF LEXIE KORBA, KEITH EMERSON, & JACE RAINES, WITH COCKTAILS CRAFTED BY TONY SAPUTO. MENU AVAILABLE AT BROADWAYOYSTERBAR.COM. LIMITED SEATING AVAILABLE. CALL 314-621-8811 MON-FRI BETWEEN 9AM TO 2PM
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43
DISCOVER THE SOUNDTRACK DISCOVER THE SOUNDTRACK TO AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT TO AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT live music every week MIXTAPE
DECEMBER 08
live music every week DECEMBER 09 HELLA SNAPS
MAR02 MAR03 MAR09 MAR10 MAR16
C A RPE NOCTE M
FEEL GOOD INC. 15 DECEMBER TRIXIE DELIGHT 16 DECEMBER
POP’N ROCKET LONE RANGERS MAR23 GROOVETHANG GROOVETHANG PUSH THE LIMIT MAR24 MCLOVIN DECEMBER 22 RETRONERDS MY FRIEND MIKE MAR30 WELL HUNGARIANS DECEMBER 23 GRIFFIN & THE GARGOYLES THE LOVE BOMBERS MAR31 BIGG RIGGS DECEMBER 29 KINGPIN VIEW MORE AT DECEMBER 29 MCLOVIN MAR17
w e s t p o r t s o c i a l- s t l . c o m
VIEW MORE AT
9 1 0 w e s t p o r t P L A Z A d r i v e • s a i n t l o u i s , m i s swo eu rsit6p3o 1 4r6 t •s o3 1c4 .i5a4l8 . 2s8t7 6l . c o m 44
9 1 0 w e s t pF EoB RrU AtR Y P2 L1 - A2 7 Z, 2A0 1 d8 rr iiv ve r ef r o n •t t i m se sa. c io mn t l o u i s , m i s s o u r i 6 3 1 4 6 • 6 3 6 .7 5 1 . 5 7 6 o
RIVERFRONT TIMES
SAVAGE LOVE BI & BIPHOBIA BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I’m an eighteen-year-old female. I’m cisgender and bisexual. I’ve been in a monogamous relationship with my cisgender bisexual boyfriend for about a year. I’m currently struggling with a lot of internalized biphobia and other hang-ups about my boyfriend’s sexuality. I don’t know if I’m projecting my own issues onto him or if I’m just being bigoted towards bi men, but either way, I feel truly awful about it. But when I think about the fact that he’s bi and is attracted to men, I become jealous and fearful that he will leave me for a man or that he would rather be with a man. (I’ve been with men and women in the past; he’s never been with a man.) I know it is unfair of me to feel this way and he’s never given me any real reason to fear this. We have a very engaged, kinky, and rewarding sex life! But I worry I’m not what he really wants. This situation is complicated by the near certainty that my boyfriend has some sort of hormonal disorder. He has a very young face for an eighteen year old, a feminine figure, and not a lot of body hair. He orgasms but he does not ejaculate; and although he has a sizable penis, his testicles are more like the size of grapes than eggs. He struggles a lot with feeling abnormal and un-masculine. I try to be as supportive as possible and tell him how attracted to him I am and how he’ll get through whatever this is. But he can tell his bi-ness makes me nervous and uncomfortable. I think that because he appears more feminine than most men and is more often hit on by men than women, I worry that he would feel more comfortable or “normal” with a man. I don’t want to contribute to him feeling abnormal or bad about himself. How do I stop worrying that he’s gay or would be happier with a man? I feel horrible about myself for these anxieties considering that I’m bi too, and should know better. Anonymous Nervous Girlfriend Seeks Tranquility “Many people who encounter us Bi+ folk in the wild just project their insecurities onto us with impunity and then blame us for it,” said RJ Aguiar,
a bisexual activist and content creator whose work has been featured on Buzzfeed, HuffPo, Queerty and other sites. “As someone who’s bi herself, I’m sure ANGST know this all too well.” So if you’ve been on the receiving end of biphobia — as almost all bisexual people have — why are you doing it to your bisexual boyfriend? “This hypothetical so-and-so-isgoing-to-leave-me-for-someone-hotter scenario could happen to anyone of any orientation,” said Aguiar. “But maybe because the potential ‘pool of applicants’ is over twice as big for us Bi+ folk, we get stuck with twice as much of this irrational fear? I don’t know. But here’s what I do know: most Biphobia (and jealousy for that matter) is projected insecurity. Built into the fear that someone will leave you because they ‘like x or y better’ is the assumption that you yourself aren’t good enough.” And while feelings of insecurity and jealousy can undermine a relationship, ANGST, they don’t have to. It all depends on how you address them when they arise. “We all have our moments!” said Aguiar. “But we can turn these moments into opportunities for open communication and intimacy rather than moments of isolation and shame. That way they end up bringing you closer, rather than drive this invisible wedge between you. The key is to understand that feelings aren’t always rational. But if we can share those feelings with the person we love without fear of judgment or reprisal, it can help create a space of comfort and intimacy that no piece of ass will ever be able to compete with — no matter how hot they are or what they may or may not have between their legs.” As for the reasons you’re feeling insecure — your boyfriend might be gay and/or happier with a man — I’m not going to lie to you, ANGST. Your boyfriend could be gay (some people who aren’t bisexual identify as bi before coming out as gay or lesbian), and/or he could one day realize that he’d be happier with a man (just as you could one day realize that you’d be happier with a woman). But your wonderful sex life — your engaging, kinky, rewarding sex life — is pretty good evidence that your boyfriend isn’t gay. (I was one of those guys who
identified as bi before coming out as gay, ANGST, and I had girlfriends and the sex we had was far from wonderful.) And now I’m going tell you something you no doubt already know: Very few people wind up spending their lives with the person they were dating at 18. You and your boyfriend are both in the process of figuring out who you are and what you want. It’s possible he’ll realize you’re not the person he wants to be with, ANGST, but it’s also possible you’ll realize he’s not the person you want to be with. Stop worrying about the next six or seven decades of your life — stop worrying about forever — and enjoy this time and this boy and this relationship for however long it lasts. Finally, ANGST, on the off chance your boyfriend hasn’t spoken to a doctor about his symptoms — because he’s an uninsured/underinsured/unlucky American or because he’s been too embarrassed to bring up the size of his balls and quality of ejaculations with his parents and/or doctor — I shared your letter with Dr. John Amory, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. “An eighteen-year-old male with testicles the ‘size of grapes’ indicates an issue with testicular development,” said Dr. Amory. “The reduced testicular volume, in combination with the other features such as his feminine face and sparse body hair, also suggest an issue with testicular function.” It could simply be delayed puberty — some people suddenly grow six inches when they get to college — or it could be something called Klinefelter syndrome. “Klinefelter syndrome occurs in one out of every 500 males and is associated with small testicular volume and decreased testosterone,” said Dr. Amory. “This diagnosis is frequently missed because the penis is normal in size and the men are normal in most other ways, although about half of men with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) can have breast enlargement (gynecomastia) that can be seen as feminizing. Bottom line: Small testes at age eighteen means it’s time for a doctor’s visit — probably an endocrinologist or urologist — to take a family history, do an examination and consider meariverfronttimes.com
45
surement of testosterone and some other hormones. This should help him understand if he ‘just needs to wait’ or if he has a diagnosis that could be treated. There is a real possibility that he has KS, which is usually treated with testosterone to improve muscle mass, bone density and sexual function.” Follow RJ Aguiar on Twitter @rj4gui4r. Hey, Dan: I’m a 27-year-old woman whose boyfriend recently broke up with her. Along with the usual feelings of grief and heartbreak, I’m feeling a lot of guilt about how I handled our sex life, which was one of the main issues in our breakup. My now ex-boyfriend was interested in BDSM and a kink-oriented lifestyle, and I experimented with that for him. I attended several play parties, went to a five-day-long kink camp with him and tried out many of his BDSM fantasies. The problem became that, hard as I tried, I just wasn’t very interested in that lifestyle and parts of it made me very uncomfortable. I was game to do the lighter stuff (spanking, bondage), but just couldn’t get behind the more extreme things. I disappointed him because I “went along with it” only to decide I wasn’t into it and that I unfairly represented my interest in his lifestyle. Did I do something wrong? What should I have done? Basically A Little Kinky All you’re guilty of doing, BALK, is exactly what kinksters everywhere hope their vanilla partners will do. You gave it a try — you were good, giving and game enough to explore BDSM with and for him — and sometimes that works, e.g. someone who always thought of themselves as vanilla goes to a play party or a fiveday-long kink camp and suddenly realizes, hey, I’m pretty kinky, too! But it doesn’t always work. Since the alternative to “went along with it” was “never gave it a chance,” BALK, your ex-boyfriend should be giving you credit for trying, not grief for supposedly misleading him. Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter ITMFA.org
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