Riverfront Times March 27, 2019 by Riverfront Times

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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THE LEDE

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

“We used to own property down in Indiana, and we’d go out there all the time. That’s really where I started fishing. I like the river more, though, because you never know what you’re going to catch. It’s a little more exciting. Dead body, trash bag full of body parts .... ha!” JESSE PALMER, PHOTOGRAPHED FISHING AT GATEWAY ARCH RIVERFRONT ON MARCH 24 riverfronttimes.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Sarah Fenske

E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Jaime Lees Staff Writers Doyle Murphy, Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Columnist Ray Hartmann Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Thomas Crone, Jenn DeRose, Mike Fitzgerald, Sara Graham, MaryAnn Johanson, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Lauren Milford, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer Proofreader Evie Hemphill Editorial Interns Ryan Gines, Chelsea Neuling, Benjamin Simon

COVER Better Together Will Rip Us Apart How the plan to merge city and county would circumvent democracy and bankrupt St. Louis Written by NAHUEL FEFER

TYLER GROSS

C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein Creative Director Tom Carlson www.euclidmediagroup.com

INSIDE The Lede Hartmann

News

Kim Tucci was a lion of St. Louis

10 20 23

Supa Moda and the African Film Fest

Cafe

P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Sales Director Colin Bell Senior Account Executive Cathleen Criswell, Erica Kenney Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Michael Gaines, Drew Halliday, Jackie Mundy

Cover illustration by

Feature Calendar Film

A R T Art Director Evan Sult Contributing Photographers Tim Lane, Monica Mileur, Zia Nizami, Andy Paulissen, Nick Schnelle, Mabel Suen, Micah Usher, Theo Welling, Jen West, Corey Woodruff

Wok O Taco

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Short Orders

Music & Culture

Keith Kitsis of Crazy Bowls & Wraps | Four Strings |Prime 55 | Plaintain Girl

The St. Louis String Collective | Lauren Gornik

Out Every Night

Ray Wylie Hubbard | T-Pain | Nick Masonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saucerful of Secrets

Savage Love 6

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HARTMANN The Passion of Kim Tucci The late restaurateur and civic leader loved St. Louis with boundless energy BY RAY HARTMANN

e lost a true St. Louis original with the passing of J. Kim Tucci on Monday. Tucci is being eulogized as a civic leader, and he was, but that doesn’t really do justice to his legacy. Tucci was way more than that. He was an icon, the kind of guy you think of when it’s said, “God broke the mold after He made him.” Tucci was indeed one of a kind. He lived his 78 years with force and compassion and humor and

anger and kindness and temper and loyalty and a fair share of feuds. But mostly loyalty. Kim Tucci was defined by his devotion to his family and friends, to the civic organizations and charities to which he gave so much of life and, not least, to St. Louis. No one ever cared more about St. Louis than Kim Tucci. No one. Tucci co-founded the Pasta House restaurant chain in 1974 and built it — along with Joseph Fresta and the late John Ferrara — to a local institution grossing $53.7 million annually, with 1,000 employees in its nineteen local restaurants and catering operations, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. But Tucci is less distinguished for the revenues he took in than the ones he gave away. When it came to good causes, Tucci was everywhere. There were the official Pasta ouse charitable efforts he founded — a Caring and Sharing Program raising food and money for the

less fortunate and a “Reading wRiting and Ravioli” program that has rewarded more than 600,000 students and teachers with free food. But the Hawk — as his friends knew him — went far beyond corporate philanthropy. Along with his wife Sharon, Tucci was nothing short of ubiquitous in civic and charitable circles. Tucci threw himself into an endless array of good causes as an auctioneer, emcee, fundraiser, board member or simply supporter. And that’s not counting his role as a power broker in local and state Democratic politics. As a mover and shaker, Tucci was in perpetual motion, sometimes in and out of support for the same candidates or office-holders. Tucci was always a man on a mission, and there were times when the mission changed. Publicly, there were a number of instances when Tucci morphed from key supporter to furious adversary of a prominent leader —

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Mayor Vince Schoemehl, Father Lawrence Biondi and Governor Jay Nixon spring to mind — but whatever the details, there was one common thread: Kim Tucci stood his ground for what he believed in. Friend or foe, if you crossed him, you’d have a battle on your hands. Tucci was all about passion and principle. As an example, when Tucci felt that Nixon had pulled the rug out from under the city by cancelling a state program giving tax credits to filmmakers and thus tourist dollars to St. Louis, so dear to his heart, he didn’t let past support soften his response: “It’s a joke what Nixon’s done. We’re not going to have anything now for bringing in films, Tucci told me for a St. Louis Magazine column. “He thinks he knows everything ... well where does he think the cities are? Aren’t we part of the state of Missouri?” I’m biased because I agreed with Tucci more often than not on

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HARTMANN

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most issues, but the real charm of his public persona was how unvarnished it was. He cut to the chase. He didn’t mince words. And Tucci did another uncommon — and essential — thing: He crossed the city’s racial divide as gracefully as any other white leader I can think of. He was an equal-opportunity practitioner of spirited politics. He made friends along the way, and close ones at that. The outpouring of tributes Monday showed the depth of their feelings. From Claire McCaskill: “His place in my life can be filled by no other. I’m heartbroken.” Representative William Lacy Clay (D-St. Louis) said, “He was more than just a great civic leader, he was my dear friend.” Clayco CEO Bob Clark, one of the area’s best success stories, termed him “my mentor and role model.” Tucci didn’t just support people, from the famous to the unknown. He touched them. Privately, I found Tucci delightful. I was not among his close circle of friends, but whether at his restaurant or one of the countless events at which I’d see him, he invariably was warm and smiling. He had a big sense of humor. There was one time I played golf with him, courtesy of Mark Vittert, one of Tucci’s closest friends. I was a beginner and abjectly horrible. Tucci wasn’t in danger of making the PGA tour, but he was plenty better than me, and after a particularly awful hole, he sidled up to me and whispered, “You might want to stick to writing.” The line wasn’t all that special, but the gleam in his eye and the smile were. It made for a fine day of bad golf. Tucci’s official civic legacy will be dutifully recorded by the array of boards on which he was serving at the time of his death. Among many, many others, he was vice chairman of Explore St. Louis (formerly the CVC), board chairman of Cinema St. Louis and marketing vice president of the Loop Trolley Co. And what’s most remarkable is that Tucci had continued to serve — and as an active, key participant, not just a name — on many of them even while running a large company and enduring a battle with cancer that lasted several years. An untold part of Tucci’s story is the courage and toughness he showed — without an ounce of self-pity — while tirelessly battling personal

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adversity. Fittingly, the first significant story about Kim Tucci to appear in the local media marveled at that very trait: boundless energy. On January 5, 1967, the Post-Dispatch sports pages offered high praise for a young Tucci’s success as soccer coach at DeAndreis High School in the city. “Tucci is a dapper bachelor who at times seems to be in many places at once,” the Post reported. “In the day, he teaches speech at DeAndreis. In the afternoon he coaches the Wildcats soccer team and at night he helps manage Tony’s Steak House. Although he works about 90 hours a week,

Whatever the specific details, there was one common thread: Kim Tucci stood his ground for what he believed in. Friend or foe, if you crossed him, you’d have a battle on your hands. Tucci always shows up on time for practice at 7:45 a.m.” The Tony’s reference was also fitting, since Tucci got his start as a cashier and then assistant manager with the most famous St. Louis restaurant family of all time. His personal goals at the time, he told the paper, were “to get my master’s degree in speech, coach college soccer and become the manager at Tony’s.” Of those three, I believe Tucci only earned the master’s degree. But becoming himself a St. Louis treasure pretty much sufficed. As Kitty Ratcliffe, president of Explore St. Louis, put it simply in eulogizing Tucci: “He was our champion.” n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977 and recently returned to these pages as a columnist. Contact him at rhartmann@sbcglobal.net or follow him on Twitter at @rayhartmann.

NEWS A Cop Defied Orders. A Young Man Was Killed Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

he family of a budding rock journalist killed last year by a driver fleeing St. Charles County police is suing the county and department, alleging a rookie officer ignored two orders to end the high-speed chase. Krystofer Batsell, 21, was driving a Ford Focus on the afternoon of November 17, 2018, when he unwittingly turned into the path of the chaotic pursuit. Authorities say 36-year-old Aron Richardson of Union ran a red light (his second of the chase) while trying to evade police and slammed into the Focus. Batsell died within 30 or 40 minutes. Batsell’s parents sued Richardson in December for wrongful death, but their attorney, Grant Boyd, says they now think St. Charles Police should also take responsibility for their role in the fatal crash. “They want some acknowledgement and accountability on the part of the county, says Boyd, of the Clayton firm Sindel Noble. Last week, Boyd filed a motion adding St. Charles County, the police department and Officer Amanda opkins to the wrongful death suit. The suit claims opkins made a reckless decision to chase Richardson through afternoon traffic and then continue chasing, even after a supervisor ordered her to stop. opkins originally pulled over Richardson’s odge urango for speeding on ighway 94 in Weldon Spring. When opkins ran Richardson’s license through a law enforcement database, she learned he had a pair of traffic warrants in Franklin County and was considered a risk to resist police. opkins called for backup.

Krystofer Batsell was an innocent bystander killed in a St. Charles police chase. | FACEBOOK Once another officer arrived, opkins went to the passenger door and told Richardson’s girlfriend to get out. Before she could, Richardson sped off, police say. That’s when opkins began to make bad decisions, the suit alleges. “If it was 4 a.m., maybe it’s a different story, Boyds says. “But it’s 4 p.m. in suburban St. Charles on a Saturday with heavy traffic. opkins and the second officer, Corporal ames Poole, ran back to their patrol cars and chased after Richardson. The urango and two police cars sped west on ighway 94. A gas station surveillance video shows Richardson swerve around traffic, nearly hitting another car — with opkins close behind. As the officers described what was happening on the radio, a supervisor jumped in to order an end to the pursuit. Poole would later say he did not hear it. When Poole called in another update, the supervisor again ordered the officers to stop chasing Richardson. The police department’s policy is for officers to end a pursuit if conditions are dangerous or a supervisors orders them to stop chasing. opkins claimed in her written

report that she started to follow the order, slowing down and turning off her siren. But Boyd says that does not match video from a second gas station, which shows the crash. That footage shows Batsell waiting at the intersection of Highway 94 and Cedar Glen rive. ust as he begins his left turn onto the highway, the urango blasts into view, plows into the side of him and shoves Batsell’s car all the way across the intersection into a utility pole. opkins’ patrol car, with lights flashing, trails immediately behind. Batsell’s legs were pinned under the steering column, and his door was caved in. Boyd says Batsell’s family is tormented by the horror of those last minutes of his life. Police described him gasping for breath as blood poured down his face. e was transported to a hospital, but it was too late. “We were robbed that day, his mother, Connie Batsell, said in a statement. “We were innocent. Krys was innocent, but we’re the ones paying for other people’s mistakes. Batsell’s death stunned not only his family and close friends, but fans who knew him through his

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online music reviews and interviews. e ran the YouTube channel Slam ance by Krystine Sixteen along with corresponding social media accounts, where he posted updates on albums and conversations with rock stars. When he died, no less than KISS posted condolences on its website. Richardson was arrested after the crash and is facing charges of murder, resisting arrest and driving while intoxicated. e suffered only minor injuries in the crash. Blood tests conducted at the hospital revealed methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system, authorities say. e was administered Narcan to treat what they believed was a drug overdose. At the time of the stop, however, all opkins knew was that he was wanted on a couple of warrants with a bond of $540, Boyd says. Yet she chased him along a busy road to a tragic, entirely avoidable end, according to the suit. And instead of taking responsibility, Boyd says, the police department has worked to deny any fault. Through a public records request, he obtained drafts of the young officer’s report as she and a supervisor edited it nearly a dozen times. e says the changes served to smooth over opkins’ actions. “It was very clearly attempting to spin how the incident occurred, and events occurred, to make it sound like the police department didn’t do a single thing wrong, Boyd says. St. Charles County spokeswoman Mary Enger released a statement reading in part, “The County believes Aron Richardson’s actions are the sole cause of the death. Richardson is awaiting trial for felony murder in the second degree, resisting arrest by fleeing, possession of a controlled substance and WI. The focus is on prosecuting Richardson for the crimes the County believes he committed that led to the death of Mr. Batsell. Richardson remains in custody on a $100,000 bond. In a taped jailhouse interview with police, he admitted he “fucked up but claimed to remember little about what happened. “Let the family know I’m deeply sorry, he said. Boyd says that’s more than Batsell’s family has heard from the county. n

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ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER GROSS

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How the plan to merge city and county would circumvent democracy and bankrupt St. Louis BY NAHUEL FEFER

At first I thought it was an oversight. When Better Together announced its plan to merge St. Louis city and county, I was excited by the long overdue energy around a regional vision, but the decision to refer the proposal to a statewide vote worried me. I had seen supporters claim that their hands were tied, because the approval of state voters would be necessary to effect the broad constitutional changes envisioned by the plan, but I thought I could offer a way out. I had served as director of economic policy for Mayor Francis Slay, and as an adviser through Mayor Lyda Krewson’s transi-

tion. That is to say, I’ve worked with many of the plan’s advocates, so I called someone who had helped edit the language of the proposed constitutional amendment. I asked if they had considered including a provision requiring majority support at both the statewide and local level. The Supreme Court approved just such a mechanism in Town of Lockport v. Citizens for Community Action. I explained that this approach would simultaneously afford the legal authority to amend the state constitution while protecting local rights to self-determination. To my surprise, I was informed that the statewide vote was critical because they did not expect the proposal to pass at the local level. I asked if imposing a new Nahuel Fefer previously worked as director of economic policy for the city of St. Louis. He is currently a student at NYU Law. Reach him at nahuel.s.fefer@gmail.com.

government on an unwilling population might not foster resentment and further division. They said it was worth it. The casual display of cynicism left a bitter taste in my mouth, and it compelled me to take a hard look at the proposal. I wanted to understand why the plan’s proponents had such little faith in their ability to persuade local voters to support their vision. What I found was that, despite marketing materials that speak in the language of equity and progress, the text of the proposed constitutional amendment reads quite plainly as a blueprint for a city structure designed to entrench white, wealthy political power and obstruct real reform. Better Together’s decision earlier this week to abandon provisions that would have enthroned County Executive Steve Stenger as king of the unified city through 2024 represents a step in the right direction. But the Stenger-related components were just the most dramatic flaws in a fundamentally broken structure that Continued on pg 12

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Facing fierce pushback, Better Together recently ditched its plan to put County Executive Steve Stenger in charge of the new metro city until 2024. But big problems still remain with the merger proposal. | PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER GROSS, BASED ON A PHOTO BY RYAN GINES

BETTER TOGETHER Continued from pg 11

deprives vulnerable communities of political power. I don’t say this lightly. I desperately wanted to get excited about a plan to finally unite our great region. The City-County ivorce of 1876 is the original sin behind a St. Louis that is defined by its silos. Lines drawn over a century ago have proven surprisingly durable, and our fragmented political structure has taken a moral, economic and psychological toll. We waste resources competing against ourselves in a race to the bottom instead of putting our best foot forward toward the nation. We forget that we are a major metropolitan area with enviable collective assets. Most significantly, we neglect the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors just because they live across arbitrary geographic lines. This is a profound moral failure, but it’s also shortsighted. Isolation may be the path of least resistance, but it is not a viable long-term strategy. Furthermore, having worked in local government, I know it’s eas-

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ier to tear down imperfect compromises than to build a better future. I recognize that there are many laudable aspects of the plan and that the perfect can be the enemy of the good. I understand why so many have been seduced by the plan and its vision for a more equitable future. Unfortunately, a thorough legal and financial analysis has led me to conclude that the proposal is not merely imperfect, but likely to make life worse for a broad swath of vulnerable St. Louisans across the region. While many will benefit from merging our police departments and reforming our nightmarish municipal court system, Better Together’s plan also puts the city in a financial hole, forcing deep cuts. By erecting a political structure that largely disenfranchises underserved communities, the plan all but ensures, barring uncharacteristically enlightened leadership, that they will bear the burden. Ultimately, I fear that the proposal is little more than a Trojan horse designed to advance a libertarian billionaire’s quest to cut taxes on the wealthy and defund government.

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PART I: UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY The plan advances this agenda, which does not have popular support, by establishing a series of anti-democratic mechanisms and structures. The problems start with the statewide vote, which allows the new city to be established without a local mandate, but they go much further — to the foundations of the new city’s political system. The work of designing the new government’s charter and political map is entrusted to leaders whom the proposal takes various steps to insulate from political checks. Furthermore, the plan establishes a budgeting scheme that privileges wealthier municipalities and affords their elected representatives disproportionate influence. While certain pieces of this structure are individually defensible as necessary political compromises, their cumulative impact is to create an indefen-

sible system that deprives vulnerable communities of political power.

Government Reorganization Plan: Minority Rule Better Together’s proposed constitutional amendment is best understood as a framework, establishing the ground rules under which our new regional government will take shape. Section 2.7(c), which entrusts the formulation of what the report calls a “reorganization plan to the individual serving as county executive on anuary 1, 2021 (“Metro City Mayor ) and Mayor Lyda Krewson (“Transition Mayor ), is at the heart of the amendment’s efforts to limit who gets a seat at the decision-making table. The plan would rewrite our government, superseding “charter provisions, ordinances, resolutions, rules, regulations and orders. Some decisions are necessary in order to make unification real — consolidating departments, eliminating contradictions in city and county codes, and much more.

But unlike today’s charter amendments, these changes would not be subject to a public vote, or even the approval of the Metro Council, the new city’s legislative body. In what may be the proposed amendment’s most extraordinary language, it provides that the plan goes into effect unless it is rejected by a two-thirds vote of the new Metro Council. This approach runs against our nation’s most fundamental democratic principles. When such important issues are on the line, it is imperative that changes have clear popular support. Constitutional amendments do not go into effect unless they are approved by a two-thirds vote in Congress (and ratified by the states). The city’s current charter goes even further, requiring a two-thirds vote of the people. Better Together’s approach does the precise opposite. Instead of permitting a third of the legislature to obstruct change, it empowers a minority to impose a vision developed by just two elected officials, and bypasses a public vote altogether. The absence of real checks is especially problematic because much of the substantive work will be done by privately funded lawyers and consultants — making this precisely the time we need rigorous oversight. It is also worrying that, for all the equitable rhetoric associated with the plan, the governing legal standards concern necessity and efficiency. Specifically, the amendment empowers the two executive officers to design the reorganization plan “as necessary and proper, to effectuate this section and to ensure the proper and efficient administration of the affairs of the metropolitan city. The “and is important, as it means that changes to our laws implemented through this process do not have to be directly tied to the merger process, and may instead simply advance the new city’s efficiency — deregulatory measures including a weakening of anti-discrimination laws could be passed under this provision. It is telling that the word “equity appears just once in the legal text, in a section allowing the metropolitan mayor to appoint a deputy mayor focused on community engagement and equity.

Redrawing the Map: Unchecked Self-Dealing The establishment of the new city’s Metro Council, which would redraw the region’s political map

in the form of 33 council districts, is also fraught with potential for abuse. In any districting effort, the key questions are: Who gets to draw the lines, how are they selected, and how are they constrained. As others have noted, the proposed amendment raises concerns in each respect, but fails especially dramatically with respect

government reorganization plan. Each legislative body can veto the other’s effort to change the map, and like the reorganization plan, the new map goes into effect even if the legislative bodies do not approve it, meaning that wherever the County Council and Board of Aldermen disagree, the executives set the default outcome.

In what may be the amendment’s most extraordinary language, the reorganization plan goes into e ect unless it is rejected by a two-thirds vote of the new Metro Council — running against our most fundamental democratic principles. to selection. Flying in the face of best practices, which are designed to minimize self-dealing by affording a variety of conflicting stakeholders an opportunity to veto the selection of a demographer, section 2.(5)(c)(i) of the amendment confers complete appointment authority to the co-executives. For comparison, Clean Missouri, which was approved by Missouri voters in 2018, lays out a mapdrawing process that charges the state auditor and Senate majority minority leaders with jointly selecting a demographer, and subjects the resulting map to a committee selected jointly by the Republican and emocratic parties, as well as the governor. It’s a convoluted process, but it’s designed to minimize the abuse that emerges when one set of political interests is able to take over. Conversely, under Better Together’s plan, the only check on the map designed by the demographer lies in the current County Council and city Board of Aldermen, provided that they manage to agree to and pass identical plans. Setting aside the reality that this level of coordination could prove a challenge for occasionally dysfunctional legislative bodies, the fundamental problem is that this structure puts the status quo bias to work in favor of the interests of the co-executives. In fact, they could use this power to design a map that delivers a legislative body that affords them the onethird support they need to pass the

Politics: And You Thought “Aldergeddon” Was Bad Thus far we have discussed the roles of metro city mayor and transition mayor in abstract terms. This is partly because Steve Stenger’s political (and legal) troubles create substantial uncertainty about the identity of the metro city mayor, but also because this degree of concentrated power should worry us, regardless of who wields it. For example, I respect Mayor Krewson’s integrity. Like all administrations, however, her team is disproportionately connected to, and thus responsive to, her political base, which is disproportionately white and wealthy. The structure of city government balances those tendencies, imperfectly, with other voices in government who represent a diverse set of interests. Better Together’s proposal both raises the democratic stakes — the design of a new city charter, new political map and the city’s first budgets (more on this in a minute) — and eliminates checks. It extends Krewson’s term to five and a half years, cuts the city’s legislative branch out of the work of designing the new city and sidesteps a public vote on the city’s new charter. This approach is unjustifiable. The new city should serve all communities equally, which means all communities must be represented in its design.

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The potential for democratic failure was especially high when it looked like Stenger and Krewson would serve together as co-executives. Their overlapping constituencies made it unlikely that they would seriously check each other. In the wake of the news that Stenger’s administration is the subject of a federal investigation, however, his removal is a real possibility, so it’s worth turning to the question of who will serve as Mayor Krewson’s partner through the transition. There are three basic scenarios. First, Stenger could survive to serve as metro city mayor through 2022. The truth is that proving political corruption is not easy, and barring felony conviction, the County Council’s authority to remove Stenger is limited. Instead, voters would need to submit an initiative petition to recall the county executive. The county charter sets the bar high for such an action, requiring 20 percent of the local votes in the last gubernatorial election: 100,000 signatures. If, however, he is removed, the ball would be passed to the County Council to nominate a temporary successor from their own ranks. Because the new county executive is legally required to be a emocrat, it’s likely that the Council’s three Republican members would support Sam Page, the most conservative emocrat on the Council. If the recall question went to the voters in November 2020 on the same ballot as Better Together’s proposal, that would leave Page as county executive on anuary 1, 2021, and thus, as metro city mayor. While Page may, like Krewson, operate in good faith, the fact remains that the co-executives will represent a narrow set of interests — in fact, the vast majority of the new city’s voters will not have voted for either of them. Finally, if Stenger was recalled in November 2019, or in the 2020 primary season, this would trigger an election for county executive that would unfold simultaneously with the state vote on Better Together. That prospect would likely draw a slew of candidates with a variety of positions on regional unification. While it is impossible to predict the outcome of such a race, the one thing that is clear is that it is a recipe for bad outcomes. For example, given that Better Together does not expect the proposal to pass at the local level, it does not seem far-fetched to

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The fact is that the co-executives will

BETTER TOGETHER Continued from pg 13

imagine that the county could elect a candidate dedicated to obstructing consolidation, plunging the new city into an unproductive political mess even as Better Together’s proposal defunds government. Alternatively, a crowded primary could result in the election of a county executive with a small fraction of the vote, mirroring Mayor Krewson’s election in 2017 with one-third of primary voters. The odds of inclusive representation among the co-executives seem slim at best. Conversely, the three scenarios outlined above point to serious risk that Better Together’s unaccountable structure will be abused to elevate the interests of white wealthy St. Louisans in the design of the new city.

Municipalities: Separate and Unequal Unfortunately, the catalog of antidemocratic provisions does not end here. The last big piece of this puzzle is how the new municipal structure will result in uneven distribution of power within the new Metro City. While the proposal preserves county municipalities, it affords them varying degrees of autonomy depending on the strength of their property and sales tax bases. Sections 5.4(a) and 5.2(b)(ii) give municipalities within the new Metro City the authority to set their own property (and utility) tax rates, as well as control over how they choose to spend these revenues. This puts the budgets of municipalities with strong property tax bases (places like Ladue, Kirkwood and Webster Groves) largely out of reach of the new Metro City. Conversely, sections 5.4(b) and 5.2(b)(i) place municipalities that rely on other taxes under the control of the metropolitan government, though those with strong sales tax bases — that is to say, with malls — retain some autonomy, the extent of which will ultimately have to be settled through practice, or litigated. Finally, after 2022, the city of St. Louis itself would be dissolved into a municipal corporation, with its debt managed by a committee of five appointed individuals. At that point, city residents would rely solely on the Metro City to determine service levels. This structure has various implications, including for airport

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represent a narrow set of interests — in fact, the vast majority of the new city’s voters will not have voted for either of them. privatization, which could possibly be carried out through the municipal corporation. For the purpose of this analysis, however, the most relevant piece is that while wealthy municipalities will control their municipal district budgets, insulating them from city-wide cuts, the areas that are currently St. Louis city, the unconsolidated county and poorer municipalities in north county will rely on a vote of the full 33-member Metro Council to set spending levels, making them more vulnerable to forced cuts. This system also affords Council members representing municipalities that are able to fund services through property taxes disproportionate leverage over their counterparts, who will need their votes on countless bills, but are excluded from the same decisions affecting their more affluent peers. It’s also worth highlighting that section 5.1(a) of the amendment prohibits redistribution in the provision of municipal services. Municipalities that are already under-funded will have no prospect of improving basic services for their residents unless they dissolve. Reducing the number of county municipalities is a good thing, but we should be uncomfortable with a world in which the only remaining municipalities are in wealthy, white parts of the county. Furthermore, because the proposal empowers municipalities to serve as local planning commissions, the dissolution of the city and poorer municipalities would result in an unequal level of local control over development across the new Metro City. Fundamentally, the proposal would shift the locus of elected representation subtly, but powerfully, towards wealthier areas of St. Louis County, and erect a financial wall prohibiting the redistribution of property tax revenue among municipalities.

PART II: FISCAL IMPACT

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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These anti-democratic structures are especially worrying in light of the fact that the plan seems designed to put the new Metro City in a financial box, forcing a series of painful cuts. Better Together’s financial story is simple: consolidation will generate savings that can fund tax cuts. Unfortunately, this story breaks down at every level. The projected savings are speculative and reflect the same kind of magical economic thinking that Rex Sinquefield’s advisers used to devise trickle-down economics, and that resulted in Kansas’ fiscal failure. Furthermore, any realized savings should be reinvested in our community, not used to eliminate a tax regime that enjoys broad democratic support.

Illusionary Savings: Voodoo Economics Better Together asserts that merging will bring efficiencies that save the region more than $3 billion from 2023 to 2032. These projections are not based in rigorous financial analysis. In fact, Better Together only cites $6 million in specific operational savings. Instead, they are based on a faith that rejects the expert consensus, articulated in a series of studies that fail to find any relationship between consolidation and reduced spending. The closest that Better Together gets to justifying its guess that merging will save the region hundreds of millions annually is its assumption that merging will allow St. Louis’ $1,900 in regional spending per capita to fall closer to Indianapolis and Louisville’s spending rates of $1,100 and $1,300. The truth, however, is that these dramatically different spending rates are a function not of these governments’ efficiency, but of their decision to provide a lower level of public services to their residents. In fact, when a Pennsylvania think tank analyzed the Indianapolis and Louisville mergers on behalf of Pittsburgh, their research found that signifi-

cant budgetary savings were neither expected nor realized from consolidation. Furthermore, if you compare St. Louis’ regional expenditures to those of the 100 largest American cities, we are precisely in the middle of the pack — 48th — while Louisville and Indianapolis are well below average, spending the 18th and 11th least, respectively. If we take a closer look at the data, there is no reason to believe that a lower rate of expenditures per capita is associated with municipal prosperity. After merging, St. Louis would become a city of over one million people. Of the nine cities with a population over one million, all but one, San Antonio, spends more than $2,000 per capita. New York is at the top, with $8,700 per capita, but Austin spends nearly $4,000, Chicago spends $2,704 and Phoenix spends more than $2,300. While I am not arguing that St. Louis should spend more — each city finds its own balance — there is no basis to claim that St. Louis can or should be spending less.

Earnings Tax Phase Out: A Quixotic Quest This plan relies on these imaginary savings to justify phasing out the earnings and payroll taxes, which together generate more than $200 million in revenues. The legal dynamics of the earnings tax phase-out are a little tricky, so it’s worth pausing to discuss how it would work. A state law pushed by Rex Sinquefield currently provides that the earnings tax gets phased out over ten years unless St. Louis votes to re-approve it every five years. Yet section 7.2(a) of Better Together’s plan would prohibit the new city from going to its voters for re-authorization, triggering an automatic ten year phaseout of both the earnings and payroll taxes starting in FY 2022. Through this vehicle, Sinquefield finally gets around the pesky requirement for a local vote. Sinquefield’s vendetta against the earnings tax has no basis in economics. Even a study he commissioned found in 2011 that alternatives to the earnings tax were not fiscally sufficient, politically feasible or economically desirable, while a 2016 study by the Brookings Institution found that “different sources of tax revenues have dramatically different impacts on growth, with property taxes exerting consistently negative effects, and income and corporate taxes

usually exerting positive effects. Finally, while many in St. Louis are struggling, the idea that our region is too impoverished to justify an income tax is a myth. ames Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, has noted that, when you adjust incomes for local cost of living, St. Louis places twentieth out of the nation’s 381 metropolitan areas, and seventh of the nation’s 53 largest metro regions. The earnings tax is not perfect, but regional consolidation is actually an opportunity to make it fairer and more progressive. A regional earnings tax would apply to city and county residents equally, regardless of where they work, and generate enough revenue to fund the establishment of a progressive rate. ypothetically, an individual’s first $25,000 in income would be tax free, and the tax rate would ramp up gradually to one percent for income above, say, $200,000. Such a tax regime would place our region on solid financial footing and help finance the overdue collective investments that we have failed to make for decades. We should be working to ensure that residents across our region feel safe and that parents across our region feel confident that their kids are getting a good education. The city alone has a backlog of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of critical infrastructure needs. The truth is that crime, struggling schools and crumbling infrastructure hold St. Louis back, not an unremarkable tax regime.

Delusional Financial Projections: Misleading and Dangerous Unfortunately, this plan threatens the new city’s capacity to address these long-term challenges. While Better Together claims that the city will have more money than it knows what to do with (“revenues to Metro City are expected to exceed expenditures by up to $342 million by 2032 ), these rosy financial projections have no basis in reality. Better Together’s “Pro Forma Budget assumes that government expenditures, which typically grow at a pace of two percent, reflecting inflation, will instead shrink by one percent annually for ten years. That means that in real terms the region is expected to cut roughly $75 million (three percent) out of the budget annually for ten

Under Better Together’s proposal, the new metro city of St. Louis would grow from 66.2 square miles to 588, and boast a population of 1.3 million — a dramatic increase in population to serve that would be paired with mandatory annual spending cuts. | ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER GROSS

Rex Sinquefield’s vendetta against the earnings tax has no basis in economics. Even a study he commissioned found that alternatives to the earnings tax were not fiscally sufficient, politically feasible or economically desirable. years, cumulatively shrinking government by 26 percent. The idea that local budgets are riddled with useless fat is a myth. I can only speak for the city of St Louis, but having gone through the budget process, I can assure folks that the recession left the city’s finances extremely lean. I’m sure there’s some waste, and good peo-

ple are constantly working to find it, but cuts will mean hard choices and a real reduction in services. I fought, with varying degrees of success, to restore funding to St. Louis youth jobs, drug courts, recreation capital and the Affordable ousing Trust Fund in the 20172018 budget, but there’s only so much you can do with creativity,

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and at some point you have to cut positions: nurses, engineers, neighborhood improvement specialists and more. Though we were successfully able to avoid layoffs by cutting temporarily vacant positions, it will be all but impossible to implement the cuts imposed by Better Together’s plan without eliminating occupied positions. Better Together’s claim to the contrary hinges on the assumption that these cuts will be paid for out of operational savings, but as the Pittsburgh think tank’s research shows, there is no evidence that consolidation is likely to generate dramatic savings. The financial analysis consistently fails to reflect reality. For example, one could be forgiven for looking at Better Together’s “Pro Forma Budget and concluding that, because “Status uo expenditures do not exceed “Total Revenues until 2026, cuts

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

Continued on pg 17

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MARCH 6-12, 2019

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Better Together asserts it will bring efficiencies that save the region

ore

than $3 billion from 2023 to 2032. These projections are not based in rigorous financial analysis n fact, etter ogether only cites $6 million in specific operational savings.

BETTER TOGETHER Continued from pg 15

are optional and the Metro City can simply choose to run smaller surpluses. In fact, however, the dollar figure that Better Together claims the region will spend in 2023, roughly $2.4 billion, and which is subsequently indexed to inflation through 2032, is what the region is currently spending in 2018, as the Pro Forma acknowledges. That means Better Together’s

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“Status uo does not factor in four years of natural inflationary growth, effectively reducing government spending upfront by roughly $200 million. This may be a reflection of a tool that Better Together deploys to force governments into making cuts: Section 5(6)(a) imposes a mandatory budget freeze. That is, before we cut taxes — before we even start shrinking government by three percent a year — government will already have been forced to shrink its FY 2022 budget back down to FY 2019 levels.

The Financial Box: A Manufactured Budget Crisis This gets us to the real core of the problem. It’s not really Better Together’s laughable projections, which future elected officials can choose to ignore, but that the plan imposes its assumptions in the form of a series of mandatory cuts — which will force the city to reduce services dramatically. The budget freeze, earnings and payroll tax phase-outs, as well as property tax reductions, are all locked in by an affirmative statewide vote, and will put local government in a deep financial hole. Even provisions that make sense in the abstract, like the requirement that the new city save three percent of its revenues, as St. Louis County already does, effectively impose yet another two percent tax cut, as two-thirds of regional expenditures are not currently subject to this limitation. Together, these require the region to shrink its budget by a little over eleven percent. Furthermore, the new city’s fi-

March into Spring gear up for:

nancial laws explicitly insulate certain accounts from cuts. The first is debt service, which the amendment bends over backwards to emphasize is the new Metro City’s number one priority. Next are municipal property and utility taxes, which are explicitly protected from redistribution. Finally, in one of the plan’s strangest moves, it carves out a roughly $300 million property tax revenue stream for a new Metro City Fire epartment governed by its own board of directors. Bizarrely, the plan takes one of the few St. Louis city departments that could benefit from some serious consolidation (and that city budget staff have long believed may have some politically protected fat) and expands its budget. While the city’s budget shrinks at a rate of one percent, Better Together’s Pro Forma shows the fire district growing from a budget of $278 million today to $299 million in 2023 and $357 million in 2032. When you combine parts of the budget that are legally insulated from cuts with the pieces that are politically untouchable (namely the half-billion we spend on policing) and the components that are operationally untouchable (refuse, water, streets, etcetera), I worry Continued on pg 18

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the whims of the same billionaire who broke Kansas, and who is using our region’s deep desire for unity to destroy government.

BETTER TOGETHER Continued from pg 17

that the cuts can’t help but focus on discretionary services like public transit, parks, the county’s Children’s Service Fund and the city’s epartment of uman Services, which disproportionately benefit vulnerable populations. To be fair, there are ways out of this self-imposed financial crisis — they just aren’t desirable. The city could raise sales taxes, a regressive mechanism disproportionately impacting low-income families, or it could sell the airport for a short-term solution. The unfortunate reality, however, is that while these measures would buy us breathing room, they would not set us on a sustainable financial path capable of funding transformative collective investments in our community.

CONCLUSION: We Can Get This Right This analysis is meant to be constructive. All of these problems can be fixed by amending the text of the proposed amendment. I hope the plan’s proponents, many of whom I respect, realize that the text does not do what the marketing materials claim, and seize the opportunity to align the product they are selling with their rhetoric. For example, if we want the new city to be inclusive, why not provide for the reorganization plan to be the product of a public commission, with appointments made by both co-executives and approved by the County Council and Board of Aldermen, with certain requirements to ensure adequate geographic and demographic representation Similarly, if we want to set our city on strong financial footing, let’s stop kidding ourselves with magical thinking. Instead, let’s be serious about how we can make

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the earnings tax better, specifically by providing those who can’t afford to pay with tax relief through a progressive rate. Some compromises will be necessary for unification to pass at the local level. County municipalities will demand certain protections, and practically speaking, the regional balance of power will not permit the new city to embrace a wholly progressive agenda. But the new city should not reflect a radical libertarian vision either, and its formation cannot be an excuse to entrench establishment political forces. If, however, no changes are forthcoming, we must reject the false dichotomy that the only way to end the city-county divide is to acquiesce to the whims of the same billionaire who broke Kansas, and who is using our region’s deep desire for unity as a carrot to advance his vision to destroy government. The truth is that rewriting our laws will take years of hard work. It represents a serious investment of time and energy, and though we can’t afford undue delay — our fragmented government has a very real human cost — it will not translate into real change unless we get it right. We cannot rely on a private process to define the future of our region. Instead, the vision must emerge organically from an inclusive, public process that builds off the valuable work that’s already been done. While I can’t predict what such a process will produce, it should place equity at the heart of its analysis, and I hope it engages with hard questions about our tragically fragmented school system and innovative ideas like rank choice voting, which would strengthen our democracy instead of weakening it. This is an opportunity to think boldly about the future, about what we demand from our democracy and the type of community we want to build together. We cannot afford to waste it. n

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CALENDAR

BY PAUL FRISWOLD

THURSDAY 03/28 Life After War Sarah and James were romantic partners and work partners while covering the war in Iraq, but James had to leave when the stress became too much. Then Sarah was caught in a bomb blast. She’s now back in America recuperating from her injuries, but getting physically healthy is just one thing. Recovering her mental health may be more challenging. James thinks they should seize this opportunity to settle down and start a family, but is that even possible in a world with so much violence? The idea of a normal future is alien, and beyond that, there’s a betrayal in their past that neither will speak about. Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still is about a damaged couple trying to become whole and the aftermath of war. The New Jewish Theatre presents the drama at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (March 28 through March 14) at the Wool Studio Theatre in the Jewish Community Center (2 Millstone Campus Drive, Creve Coeur; www.newjewishtheatre. org). Tickets are $42 to $45.

Karlovsky Dance takes you on a journey through time and space in Shifting Time. | BOB MORRISON

Falls Down Funny The small town of Popcorn Falls is in trouble. Its namesake waterfall has run dry, and a big corporation is about to move in and build a sewage plant that will wipe the town off the map. Mayor Trundle and Joe, a janitor, seek a way to save their home. There’s a grant available that could keep Popcorn Falls going, but the money has to be used in part to present a play. The town has no theater, no actors and only a week to get a production ready to go. Can they pull it off? James Hindman’s comedy Popcorn Falls calls for two actors to perform 21 different characters to tell the story of a town in a race against time. Midnight Company presents Popcorn Falls at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Kranzberg Arts Center (501 North Grand Boulevard; www.midnightcompany.com). Tickets are $20.

Marking Time

Love blossoms through letters in Daddy Long Legs. | JOHN LAMB

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Japanese butoh dancing is spiritually opposed to definition or formalization, but it’s generally characterized by playful and grotesque imagery and very slow, controlled movements. For Shifting Time, the new dance concert by Karlovsky & Company Dance,

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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butoh and Western post-modern dance provide the inspiration. The dancers will incorporate the different ways in which humans experience time and the larger scale of ecological time. The last hour at work on Friday is perceived quite differently from the Monday lunch hour, for example. Shifting Time uses original choreography by Dawn Karlovsky and guest collaborator Megan Nicely. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (March 29 and 30) at the Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square; www.karlovskydance.org). Tickets are $15 to $20.

SATURDAY 03/30 A Letter from Daddy Jerusha Abbott has the unfortunate distinction of being the oldest orphan in the John Grier ome, but finally catches a break when a mysterious benefactor, “Mr. Smith,” offers to send her to college, all expenses paid. The only catch is that Jerusha must send a monthly letter to Mr. Smith detailing her progress. Four years of regular letters document Jerusha’s maturation, her friends and

her dreams, all of which warm Mr. Smith’s heart to his charge and make him consider the nature of his charity. But Mr. Smith has a secret, and Paul Gordon and John Caird’s musical Daddy Long Legs tells the story of two lonely people who unexpectedly discover how alike they are despite vastly different circumstances. Insight Theatre Company opens its new season with Daddy Long Legs at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday (March 28 to April 14) at the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive; www.insighttheatrecompany. com). Tickets are $20 to $40.

SUNDAY 03/31 Sooner or Lager In the craft beer world there’s a tendency to experiment with styles and flavors, which can spiral into some strange territory (Gooey Butter Cake Beer, anyone?). In the race for something new and noteworthy, the humble lager gets overlooked. Urban Chestnut Brewery once again shines the spotlight on the crisp and sturdy beer that built St. Louis with its Lager Summit. A host of craft breweries, from Daredevil to the Austin Bier-

WEEK OF MARCH 28-APRIL 3

A scene from Skippers. | COURTESY OF THE BENTON PARK FILM FEST

FRIDAY 03/29 Interior: Benton Park

S It takes two actors to make a village in Popcorn Falls. | TODD DAVIS

garten Brewing Co., have brewed old and new lagers for the event, which also includes seminars on everything from the lagering caves of St. Louis to the history of lagers

Cat Clips returns. | WWW.STLCATS.ORG

in America. The second annual lager summit takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 31, at Urban Chestnut’s Grove Brewery & Bierhall (4465 Manchester Avenue; ww.urbanchestnut.com). Tickets are $25 to $32 and include a commemorative sampling glass and

unlimited samples, plus admission to all conference talks.

TUESDAY 0402 Cinematicats Al Gore gets all the credit for inventing the internet, but it was cats who made the internet the unstoppable juggernaut that it is today. There isn’t a video-sharing site online that isn’t blessed with clips of cats misjudging the distance of their jumps, cruising around on their Roombas and terrorizing much larger dogs — the art form is the lifeblood of the internet. For the second annual Cat Clips screening, a curated selection of user-submitted precious cat footage will be screened live from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at Urban Chestnut’s Grove Brewery & Bierhall (4465 Manchester Avenue; ww.stlcats.org). Snacks are free and there will be a photobooth, raffle baskets and cash prizes for the top two clips. Tickets are $20 to $40, and the money benefits Animal House Cat Rescue. n

t. Louis has a strong tradition of locally made films, thanks to the St. Louis Filmmakers Festival and the St. Louis International Film Fest, not to mention the Hollywood productions that have shot here, from White Palace to Escape from New York. But there’s always room on the calendar for another film festival — Franki Cambeletta just didn’t expect he’d be involved in the newest entry. The director of the new Benton Park Film Fest credits Dick Pointer, the owner of Lemp Mansion and Lamp Grand Hall, for both the idea and the venue. It wasn’t a completely out-of-the-blue suggestion. Not only is Pointer a filmmaker, but Cambeletta is one himself (with his partners John Bolduan and Jeremy King, he owns the production company Shift Films, with Ryan Foizey as a creative partner). When Pointer suggested it, Cambeletta quickly agreed, and a new festival was born. “I wanted to do something more boutique. We’re not the size of SLIFF,” Cambeletta points out. “We’re a different outlet for local, national and international filmmakers, and we’re doing it locally.” But while they envisioned something small, they found themselves with a deluge of submissions. “We had 936 submissions from more than sixteen countries,” raves Cambeletta. “And that was in the first three days. We accepted 103 of those, and they’ll screen on both days of the fest.” Four screening rooms will be organized thematically. Hall one is for fea-

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tures and shorts, hall two screens the feature documentaries and student documentaries (on Saturday only). Hall three is the founders hall, screening films by Cambeletta and Pointer, and experimental films, musical shorts and animation entries will be in hall four. Food and drink will be sold on site as well, so you can maximize your film watching. Pressed for a few festival standouts, Cambeletta reels off a list of titles from around the world spanning several genres. “There’s a film from Poland, The Woodkin, that’s maybe my favorite film right now,” he says. “We have a feature from Chicago, Olympia, that’s beautifully written. The star of the film wrote it; it’s about someone in her early twenties losing both parents and having to quickly decide what she’s going to do with her life. We have some LGBT films that are amazing.” He adds, “We wanted to show the diversity in film, and so Continuity is going to be at the festival.” The St. Louis non-profit, which works to expand diversity in media through skill-based training and mentoring, will make a presentation after the screenings to explain how to get involved with working on films, whether that’s on the technical or creative side. “We wanted the Benton Park Film Fest to be approachable for beginning and intermediate filmmakers,” promises Cambeletta. “If you’re an actor, or a musician or a writer or a would-be filmmaker, come meet some people and make some connections.” The Benton Park Film Festival takes place from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday (March 29 and 30) at the Lemp Grand Hall (1817 Cherokee Street; www.bpfilmfest.org). Tickets are $25 and are good for both days and all films.

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FILM

[REVIEW]

Out of Africa Wash U’s African Film Festival finds the heroism in contemporary African life Written by

ROBERT HUNT Washington University’s African Film Festival Presented Friday through Sunday (March 29 to 31; afas.wustl.edu/events/african-filmfestival) in Washington University’s Brown Hall, room 100.

n addition to being one of the highlights of the cinematic year, Washington University’s annual African Film Festival is a rare opportunity to examine a wide range of cinematic cultures that remain largely unknown to North American audiences. While it’s always presumptuous to draw conclusions about a society from only a small sample of its cultural output, the films on display this weekend offer a glimpse of contemporary African residents as they balance centuries of tradition with the encroaching enticements of the 21st century. These eight films — four features and four shorts from five different countries — highlight the ordinary heroism of everyday people as they challenge long-standing views on sexuality, confront political corruption and even provide a comic take on the influence of superhero and kung-fu movies. And admission is free! Perhaps the clearest example of a modern cultural clash comes from the Kenyan film Rafiki (Friend). Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya, and director Wanuri Kahiu had to sue the government to get the film released. It tells the story of Kena, a young woman in Nairobi who is a model of conformity, working in her father’s small shop and studying to become a nurse. Kena’s sheltered life is given a major spin when she meets and falls in love with freespirited, neon-haired Ziki. To add a touch of Romeo and Juliet to the mix, their fathers are opponents in a local election.

Supa Modo is a Kenyan superhero story that takes place in real life. | © ONE FINE DAY FILMS Although the director apprises viewers of the dangers facing the women, her story focuses on more mundane challenges — parental disapproval, town gossips, leering neighbors. Kena understands that her life is changing and that nearly everything about it — her sexuality, her education, her desire to become more than a housewife — makes her an outsider. Lifted by Samantha Mugatsia’s strong performance as Kena, Rafiki is a brisk, passionate film. It sometimes seems that Kahiu is trying to pack three hours of social concerns into a brisk 83 minutes. Still, you can forgive the slight overreach and admire the sheer energy and compassion. Starting as a loose, almost plotless human drama and evolving into a story of personal courage and resistance, Borders follows a group of unrelated travelers as they go by bus from Senegal through Mali and Burkina Faso to Nigeria, a journey of more than 1,500 miles. The trip is punctuated by border checks, where armed guards follow a tradition of corruption and abuse. For much of the film, director Apolline Traoré mirrors the rambling, disconnected nature of the trip with its routine drudgery and isolated altercations between the passengers. Gradually, relation-

ships develop and alliances are formed as four nearly incompatible women reluctantly join together to resist the increasingly violent authorities. Borders is rich in atmosphere, capturing the details of routine bureaucracy and everyday inconvenience, yet ending on a strong note of rebellion and heroism. The familiar clash between modernity and tradition is the primary subject of Berni Goldblat’s Wallay. It’s the story of Ady, an unruly, foul-mouthed thirteen-yearold dispatched from his home in Lyon to live with family members in a rural town in Burkina Faso. Placed under the wing of stern uncle Amadou, Ady finds himself in a strange world where smart phones and high-end sneakers have lost their cultural import. This is, predictably, a comingof-age story, the tale of a boy who learns about responsibility and maturity by embracing a new environment and lowering his defenses. (Well, not all of them: To Ady’s alarm, his uncle’s idea of a rite of passage involves an unwanted circumcision.) Surprisingly, the festival’s sharpest analysis of Western culture, as well as its most engaging film, is the family-friendly (give or take a few lines) Supa Modo, presented as its Saturday afternoon “Eye

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on Youth” selection. Co-produced by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), it’s the story of Jo, a terminally ill young girl whose mind races with fantasies of costumed superheroes and acrobatic martial artists. Jo’s distraught mother brings her home from the hospital to ensure that her final days are peaceful and stress-free, but the imaginative Jo has other plans. While she dreams of developing her own superpowers, her teenaged sister Mwix decides to indulge her fantasies, recruiting the entire village to stage elaborate crime scenes that only a nine-year-old superheroine can resolve. It’s silly and charming in his debut film, director Likarion Wainaina has an appropriately light touch for lively action scenes, and his young star Stycie Waweru is a pure delight. Wainaina makes a brilliant narrative shift in the final 30 minutes when Jo’s cinephile pal Mike, objecting to the mass deception, guides Jo in a new direction (think Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure). Maintaining a careful balance between the bittersweet and the outright goofy, Supa Modo doesn’t avoid tragedy, but presents Jo’s story with such warmth and invention that even the inevitability of her illness offers a genuine sense of redemption. n

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Nepalese, Indian

Korean Cuisine Open Since 2004 Open 7 days a week Daily Lunch Buffet & Dinner Menu

Catering Delivery Take Out 4145 Manchester Ave, St. Louis

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314-531-4800

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THURSDAY, MARCH 28, PLAYERS LEAGUE

8 PM AT THE READY ROOM

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$6, 8:15 PM AT THE IMPROVE SHOP

10 PM AT THE HANDLEBAR

MAGIC BEANS W/ AMORAMORA

RAFE WILLIAMS LIVE COMEDY ALBUM RECORDING

$10, 8 PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY

FRIDAY, MAR 29, THE ST. LOUIS SOUND PROJECT MUSIC FESTIVAL: HIP-HOP EXPERIENCE

8 PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP

SATURDAY, MAR 30, YOUNG NUDY

$10-$13, 7 PM AT THE READY ROOM

$22, 7 PM AT THE READY ROOM

THE BATES WITH LOOPRAT

COFRESI, WOOKIEGOLDBRICK, RANDOM

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DAN, KABASS

9 PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY

COMEDY SHOWCASE AT THE SHOP $12, 8:15 PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP

$15, 7 PM AT THE READY ROOM

THURSDAY APR 4, 2019 PRIDE IDOL AT JUST JOHN

TUESDAY APR 2,

10 PM AT JUST JOHN

ICE NINE KILLS & FROM ASHES TO NEW: MARCH INTO MADNESS TOUR

HARD-HITTING HEROES: ST. LOUIS METAL, HARD ROCK TRIBUTE NIGHT

$22, 6 PM AT THE READY ROOM

$8, 7 PM AT THE READY ROOM

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NOCTURNAL NOISE PREPARTY: ZEKE BEATS, SALTY, AND LETTERS

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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CAFE

[REVIEW]

It Takes Two Wok O Taco’s combination of Chinese and Mexican food tantalizes with possibility Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Wok O Taco 10633 Page Avenue, 314-473-1027. Mon.Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (Closed Tuesdays.)

little over a year ago, Bianca and Abel Cervantes were out for a meal at a Chinese buffet, but something wasn’t right. There was nothing wrong with the food, per se; the restaurant had an array of well-prepared dishes typical of what you’d find at any Chinese-American restaurant. However, the husband and wife could not help but feel something was missing. Discussing it over dinner, they realized the problem: There were no tortillas. The couple did not expect to find traditional Mexican items on a Chinese buffet, but that did not mitigate their desire for them. As they began talking, they realized how delicious a soft taco stuffed with Chinese-style fried rice and covered in Mexican hot sauce would be. The idea was like a light bulb going off in their minds. They were so inspired that Abel began to experiment with Chinese and Mexican fusion dishes at home. After some encouragement from his brother, Marcos, Abel got serious about turning his experimentation into a restaurant. And so, after about a year of menu development, the brothers and their wives opened the doors to Wok O Taco. It’s hard to imagine two people better prepared to open such a restaurant than the Cervantes brothers. The two were born in Mexico and were steeped in its culinary traditions before moving to St. Louis as teenagers. In need of work, they got jobs cooking in local Chinese restaurants, becoming even more proficient in preparing General Tso’s chicken and shrimpfried rice than the cuisine of their homeland.

At Wok O Taco, chorizo-fried rice shares the menu with chipotle chicken noodles and wonton empanadas. | MABEL SUEN They used that proficiency, together with their Mexican heritage, as the basis for Wok O Taco, which opened last December on Page Boulevard in unincorporated St. Louis County, about a block east of Warson Road. The restaurant may be a new concept to that part of town, but it follows in the spirit of such Asian-Mexican fusion spots as David Choi’s Seoul Taco juggernaut and Sue Shackelford’s Cherokee Street restaurant Kalbi Taco Shack, which have demonstrated a hunger for such genre-mixing. The restaurant occupies a small storefront that has been home to three different Indian concepts over the past few years — Gokul, Peshwa and Spice of India. The Cervanteses have done away with the old d cor in favor of both Mexican and Chinese design elements.

The touches are subtle, however, and the vibrant red, yellow and green walls and yellow-painted tin ceiling are the most eye-catching details. About seven tables and six booths fill the small, minimally appointed room. Though the restaurant is full service, takeout is equally accessible from the small counter at the front of the room. If you come in expecting a Mexican-inspired riff on good old Midwestern-style Chinese, you can surrender to such simple pleasures as crab Rangoon, which wraps cream cheese — subtly sweet, flecked with chives and imitation crab — in delicate wonton wrappers. The wonton is light and crisp, the mouthwatering filling oozing out with the first bite. “Choriqueso” offers the sort of easy pleasure you get from a Velveeta-based Rotel dip at a

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Super Bowl party. Luxuriously smooth cheese — a little thicker and decidedly tangier than the kind that tops ballpark nachos — is spiked with medium-spiced chorizo and a dash of pico de gallo for garnish. It’s comforting bar food that begs to be washed down with a light Mexican beer. Unfortunately, Wok O Taco does not yet have its liquor license, so you’ll have to settle for Mexican soda for the time being. Chicken wings are an outstanding appetizer, with meaty drummies and wing portions covered in a thick, sweet and spicy glaze. You can see a liberal smattering of red chiles in the sauce, a visual warning that the wings will be fiery hot. owever, the sweet, sticky glaze tempers the heat, leaving you with a beautifully bal-

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WOK O TACO

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anced dish that is one of Wok O Taco’s best offerings. The other is its chorizo-fried rice, a match-made-in-heaven combination that makes you wonder why more people haven’t paired the items. Warmly spiced, cinnamonscented chorizo covers a platter of soy-kissed fried rice and vegetables. The drippings from the Mexican sausage mingle with the rice, melding with the soy like a beautiful, salty perfume. It’s dazzling. Though Wok O Taco bills itself as a fusion restaurant, most of its dishes are either Mexican or Chinese. Beef with broccoli is a fine rendition of the Americanized Chinese classic, its meat shockingly tender, almost like pot roast. The savory gravy-like sauce that coats the dish’s components is powerful, yet lighter in texture than what is typical. Sweet-andspicy chicken, a riff on hot braised and General Tso’s chicken, features tender chunks of white meat coated in the same sweet and spicy sauce as the wings, plus a generous amount of black pepper. Like the beef, it proves a well-executed version of the classic takeout-style comfort food. Wok O Taco’s biggest miss was its fish tacos. This was disappointing, because everything about them was on point aside from the main component. Soft flour tortillas were stuffed with crispy cabbage, bright pico de gallo and smoky chipotle mayonnaise. The fish was even cooked well, and I appreciated its flaky breading.

Owners Abel Cervantes, Bianca Cervantes, Brenda Cervantes and Marcos Cervantes. | MABEL SUEN However, it tasted muddy, like cheap, poorly trimmed tilapia. I kept hoping I’d get past the bad bites, but the dirt-like flavor permeated the entire piece of fish. Teriyaki chicken tacos were better, but they were lacking in flavor. The teriyaki sauce was not powerful enough to make an impact. Instead, these just tasted like mildly sweet chicken tacos. Conceptually, this is a thoughtful fusion dish, but the flavor or garnish

needs to be amped up to make it work. I was also less than enthusiastic about the “pollo loco,” which features cheese-covered chicken over a bed of fried rice. Again, the idea is good, but the diced chicken proved bland and chewy. The chipotle chicken noodles show what the restaurant is capable of doing when all the pieces come together. Thick, linguini-like noodles serve as the base for a wonderfully smoky coconut chipo-

tle sauce reminiscent of Thai cooking. The sauce is creamy, but not overwhelmingly rich, and blankets the noodles, bell peppers and chicken in its delicious perfume. If the noodles demonstrate Wok O Taco’s potential, the “Wonton Empanadas” further the argument. Cream cheese, scented with Mexican vanilla, is wrapped into triangle-shaped wontons and then deep-fried. Once out of the fryer, the fritters are garnished with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, whose tanginess cuts through the richness. Like a sweet pastry version of crab Rangoon, this dessert is warm, satisfying perfection that shows what is possible when you mix these two styles of food. I want more of this from Wok O Taco. The Cervantes family gives glimmers here and there of what they’re capable of doing. When dishes shine, they do so brightly. However, I get the sense that the owners haven’t fully committed to mixing genres as they originally intended. It’s one thing to cook decent Mexican and Chinese food, but it will take melding them into something greater than the sum of their parts — something like, say, the bulgolgi burrito at Seoul Taco, or the beef short-rib quesadilla at Kalbi Taco Shack — to make Wok O Taco truly unique. The Cervantes family has the foundation to do this, but they need to go all in. When they do, I suspect, they will realize that the missing pieces were there all along.

Wok O Taco Chicken wings ....................................... $8.99 Chorizo-fried rice ................................... $8.50 Chipotle chicken noodles ....................$12.99

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FEATURED DINING

6 RESTAURANTS YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT...

THE CHOCOLATE PIG

MORRISON’S IRISH PUB

THECHOCOLATEPIG.COM

MORRISONIRISHPUB.COM

314.272.3230 4220 DUNCAN AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110

618-433-8900 200 STATE STREET ALTON, IL 62002

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Located inside the Cortex Innovation Hall in midtown St. Louis, The Chocolate Pig’s fun, unique location perfectly complements the interesting fare offered up by this well-regarded new entrant to the local dining scene. Open every day, The Chocolate Pig’s primary restaurant space offers salads, sandwiches, burgers, elevated comfort foods such as shrimp and grits and intriguing daily specials inside the attractive dining room and bar. The Market component, meanwhile is a “quick grab kitchen,” allowing those with limited time a chance to order a coffee and sandwich quickly, while offering an elevated set of expectations than the normal “grab & go” concept; it’s open from 7 am-5 pm daily and provides a great option for Cortex workers. Destination diners, though, are going to want to sit and savor the fare from The Chocolate Pig during lunch and dinner service, the restaurant serving moderately-priced entrees that are heavy on locally-sourced ingredients. Though the menu items featuring proteins (especially pork) are among the most-popular, a variety of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free items complement them. All items are offered up in one of the most-unique, thoughtfully-stimulating restaurant environments in town.

Several, long-beloved Irish pubs have staked a claim to being the most-authentic in town, though a strong case be made for one of the newer entrants. Located in the historic and scenic Alton, IL, Morrison’s Irish Pub brings all the elements of a great Irish pub under one roof - which, in this particular case, dates way back to 1865. Live music’s on-hand, with a strong selection of the area’s finest Irish and Irish-tinged groups and solo performers, heard from Thursday-Saturday nights. The selections of whiskey and beer reflect just the right touches of domestic and imported options, with plenty of favorites on-hand, including a wide-and-deep selection of Irish whiskeys that’d rival any other spirits menu in town. But it’s the menu that really solidifies the deal, with corned beef and cabbage, leek soup, Irish stew and Irish soda bread all available on a daily basis, along with rotating specials. Fare such as burgers, salads and wraps add to the traditional Irish fare, giving families a host of options. Open every day but Monday, Morrison’s offers a legit Irish pub feel without any artificial ingredients.

OAKED

J. SMUGS GASTROPIT

OAKEDSTL.COM

JSMUGSGASTROPIT.COM

314.305.8647 1031 LYNCH ST, ST. LOUIS, MO 63118

314.499.7488 2130 MACKLIND AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110

Any realtor will tell you it starts with location: the 1800s brick row house across the street from the Anheuser-Busch brewery provides an elegant speakeasy-feel stage for Chef Stephan Ledbetter’s delicious creations. Scallops with grapefruit over risotto, pork gnudi with mushroom, butternut squash soup, an asparagus salad with burrata and prosciutto - the rotating seasonal menu promises a culinary delight worthy of a first date, a milestone anniversary, and anything in between. One of the better-curated wine lists in town alongside a selection of whiskeys and craft cocktails can begin or round out your evening. This quiet upstart to the Soulard dining scene even provides ample parking. Whether you’re looking for a glass of wine and apps to start the evening, an elevated dining experience, or just a late night cocktail -OAKED delivers. Make plans now and call for reservations before the word gets out.

Housed in a retro service station, J. Smugs GastroPit serves up barbecue that can fuel anyone’s fire. Married teams of Joe and Kerri Smugala and John and Linda Smugala have brought charred goodness to the Hill neighborhood, nestled among the traditional Italian restaurants, sandwich shops and bakeries. Part of St. Louis’ ongoing barbecue boom, the J. Smugs’ pit menu is compact but done right. Ribs are the main attraction, made with a spicy dry rub and smoked to perfection. Pulled pork, brisket, turkey and chicken are also in the pit holding up well on their own, but squeeze bottles of six tasty sauces of varying style are nearby for extra punch. Delicious standard sides and salads are available, but plan on ordering an appetizer or two J. Smugs gives this course a twist with street corn and pulled-pork poutine. Several desserts are available, including cannoli – a tasty nod to the neighborhood. Happy hour from 4 to 7pm on weekdays showcases half-dollar BBQ tastes, discount drinks, and $6 craft beer flights to soothe any beer aficionado.

CARNIVORE STL

THE BLUE DUCK

314.449.6328 5257 SHAW AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110

314.769.9940 2661 SUTTON BLVD, MAPLEWOOD, MO 63143

Carnivore fills a nearly 4,000-square-foot space on The Hill with a dining area, bar lounge, and adjoining outdoor patio gracefully guarded by a bronze steer at the main entrance. Always embracing change, Joe and Kerri Smugala, with business partners Chef Mike and Casie Lutker, launched Carnivore STL this summer. As the Hill’s only steakhouse, Carnivore offers a homestyle menu at budget-friendly prices appealing to the neighborhood’s many families. Steak, of course, takes center stage with juicy filet mignon, top sirloin, strip steak and ribeye leading the menu. Customize any of the succulent meats with sautéed mushrooms, grilled shrimp, or melted housemade butters, such as garlic-and-herb and red wine reduction, on top of the flame-seared steak. Other main dishes include a thick-cut pork steak (smoked at J. Smugs) and the grilled chicken with capers and a white wine-lemonbutter sauce. St. Louis Italian traditions get their due in the Baked Ravioli, smothered in provel cheese and house ragu, and in the Arancini, risotto balls stuffed with provel and swimming in a pool of meat sauce. With an exciting new brunch menu debuting for Saturday and Sunday, Carnivore should be everyone’s new taste of the Hill.

There aren’t many businesses named after Adam Sandler movies, but at the Blue Duck, the food is as whimsical as its “Billy Madison” reference. Originally founded in Washington, Mo., owners Chris and Karmen Rayburn opened the Blue Duck’s Maplewood outpost in 2017, bringing with them a seasonal menu full of American comfort-food dishes that are elevated with a dash of panache. Start the meal with the savory fried pork belly, which is rubbed with coffee and served with a sweet bbq sauce and root vegetable slaw. For the main event, the Duck’s signature DLT sandwich substitutes succulent smoked duck breast instead of the traditional bacon, adding fried egg and honey chipotle mayo along with lettuce and tomato on toasted sourdough. Save room for dessert; the Blue Duck’s St. Louberry pie – strawberries and blueberries topped with a gooey buttercake-like surface – is a worthy tribute to the Gateway City.

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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SHORT ORDERS

[SIDE DISH]

Crazy Bowls’ Founder Had a Crazy Idea: Healthy Food Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

ooking back, Keith Kitsis admits that, had it not been for a healthy dose of youthful naiveté, he and his wife Gail might never have taken the leap to open Crazy Bowls & Wraps (multiple locations, including 11427 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur; 314-567-9727). “We said, ‘Let’s just do it, and if it doesn’t work out, we are young enough and can figure it out,’ Kitsis recalls. “When you look back, maybe we didn’t think it through as much as we should have, but sometimes you can become so intelligent that you become risk averse. If we would’ve went to an attorney and asked them to punch holes in our idea, we would have never done this. Now in its 25th year, Crazy Bowls & Wraps is successful enough that it’s hard to think of it as anything but a sure thing. Since the couple opened their first store in Creve Coeur in 1994, the brand has become a local phenomenon with sixteen locations and legions of loyal fans. When Kitsis started out, however, he never dreamt of finding overwhelming success in the restaurant business. A St. Louis native, he was living in Phoenix, Arizona, where he worked in the employee benefits industry and Gail was a teacher. Though they had no intention of leaving their careers, they couldn’t help but notice the abundance of healthy rice and grain bowl concepts that dotted the city’s dining landscape — and that there was nothing similar in St. Louis. That realization gave them an idea: They had been wanting to move back to their hometown.

In opening Crazy Bowls & Wraps, Keith and Gail Kitsis were inspired by the grain bowl concepts popular out West. | RICK GOULD Why not bring a healthy, fast-casual dining concept with them? “We saw such a divide between what was available out West and in St. Louis, Kitsis says. “When we noticed that, it just made so much sense to me that we should open one there. We weren’t trying to do anything radical — just give people healthy things to put in their bodies to make them feel better. The timing was right for the couple, who had just flipped a house and had a little money to put into opening a restaurant. They knew their idea was sound and they had the funds to run with it. However, they were also clear that they needed help bringing it to fruition. Kitsis had never worked in a restaurant in his entire life, so he received a crash course from a Japanese chef in Phoenix who taught him the operational side of the business. He brought some of the guys he worked with at that restaurant back to St. Louis with him to help him get started and develop the menu. Then he was off. “My first real day in the res-

taurant business was the day we opened our restaurant, Kitsis recalls. “It was definitely a schoolof-hard-knocks thing. We had to learn a lot and make a lot of mistakes, but we listened to what our customers told us and started figuring it out. Kitsis credits two people for helping him and Gail along their journey. The first was his father-inlaw, who instilled in them the importance of accounting and measuring performance. The other was Ken Rosenthal, the founder of Saint Louis Bread Company, who took the Kitsises under his wing and helped them figure out some of the details for Crazy Bowls & Wraps — notably the wrap itself, as well as the importance on continuously rolling out new items. From there, things only went up for the Kitsises. Building upon the success of their first store, they opened a second. Then a third. Before they knew it, they were the proprietors of a bona fide restaurant chain, complete with an army of fans and some signature dishes,

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like the buffalo chicken wrap, that the same people come in to order every day. To that point, Kitsis is not surprised. “I eat it all the time. In fact, I’m probably going to eat there tonight. I’ll go to the Lindell location after yoga in south city and have the teriyaki chicken bowl with quinoa, Kitsis says, laughing. “This is such a fun business, and it’s obviously challenging, but I can be creative in my business. The best part about it is that we are the sum of interactions we have with other people. Kitsis took a break from celebrating Crazy Bowls & Wraps’ 25th anniversary to share his thoughts on the St. Louis restaurant scene, how his passion for the outdoors influences his business, and the one thing you will never see in one of his rice bowls. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

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KEITH KITSIS

Continued from pg 31

I am passionate about hiking and being outdoors. I enjoy exploring local and national parks, especially when I travel. What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Exercise and meditation. It allows me to focus and be present in all other areas of my day. The best ideas come to me when I exercise. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? If I could have any superpower it would be to manipulate time — sometimes there are not enough hours in the day. What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past

year? I can think of two positive things that I’ve noticed: First, I love that local restaurants are thriving because this means more and more people are focused on the quality of their product. Second, I love seeing that customers are becoming more concerned about what they put in their body and how they are supporting local, healthy restaurants. What is something missing in the local food, wine or cocktail scene that you’d like to see? I believe that we have such an eclectic variety of food, wine and cocktail options. One is never bored of the options in St. Louis. Who is your St. Louis food crush? Gail and I always enjoy going to Anthony’s and sitting at the bar. Which ingredient is most repre-

sentative of your personality? Pomegranate. If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? Traveling the world and practicing yoga in India. Name an ingredient never allowed in your restaurant. We would never put Spam on our menu. What is your after-work hangout? Castlewood State Park. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? Doughnuts at Donut Drive-In. What would be your last meal on earth? My last meal on earth would probably consist of eating at my mother-in-law’s on Sunday enjoying the company of my family. n

[BARS]

Four Strings Thanks You for Being a Friend Written by

CHELSEA NEULING

olden Girls lovers unite! Four Strings (1730 South 8th Street, 314-312-6030) is a “straightfriendly” gay bar that owes its existence to the beloved late 1980s sitcom — and pays homage to it with plenty of Golden Girls tchotchkes. Located in the Soulard storefront that held Twisted Ranch before it moved to a bigger space, Four Strings is owned by Webster University professor Jason Fossella, bartender Joe Zydiak and Mike Hartnett, a former real estate agent. Zydiak, who tended bar at the Livery Co., the Grey Fox and Keypers Piano Bar, had dreamed of opening a place of his own. At the Grey Fox, he got to know Fossella, a regular at happy hour, where the two spent many long hours watching, yes, The Golden Girls. Eventually, they decided to open a bar together, with some help from Hartnett. Last July, Four Strings opened its doors. Walking in, you’ll spot Golden Girls items everywhere, from board games and collectibles to a commissioned portrait of the ladies themselves. Zydiak and Fossella even invented a drinking game based the show. You can find the instruc-

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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Four Strings co-owner Jason Fossella poses proudly with a portrait of The Golden Girls displayed in the bar. | CHELSEA NEULING tions hanging on the wall. The fun extends to the kitchen offerings, which are like state-fair food meets bar food. For dessert, try “Deep-Fried Whorey-Os” or “Deep-Fried Cream-Filled Twinks.” You can also devour burgers, sandwiches, wings, pizzas, and more. Vegans, they have you covered with kale burgers, black-bean burgers and pizza. There is always something happening at Four Strings. On Mondays, you can join the Sip and Song Parties hosted by TwistedTreble.Rocks, which teaches attendees step-by-step how to write a song. Everyone leaves with their own original song. Tuesdays are open mic nights — the perfect opportunity to perform that new song. Wednesdays are karaoke, Thursdays are drag and jazz, and Fridays

and Saturdays rotate between live jazz and folk music. On Sundays, Annie and the Fur Trappers perform. The “Bitchy Brunch” menu is full of hearty breakfast options like biscuits and gravy and breakfast pizza. Most importantly, for $12, there are bottomless mimosas. Four Strings also offers what may be the cheapest happy hours in town — $2 beers and $2 wells from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Customers are having a great time — and so are the owners. “It is rewarding to see my ideas coming to life for people to enjoy,” says Zydiak. Says Fossella, “It is all about good food, good music and cheap drinks.” Four Stings is now open earlier, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. on weekends. n

[FOOD NEWS]

Prime 55 Wants to Go Sexy, Upscale Written by

SARAH FENSKE

rlando Watson and Tony Davis made their names in the music business, but their new venture, Prime 55, isn’t a club. Nor is it, despite what the name might suggest, a steakhouse. Instead, Watson believes it will be something unusual for St. Louis: a blackowned restaurant with an adult, sophisticated ambiance. As Watson acknowledges, the area boasts numerous eateries with black owners and chefs, many of which have gained significant acclaim. But for whatever reason, most tend to be more casual; many are open in the daytime only. “We have a lot of good soul food restaurants, he says. “But I just don’t see what we’re doing here in high numbers around this community. I see it in LA, or Atlanta. I think this is something we can do too. To that end, the partners have taken over 6100 Delmar Boulevard, just east of the Loop. The place was most recently a club, and hookah lounge, called Rebel @ V Style, but Watson says it’s been utterly transformed. “You won’t recognize the place, he says. “When I got in here, it was a mess. The partners have added all new electric and plumbing and moved the bathrooms upstairs, in addition to a host of cosmetic upgrades. The result, Watson says, will be a place with the sophistication of Eleven Eleven Mississippi or Vin de Set — a date-night worthy eatery with two full levels, a sexy vibe and a menu of items including blackened salmon, surf and turf, and Creole favorites. Expect Cajun chicken pasta and Hawaiian grilled shrimp, as well as lots of vegetarian and vegan options. (That’s important to both partners, Watson says; his household is vegetarian, and Davis is himself a vegan.) The restaurant is the first for the two partners, who have a long history in the music industry and chose the location in part for its proximity to the Pageant. Davis is best-known as Nelly’s longtime

Orlando Watson, left, and Tony Davis are the music-industry mavens behind the upcoming Prime 55 restaurant. | COURTESY OF PRIME 55 manager (he famously discovered the “ ot in erre artist) Watson, a U City native, is a “serial entrepreneur who has also notched stints at Interscope and Warner Brothers records, working with artists including Akon and Kelly Rowland. He also founded Rockhouse Entertainment, which pro-

duces some of the urban programming at the Pageant. Watson says they have two other partners, chefs “who’ve been in the business a long time. And while the storefront they’re getting ready to open within has a history of turnover (readers may recall both Cabana on the Loop

and VietNam Style, neither of which lasted all that long), he’s confident they can break its curse. “We’re building a really good team, he promises. “We’re going to bring something unique to the Loop area. They hope to be open within about a month. n

[FOOD NEWS]

Plaintain Girl Peaces Out Written by

SARAH FENSKE

hef Mandy Estrella has closed her Caribbean concept inside Tower Grove South’s Alpha Brewing Co., Alphateria (4310 Fyler Avenue), effective March 18. Estrella, also known as Plantain Girl, had been embedded inside the one-yearold brewery, but a separate operation from it. She said the concept had been “very successful,” but that the brewery now plans to open a kitchen of its own. “The brewery wanted to take over the kitchen and do their own food service,” she said. Estrella, who earned praise from food writers during the one-year run, said she is now actively searching for a new brick-and-mortar location. She’s also serving her food within Soulard’s new dog-friendly bar, the Doghaus, but noted that its tiny kitchen limits what she can serve. “It’s like working out of a food truck,” she says. Alpha Brewing Co. owner Derrick Langeneckert has engendered a series of

Mandy Estrella has closed the Alphateria, her food concept at Alpha Brewing Co. | MABEL SUEN controversies during the brewery’s six years in business. Just last year, Alpha initially announced the grand opening of its Tower Grove South brewery with an online ad showing a woman showering with beer. “When your girlfriend is washing her hair on Friday night, have a beer with us,” the ad announced. After commenters denounced it as misogynist, Alpha deleted the invitation. And that’s

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after Langeneckert had already apologized to the beer scene in an open letter for previous remarks deemed chauvinist. (He also stirred up a backlash over a beer label depicting a pig in a burqa.) Asked about the brewery owner, Estrella said only she “appreciated the opportunity” she had been given. “It was a great opportunity for us,” she says. n

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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MUSIC & CULTURE

[HOMESPUN]

String Theory The St. Louis String Collective aims to bring classical instruments to non-classical settings Written by

CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER

lyssa Avery’s musical education didn’t necessarily follow a traditional path. As a fourth grader in the Lindbergh school district in south St. Louis county, Avery picked up the violin and began her tutelage. But while she became versed in classical and orchestral music, the lessons she got were much less stratified than many young string players receive. “Some of the teachers were exposing us at a young age to a lot more than classical music,” she recalls. “My teacher would have an after school fiddling club and would travel to world music conferences.” Such exposure to non-classical forms made Avery comfortable with a wide range of styles. It also made her something of an outlier among other young violinists, who were expertly trained to read and interpret written scores but less able to, in a word, jam. “When someone asked me to improvise for the first time, I didn’t know that that was something that a lot of violinists didn’t do,” Avery says. She decided to study jazz performance at Webster University, and while jazz violin is something of an outlier (aside from famous names like Regina Carter and Stephane Grappelli), Avery used her time in college to internalize the elements of improvisation and creation. “Instead of trying to emulate jazz violinists, I was just trying to play jazz with a violin,” she says. “What I like more than jazz is improvising.” Avery’s path toward professional musicianship didn’t lead her through a conservatory or onto a recital hall’s stage. Now, she and two partners are trying to light a path for other string players to

The St. Louis String Collective wants to change the perception of how a stringed instrument can be used. | NANCY LYNN explore a wide range of music outside of the classical realm. The St. Louis String Collective is having its formal debut this Saturday with an open-house style fundraiser and performance at the appropriately named Soulard bar Four Strings, all in the service of helping string players see outside the strictures of genre. Avery, who plays in the folkleaning trio Mt. Thelonious, is joined by fellow violinist Sarah Vie (the Leonas, 18andCounting) and Ranya Iqbal, who has played alongside Acoustik Element, Autumn’s Child and more. Taken together, the three musicians have played nearly every identifiable style of music in countless venues across town. Their work with the collective aims to make that leap easier for other players, who may not see how to apply their training in unfamiliar settings. “We were slightly frustrated in seeing that there was a lot of interest from different string players in exploring different kinds of music,” Avery said. “It started with us wanting to start a camp, which we will this summer. But we formed this non-profit to help run the camp but also do other things as well. We want to be able to foster that exploration.” That summer camp will launch in late July at Saint Louis University. Avery says that the founders have taken their inspiration from

“This could be a place for a high schooler to try different stuff, or a symphony player who wants to learn how to use electronic music or be part of a band setting.” “fiddle camps around the country, where there will be klezmer and Celtic and jazz players.” And while these camps are traditionally aimed at teenage and college-aged musicians, she hopes that more experienced string players will find ways to expand their music as well. “This could be a place for a high schooler to try different stuff, or if you’re a symphony player who wants to learn how to use electronic music or be part of a band setting,” she says. Part of what makes St. Louis such a fertile community for the

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Collective, Avery says, is its strong infrastructure for both classical and non-classical players. The goal is simply to help connect the dots that already exist. “Due to the Symphony and how many strong orchestras we have in the high schools, we have a great fiddle community there are a lot of string players that are doing great stuff,” she says. “This is a way for us to connect and to throw workshops.” Avery, Vie and Iqbal hope to start fostering those connections at this Saturday’s fundraiser at Four Strings. Naturally, music will be part of the draw: Avery’s trio Mt. Thelonious will perform, along with the Leonas, fiddler and folk music savant Colin Blair, and a duo comprising Iqbal’s cello and Sandy Weltman’s harmonica and ukulele. Avery hopes that the wide range of music at the fundraiser will help visitors see past the rigidity of little musical boxes. “There’s a side of classical music that can be regimented, and I think in string instrument playing, you either play Bach or you’re a fiddle player, and there’s nothing in between,” she says. “The idea of a very strict genre is not as important as it used to be.”

The St. Louis String Collective 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 30. Four Strings, 1730 South Eighth Street. 314-312-6030.

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

[FISH ART]

Artquarium Now Open in City Museum Written by

CHELSEA NEULING

he City Museum has begun construction on a new aquarium, but unlike the dirty fish tanks you may remember from past visits, this one is being built and managed inhouse. They’re calling it Artquarium — and the City Museum crew is inviting you to come watch as they build it. The museum evicted its World Aquarium, which leased the space as a private operator, in 2015. The new exhibit aims to transform that old space, which is located on the museum’s second floor. “We started thinking about reprogramming the space a couple of years ago. It had so much Cassilly in it that we didn’t want to just lock the door. The crew started sketching about a year ago and demolishing what they didn’t need in November,” says City Museum spokesman Richard Callow. And even though it’s a work in progress, there’s plenty to see. The museum is touting the ongoing build as its largest work-in-progress since the four-story outdoor playground MonstroCity, which began construction in 2000 and opened in 2002. Artquarium, not surprisingly, is not your typical aquarium. The 11,000-square-foot installation will include hidden tunnels, slides, climbers and tubes containing fish. Guests will be able to view the fish as they climb over and under the tanks. And a new slide is being constructed on the fourth floor that spills you out into the Artquarium space. Huge sculptures of a giant crab and septopus (that’s a sevenlegged octopus, natch) are already finished. Now the crew is wanting to incorporate a sea horse and a narwhal sculpture. Would you expect anything less from the Cassilly Crew? Senior welder and lead fabricator Mary Levi is working hard to put the “art” in Artquarium. She is used to being watched while at work. “Kids will come up and ask me

RIVERFRONT TIMES

In typical City Museum Fashion, the Artquarium will be an interactive playground. | CHELSEA NEULING

Aquarist Matt Meyer vows that the problems of the last aquarium won’t be repeated. | CHELSEA NEULING what I’m doing and before I get the time to explain, they run away,” says Levi, laughing. The Artquarium will feature hundreds of fish and other sea creatures. And if there is one thing aquarist Matt Meyer guarantees, it’s that there will be no shortage of sea horses any time soon. The museum started out with three, but thanks to the creatures doing what they do (and gestating a whole lot faster than humans, apparently), they have now multiplied to the thousands. Meyer says the problems that plagued World Aquarium during

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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its City Museum residency won’t be repeated. “It is our goal to give these animals the proper care they need throughout their entire lives,” says Meyer. Still, it’s not easy housing life forms in a space that famously encourages its visitors to run wild. Staff has been engaged in an ongoing “war on coins,” Meyer says, which has especially been a problem with the downstairs tank. The coins release toxins that can kill the fish, Meyer says, and there are risks of the larger fish ingesting them. Another recurring problem, ac-

cording to Callow: Children have been caught stealing the turtles from the first-floor tank. Thanks to camera surveillance, the turtles are always rescued by the crew at the exit, Callow promises. It’s not just Artquarium underway currently. The museum, which was purchased by amusement park company Premier Parks LLC in January 2019, is also expanding its display of the work of George Grant Elmslie, who devised the ornamentation for Louis Sullivan’s architectural masterpiece, the Wainwright Building. The museum is also installing “a secret entrance to MonstroCity through a fire engine outside City Museum’s front door,” it explains in a press release. (Callow says it’s a goal to connect every floor through secret tunnels.) The museum says it spends about $1 million dollars annually on demolition, new installations and artifacts. “The aquarium will never be ‘done’ because nothing in City Museum ever is. It’s in our DNA to change things, mostly for the better. Bob Cassilly would walk around the place at night with a sledgehammer and a sketchbook. That attitude endures. The very first image you get on the City Museum website are the words ALWAYS BUILDING,” says Callow. Admission to Artquarium is included with the purchase of a ticket to the City Museum. The exhibit will be open seven days a week. n

OUT EVERY NIGHT

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Ray Wylie Hubbard. | VIA RED 11 MUSIC

Ray Wylie Hubbard 8 p.m. Friday, March 29. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $20 to $25. 314-773-3363. If Ray Wylie Hubbard weren’t such a damn good songwriter, he’d have made a decent rock critic. He once described his aesthetic as “a bunch of sticks on a hollow log, a bunch of groaning and yelling,” or maybe “the devil jingling the coins in his pockets…more like a pistol when you cock it.” Either way, both vocations have much to wonder at in his music. The Oklahoma-born, Wimberley, Texas-based artist has transmogrified the blues, warping and revamping

THURSDAY 28

BARBER BATTLE: 7:30 p.m., $15-$20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. BOB KAMOSKI: 6 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. FROM THE ASHES: 7 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. JACKSON STOKES: 4 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. JOSEPH HUBER: 8 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: 7 p.m. Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-1888. MAGIC BEANS: w/ Amoramora 8 p.m., $10-$13. The Bootleg, 4140 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-775-0775. MAT KEREKES: w/ Jetty Bones, Jacob Sigman 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MOTHER STUTTER: w/ Blue False Indigo, Sister Wizzard 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 8 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. RIPE: 8 p.m., $14. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. THE RIVER KITTENS: 8:30 p.m., free. The Frisco

the primal structures for sure, but also relishing the lightning wit, always the blues’ secret weapon against fatalism. His latest album, Tell The Devil That I’m Getting There As Fast As I Can, is his most quintessentially Wylie-esque: The slide guitars sting, the rhythms clomp and thwack, and the lyrics find redemption in times of cold and in times of bone-shaking grooves. Honky-Tonk Heroine: Opener Bonnie Montgomery sings and plays old-school country that’s as unapologetically trashy as it is feminist. Outlaw country fans should arrive early for this one. —Roy Kasten Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. THE TALLIS SCHOLARS: 8 p.m., $19-$42. Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, 4431 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, 314-373-8200. TEMPEST: 7:30 p.m., $20-$25. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. THREATPOINT: 7 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE UNITY QUARTET: 7:30 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550.

FRIDAY 29

THE CHOIR: 7 p.m., $13. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. FRANK & ALLIE LEE: 8 p.m., $15-$20. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. GENE JACKSON POWER PLAY: 8 p.m., $3. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. HOLY GALLOWS: w/ A Light Among Many, MotherFather, Oxbraker 8 p.m., $7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. KNOX HAMILTON: 8 p.m., $12-$15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. NEW MISSOURI FOX HUNTERS: 9:30 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. ODDS LANE: 7 p.m., $5. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Wednesday March 27 9:45 pm Urban Chestnut Presents

Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players

Tribute To Marshal Tucker Vs Lynyrd Skynyrd

thursday March 30 9 pm

Odds Lane Duo Free Show!

Friday March 29 10 pm From NOLA

Shamar Allen & The Undergawgs Shamar is a member of GALACTIC! saturday march 30 10PM

AK1D After Party

featuring Carrie and the Catapults plus A late night set by Groovement and Special Guests

sunday march 31 8PM

Soul and R&B Legend Roland Johnson and the Soul Endeavor Wednesday April 3 9:45PM Urban Chestnut Presents

Sean Canan’s Voodoo Players Tribute To Tenacious D

music read more at

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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Groves, 314-968-0061. OLD DOMINION: w/ Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny 7 p.m., $32.50-$62.50. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000. ONUS: w/ Beyonder, Kilverez 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. PLAGUE VENDOR: 7 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. RAY WYLIE HUBBARD: 8 p.m., $20-$35. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SEAN CANAN’S VOODOO GRATEFUL DEAD: 8 p.m., $15-$20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SHAMER ALLEN AND THE UNDERDAUGS: 10 p.m., $8. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. SING FOR SITEMAN: 7:30 p.m., $50-$100. John Burroughs School, 755 S. Price Road, St. Louis, 314-993-4040. SON MONTUNO: 9 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. ST. LOUIS SOUND PROJECT: HIP-HOP: w/ DJ Sir Thurl, Bates, Looprat, Saint Oeaux 8 p.m., $10$13. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

SATURDAY 30

AHMAD JAMAL: 8:30 p.m., $40-$50. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. ALL ROOSTERED UP: noon, free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. ART MUSIC OF THE SILK ROAD: 7 p.m., $15. The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Dr, Clayton. CARRIE AND THE CATAPULTS: 10 p.m., $10. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. CREE RIDER & CARA LOUISE: 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. THE DON DIEGO TRIO: 7 p.m., $15. Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave, St. Louis. DREAMHOUSE: 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. FORTS LIKE VANA: w/ The Yesterdays, Whispers of October, Are You In?, 9:09 6:30 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE GASLIGHT SQUARES: 9 p.m., free. The Frisco Barroom, 8110 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, 314-455-1090. GROOVEMENT KAMM AFTER PARTY: 11:30 p.m., $10. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. JACQUEES: 8 p.m., $45-$65. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. KATARRA: 11 p.m., free. Mangia Italiano, 3145 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-664-8585. MO E ALL-STARS: 10 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. NICK DI PAOLO: 8 p.m., $25-$30. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ST. LOUIS SOUND PROJECT: AMERICANA: w/ BAJA, Fine to Drive, Colonel Ford 8 p.m., $10-$13. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. STEEPLES: w/ Taylor James, The Wild & Free, Malibu ‘92, KG Lillian 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. THE STINGERS: 9 p.m., free. 1860 Saloon, Game Room & Hardshell Cafe, 1860 S. Ninth St., St. Louis, 314-231-1860. T-PAIN: 9 p.m., $30-$35. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. THE 2019 SHELDON GALA WITH AHMAD JAMAL: 8:30 p.m., $40-$50. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. TIM & LISA ALBERT: free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. VINTAGE VIBE: 9:30 p.m., free. Eddie’s Bar and Grill, 2900 Nameoki Road, Granite City, 636-452-4142. WHITE BUSH UNICORN: w/ Sunset Over Houma 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. WHITNEY SCREAMS: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar & Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-8300. YOUNG NUDY: 8 p.m., $22-$35. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

SUNDAY 31

CLOUD CATCHER: 8 p.m., $8-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. DUHART DUO: 4 p.m., free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. GOTHS ON WHEELS 2: 3:30 p.m., $10. St. Louis Skatium, 120 E Catalan St, St. Louis, 314-631-3922. KILL VARGAS: w/ Bounce House, Bucko Toby 8 p.m., $7. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. LEAH OSBORNE DUO: noon, free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. METROPOLITAN ORCHESTRA: 7 p.m., $10-$20. First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, 100 E. Adams, St. Louis, 314-965-0326. MONTEZ COLEMAN & FRIENDS: 11:30 a.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. NICK MASON’S SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS: 7:30 p.m., $45-$99.50. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN: 7:30 p.m., $35-$45. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. ROLAND JOHNSON: 8 p.m., $7. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811.

MONDAY 1

FOOLPROOF: 7:30 p.m., $38. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. THE INTERRUPTERS: w/ Masked Intruder, Rat Boy 7 p.m., $24-$26. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JEFF CAREY: w/ Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, NNN Cook 8 p.m., $5. Foam, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. KEITH BOWMAN QUARTET: 7 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. T-ZANK, ALIENNATURE: 7 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

TUESDAY 2

EYEHATEGOD: w/ the Obsessed, Antiseen, Slow Damage, Dodecad 8 p.m., $20. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. FOOLPROOF: 7:30 p.m., $38. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900. ICE NINE KILLS: w/ From Ashes to New, Palisades, Afterlife 7 p.m., $22. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. ROLAND JOHNSON: 7 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550.

WEDNESDAY 3

FRESH PRODUCE BEAT BATTLE: first Wednesday of every month, 9 p.m. continues through Oct. 3, free. The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-935-7003. KERO KERO BONITO: 8 p.m., $15-$18. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. KING BUFFALO: 8 p.m., $10-$12. Blueberry Hill The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

THIS JUST IN ADAM SANDLER: Wed., June 5, 8 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. AL B. SURE: Sun., May 19, 7 p.m., $25-$45. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. ALEXANDRA SINCLAIR: Fri., April 26, 6 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. ANITA JACKSON: Sun., April 7, 11:30 a.m., free. Fri., April 12, 9:30 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. BASEMENT: W/ Nothing, Gouge Away, Thu., May 23, 8 p.m., $20-$23. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. BEASTO BLANCO: W/ Torchlight Parade, Thu., May 23, 7 p.m., $17. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE BETHS: Fri., July 12, 8 p.m., $10-$12. The

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

AWARD WINNING BRUNCH SATURDAY & SUNDAY

10AM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1PM

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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[CRITIC’S PICK]

T-Pain. | VIA CINEMATIC MUSIC GROUP

T-Pain 9 p.m. Saturday, March 30. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Avenue, Sauget, Illinois. $30 to $35. 618-274-6720. Since coming to prominence in the mid’00s, Florida rapper and singer T-Pain has virtually been synonymous with AutoTune, an audio processor whose primary function is pitch correction. By pushing the dial to its most extreme settings, the singer was able to make is voice take on a robotic quality that the music-buying public simply couldn’t get enough of. From 2006 to 2010, in fact, T-Pain was featured on more than 50 singles that topped the charts. Soon other artists

OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 48 Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. BIG MIKE & BLUES CITY ALL STARS: Tue., April 9, 7 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. BUDDY MONDOCK: Sat., April 6, 8 p.m., $15-$20. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND: Sat., Aug. 31, 8 p.m., $29.50-$69.50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. THE CONTORTIONIST: Sun., April 28, 7:30 p.m., TBA. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. DENIECE WILLIAMS: Sun., June 23, 6:30 p.m., $35-$65. Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd, North St. Louis County, 314-869-9090. DEVMO: Sat., April 27, 7 p.m., $10-$15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. THE DHORUBA COLLECTIVE: Thu., April 18, 7:30 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. DISRUPT TOUR: W/ The Used, Thrice, Circa Survive, Sum 41, Atreyu, Sleeping with Sirens, Andy Black, Memphis May Fire, Four Year Strong, Trophy Eyes, Juliet Simms, Hyro the Hero, Mon., July 15, 1 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. DISTURBED: W/ In This Moment, Fri., Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m., $49.50-$89.50. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000. FRESH PRODUCE BEAT BATTLE: starting April 3, First Wednesday of every month, 9 p.m. Continues through Oct. 3, free. The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-935-7003. THE GHOST OF PAUL REVERE: Sun., July 21, 8

took note — chiefly, Kanye West made heavy use of Auto-Tune for his 2008 album 808s and Heartbreak — and for a while the sound was completely inescapable. So it came as a surprise to many when, in February, T-Pain was revealed as the winner of the Fox music competition The Masked Singer — which he accomplished sans Auto-Tune. It served as vindication for the artist, who has long been accused of being unable to sing without its assistance. Rain Check: T-Pain was slated to appear at 2018’s LouFest, which was infamously canceled at the last minute. Think of this show at Pop’s as a make-up date. —Daniel Hill

p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. THE HEAD AND THE HEART: W/ Hippo Campus, Sun., July 7, 8 p.m., $36-$61.50. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. HUSH LITE: Fri., April 12, 7 p.m., free. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster Groves, 314-968-0061. I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME: Thu., May 16, 8 p.m., $17.50-$20. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. JANET EVRA: Sun., April 14, 11:30 a.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. JESSE GANNON: Fri., April 5, 9:30 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. JOE PARK AND THE HOT CLUB OF ST. LOUIS: Fri., April 26, 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. JOHN MCCUTCHEON: Thu., April 11, 7:30 p.m., $35-$40. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. JOHN PAUL WHITE: Wed., June 26, 8 p.m., $20$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. KEITH BOWMAN QUARTET: Mon., April 1, 7 p.m., free. Mon., April 8, 7 p.m., free. Mon., April 15, 7 p.m., free. Mon., April 29, 7 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. LEAH OSBORNE DUO: Sun., March 31, noon, free. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. LEE ANN WOMACK: Sun., Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., $25. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. LEIKELI47: Sat., July 13, 7 p.m., $20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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[CRITIC’S PICK]

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. | VIA FLICKR/RAPH_PH

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 31. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market Street. $45 to $99.50. 314-499-7600. The passage of time and the effects of nostalgia have hit the remaining members of Pink Floyd in different ways. David Gilmour recently began auctioning off a literal fortune’s worth of his old guitar arsenal while Roger Waters continues to make hay with The Wall, finding new resonance for the set’s fascistic themes in our

LULA WILES: W/ Ryan Koenig and the Goldenrods, Sun., April 21, 3 p.m., $12-$15. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. MATTHEW LOGAN VASQUEZ: W/ Frances Cone, Tue., May 7, 8 p.m., $13-$15. Blueberry Hill The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. MATTIEL: Fri., June 14, 8 p.m., $10-$12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. NIKKI LANE: Sun., July 7, 8 p.m., $22-$35. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. NLE CHOPPA: Thu., May 2, 7 p.m., $20-$25. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. OWEN RAGLAND TRIO: Fri., April 19, 9:30 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. POINT OF VIEW JAZZ ENSEMBLE: Sat., April 27, 11:30 a.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. ROLAND JOHNSON: Sun., March 31, 8 p.m., $7. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. Tue., April 2, 7 p.m., free. Tue., April 16, 7 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: WERQ THE WORLD 2019 TOUR: Thu., Oct. 10, 8 p.m., $58-$181. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SET IT OFF: W/ Emarosa, Broadside, Lizzy Farrall, Tue., June 18, 6:30 p.m., TBA. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SHAMER ALLEN AND THE UNDERDAUGS: Fri., March 29, 10 p.m., $8. Broadway Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-8811. SHY GLIZZY: Sun., April 28, 8 p.m., $35-$40. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. SIGNS OF THE SWARM: Mon., May 6, 6:30 p.m., $15.

current era. Drummer Nick Mason takes it back even further with his Saucerful of Secrets show, highlighting the band’s preDark Side tracks and founding member Syd Barrett’s madcap psych with songs like “See Emily Play” and “Astronomy Domine.” It’s another view of the band’s early catalog that even the most dedicated Floyd tribute acts don’t touch. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun: Mason is joined by a band that includes longtime session man and Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt and Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp. —Christian Schaeffer

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Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SIGRID: Tue., Oct. 8, 8 p.m., $15-$18. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. SPECTATOR ALBUM RELEASE SHOW: W/ Le’Ponds, Sat., May 18, 7:30 p.m., $10-$12. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SUMMER SALT: W/ Motel Radio, Dante Elephante, Sat., Aug. 3, 8 p.m., $16-$20. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. TAKING BACK SUNDAY: Sat., Sept. 21, 8 p.m., $20. Ballpark Village, 601 Clark Ave, St. Louis, 314-345-9481. TAMECA JONES: Wed., May 15, 8 p.m., $12. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. THAT ‘90S JAM: Fri., May 24, 8 p.m., $7-$13. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. THE CHARLIE DANIELS BAND: Sun., Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m., $29.50-$69.50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. THE DUKE’S AMBASSADORS: Mon., April 29, 7:30 p.m., $15-$20. The Focal Point, 2720 Sutton Blvd, St. Louis, 314-560-2778. THREE PEDROS: Sat., April 6, 8 p.m., $5. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster Groves, 314-968-0061. TOMMY HALLORAN BAND: Sun., April 21, 11:30 a.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. THE UNITY QUARTET: Thu., April 25, 7:30 p.m., free. The Dark Room, 3610 Grandel Square inside Grandel Theatre, St. Louis, 314-776-9550. WEBSTER UNIVERSITY PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE OK: Sun., April 7, 7 p.m., $5. Webster University Community Music School, 535 Garden Ave., Webster Groves, 314-968-5939.

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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SAVAGE LOVE REVOLUTION HALL BY DAN SAVAGE Savage Love Live stormed into Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. Comedian Corina Lucas absolutely killed it before our sold-out crowd, singer-songwriter Elisabeth Pixley-Fink performed an amazing set, and two lovely couples competed in our first (and most likely last) Mama Bird Cupcake-Eating Contest. I wasn’t able to get to all of the audiencesubmitted questions, so I’m going to power through as many as I can in this week’s column. Hey, Dan: How do you handle it if your partner constantly apologizes during sex? “Sorry, sorry, sorry...” With sensitivity, tact, and compassion — and if none of that shit works, try duct tape. Hey, Dan: Should I continue to have casual sex with someone I’m in love with? If it’s casual for them and not casual for you, and they’ve made it clear it will never be anything other than casual for them, you’re going to get hurt — which I suspect you know. Now, if you think the pain of going without sex with them will be greater than the pain you’ll feel when they inevitably meet someone else and move on, by all means keep fucking them. (Spoiler: the pain of the latter > the pain of the former.) Hey, Dan: Best tricks for a quick female orgasm & how to keep yourself from overthinking it? My female friends swear by a little legal weed, where available (or a little illegal weed, where necessary), and a nice, big, powerful vibrator. Hey, Dan: My five-year relationship ended abruptly. Is there a time frame for getting over it? Studies vary. Some have found it takes the average person eleven weeks, some have found it takes half the length of the relationship itself, some have found it takes

longer if it was a marriage that ended. But don’t wait until you’re completely over it to get out there — because getting out there can help you get over it. Hey, Dan: Besides a fiber-rich diet, what are your tips for a newbie to anal play? Size is a BIG factor and it’s creating a HUGE mental block whenever anything goes near my hole. Start small, e.g., lubed-up fingers and small toys. And don’t graduate from tongues fingers toys to someone’s big ol’ dick in a single session. Start small and stay small until your hole’s dread at the thought of taking something HUGE is replaced by a sincerely held, quasireligious belief in the absolute necessity of taking something huge. Hey, Dan: What is the formula for getting comfortable farting in front of a partner? Same as comedy: tragedy + time. Hey, Dan: In the era of online dating, how do you navigate the people who think the grass will always be greener and have difficulty committing to truly building a relationship? The expression “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” has its roots in a Latin proverb first translated into English in 1545 — which means the sentiment predates dating apps by, oh, roughly half a millennium. But the “paradox of choice,” or the idea that people have a hard time choosing when presented with too many options, has certainly complicated modern dating. But too many options beats too few, in my opinion, and it certainly beats no options at all, e.g., deserted islands, compulsory heterosexuality, unhappy arranged marriages, etc. Hey, Dan: Any advice for a 22-yearold woman who meets only sad boys who need a mom? Your handwriting is such that I thought you wrote “sub boys,” and I was going to respond, “Enjoy.” But then I reread your question: sad boys, not sub boys. OK, if you’re meeting only one type of person or all the people you’re meeting have a certain character flaw, either

you’re seeking that type of person out — consciously or subconsciously — or you’re projecting your own shit onto that person. This is a case where the best people to ask for a gut/reality check are your actual friends, not your friendly sex-advice columnist. Hey, Dan: How good are cock rings? I tried a stretch rubber one, and it was just uncomfortable. Is it worth more time and research? Cock rings are made from all sorts of different materials, and it’s important to find the material (rubber, metal, leather) and fit (snug but not too tight) that works for you. I definitely think you should experiment a bit before giving up — cock rings are great. And, hey, did you know there’s a Wiki page with a lot of good info about cock rings? (Wikipedia.org/wiki/cock_ring.) Hey, Dan: Will you be my sperm donor? Well, that depends. Are you male, between the ages of 25 and 55, and (my entirely subjective notion about what is) hot? Then sure! Hey, Dan: My partner wants me to move in with him and have kids. He also wants an open relationship and to be able to father children for other women if they choose to be single moms. I’m not comfortable with that. How can I express this without blocking him from getting what he wants? By not moving in with him, by not having kids with him and by not continuing to partner with him. Hey, Dan: Why wasn’t semen designed to stay in a woman’s vagina? It always makes a terrible mess. I hate waiting for it to leak out of me. I wasn’t around when semen and vaginas were designed — I’m old, but not that old — and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have a designer. I’m also guessing leakage wasn’t a problem until our ancestors began walking upright about four million years ago. Hey, Dan: My mother-in-law had episodes of amnesia after orgasm in her 50s. Have you heard of this? WILL IT HAPPEN TO ME?

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“My partner wants me to move in with him and have kids. He also wants an open relationship and to be able to father children for other women.” I have not! I HAVE NO IDEA! I have also googled this for you, and — holy shit — it’s a thing and it has a name: transient global amnesia (TGA). Apparently, any form of strenuous exercise can trigger TGA. So don’t fuck, don’t run, don’t bike! Just sit still and you’ll be fine Hey, Dan: What do you think is the most needed focus of left activism in the United States today? Most needed: defeating Trump and combating climate change. Most prevalent: relitigating the 2016 Democratic primary. Hey, Dan: My mom finishes every call with “God bless you.” I’m not a believer, but it’s not something we could ever talk about. I usually ignore it, sometimes I say it back, but it’s always awkward. What should I do? You should sneeze. Thanks to everyone who came out to Savage Love Live in Portland! Savage Love Live is coming to Seattle, Denver, San Francisco (with Stormy Daniels!), Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis (also with Stormy Daniels!), Toronto and Somerville. For more info and tickets, go to savagelovecast.com/events. Listen to Dan Savage online at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

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MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2019

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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