Riverfront Times - March 8, 2017

MARCH 8–14, 2017 I VOLUME 41 I NUMBER 10

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SEAMSTRESS for the

KLAN Malissa Ancona hoarded cats, popped pills and terrorized the imperial wizard of the local KKK

BY DOYLE MURPHY

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THE LEDE

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

“I wish they would stop the killing and selling all these drugs throughout the city. People overdosing on heroin and stuff. We need to take the city back.”

—EDDIE MOFFETT JR., PHOTOGRAPHED WITH HIS DOG NEPTUNE ON FARRAR STREET ON MARCH 5

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6

TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE

13.

Seamstress for the Klan

Malissa Ancona hoarded cats, popped pills and terrorized the imperial wizard of the local KKK Written by

DOYLE MURPHY Cover by

KELLY GLUECK

NEWS

CULTURE

DINING

MUSIC

5

21

29

39

The Lede

Calendar

Your friend or neighbor, captured on camera

Seven days worth of great stuff to see and do

9

23

A Campaign of Terror

Busted for bomb threats against eight JCCs, St. Louis’ Juan Thompson also terrorized a target closer to home: an RFT reporter

St. Patrick’s Day

Our guide to where to go to get in on the holiday fun

26

Film

Kong: Skull Island is a fantastic Vietnam War movie, writes MaryAnn Johanson. Oh, and did we mention the ape?

27

Stage

Paul Friswold finds that New Line’s Zorbá only seems familiar.

Its depth may surprise you

Still the One

Cheryl Baehr reviews Sardella — and finds proof that the city’s finest restaurateur remains just that

35

Side Dish

How Emily Parker said “why not?” and ended up head brewer at Schlafly

36

Food News

Nick Fierro checks in with the Sweet Divine a few months after fire ravaged their shop in Soulard

36

Fast Food

Salad days come to Lion’s Choice

37

Brunch

Vista Ramen expands its offerings to everyone’s favorite morning meal 6

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MARCH 8-14, 2017

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STL Over Everyone

Mike Roth has a vision for St. Louis’ rising hip-hop scene

42

Homespun

Matt from Bunnygrunt & Googolplexia March (to Certain Doom) Tour 2017

46

Out Every Night

The best concerts in St. Louis every night of the week

47

This Just In

This week’s new concert announcements

NULL & CROSSBONES DREADFUL COLLECTABLES

Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Sarah Fenske

LOCAL AUTHORIZED DAVID GONZALES ART, CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES DEALER 9319 B MIDLAND OVERLAND, MO 63114 314-731-NULL

E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Elizabeth Semko Staff Writers Doyle Murphy, Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Sara Graham, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer, Mabel Suen, Lauren Milford, Thomas Crone, MaryAnn Johanson, Jenn DeRose Editorial Interns Bill Loellke, Nick Fierro

A R T Art Director Kelly Glueck Contributing Photographers Holly Ravazzolo, Mabel Suen, Steve Truesdell, Eric Frazier, Micah Usher, Theo Welling, Corey Woodruff, Tim Lane, Nick Schnelle P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Brittani Schlager

M U LT I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Sales Director Colin Bell Senior VP Sales & Marketing Mike Lipel Senior Account Executive Cathleen Criswell Multimedia Account Executive Erica Kenney, Jill George Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel 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 RO U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Human Resources Director Lisa Beilstein Senior Marketing & Events Director Cassandra Yardeni www.euclidmediagroup.com

Step Out. Shape Up. Ride On. Citizens for Modern Transit’s Ten Toe Express is a walking program sponsored by AARP in St. Louis that links MetroLink and MetroBus with your own Ten Toes to explore the region and step your way to a healthier you. Join the walking groups at various MetroLink stations to visit parks, museums, historic venues, and vibrant local neighborhoods in St. Louis.

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7

thank you Photo: James Griesedieck, St. Louis Jewish Light

On behalf of the entire St. Louis Jewish community, we want to thank our region for standing with us in solidarity against hate, anti-Semitism, bigotry, racism and violence.

On Monday, February 20, 2017 vandalism was discovered at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City. Although the cause is still to be determined, people from all faiths, backgrounds and cultures responded immediately to denounce the attacks and call for unity.

On Wednesday, 2,500 people joined together with us to clean, to pray and to restore what had been broken. The message of the day was to name it, condemn it and do something about it, and we will continue that work until hate is eradicated.

Thank you all for your remarkable show of support, your friendship and your partnership.

This message was funded through a special initiative of the Boards of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. No other funds – including the Annual Campaign and the Cemetery Reconstruction and Security Funds – were used for this message. For more information on the Boards of Directors, visit JCRCSTL.org and JFedSTL.org.

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MARCH 8-14, 2017

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NEWS

9

Before JCC Threats, a Campaign of Terror Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

I

n the days before Juan Thompson’s arrest last Friday for his part in a string of bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers across the U.S., the St. Louis native seemed a little extra crazy, which is saying something.

This is a guy who took imaginary trips to Cuba and Senegal. He dubiously claimed he was with the Standing Rock protesters in North Dakota and that he’d bought a house in Detroit. He lied about the weirdest things.

“My homemade kombucha and homemade kimchi both finished today,” Thompson tweeted in December with a picture of his handiwork.

“I sound like a snob. But kimchi is sooooooo good. So fucking good.”

It took a twenty-second Google search to figure out that Thompson had stolen the picture from a blogger.

Tracking Thompson’s firehose spray of social media posts in recent months was always an exercise in “what the fuck?” But last week’s news that the FBI believes he was behind a string of bomb threats to JCCs and the Anti-Defamation League was still unsettling.

The threats were a convoluted revenge scheme, meant to frame an ex-girlfriend in New York City, according to the federal complaint.

The FBI says Thompson, 31, called in at least eight bogus threats. Sometimes, he warned law enforcement that the ex-girlfriend was making the calls, authorities say. Other times, he called them in under his own name, and then later claimed she had been trying to frame him, the complaint alleges.

The events laid out in the complaint by federal prosecutors sounded weird and crazy — and uncomfortably familiar.

At the Riverfront Times, we pub-

Juan Thompson was fired from The Intercept in January 2016 for allegedly making up quotes. | IMAGE VIA BRICTV ON YOUTUBE.COM lished a cover story about Thompson in February 2016. He was a north St. Louis native who was once a reporter with a job at The Intercept in New York City, a news site bestknown for its cache of documents from national security leaker Edward Snowden. But Thompson had been fired after the site caught him making up details and sending bogus emails, including some masquerading as the site’s editor.

Thompson blamed racism and also claimed to have cancer. But we uncovered problems with his work going all the way back to his college days with the student newspaper at Vassar College. Thompson had overcome an impoverished background to enroll there, but failed to graduate.

He still landed a few good media jobs — only to crash and burn when his sourcing didn’t check out.

After my cover story, I followed up with a short account of his brief tenure for an online news site. Thompson was pissed. He emailed my boss and tried to get me fired. When that didn’t work, he emailed me.

“You are a white piece of shit who lies and distorts to fit a narrative, he wrote me in October. “Thankfully no one reads you or the rft [sic] and you will spend the rest of your career aggregating stories about shootings.”

Things were quiet for a while after that, but then came the fake Twitter

accounts. My wife and I were sitting on our couch one night when she tapped me on the elbow and showed me her phone. Someone had created a brand-new Twitter profile claiming I was a rapist. The person tweeted at her, my boss and other journalists around St. Louis. It was an insane — and, though it’s hard to believe I even have to say it — completely untrue accusation.

For the next several days, we scrambled to get people at Twitter to pull down the account. They finally did. Then another popped up. We got it pulled down. Another popped up.

This went on for weeks, account after account, day after day, and extended to Facebook. Someone created fake Facebook accounts and pages and regularly popped up on RFT stories, accusing me of rape. This person also made reference to my mother, using her first name, and published a social media profile picture of my wife scraped from the internet.

We finally contacted the St. ouis police department’s cyber crimes unit. I still remember the detective stopping me before I could get the full explanation out.

“Does this have anything to do with Juan Thompson?” he asked.

I had not even said Thompson’s name yet. I didn’t want to accuse him prematurely, although the fake accounts and the penchant for revenge riverfronttimes.com

had me fully convinced it was him.

It turns out police were already investigating complaints Thompson had been harassing his ex-girlfriend in New York. They couldn’t tell me much about her case, but the pattern of weird cyberattacks was the same. I called one of Thompson’s old roommates, whom I had quoted in an earlier story. He too was under attack. Someone was sending anonymous messages to his employer and graduate school, claiming he was a racist.

All of it was garbage, but here’s an ugly secret about this kind of thing: There isn’t a whole hell of a lot you can do. Police told me I had, at best, a pretty weak harassment case. And I think they were right. He had not threatened to physically harm me. It was also hard to prove it was even him.

To their credit, St. Louis Police sent requests to Twitter and Facebook for IP addresses linked to the accounts, but the companies wouldn’t cooperate. A phone number used to text me harassing messages was routed through a Canadian company, and they weren’t giving up the account information.

All we could do was watch what Thompson was doing online, try to link it to the attacks on me and my family, and brace ourselves for the next hit.

Continued on pg 10

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JUAN THOMPSON Continued from pg 9

FEBRUARY 24–MARCH 1, 2016 I VOLUME 40 I NUMBER 8

Watching Thompson’s Twitter account on a regular basis made for a strange pastime. After the kimchi incident, I was particularly interested any time he posted a picture. His supposed trip to Cuba was a good one. He posted a picture of his new Malcolm X tattoo.

I searched “Malcom X tattoo” in Google images, scrolled down and found the image. He had simply reversed it.

Same with scenes from his balcony of the Havana skyline at night.

If you believed his posts, he was jet-setting across the world. He was also railing against capitalism, white women, police, liberals, Trump and so many others. Lots of the posts were just weird — until it was pulled down last week, you could see the ten-point plan on a “Thompson for Mayor” GoFundMe page — but things often turned nasty.

In the past week, a Twitter account that seemed to be created solely to retweet Thompson’s main account started tweeting a link to what was basically a fan fiction story about Thompson. The writer claimed to have had a crush on Thompson since high school, but was angry when he chose a white woman over her.

“I was a popular girl and could’ve had any boy in school I wanted, but I wanted him,” the supposedly jilted writer said. “He was dark, in skin and spirit, and smarter than anybody I knew. He was a nerd but knowledgeable and driven and worldly from all the old movies he watched.”

The story’s protagonist then names a woman she says is Thompson’s ex and smears her as a racist “fetishist” spreading herpes across the land.

The writer claims to be taking revenge on Thompson. “She” claims to be working with a new lover, who happened to be a white guy with IT skills, to hack Thompson’s account and terrorize him and his ex:

10

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RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM I FREE

Juan Thompson turned a tough St. Louis background into a dream job writing for national publications. But was anything he wrote true?

BY DOYLE MURPHY

The RFT’s cover story apparently unleashed Thompson’s rage. | NOAH MACMILLAN “Me and the white boy fucked with all of them for a while: sent messages, putting their names on racists 8ch and doxxxing them, calling and reporting jobs, messaging friends and family, tipping stories.”

The story seemed to have multiple goals: to stroke Thompson’s ego, to cover any cyber misdeeds with a bizarre account of hacking, and to slime the ex-girlfriend.

It was strange, over the top and kind of funny in a gallows-humor sort of way, but it also made me realize that whatever Thompson seemed to be doing to me, it was probably way

MARCH 8-14, 2017

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worse for his ex.

It also seemed to represent a turn for the worse. Thompson was posting attacks against the woman on his own Twitter page, claiming she was sending bomb threats in his name and trying to get him “raped in jail.”

He even tweeted such accusations to the Secret Service Twitter account.

The speed and vitriol seemed to be increasing, and I wondered what was going to happen. But I was still learning things that were just plain strange.

On February 23, he emailed St. Louis barbecue favorite Salt + Smoke

and claimed to be a freelancer coming to St. Louis to write a food piece for the New York Times.

“I’ve been told your place has the best bbq in the city,” he wrote. “I wanted to ask if I could come in on Monday, around 7, for dinner? If the food is good, you get a great write up in the Times!”

When the restaurant’s owner told him to feel free to drop by, he followed up with another email, claiming he’d somehow lost his wallet “along the way to JFK airport and STL.” “Could Salt and Smoke comp me tmrw, if don’t find it, and ’ll reimburse?” he asked. Out of due diligence, Salt Smoke confirmed with the Times that Thompson was not in fact on assignment for them. Once again, Juan Thompson was simply making stuff up.

I was still considering the weirdness of it all when I learned he had been arrested.

I dropped by his mom’s house in north city on my way to the office Friday. Nobody there really wanted to talk to me, but Thompson’s stepdad chatted for a few minutes on the front porch. The FBI had stormed the place about 7 a.m., he said. They pushed open the door, confiscated various family members’ cell phones and searched the house.

The stepdad told me that Thompson wasn’t staying there; agents had picked him up at his grandmother’s house. The others only saw him about once a month. The stepdad said he tried to stay out of Thompson’s business when he did see him.

I told him about the charges and the fake restaurant assignment. He chuckled and shook his head when I mentioned a recent post about a loft apartment Thompson claimed he was renting downtown.

“When he came back from ew York, he wasn’t right,” the stepdad said. “He wasn’t that way when he left.” n

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2/20/17 4:21 PM

SEAMSTRESS FOR THE KLAN

F

Malissa Ancona hoarded cats, popped pills and terrorized the imperial wizard of the local KKK

DOYLE MURPHY

rank Ancona, the imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, smelled like cat piss.

The stench clung to the 51-year-old’s graying hair and mustache. It seeped into the fabric of his clothes and hung on him like a blanket. He was unhappy about it, but he did not seem to know what to do.

He lived in a small, beat-looking house in the rural southeast Missouri town of Leadwood.

The windows of the front porch had been pulled out and the wood frames wrapped in chicken wire — a project his wife had undertaken one evening after he headed off to his job as an overnight courier for a St. Louis-based shipping company.

Malissa Ancona, 44, seemed intent on turning their home into a giant kennel. It was well-known that the bleach blonde ran an off-the-books — some would say infamous — animal rescue.

Dozens of cats and two dogs shared 1,000 square feet with the Klansman and his wife. They nested in piles of dirty clothes, pawed through open garbage and kicked litter across the floors. A neighbor estimates as many as 70 cats lived there during peak times.

“My dad said sometimes he had to sleep on the couch because the bedroom was so trashed,” says Frank’s son from a previous marriage, Frank Ancona Jr. There’s not much money in Leadwood. Set in the hills about 70 miles south of St. Louis, the median household income is about $31,000, nearly 2 , less than the statewide figure.

The population of 1,282 is 99 percent white.

For diversity, residents identifying as American Indian outnumbered African-Americans two to one. That’s not a ratio: Census workers counted a total of two Native Americans and one black person in the 2010 tally.

Leadwood is the kind of place where people might not agree with the KKK, but they also don’t get too worked up about a Klan leader living ne t door. The Anconas moved in five or six years ago. Frank’s dad lived one house over to the south, and the local fire station was across the street. The younger Ancona seemed intent on settling in after years spent bouncing around Missouri and Illinois. The Leadwood house was a lease, but Frank had worked out

Frank Ancona portrayed himself as a powerful KKK leader, but the public image concealed a messy private life.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION VIA TRADITIONALISTAMERICANKNIGHTS.COM

Continued on pg 14

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KLAN Continued from pg 13 a rent-to-own arrangement with the homeowners, relatives say.

Shortly after moving in, he hung a red flag with the ’s “blood drop” cross to the left of the front door and a replica of the Klan’s historical flying dragon pennant to the right.

His only real problem was Malissa.

Neighbor James Russell says he could hear her hollering at Frank night and day.

“Well, they’re into it again,” Russell would tell his wife.

He and Frank were friends, but he kept his distance from Malissa after they quarreled over the way she let her growing herd of felines roam the neighborhood, terrorizing his orange-haired cat, Kitty, and eating pet food off his porch. She seemed unhinged.

“I just knew she was going to do something one of these days,” Russell says. “I just knew it.”

Animal rescue workers were also leery of Malissa and had begun reporting her to the state Department of Agriculture, which oversees animal rescue organizations and shelters. Lucretia Skaggs of the Midwest Community Cat Alliance says a number of animal nonprofits had at first tried to help Malissa.

“We stopped doing so when we realized what a con artist Malissa was,” Skaggs says.

She scammed them out of free veterinary care and grew evasive or combative when challenged, Skaggs says. Malissa came to be seen not as someone who helped animals, but as someone who hoarded them. The feeling among the tight-knit network of rescues, shelters and fosters was that it was only a matter of time before they were called in to pick up the pieces when alissa’s charade finally shattered.

No one knew exactly what would happen, but they figured it would be ugly. Kym McNulty, a veteran animal rescue worker, says she grew fed up with Malissa a year or two ago and called her out as a fraud. She still remembers her reaction.

“Do you know who my husband is?” Malissa asked, according to McNulty.

Malissa’s neighbor, Russell, recalls her approaching his son one day with a sob story about a suffering cat that needed to be put down. She said the vet was closed 14

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Frank and Malissa Ancona lived with dozens of cats in their home in Leadwood, Missouri. | DOYLE MURPHY

A spare room was filled with litter boxes and feeding bowls. | DOYLE MURPHY and then, startlingly, asked him to wring the cat’s neck, Russell says.

“He told her no, he wouldn’t have nothing to do with it,” Russell says. “She was just crazy. That’s the honest truth. She was just crazy, dude.”

When word spread that Frank had gone missing February 9, no one seemed too surprised. His son, Frank Jr., knew something was wrong when his father’s employer called to say he had not shown

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up for work for the first time in nearly a decade. The son called police and headed over to the house.

He and the officers were just about to go inside when Malissa returned home with her son from a previous relationship and barred their way. Frank Jr. remembered a feeling of dread sweep over him.

“I had a gut feeling right then and there she’d done something bad.”

The week of Frank Ancona’s disappearance unfolded strangely.

On Wednesday, February 8, the last day Frank was seen alive, his wife posted an ad on Facebook, seeking a new roommate.

“Looking for a roommate in leadwood...I have three dogs and a cat rescue so u must love animals..

All bills and rent split..Message me for details,” Malissa Ancona wrote.

That caught the attention of investigators.

That Thursday, Frank did not report to work, triggering his employer’s call. But when police stopped by the house with Frank Jr. on Friday, Malissa was reluctant to let them enter. She had not filed a missing person report, she explained, because she thought Frank was leaving her. The last time she had seen him was about 6 a.m. on Wednesday, she said.

Leadwood police Chief William Dickey eventually talked her into letting them take a quick look around the house. Inside, they found a safe that looked like it had been pried open, but nothing else stood out among the mess. Malissa claimed the home may have been burglarized, but she had not bothered to report it.

Dickey also questioned her about the roommate ad.

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Frank and Malissa Ancona had a rocky relationship for years. | FACEBOOK “She stated she did it because when he said he was leaving to go out of state on this job, he took a bag of clothes with him and said when he got back he was filing for divorce,” Dickey told the local paper, the Park Hills Daily Journal. “She told us she figured she would need help to pay the rent, so she put an ad out looking for a roommate.”

It maybe seemed a little strange, but ickey figured all they had for the time being was a missing person case. Frank was a grown man.

Maybe he really had just walked out.

“It got suspicious later on Friday evening when the vehicle was located,” Dickey tells the Riverfront Times.

A U.S. Forest Service worker had spotted Frank’s Ford Fusion off an access road in a wooded stretch of Washington County. Nearby, investigators found a pile of burned clothes. Frank was still missing, but that too would soon change.

The next day, Saturday, a family planning to fish the Big iver wandered down a footpath toward the water’s edge. As they reached the gravel, they spotted the body.

Frank had been stripped to his underwear and socks. He had been shot in the head.

Investigators from the St. Francois Sheriff’s Department headed to the house in Leadwood — this time, armed with a search warrant.

Inside the dimly lit rooms, they picked their way past a swirl of Malissa’s cats and through a kitchen littered with trash and dirty dishes.

They found what they were looking for at the back of the house in the master bedroom: blood splatter on the ceiling, blood soaked deep into the mattress.

Meanwhile, Washington County sheriff’s detectives were serving more warrants at the home of Malissa’s 24-year-old son, Paul Jinkerson Jr., in the small town of Belgrade. They found bloody clothes at his residence and blood inside his car, authorities say. Jinkerson, who had previously been convicted for possessing meth and was awaiting trial on charges he had helped break into car wash coin machines, was taken into custody on a probation violation.

As the investigation began to come into focus, detectives also discovered some interesting video from a Belgrade gas station situated near both the Big River and the wooded access road where they had found Frank’s car. They scrolled through the surveillance camera footage from Thursday morning and spotted Malissa and Jinkerson driving past, Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen says.

They were in different vehicles — Frank’s Ford Fusion and Jinkerson’s Chevy Impala.

The cameras recorded them again a little while later. This time, mother and son were both in Jinkerson’s car.

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The KKK imperial wizard had grown desperate during the last months of his life. rank confided in friends and family members Continued on pg 16 riverfronttimes.com

MARCH 8-14, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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KLAN Continued from pg 15 that his wife was addicted to prescription pills and had grown erratic. He had taken to locking his medications and valuables in a safe or hiding them in the trunk of his car. When he slept, he tucked the car keys into his pillowcase.

Publicly, Frank portrayed himself as the powerful leader of a clandestine, but righteous, organization, a representative of a silent majority of decent Americans who were fed up with the chaos they saw on the nightly news.

His followers adopted “I am Darren Wilson” profile pictures on Facebook after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson and scattered fliers in north St. ouis County that threatened “lethal force” should protesters take things too far.

“You have awakened a sleeping giant, the fliers warned.

No matter that hate group experts estimate Frank’s Traditionalist American Knights, the KKK faction he founded in 2009, had maybe 40 members across the country at the height of its influence.

“We’re basically going where we’re being asked to,” Frank told a Riverfront Times reporter in 2014.

“We’re being low-key. We’re not trying to inflame any situation anywhere, but we’re also letting it be known that we’re here to help people if need be.”

The Ferguson stunt earned Frank national attention, which was apparently the goal. Those who knew him say he cared deeply about crafting his public image and wanted everyone to know his name. He posted a video on his Klan website of him sparring on national television with MSNBC host Chris Hayes, and he told the New York Times, “We need to preserve the white race because we are the ones who keep civilization civilized.”

Privately, he was literally living in shit.

“The house is so nasty it’s not even fit for an animal to live in, he complained in an October message to his stepdaughter.

Malissa’s ex-husband, Paul Jinkerson Sr., says Frank reached out to him for help several months ago. They used to see each other every once in a while at their kids’ birthday parties and got along well. Jinkerson Sr. did not share Frank’s racist ideology, but he considered him an otherwise decent, hardworking guy. He liked to tease 16

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Investigators found a blood-soaked mattress in the Anconas’ bedroom. | DOYLE MURPHY

Malissa Ancona and her son, Paul Jinkerson Jr., are facing murder charges. | ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY SHERIFF/WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF his ex-wife and her new husband about the KKK, asking if it was like that scene in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? where a bunch of hooded Klansmen dance in unison by firelight.

“He knew I meant him no harm, so I was able to joke around with him,” Jinkerson says.

Malissa and Jinkerson have been divorced more than twenty years.

They were young when they married, and she had already begun to lean on prescription pills, he says.

Malissa always had some kind of

MARCH 8-14, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

ailment that required a pile of medications. The explanations rarely checked out.

“Malissa is the kind of person who would tell you she had Lucky Charms for breakfast when she really had Cocoa Puffs,” Jinkerson says.

The problems stemmed from childhood, he says. She was just four or five when her mother died suddenly after a hysterectomy went bad. Her late father was an alcoholic “piece of shit” who abused her, Jinkerson says. The trauma ap-

parently left Malissa rootless and eager to fit in. inkerson is sympathetic to a point, but says she’s now old enough to be responsible for her actions.)

Malissa’s new identity as a bigot amused her ex-husband. He says she had dated black men back in the 1990s in St. Louis but had apparently forgotten all that in her new role as a fervent Klan wife.

She was a capable seamstress — her specialty was tutus for little girls — and she had begun sewing robes and patches for the KKK. “You know that line in the Elton John song ‘Tiny Dancer’ — ‘the seamstress for the band?’” Jinkerson asks, quoting the lyrics. “I would call her ‘the Seamstress for the Klan.’”

But Frank was not joking around when he called Jinkerson on the phone about six months ago. The filth of the house, the pills and the stealing had become too much for Frank to bear. He wanted to know, would Jinkerson consider taking Malissa back?

“I was like, ‘You’re out of your mind,’” Jinkerson recalls. “I guess he thought for a brief, fleeting moment that I would alleviate his pain and take her off his hands.”

Frank did not have any better luck with Malissa’s grown children.

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ST. LOUIS’ NEWEST ADULT BOUTIQUE ALSO SELLING VAPE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT Malissa Ancona used to sew tutus for little girls and robes for the KKK. | DOYLE MURPHY He traded messages with her daughter, 25-year-old Lauren Jinkerson, in October.

“Is there anybody in your family that will let your mother [move] with them,” he asked. “I cannot take her being around me another minute her life her drug-dealing her stealing… I can’t take anymore of it and she needs a place to go ASAP.” Frank told Lauren he suspected Malissa slipped the blood pressure medicine Clonidine into his coffee, knocking him out so she could steal his medication.

“Really what she did could be considered attempted murder i think,” he wrote. “I can barely move or think straight right now…..very weak dizzy and blurred vision.”

Lauren advised Frank to throw Malissa out. The Klan wizard said he was ready, but he worried she would hurt herself, call the cops and frame him for spousal abuse.

“It’s like I’m a prisoner in my own home,” he wrote.

Frank had said similar things in the past. He and Malissa were always threatening to split up or move out, relatives say, but it never seemed to happen. Even as he described being drugged and living with constant anxiety, he told his stepdaughter he loved his wife.

Lauren, who has one child and a baby on the way, felt no such bond to her mother. During one of their last interactions, Malissa told Lauren she hoped she and her baby would die in childbirth.

Frank should be careful, Lauren warned her stepdad during their October exchange. “She’s a huge drug addict, and you need to get rid of her or else she’ll drug you one day and she’ll kill you instead.”

Malissa Ancona and Paul Jinkerson Jr. were charged February 13 with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

After days of denying she knew anything about her husband’s disappearance and sobbing dry-eyed on television news, Malissa had decided to talk to investigators, authorities say. She told detectives she and Jinkerson killed Frank during the early morning hours of February 9. Her son, she claimed, was the triggerman.

“Ms. Ancona admitted to me in an audio video recorded interview that her biological son Paul Edward Jinkerson Jr., shot and killed Frank Ancona while he was asleep in the master bedroom of the residence,” St. Francois County Sheriff’s Detective Matt Wampler wrote in a probable cause statement. “Ms. Ancona admitted that she failed to report the crime and additionally attempted to destroy blood evidence and altered the crime scene in an attempt to conceal the offense and was acting in concert with her son Paul Jinkerson Jr.” Malissa and her son entered pleas of not guilty last month during their initial court appearance.

Frank had been shot with a nine millimeter handgun and again with a shotgun, authorities say. Malissa told detectives they could find the handgun in the river near where Frank’s body was discovered. The shotgun would be in a St. Francois County pond. Sure enough, the murder weapons were right where she’d promised, according to Jacobsen, the Washington County sheriff.

If she told the detective why they killed her husband, it is not menContinued on pg 18 tioned in the

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Malissa Ancona posted this picture of Paul Jinkerson Jr. and one of her cats the night before her husband’s murder. Family members wonder if she was plotting to frame him. | FACEBOOK

KLAN Continued from pg 17

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MARCH 8-14, 2017

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court papers. But the neighbor, James Russell, recalls hearing a strange sound, like metal-on-metal banging, for hours on the morning Frank was murdered. He did not know what was going on. Later, when he heard police found the safe busted open, he figured he had his answer.

Malissa’s attorney, Wayne Williams, did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Some wonder if Malissa’s rapid confession is an attempt to cover up an even darker reality. Paul Jinkerson Jr.’s father and siblings suspect he is being framed by his mother.

The 24-year-old was one of the few members of the family who had not completely cut ties with Malissa. A computer science student at Mineral Area College before he got hooked on meth and pills, Paul Jinkerson Jr. was into guitar and read books on creationism. He had probably never fired a gun in his life or even been in a fistfight, his father says.

“He was a geek,” Paul Jinkerson Sr. says. “He wasn’t somebody who would go out and do this.”

There’s no way he could be the triggerman, his family claims; he just did not have it in him. But they sound less certain when asked if it is possible he helped his mother try to cover up an act of violence on her part. Lauren Jinkerson says she does not think he would, partly because her brother liked Frank, who had once helped get him a job.

Paul Jinkerson Sr. says the same, but he recalls a startling conversation with his son two weeks before the murder.

“He said kind of off-the-cuff that

she [Malissa] wanted to kill Frank, and she wanted him to help her clean it up,” the father says.

Paul Jinkerson Sr. flipped out when he heard that. He says his son assured him he flat-out refused to be involved in any way. They immediately drove to Malissa and Frank’s house, where Paul Jinkerson Sr. told his son to grab a laptop he had left over there, because he was not going to be talking to his mother anymore.

Malissa was home, and it turned ugly once she realized what was happening. Everyone was yelling.

She threatened to call her son’s probation officer and get his probation revoked, according to her ex-husband.

“Fuck you,” Paul Jinkerson Sr. screamed out the window of his car.

“Why don’t you kill yourself?” his son added, directing it at his mom.

As they drove away, Paul Jinkerson Sr. warned his son that Malissa could be vindictive and he should stay the hell away from her. He thought that was the end of it until, two weeks later, he learned Frank had disappeared.

As the family searched for clues, they scanned Malissa’s Facebook page and found she had posted a picture of Paul Jinkerson Jr. the night before Frank went missing. He had his eyes closed, and one of Malissa’s cats was cuddled against his shoulder. He looks drugged, Lauren Jinkerson says later. Her father agrees.

Malissa never posted pictures of her son on Facebook before. Paul Jinkerson Sr. thinks she was just trying to put their boy at the scene of the crime.

The family grew even more suspicious when Malissa’s sister shared text messages Frank sent her on the last night of his life. He was at work,

driving his route, when he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to sleep and had to pull over. He blamed Malissa.

“I’m thinking it was her Klonopin she dissolved in my food probably because that stuff knocks me out...” he wrote.

Malissa had cooked pasta that night, Frank said in the messages.

His had a different sauce, and it tasted so salty he could only eat only a few bites.

“I had to seriously wonder if she isn’t trying to kill me drug me up so I will have an accident and she can collect my social security,” he wrote.

Paul Jinkerson Sr. heard about those messages, looked at the bizarre picture of his oldest boy passed out on Malissa’s couch and thought back to the heated exchange with Malissa two weeks before Frank was killed.

He used to think she was all talk, Jinkerson Sr. says.

“In retrospect, I should have done so much more,” he says. “I should have called Frank. I should have told Malissa we knew.”

After Frank Ancona was killed, animal rescuers teamed up to help relocate her cats and a pair of dogs to shelters, vets and rescues where they could be treated and eventually put up for adoption. They had predicted such activity years ago as they battled with Malissa and tried in vain to get the state to intervene. ow the day had finally come.

Lucretia Skaggs and her husband took two cats the first night, and she

Open Door Animal Sanctuary took in eleven of Malissa Ancona’s cats. The last of them, renamed Eleven (bottom), was in a picture with Paul Jinkerson Jr. the night before Frank Ancona was killed. | DOYLE MURPHY returned the next day with more than a dozen volunteers to start gathering the rest. A few of the cats were in awful shape, but most were well-fed and friendly enough. They combed through Malissa’s recent Facebook pictures and counted furry faces to make sure they weren’t missing any.

“We’ve always known we would have to go to that house and do a major rescue,” Skaggs says. “We’ve known that for years. We had no inkling of how that would come about.

This shocked all of us.”

Over the course of a week, they rescued 42 cats. Eleven of them went to Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs, where the staff gave them all check-ups, treated them for

fleas and administered de-wormer medications. A little yellow guy they called Spencer was isolated upstairs while they treated him for a respiratory infection called feline calicivirus. An orange-and-white youngster renamed Sprocket rushes up to visitors’ legs and then rubs against the bars of his pen, hoping to have his ears rubbed.

“They’re all really friendly, actually,” says Jeanette Curtin, who’s worked for four years at Open Door.

She was part of the rescue operation that convened in Leadwood. “It’s kind of weirder and sadder in a way.

You know she loved them and tried to take care of them — somewhat.

It’s the weird disconnect between caring for your cat and caring about riverfronttimes.com

your cat.”

The animal rescue workers were able to load up most of the cats during the first couple of days. They left out traps for the stragglers but finally pulled them after about a week.

Skaggs says they had an ominous feeling they were wearing out their welcome. othing was specifically said, but workers decided it was not a good idea to keep sending volunteers to Leadwood.

“You just don’t get a good vibe,” Skaggs says.

Frank’s son let the rescuers do as they pleased. It was never his house, and it angers him to think about Malissa trashing his dad’s home with all those cats.

About two weeks after his father’s death, the place still reeks when Frank Jr. pushes open the door and walks inside.

By this time, the younger man has already cleared out a lot of his father’s belongings. The room where rank Sr. filmed ouTube videos in front of lan flags and memorabilia was now mostly barren.

All that remains in the Leadwood house is rubble: furniture that should probably be burned, piles of filthy clothes scattered across the floor and overflowing litter bo es.

His father’s old mattress, stripped bare and stained red with blood, is still in the bedroom next to Malissa’s abandoned Singer sewing machine, the one she used to sew Klan robes.

Somewhere, hidden behind a stack of kitchen garbage, a forgotten alarm beeps over and over in the dim light.

“Even if you’re a cat, that’s a shit life,” Frank Ancona Jr. says after looking around.

The son says he and his father did not see eye to eye on all the KKK theatrics — “I think it just brings more people to hate you” — but they usually talked about other things. When Frank Jr. is asked about the Klan, he says his dad was in a “certain organization” and emphasizes that was separate from family life. He remembers a father who liked the outdoors and trips to Branson. He was proud to learn his dad had not missed a day of work in eight years.

Reporters have been calling ever since the news broke that a prominent Klansman had been killed.

The story made international news.

Frank Sr. was in the New York Times again. The son says his father’s murder did not have anything to do with his work for the lan. Still, he figures his dad has enjoyed the attention, even in death.

“He’s definitely looking down from the heavens, saying, ‘I got my n name out there now.’”

MARCH 8-14, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

19

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MAY 11-13 Bailey was the host of the American version of Cash Cab, a TV game show played in a taxicab that Bailey drives around New York City, broadcast on the Discovery Channel.

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Deon is best known as a member of the writing staff of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (2009–2010) and subsequently Conan (2010–present) and also for being a cast member on the sitcom Angie Tribeca (2016–present).

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21

WEEK OF MARCH 9-14

The Missouri History Museum’s #1 in Civil Rights exhibit explores the Jefferson Bank protests and so much more. | COURTESY OF THE ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

THURSDAY 03/09 Briefs: A Festival of Short LGBTQ Plays Members of the LGBTQ community are facing a new array of challenges set forth by an unpredictable presidential administration. Its a critical time to remind the nation of the humanity and the struggles of LGBTQ citizens, and Pearl Vodka, in conjunction with That Uppity Theatre Company and

Vital Voice Magazine, provides just the way to do that. Briefs is a festival of short LGBTQ plays that tackles topics of diversity. The festival celebrates its sixth year with eight plays that were picked out of 250 submissions. This year, donations and organizer contributions will be given to the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis and the International Institute of St. Louis. Briefs: A Festival of Short LGBTQ Plays will be held at 8 p.m.

Thursday and Friday and at 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday (March 9 to 11) at .Zack Performing Arts Incubator (3224 Locust Street; www.uppityco.com). Admission is $20.

— Bill Loellke

FRIDAY 03/10 Aphra Behn Emerging Artist’s Festival Just about two years ago Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble staged an uproarious production of Liz Duffy Adams’ Or, which is a fictionalized account of one stressful night in the life of Aphra Behn. Behn was a Restoration-era playwright and a woman, which meant she had to fight for everything she got. Now riverfronttimes.com

the company has a new festival for female playwrights named after the redoubtable woman who inspired the role. The inaugural Aphra Behn Emerging Artist’s Festival showcases three new plays, written by Erin Rene Roberts (Deflowered), Alyssa Ward (Life Ever After) and Shualee Cook (The Music of the Goddess), that deal, respectively, with a woman losing her virginity, an aspiring novelist navigating the afterlife and a violinist who loses the ability to play on the eve of her professional debut. The Aphra Behn Emerging Artist’s Festival takes place at 8 p.m.

Friday through Sunday (March 10 to 12) at the Centene Center for Arts

MARCH 8-14, 2017

Continued on pg 22

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CALENDAR Continued from pg 21

SUNDAY 03/12 Bessie: The Life and Music of Bessie Smith

and Education (3547 Olive Street; www.slightlyoff.org). All three plays are performed at each show. Tickets are $15.

— Paul Friswold

Stout & Oyster Festival Tastes of the East and West Coast come together at the Stout & Oyster Festival at the Schlafly Tap oom 2 ocust Street www.schlafly. com). While you chow down on some of the , bivalves flown in from both sides of the country, you can also indulge in some of Schlafly’s finest stouts, such as Oatmeal Stout, Coffee Stout and Nitro Irish Stout. Several bands will be on hand to entertain while you dine at the festival, including the Funky Butt Brass Band, Big Mike Aguirre & the Blu City Allstars and Boudin Brothers Band. Don’t like oysters?

No need to worry, because the Tap Room menu will be available in the downstairs dining area. Get ready for Schlaflys biggest food and beer festival. The event will be held from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday (March 10 and 11). Admission is free, but bring money for food and beverages.

— Bill Loellke

SATURDAY 03/11 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Pinch yourself, because it’s that time of the year again: the day when St. Louisans and leprechauns (we all know they totally exist) come together for the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This year’s parade includes more than 130 floats, bands, marching units, balloon mascots and 5,000 marchers.

Also taking place is the St. Patrick’s Day Run, which will have runners, walkers and wheelchair racers of all ages competing on a five-mile course. The run also includes a Best Costume competition, in which runners are encouraged to dress in Irish-themed gear. The St. Patrick’s Day run begins at 9 a.m. today, and the parade kicks off from the intersection of Market Street and Broadway (www.irishparade.org) at noon.

— Bill Loellke 22

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith in 1936. | CARL VAN VECHTEN

#1 in Civil Rights St. Louis’ history as a wellspring of civil rights activism is deep and impressive. Dred and Harriet Scott’s legal fight to be free, ary Meachum’s bold actions leading slaves to freedom across the Mississippi River, the Jefferson Bank protesters organizing to get access to better jobs, Percy Green and the daring VP Ball invaders who challenged St. Louis’ powerful elite and the exclusionary nature of their private party — all of these people fought the good fight in St. Louis. #1 in Civil Rights, the new exhibition at the Missouri History Museum (Lindell Boulevard and DeBaliviere Avenue; www.mohistory.org) chronicles the history of the civil rights movement in the metro area through artifacts, historical photos, oral histories, art work and actors’ performances.

Every key moment in the black struggle for equality is covered up to the present day, with artifacts collected by the museum staff following the killing of Michael Brown and the resulting civil unrest in Ferguson playing a major role in the exhibit. #1 in Civil Rights opens on Saturday, March 11, and continues through April 15, 2018. Admission is free.

— Paul Friswold

MARCH 8-14, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

Strauss: An Alpine Symphony Is Richard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony the last of his tone poems or the apex of his symphonic work?

Both arguments have their merits, but the truth is that the symphony is a corker no matter your point of view. In roughly 50 minutes, Strauss recreates an eleven-hour journey to the top of a mountain and back down again, bookended by the first moments of the day and the first moments of darkness and quiet after sunset. The only thing that could improve this piece would be beer and pretzels, and guess what? This weekend’s performance of An Alpine Symphony by the St. Louis Symphony comes with complimentary beer from Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and pretzels courtesy of Companion Bakery. Ausgezeichnet, nicht wahr?

Guest conductor Stéphane Denève leads the symphony through An Alpine Symphony and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (March 10 and 11) at Powell Hall (718 North Grand Boulevard; www.slso.org). Tickets are $25 to $81.50.

— Paul Friswold

Life came at Bessie Smith hard and fast. Her father died when she was still an infant, and her mother died when she was nine. Raised by an older sister, she went to work as a street busker while still a child. Bessie began working as a dancer on the black theater circuit while still in her teens, eventually transitioning to her rightful place as a singer. With her powerful voice, unique phrasing and stage presence, she became a star working for Columbia Records and earned her title “the Empress of the Blues” through a relentless touring schedule. She lived her own life, engaging in affairs with men and women, traveling in a custom-built rail car and working with all the greats (Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, Joe Smith). Douglas M. Parker’s play Bessie: The Life and Music of Bessie Smith gets a staged reading as part of the Black Rep’s 40th anniversary season, with Denise Thimes in the role of Bessie. The play is performed at 3 p.m. today at Washington University’s Edison Theatre (6445 Forsyth Boulevard; www.theblackrep.org). Admission is free.

— Paul Friswold

The Royale The scene is the early 1900s. Professional boxer Jay “The Sport” Jackson has a dream: to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Unfortunately, the times are not kind to a black athlete like Jackson, with racial segregation being the norm even in boxing. The Royale, written by Marco Ramirez and presented by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, draws inspiration from the life of Jack Johnson, who became a boxing legend after defeating the undefeated James J. Jeffries in a match that was called “The Fight of the Century.” This defeat was seen as a moment of advancement for African-Americans. Step up to the ring and stand by ackson as he fights for both his title and his humanity. The Royale will be performed Tuesday through Sunday (March 10 to 26) at the Loretto-Hilton Center (130 Edgar Road; www.repstl.org). Tickets are $43.50 to $67.50.— Bill Loellke

PHOTO BY ARINA P HABICH

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

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St. Patrick’s Day Events This year, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will last for two weekends, and everything kicks off already this Saturday. Here’s where to go in St. Louis to get in on the fun.

SATURDAY, MARCH 11 Downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Run Pinch yourself, because it’s that time of the year again: The day when St. Louisans and leprechauns (we all know they totally exist) come together for the downtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This year’s parade includes more than 130 floats, bands, marching units, balloon mascots and 5,000 marchers. Also taking place is the St. Patrick’s Day Run, which will have runners, walkers and wheelchair racers of all ages competing on a five-mile course. The run also includes a Best Costume competition, in which runners are encouraged to dress in Irishthemed gear. The St. Patrick’s Day run begins at 9 a.m. today, and the parade kicks off from the intersection of Market Street and Broadway (www.irishparade.org) at noon. Sat., March 11, 9 a.m. & noon, free admission for spectators.

S. Broadway and Market streets, St. Louis.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17 Pat Connolly Tavern’s 75th Anniversary The Pat Connolly Tavern celebrates its 75th anniversary with a 6 a.m. breakfast ($7 per plate) with full par. Corned beef plates start at 11 a.m.

Outside a series of streetside bars will be set up from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to serve parade-watchers, and a huge party tent will have live Irish music, Feel Good, Inc. and more Irish music in the upstairs bar from 6 to 10 p.m. Fri., March 17, 6 a.m. Pat Connolly Tavern, 6400 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, 314-647-7287.

The Hibernian St. Patrick’s Day Parade It doesn’t matter if it rains, snows, sleets or is pouring down sunshine on St. Patrick’s Day, Dogtown will show up to party. The Ancient Order of Hibernians St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a street party disguised as a family reunion, with neighbors and the Irish-only-in-spirit always welcome to join in. The parade itself, which starts at 12:30 p.m., is the big draw, but the after-party is something to see. Dogtown’s bars and restaurants are ready to serve all comers of legal age, and the streets will be packed until well after dark. No coolers are allowed in to Dogtown, and underage drinking is strictly forbidden. Fri., March 17, 12:30 p.m., free admission, www.stlhibernians.com. Tamm and Oakland Avenues, Tamm Ave. and Oakland Ave., St. Louis.

St. Pat’s Bar Crawl

St. Paddy’s Day Party

The St. Pat’s Bar Crawl lets you drink downtown on Sat., March 11, noon to 6 p.m. Your $20 ticket gets you two $5 gift cards for food or drink, drink specials, a St. Patrick’s shot glass medallion and more. Participating bars include Rosalita’s, Over/Under, Flannery’s Pub and more.

Make sure to be at Lucas Park Grille or Big Daddy’s before 2 p.m. to register. 312-600-9035, info@mydrinkon.com, secure.mydrinkon.com/ affiliate/mdoeventtab/event/2017-St-PatsBar-Crawl-St-Louis. Lucas Park Grille, 1234 Washington Ave., St. Louis and Big Daddy’s, 118 Morgan Street.

Live music from Diamond Cut Blues Band and Moon Rocket at this south city bar. Fri., March 17, 9 p.m., $5. The Haunt, 5000 Alaska Avenue, St. Louis, 314-481-5003.

St. Pat’s Pre-Party Live music at the Pat Connolly Tavern this Saturday from 2 p.m. to close, plus Jameson and Guinness specials. Sat., March 11. Pat Connolly Tavern, 6400 Oakland Ave., St. Louis, 314647-7287.

St. Pat’s Bar Crawl Drink your way through downtown both Friday and Saturday with the St. Pat’s Bar Crawl. Your $20 ticket gets you two $5 gift cards for food or drink, drink specials, a St. Patrick’s shot glass medallion and more. Participating bars include Flannery’s Pub, Morgan Street Brewery and more. Make sure to be at Lucas Park Grille or Big Daddy’s from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 17, and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18, to register. 312-600-9035, info@mydrinkon.com, secure.mydrinkon.com/affiliate/mdoeventtab/event/2017-St-Pats-Bar-Crawl-St-Louis.

Lucas Park Grille, 1234 Washington Ave., St. Louis and Big Daddy’s, 118 Morgan Street.

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FILM

Kong returns to 1971 to fight the U.S. Army, and anyone else. | COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES ©2017 WARNER BROS. ENT. INC., LEGENDARY PICTURES PRODUCTIONS, LLC AND RATPAC-DUNE ENTERTAINMENT LLC [REVIEW]

Ape-ocalypse Now Kong: Skull Island is a fantastic Vietnam war movie, with monsters Written by

MARYANN JOHANSON Kong: Skull Island

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly and John Gatins. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson and John C. Reilly. Opens Friday, March 10, at numerous theaters.

W

hat’s the big surprise of Kong: Skull Island? No, it’s not a secret sequel to Peter Jackson’s 2 film King Kong; the two movies are not connected in any way. And no, in fact, this Kong is not a sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, either, though the two are both part of the shared universe that’s being called the MonsterVerse.

No, the big surprise — not a spoiler! — is that Kong: Skull Island

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is actually a prequel to Godzilla.

After a brief introductory sequence set in , the action jumps to 1973 and stays there, which lends a delicious retro analog vibe to the goings-on. There’s good reason to set this tale in 1973: It allows the mysterious Skull sland, hidden by a perpetual storm, to have been recently discovered in the South acific by the first arth-mapping satellites. Scientist Bill anda ohn oodman finally gets permission to take his team on a mission to the island; he has a pretty good idea what’s there via his top-secret government project, onarch (referenced in Godzilla), which is documenting the e istence of “massive unidentified terrestrial organisms. t’s like an - iles for monsters. So off they go accompanied by “tracker ames Conrad Tom iddleston , photojournalist ason Weaver Brie arson , and an escort of .S. military who are about to be demobilized from ietnam. Once on the island, they meet ank arlow ohn C. eilly , who was shot down over the island in 1944 (that’s the opening sequence) and has been stuck there since.

Boiled down to its bonkers essence, Skull Island is a ietnam war movie with monsters. ong is far from the only one. t’s Ape-ocalypse

MARCH 8-14, 2017

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Now, with a war-addicted, possibly insane ieutenant Colonel reston ackard Samuel . ackson , who is quite upset about the whole not-winning in ietnam thing, going full Ahab and fi ating on ong as a “war he can win. e might be underestimating the capabilities of his s uad. So while Skull Island has ironic fun with a running motif about how war can make a man see enemies everywhere, including in a giant ape who was just minding his own business until you started dropping bombs on him, there’s also a man-versus-nature thing running alongside it: Mess with nature, and nature will mess right back, ferociously. It’s like Jurassic Park, with a lot less wonder and a helluva lot more horror.

Oh, the gruesome, intense ickiness here This movie is really pushing the boundaries of a PG-13 rating ... or maybe it only feels that way when you’re watching in A and it feels like the jungle bug slime and the gore and the monster vomit is all over you. This is a rare instance of 3-D being put to actual use onscreen rather than just serving as an e cuse to hike ticket prices: There is real depth in the jungle, real dizziness to be found looking down from a high cliff. ordan ogt- oberts, whose

only previous feature film was the unpleasantly snide ultra-lowbudget coming-of-age dramedy The Kings of Summer, has acquitted himself well with his first massive movie.

All the horror and the black comedy and the monster battles and the homages to a slew of other films t all works, even crammed in like this, thanks in large part to the fine line the terrific cast walks between treating the material with just enough taking-it-seriously under the lashings of nonsense. eilly steals the show as his lost-in-time pilot, but iddleston is a close second, plausibly rougher and tougher than we’ve seen him before in his first true action role. arson’s part could be meatier, but she is not a damsel in distress, and she is not there for ong to fall in love with ine plicably. n fact, the most offensive Kong tropes have been e cised, though they are alluded to. One or two groans are a necessary response to an obvious choice or two on the soundtrack of mostly awesome s rock tunes, but that’s not much to complain about when so much could have gone badly wrong here. would have said after Peter Jackson’s Kong that this ape didn’t need another reboot. But ’m glad we got this one. n

THE ARTS

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[ S TA G E ]

Beginner’s Greek Now at New Line, Zorbá only seems familiar. Its depth may surprise you Written by

PAUL FRISWOLD

Zorbá

Directed by Scott Miller and Mike DowdyWindsor. Lyrics by Fred Ebb. Music by John Kander. Book by Joseph Stein. Based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. Presented by New Line Theatre through March 25 at the Marcelle Theater (3310 Samuel Shepherd Drive; www.newlinetheatre.com). Tickets are $15 to $25.

Z

orbá is an old show, both in the sense of its chronological age and its feeling. When mounted properly, it is a musical that feels familiar, comfortable and true. When it’s presented badly, it feels stagey, dull and preachy.

Thankfully, New Line Theatre’s current production of this rarely produced classic is a lived-in marvel of beauty and honesty. And it has a lot of bouzouki, which is always nice (the stringed Greek instrument is criminally underused in musicals).

Much of the credit should be heaped upon the shoulders of Kent Coffel, who plays Zorbá as an aged rake who loves sharing an instructive story almost as much as he enjoys pursuing women and breaking into dance. It’s easy to overdo Zorbá’s folksy wisdom and exuberance for life to the point it becomes nothing more than grating blandishments, but it is fatal to the show to do so. Coffel treads a much finer line, crafting a performance that is gently paternal when doling out advice and devilishly charming when wooing a woman. His voice is weighted with life’s harder lessons when Zorbá counsels his young American protege, Nikos (Dominic Dowdy-Windsor). Together the two make an appealing pair as the

Zorbá (Kent Coffel) does the Dance of Joy one more time. | JILL RITTER LINDBERG old roustabout attempts to teach the button-downed innocent the importance of enjoying life’s softer moments.

Nikos has a lot of learning to do.

Newly arrived on Crete to reopen an inherited mine, he’s bookish, quiet and unstintingly formal.

Zorbá sweeps him up and shows him how to pick a Cretan family from which to rent a room, how to seduce the fading beauty who is also your landlord (Margeau Steinau does the honors as the delightfully loopy Madame Hortense) and why it is incumbent upon Nikos to romantically pursue the town’s outcast widow.

Ann Hier does excellent work as the Widow, who is hated by the rest of the island because she is still young and beautiful. All the unattached men desire her, so naturally the village decides she’s a witch who has cursed their sons and brothers. They harass her and her only friend, the orphan Mimiko (Devin Riley, who has something of Harpo Marx’s grinning charm).

Nikos gallantly stands up for her, which leads to a smoldering attraction between them. Zorbá, God love him, throws gasoline on those em-

bers at every opportunity.

Scenic and lighting designer Rob Lippert has created a painted backdrop of white marble buildings on a hill that shoulders its way out of a blue sea, with more marble columns and risers in the foreground.

Through a trick of the lights, that sky can transform itself into a brilliant Mediterranean blue while the wine-dark sea stretches away into the darkness. It is against this romantic scene that the Widow and Nikos sing “That’s a Beginning” about the first tangible moments of their love. Co-directors Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor give us several moments of sensual beauty like this, but none of them are to last. And only Zorbá — along with the Leader (Lindsey Jones) — know how short their time together will be.

The Leader is a puzzling character. The senior member of the Cretan horde, she’s present when Nikos and the Widow sing “That’s a Beginning” and the darkly beautiful “The Butterfly, which is about the young lovers’ need to proceed slowly.

With her black dress and glossy black bouffant, the Leader could be mistaken for an older and wiser riverfronttimes.com

Widow, but she is also a harbinger of death and the psychopomp who leads the dead off stage. Is she Death-in-Life, leading Nikos, Zorbá and the various villagers into the darkest moments of their lives — moments that only some escape, wiser for the near-miss? Or is she just the ineffable mystery of life made flesh Zorbá is a show that leads you into deep waters.

By the end Nikos has learned much about life, and not all of it from Zorbá; some facts can only be known through bitter confrontation. Older and wiser, he expresses what he has learned from Crete through a spontaneous dance that is the most profound act of courage I’ve seen on stage in some time.

Through his dance, Nikos assures himself that art will conquer death and that life itself is an art.

Zorbá is also an old show in the sense that the more senior members of the audience seemed more deeply affected by it. I noticed older couples sitting more closely together by the end and several gray heads resting on loving shoulders. More life and more loss may be the key to unlocking its deeper n mysteries.

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Sardella offers (clockwise from top left) stout-braised oxtail, pineapple rum cake, brisket agnolotti and a breakfast BLT on an incredible English muffin. | MABEL SUEN [REVIEW]

Still the One Gerard Craft’s Sardella proves that the city’s best restaurateur remains just that Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Sardella

7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton; 314-7737755. Mon.-Thurs. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-11 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-11 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.

T

en years ago, I ate a reuben at Niche. It was one of a seemingly endless parade of courses that comprised the elegant tasting menu at Gerard Craft’s already-legendary Benton Park

restaurant. Of course, this was no mere deli sandwich. Corned pig’s tongue stood in for the traditional corned beef, paired with rye gnocchi and pickled mustard seeds for a deconstructed and decidedly haute version of the classic sandwich. My friend had taken me there for my birthday. We washed it down with a great bottle of wine and were both dressed to the nines.

Contrast this with the burger recently on my plate at Craft’s three-month-old reinvention of Niche, Sardella. As with the reuben, the plate offers both meat and starch, but that’s where the similarities end. There is nothing deconstructed or tongue-in-cheek about the “Sardella Burger”: It’s a literal burger — a massive hunk of perfectly cooked and impossibly juicy grass-fed beef, crowned with mushrooms that have been infused with dashi to underscore their deep umami flavor. The burger oozed with a mix of molten

Fontina and parmesan aioli that would have made a mess had it not soaked into the fluffy challah bun.

This time, though, I wouldn’t have much cared: I was clad in jeans and a plaid shirt.

That I could now grab a casual — albeit perfectly executed — burger in a once-hallowed dining room e emplifies the shock Craft sent through the St. Louis dining scene when he announced last June that he would be closing his flagship restaurant. To an outsider, it didn’t make sense. The acclaimed chef was fresh off a James Beard win for “Best Chef: Midwest,” Niche (which had relocated to an elegant space in Clayton) was still packing in diners, and the restaurant was garnering raves for its ambitious commitment to hyper-local sourcing. Niche was simply too important to close.

But that’s precisely why Craft needed to close it. As he sat down to explain his decision to a room of riverfronttimes.com

reporters, you could see the relief cross his face. Niche had become an obligation, he explained; the burden of maintaining its level of import had taken the joy out of it. He referenced his early days as a relatively unknown chef at the original Niche, a tiny Benton Park bistro where he handled the back of the house and his wife worked the books. They’d always dreamed that the restaurant would be well-received, but as its success took on a life of its own, Craft found himself in a never-ending race to stay at the top. It garnered him awards and accolades, but for the tattooed former line cook, Niche had become too reverent.

By contrast, everything about Sardella evokes ease. If Niche made you sit up a little straighter in your chair, Sardella invites you to sink into it. The space is stunningly beautiful, outfitted to look like the Amalfi Coast kitchen

MARCH 8-14, 2017

Continued on pg 30

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SARDELLA Continued from pg 29 of your dreams. Blue and white Mediterranean-inspired tiles cover the walls, vibrant orange banquettes provide seating and jars of preserved citrus sit next to succulents and cookbooks on shelves throughout the room. As a nod to its namesake (sardella is an talian fish sauce , colorful sardine cans decorate the wall above the open kitchen. The room is so airy you can’t help but exhale as you walk inside.

This feel carries through to the food, though you shouldn’t mistake ease for a lack of ambition.

Craft and his executive chef, Nick Blue, have created a menu of Italian-leaning dishes that may be more approachable than those at Sardella’s predecessor, but are no less thoughtful, like creamy mozzarella-studded risotto balls, infused with the subtle sea flavor of uni. Aioli made with Louisiana’s beloved Crystal hot sauce cuts through the richness with a piquant punch.

What could’ve been a simple dish of white bean hummus is enlivened with crushed pistachios perfumed with lemon zest. Similarly, mouth-puckering salsa verde brightens luscious burrata, turning a ball of neutral cheese into a burst of flavor. Both come with spongy, butter-soaked bread that’s tasty even without being dipped into one of these excellent small plates.

Though it’s called crispy, the crunch on Sardella’s octopus comes from a rich paprika rub that encrusts the tender meat.

Together with olive oil, it forms a delectable jus for the accompanying roasted potatoes, while an olive and date relish adds both sweet and salty dimensions.

Now light and bright, the dining room has been transformed. | MABEL SUEN Cauliflower soup, poured tableside over crispy farro and dehydrated brown butter crumbles, is as warm and satisfying as a beef stew. Charred butternut squash somehow firm and not mushy, a mystery of physics — rests atop a sublime garlic-infused custard.

Calabrian chile vinaigrette and red pepper jelly wrap the squash

in a sweet heat. Both dishes show how magnificent vegetables can be, and why top chefs are moving them to the center of the plate.

With Craft’s own Pastaria next door, you might wonder if it makes sense to put pasta on Sardella’s menu. The brisket agnolotti answers this question emphatically. The bite-sized pasta pouches

are stuffed with melt-in-the-mouth beef, then paired with Hubbard squash and braised cabbage. A delicate sauce of brown butter underscores the decadence.

Sardella offers a handful of larger, entrée-sized dishes, including a massive hunk of stout-braised oxtail that could easily feed two.

The tail rests in a pool of gravy that packs a deep savory and baking-spiced punch despite its delicate texture. The oxtail comes with griddled piadina, a sort of large Italian tortilla; guests are encouraged to pull the meat off the bone, place it on the piadina and top it with charred lime, fresh herbs and minced onions and peppers to make an Italian version of a street taco. However you eat it, I’d recommend lapping up every last bit of that braising liquid, even if that means going in with your spoon.

Sardella’s roasted chicken, meanwhile, shows how a basic dish can become transcendent when afforded proper care. A oroccan-style spice rub flavors skin that crisps up in the oven like a chip. The crunchy texture envelopes the succulent meat, and Brussels sprouts steeped in preserved lemon are an ideal accompaniment.

Rockfish, expertly cooked skin-on, was a little flat didn’t pick up much zest from the sorrel butter. Perhaps I was underwhelmed after enjoying the salmon Sardella serves for lunch. Served with pomegranate and Kaffir lime sauces and roasted root vegetables, this is easily my favorite salmon in town.

About those other meals — Sardella is open for weekday breakfast, lunch and a newly-added weekend brunch. It’s an ambitious undertaking, but Craft, Blue and Continued on pg 32

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SARDELLA Continued from pg 30 their team prove they can handle the midday challenge with dishes including the aforementioned burger and salmon, as well as a breakfast BLT with egg, bacon, pepperjack cheese and Crystal hot sauce aioli. Citrusy cured salmon is equally dazzling, paired with crème fraiche and microgreens.

Both the BLT and salmon are served with genius pastry chef Sarah Osborn’s nglish muffin, a piece of bread that makes you realize what disservice those Thomasbrand pucks do to the form.

Osborn dazzles at every turn: Glazed donuts rival the best oldschool versions in town, while a savory kale and parmesan Danish is like a rich butter pouf, and a pineapple rum cake, flecked with coconut and gilded with caramel, is a five-star version of the pineapple upside-down cake of your youth.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what could be Sardella’s best menu item: warm, sea salt-dusted yeasty dinner rolls served with miso butter. If someone came in the night to smother me with these glorious pillows, I’d die a happy woman.

Sardella’s new sign beckons diners in Clayton. | MABEL SUEN That I was enraptured by dinner rolls in what used to be a palace of haute cuisine shows just how much has changed for Craft and his team in recent months.

What’s even more striking, how-

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MARCH 25, 2017 AT THE MOTO MUSEUM

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Schlafly Brewer Had Two Words: ‘Why Not?’ Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

L

ong before she was head of brewing operations for Schlafly (multiple locations including 2100 Locust Street, 314-241-2337), Emily Parker was casually thumbing through the course catalog at the University of California, Davis when something caught her eye.

“Food science and technology?

Viticulture and brewing science?

What’s that?” Parker recalls asking her mother. “She told me that it means you basically get to sit around and drink beer and wine all day. I thought, ‘Holy cow! Sign me up.’”

A St. Louis native, Parker had been looking at schools in California as a way to follow her family West after her dad was transferred for his job. She had no idea what she wanted to do, but she had been granted a golf scholarship at UC Davis, and it stipulated that she could not go into school without declaring a major. Parker had always enjoyed math and science, so the food science and technology program sparked something in her. “I always thought I would following in my dad’s footsteps and be an accountant,” Parker says. “Then I saw this program and thought, ‘Why not?’ It ended up working out for me.”

Parker went into the program equally open to wine and beer, but once she started taking classes, she knew that brewing was her passion.

“The way I explain it to people is that you can brew beer every day of the year,” explains Parker. “With wine, you have to wait for harvest, which makes it so you can only do it once a year.”

Schlafly’s head of brewing operations craves a good Captain Morgan and Diet Coke. | KELLY GLUECK Parker excelled in her studies and secured two internships — the first at Spoetzl Brewery in Te as and then at Stone Brewing Company in southern California. Though she wasn’t sure whether or not she’d return to St. Louis following graduation, an offer from Schlafly enticed her back home. “I had the choice of being in southern California or here, but they were both internships and I had to pay for housing,” says Parker.

“I was able to move back here and stay with my grandma, so that made the decision easier.”

At Schlafly, arker worked her way up the ranks and was eventually promoted to her current position as head of brewing operations — a title that might seem glamorous to the uninitiated. “People are always surprised to find out how laborious working in a brewery is,” Parker explains. “You sweat your ass off, and it’s a lot of work, but having this product, at the end of the day that you get to share with people makes it all worth it.”

Parker took a break from prepping for Schlafly’s Stout Oyster Festival to share her thoughts on the St. Louis food and beverage scene, her embarrassing drink-related

guilty pleasure, and why she has love in her heart for the Tamale Guy. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did?

I ended up at UC Davis because of a golf sponsorship. I was going to follow in my dad’s footsteps and become an accountant — until I found out one of the options I could choose was food science and technology with specialization in either brewing or viniculture! That sounded way better.

What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you?

A morning cup of coffee. Not so much non-negotiable for me, but more non-negotiable for the people around me.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I had to think about this quite a bit, and I have come to teleportation. Hey, you want to go to the beach for the weekend Oh, too far from St. ouis Boom, teleport.

What is the most positive trend in food, beer, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year?

In food, I see more restaurants riverfronttimes.com

35

sourcing local ingredients, which is cool for a whole package, St. Louis-area grown meal. When it comes to craft beer, I see a trend moving towards lagers/pilsners (lighter options), fruited beers and sours.

What is one thing missing in the St. Louis food and beverage scene?

Well, good beer sure isn’t missing.

In California, there was a chain called Pluto’s — fast-casual buildyour-own salad type place that had high-quality ingredients. I would love to see something like that here.

Who is your St. Louis food or drink crush?

The Tamale Man. He is at the farmers market on Wednesdays in the Schlafly Bottleworks’ parking lot. I can’t resist those tamales.

Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis food and beverage scene?

Jared Williamson. He is the lead brewer at Schlafly, and feel lucky to have him on my team. He is extremely talented and has been doing this for a long time. He can create some kickass recipes!

Which ingredient is most representative of your personality?

A mild cheese. I’m pretty laidback and can go with anything.

If someone asked you to describe the current state of St. Louis’ food and beverage climate, what would you say?

St. Louis offers a variety of options. ou can find almost everything here, I think.

Name an ingredient never allowed in your brewery.

I would never say never because I don’t want to limit ourselves. In fact, we brewed a beer with an ingredient that Tom Schlafly jokingly said he would fire someone if they used it. uckily never got fired. t was peppers.)

What is your after-work hangout?

Schlafly Bottleworks’ bar and patio.

What’s your edible or quaffable guilty pleasure?

Captain Morgan and Diet Coke — embarrassing, but whatever.

What would be your last meal on earth?

I’m always craving a good burger and lately ’ve been getting my fi at the am. The “ am Burger and n fries are amazing

MARCH 8-14, 2017

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[ FA S T F O O D ]

LION’S CHOICE GETS LETTUCED Written by

SARAH FENSKE

L

The Sweet Divine’s Jenna and Jason Siebert are rebuilding ... and using their truck to serve customers. | COURTESY OF JENNA SIEBERT/DOYLE MURPHY [FOOD NEWS]

Sweet News for the Sweet Divine Written by

NICK FIERRO

A

lmost six months ago, the Sweet Divine (1801 S. Ninth Street) was up in flames, a serious blaze apparently triggered by a malfunctioning freezer compressor that gutted the Soulard storefront. Today, coowners Jenna and Jason Siebert are almost done rebuilding, and business is as good as ever.

Since October, the couple has been working out of McArthur’s Bakery in the oop, which ason Siebert says has been a great experience.

“Scott [Rinaberger, McArthur’s co-owner] has been a godsend to us, especially in the days after the fire,” Siebert says. “He reached out to us the [following] Monday, 36

RIVERFRONT TIMES

and on Wednesday we met him on Delmar; he had space for us to use. Since then that whole crew has been fantastic.”

When they’re not baking at McArthur ’s, the Sieberts are touring the city in Georgie, their food truck, which reports its daily location on Twitter and regularly sells out of its wares. Although Georgie represents a return to the Sweet Divine’s roots, it’s hardly preferable to the Soulard brickand-mortar they’ve called home since 2013.

“It does complicate things a little. We’re used to our home. Not being able to have our storefront limits what we can do,” Siebert says. “Cupcake-wise, we’re still the same, but as far as specialty cakes and detailed desserts are concerned, you kind of miss those things. In that respect the truck has hampered us a bit, but it was helpful when it came to keeping our people working and maintaining a face in the city.”

Nevertheless, they’re looking forward to the spring — and the wedding season that comes with it. Last month, the Sweet Divine acquired and renovated a vintage trailer, which hosts wedding cake consultations outside the Soulard storefront during its renovation. “ ight after the fire, we found

MARCH 8-14, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

a place to bake at McArthur’s, but we also needed a place to meet our brides and corporate clients,” Siebert says. “Jenna had the idea of a camper set up in front of the shop; she’s really into design, and is actively involved in the redesign of the space.”

Although the building’s repairs are still underway, the owners have taken the time to rethink the design of their bakery. Once the Sweet Divine is back to business as usual, the storefront will feature a new menu, additional seating and a more accessible layout.

“We’re pretty much flip-flopping t h e e n t i r e b a ke r y ; p u s h i n g the kitchen back and putting decorating spaces up front. It’s more of an open concept where, when you walk in the door, you can see our bakers working in the back and frosting in the front,” Siebert says. “Not only is the space going to be completely different and more user-friendly, but a whole lot more stylish for our customers. We’re looking forward to being back in business and getting home.”

Siebert anticipates a grand reopening in late April or early May, but until then, you can get your Sweet Divine fix by following the bakery on Twitter @TheSweetDivine for Georgie’s daily stops. n

ion’s Choice, the St. Louisarea alternative to Arby’s, rolled out a new menu March 1 — and it’s taking the locally based chain in a whole new direction.

Previously, lettuce lovers dining at one of the 25 Lion’s Choice eateries across the region were limited to a simple garden salad.

But as of last week, three new menu items promise to sate vegetarians, those looking for something a bit lighter and even roast beef lovers choosing greens over carbs.

Among the tasty offerings (yes, we tried all three!) is a Caesar wedge, made with real baby romaine wedges, roasted tomatoes, shredded parmesan, Kalamata olives and a creamy dressing for $6.49. At the same price point, the “LC Seasonal” offers mixed greens, carrots, walnuts, dried cranberries, tomatoes and blue cheese with a bistro dressing.

Finally, the “Butcher Block Cobb” offers a “protein trio” of roast beef, turkey and ham on a bed of fresh greens, along with blue cheese, shredded cheddar, tomatoes and sliced carrots. That one will set you back $7.99, but it remains a pretty good bargain — it’s got enough lettuce that you can legitimately feel like you’re eating a salad, but also enough meat and cheese that you won’t be hungry ‘til your next meal. A solid option, especially if you’re at Lion’s Choice for the beef.

And if you’d rather have a Caesar but just can’t give up those tender piles of sliced meats? For $1.50, you can add the protein of your choice to either vegetarian offering. You can also opt for light dressing or eschew cheese (although really, who does that?).

Lion’s Choice was founded in 1967, but it gained new owners in 2013. In 2015, they rolled out the first of their new-look locations in Ellisville, which included charging ports, a sleek modern look and a sauce bar. All that and some good salad options, too? If we were Saint Louis Bread Co., we might be getting a little bit worried. n

named one of St. Louis’ 10 Best new restaurants in 2016

By The Riverfront times, Feast magazine, & the St. Louis Post-dispatch

Kitchen 15270 Manchester Rd. Ballwin (636)220-3212 Localchefstl

One of the RFT’s best new restaurants of 2016, Vista Ramen is adding new hours. | MABEL SUEN

[BRUNCH]

Cherokee Gets a Brunch Spot

V

ista Ramen (2609 Cherokee Street; 314-797-8520), the acclaimed Cherokee Street hot spot, will be adding Sunday brunch service beginning March 19.

“There’s always a demand for brunch, and people want options,” says executive chef Chris Bork. “There’s nothing wrong with bacon and toast. We just feel like we can fill a gap by being different.”

Indeed, Vista’s brunch menu strays far from the traditional eggs Benedict and mimosa template.

With items like chawanmushi, a Japanese custard with shrimp and pickled mushrooms, and shiro dashi grits with poached eggs and bacon, brunch service will mirror the Asian-inflected dinner offerings that put the restaurant on the map.

Still, Bork insists that the menu is meant to be different yet familiar, with riffs on classic daytime fare that echo

the playfulness in the dinner offerings. He points to the okonomiyaki, which is a savory Japanese pancake beloved by savvy West Coast diners.

“Our okonomiyaki is actually a play on a corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich, basically a Reuben,” he explains. “We’ve also been playing around with putting a cheeseburger on the menu for a while now, so we’re going to serve one at brunch, but it will be just a little bit different than a standard cheeseburger.”

The prices are quite reasonable: Nothing is more than $16, with quite a few dishes for $10 or less.

Bork says that he and his partners at Vista, Jeremy and Casey Miller, were looking for a way to capitalize on the foot traffic that travels down Cherokee during the day, as well as responding to the demand from customers that they add daytime offerings. “A lot of people are curious to know what the space looks like during the day,” says Bork. “We’ve done a few special events on Sunday evenings, and people will walk in when we are there during the day and ask if we are serving any food. We’ve had to tell them no.”

For now, brunch will be served on Sundays only, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., though Bork does not rule out Saturday hours in the future.

—Cheryl Baehr

One taste and You’ll agree.

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MUSIC

39

[PROFILE]

STL Over Everyone Video artist Mike Roth has a vision for St. Louis’ rising hip-hop scene Written by

THOMAS CRONE

F

or a good chunk of time, Mike Roth was content to produce and release music videos under the name of an alter ego, Louis Quatorze. Collaborating with a host of St. Louis’ rising hip-hop acts, it was the Quatorze name that dropped notes into email inboxes around town, usually with a reminder that there was lots of music coming out of St. Louis without a ton of press to accompany it. These days, it’s more likely for Roth to be making the pitch directly, his comfort level changing with a more personal push in 2017.

“If it’s about me and my work,” he says, “I’ll go under the name Mike Roth. I’m trying to put my face out there a little bit more. I go to everything, but a lot of people don’t know who I am. Part of me wants to sit back and keep it that way. But last year, I decided to network a bit more. Before then, I thought, ‘My work is good, it speaks for itself. Hopefully, if I keep my head down, keep working, things will go from there.’ No. It doesn’t work that way.”

When things go as planned, Roth, 30, creates about one video a month. Energetic and spry, with a surprisingly loud voice and direct tone, Roth insists that his career to this point is built around doing the work he wants to do; to a large degree, his “head down” approach was an artistic decision in and of itself.

“You can imagine that once you’ve made a couple of videos, everybody wants a video and they’re hitting you up,” he explains. “My philosophy in how I approach music — and what I want out of this

Through his videography, Mike Roth has created a look for the city’s top hip-hop artists. | ERICA JONES — is different than directors who blast their face out on everything.”

For the most part, Roth says, he works by word of mouth. Artists will send him music, and if it piques his interest, he’ll reach out and tell them he’s interested in working together. This approach helps him better achieve his artistic vision with each new project — and always with an eye on St. Louis.

“I don’t shoot videos for music that I don’t like, or am not excited about,” Roth says. “I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way. If it’s not something I like, there’s no way I’ll shoot a video. And I’m open to working with anybody — it doesn’t matter, as long as there’s a St. Louis

connection to it. I don’t shoot any non-St. Louis video. That’s very important to me. I’ve been asked to shoot in Chicago, Atlanta, other places. Even if I like the music, I’ll turn that stuff down.”

Over the last year or so, Roth has focused his efforts on a small core of St. Louis hip-hop acts who he, not surprisingly, believes are among the very best of a rising crop — Less, ciej, Amir, Mvstermind, J’Demul and, most frequently, Anthony Lucius. Roth believes the latter’s spring album will be the best local release of this year, regardless of genre.

The admiration is mutual.

“Mike could be shooting any riverfronttimes.com

rappers’ videos all over the world, honestly,” Lucius says. “But I don’t believe the vision would be the same. One of us could make it big tomorrow; Mike would remind us that we ain’t shit, just so that we remain humble. His work shows that he would rather have his work show quality over quantity. He also stays loyal to the artists he decides to take on. The only thing I believe Mike wants out of his work is for people to appreciate his camera and the art scene here in St. Louis.”

But how those acts impact his work — well, it’s interesting.

Roth, whose mild intensity seems to indicate a low tolerance for

MARCH 8-14, 2017

Continued on pg 40

RIVERFRONT TIMES

39

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Rapper Anthony Lucius is one of Roth’s most frequent collaborators. | COURTESY LOUIS QUATORZE

MIKE ROTH Continued from pg 39 bullshit, says, “My mission statement is that I approach my videos as art. I don’t call myself a director or a videographer. I call myself a video artist. All of my videos are 100 percent me. The artist has no say in what I do. That’s the grand bargain. For the most part, I don’t charge anything for my videos. I didn’t get paid last year. I only got paid for one in 2015 and that was for a special reason. And it was insanely cheap.”

When asked about the interplay between them, Lucius has an interesting take.

“Without the music, hard to make music videos,” he says. “But, this is our story. It’s great to develop this relationship with someone who puts just as much passion into their work as you do. I would say the only conflict is our attitudes.

Very strong-minded. But not to the point it conflicts with the creativity.

He recently opened up to hearing me out on the vision behind my project [Welcome to St. Lucius] and now we’re working on some work together.

He continues, “I think in the beginning, it is important to let Mike control the vision. Mike knows what he wants when he hears something he likes. He usually has the blueprint laid out to what he wants a certain artist’s ‘look’ to be. No two artists’ videos are the same. You have an action-packed video with Amir, storytelling videos with Anthony Lucius, you step into the mind of Less. We all have a ‘look’ because of Mike. If this was the NBA, Mike is Gregg Popovich.

We’re the Spurs.”

Spending his work time in a darkened, smartly decorated office inside Cherokee’s Nebula complex, Roth can spin a story in multiple directions. There are digressions into a rapper’s use of iambic pentameter, a bit of history regarding the old Chain of Rocks amusement complex and tart critiques of current-day videoediting tricks. Mostly, though, his conversations center on people and place. He works with people he likes, in a town he wants to see break.

“There’s a tough, gritty, hardnosed work ethic,” in St. Louis, says the south city native. “The people who first came here took a huge risk. They were in the furthest-west white city in the world, the furthest edge of civilization for decades.

People came here with nothing, not knowing what’s next. It was a real end-of-the-railroad type of deal.

The people who are St. Louisans who can trace their families back take risks, are entrepreneurial, never settle. That’s kind of what I try to exude.” oth figures that he’s part of some good teams right now, planning to work with artists into and through any breakouts that may occur.

And he expects that could happen within the next couple years.

“The people I work with are good people, who wanna see our city through, “he says. “They’re out recording, engineering, producing with other people, getting on other people’s shows. There are a lot of good feelings, even if St. Louis is kinda cliquey, which it always will be. My job is to make the best music videos. That’s all I’m doing.”

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WE ARE UNITED SHOWCASE: Glass Mansion, Cinema Story, Calloway Circus, For the City - PopPunk 7:30pm - $10adv/$12door *BAR STAGE - Geeks Who Drink Pub Trivia - Trivia - 8:30pm - FREE

TUESDAY, MARCH 14 TH

Tweed and Surco - JamRock - 8:30pm - $10

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 TH

Geeks Who Drink - Pub Trivia - 8:30pm - FREE Tickets available at Blueberry Hill (no service fees with cash) & all Ticketmaster outlets.

Charge by phone 800-745-3000 · Online at ticketmaster.com Shows are at General Admission doors 7 pmcash) unless otherwise noted.outlets.

Tickets available Blueberry Hill (nowith service feesatwith & all Ticketmaster

UPCOMING SHOWS

Charge by phone 800-745-3000 · Online at ticketmaster.com

3/18 Natalie Brielle’s Spring Break 3/31 Vesperteen 4/7 Jake’s Leg

Open 7 days from 11 am 6504 H 314-727-4444 6504 Delmar in The Loop ★

In the University City Loop

riverfronttimes.com

6691 Delmar

314.862.0009 • www.ciceros-stl.com

MARCH 8-14, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

41

42

music

HOMESPUN

MATT FROM BUNNYGRUNT & GOOGOLPLEXIA March (to Certain Doom) Tour 2017 https://googolplexia.bandcamp.com

Matt from Bunnygrunt & Googolplexia Record release 8 p.m. Thursday, March 9. The Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust Street. Free. 314-241-2337.

read more at RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) The City of St. Louis, Department of Health (DOH), Bureau of Communicable Disease – Grants Administration is requesting proposals from local organizations, community agencies, universities, local governmental entities and other interested parties eligible to receive federal funds to provide Childcare services.

Interested parties are encouraged to respond to the solicitation for proposal beginning Secretary I, DOH, 1520 Market Avenue, Room 4027, by either calling 314-657-1556 or via email JohnsonP@stlouis-mo.gov. Interested parties may also download the RFP from the City of St. Louis website at http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement. cfm. If interested parties have downloaded the proposal from the website, they must register with Mr. Johnson; in order to be notified of any changes or amendments to the RFPs. The deadline for submitting proposals is 4:00 p.m., Monday, March 27, 2017 at the address referenced above.

42

RIVERFRONT TIMES

A

nyone who has ever put together a road trip playlist knows the simple joys of site-specific songs to trace your route. Is it possible to drive through wide swaths of Illinois without a Sufjan Stevens song or two running through your brain? Or to head south to Louisiana without Lucinda Williams’ Car Wheels on a Gravel Road to keep you company?

Matt Harnish and Rob Severson have no shortage of songs about cities, states and towns in their respective libraries, but for their upcoming joint tour, the two musicians did one better: They joined forces for a ten-song EP of covers documenting some of the stops on their 24-date jaunt along the West Coast. It’s a travelogue in song, with their home-recorded versions of the Mountain Goats’ “California” and Perry Como’s “Seattle” lighting the way.

Matt Harnish is best known as the co-leader of the long-running Bunnygrunt; Severson performs as the one-man band oogolple ia. This won’t be the first time these two have toured together — a twelve-date run last year introduced East Coast listeners to these St. Louis oddballs. Severson had done brief stints as a roadie and driver on previous Bunnygrunt tours, but the 2016 outing allowed Harnish to see Severson’s Googolplexia act in a new light.

“Seeing him play for a room full of strangers for the first time was really eye-opening, because knew him as Rob, the goofy guy who is great and fun,” recalls Harnish. “But seeing him work a crowd of people he doesn’t know is really impressive.”

Severson’s act — a mix of accordion, ukulele and banjo alongside a Janet Jackson/Garth Brooks-style headset microphone — is a performance in every sense of the word. While local audiences have seen Googolplexia in a variety of venues across town for years, Harnish recalls watching those out-of-town shows with slight trepidation. In the end, Severson’s stagecraft and persona won the crowd over.

“There’s this arc of him confusing people, into him kind of amusing people, into him getting people totally on his side,” Harnish says. “Then it’s a done deal — he has them for the rest of the show.”

While the pair have shared the stage, March (to Certain Doom) marks the first time they’ve recorded together. The EP, brief as it is, combines each musician’s powers — Harnish’s hook-heavy pop smarts and Severson’s fearless, full-bodied approach. A number of these songs have been truncated down to their core; the blues standard “Rock Island Line” is over in under fifteen seconds. Others stretch out into the ether A swirling, circular arrangement of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” never moves off the song’s chorus, but it some achieves a minor state of hypnosis thanks for arnish’s flanger-effected guitar and Severson’s multitracked, octave-spanning vocals, which become more and more unhinged with each pass. Severson brings a

MARCH 8-14, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

similarly demented presence to the pair’s take on the Walker, Texas Ranger theme song.

A longtime fi ture at intage inyl, arnish takes a crate-digger’s approach to the songs he brought to the project. He channeled some of the Osmonds’ gleeclub innocence in his cover of that family band’s song “ tah, though the final version contained a little more pomp and stomp. “‘Utah’ came out totally different than I thought it was going to, because it’s a super psychedelic-bubblegum kind of thing,” says Harnish. “When I recorded it and when I sang it, it sounded more T. Rex than Gary Glitter. I don’t know why that happened, but it did.”

The gem of the set, at least for longtime St. Louis music fans, is the opening track, a brief cover of the Lydia’s Trumpet song “Iowa.” Ray Kirsch led that band through various psych, pop and folk phases in the mid’90s, and though Kirsch left St. Louis, his band members have gone on to play in bands such as Karate Bikini, Swing Set and Prune.

“That was the first song that occurred to me, arnish says. “That’s one I probably will do on the tour ‘cause that’s one I can pull off with me and the guitar. That song was kind of the impetus for even doing the ‘songs about where we’re going’ tour CD.” While the upcoming tour will showcase Harnish and Severson playing in a variety of venues — rock clubs, DIY spaces, an art gallery — the trip also serves as a reunion for Harnish’s main squeeze, Bunnygrunt. Cofounder aren ied left St. ouis in 2 , first landing in Cincinnati and now residing in Portland, Oregon, so the band has been on two-year hiatus. That spell will be broken for four dates in the acific orthwest even drummer ric on amage is flying in.

Those shows will be a return to normalcy for Harnish, though he seems to relish the infinite variety of tour life, no matter who is in the van alongside him.

“I don’t know how to not do it,” Harnish says of touring. “I’m taking months and months off in between shows, but once I do it, it all makes sense again. With the last tour we did, last May, it was great — it was all the living want to do. t’s the sleeping on floors and eating at weird places, meeting strange people and staying up too late.”

—Christian Schaeffer

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

MARCH 8-14, 2017

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MARCH 8-14, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

45

46

OUT EVERY NIGHT

THURSDAY 9

NIKKI LANE: w/ Brent Cobb, Jonathan Tyler 8

SATURDAY 11

5222.

BILLY CURRINGTON: 7 p.m., $25-$75. Peabody

p.m., $15-$18. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave.,

AARON GRIFFIN: w/ Felix Reyes & The Cats

BUFFALO FUZZ: 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor,

Opera House, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-

St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S.

5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

241-1888.

PONICZ: 8 p.m., $15-$20. The Ready Room, 4195

Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

DANBURY STREET: 6 p.m., free. Howard’s in Sou-

A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE: 8 p.m., $25-$35. The

Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

THE AMERICAN CHAMBER CHORALE: 7:30 p.m.;

lard, 2732 S 13th St, St. Louis, 314-349-2850.

Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-

QUAERE VERUM: w/ Dischordia, Outcome of

March 12, 3 p.m., free. Northside SDA Church

THE DISTRICTS: 9 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509

6161.

Betrayal 8 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St.

Complex, 9001 Lucas & Hunt, Ferguson, 314-

Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

CODY JOHNSON: 8 p.m., $15-$30. Off Broadway,

Louis, 314-289-9050.

868-0707.

DOGS OF SOCIETY: w/ Steven D. Hunt, 1 Man

3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-773-3363.

SOULARD BLUES BAND: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz,

BILLY PEEK: 8 p.m., free. Hwy 61 Roadhouse

5-PC Band 8 p.m., $12.50-$15. Delmar Hall,

DEPTHS OF HATRED: w/ So This Is Suffering, Out

Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster

6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

Of Orbit, Sukubass 6 p.m., $12. Fubar, 3108

436-5222.

Groves, 314-968-0061.

ETIENNE CHARLES: 8 p.m., $25-$40. The

Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

VINCE PUZZO AND CO: 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy An-

BRIAN CURRAN: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues &

Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis,

ERIC GALES: 8 p.m., $15. Old Rock House, 1200

chor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

314-533-9900.

S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

GREENLEAF: w/ Yawning Man, The Judge,

GGOOLLDD: 9 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226

Spacetrucker 8 p.m., $12-$14. Fubar, 3108

Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226.

IVAS JOHN & BRIAN CURRAN: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s

Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

[CRITIC’S PICK]

JAGGED EDGE: 8 p.m., $35-$50. The Pageant,

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

314-436-5222.

KING BUFFALO: w/ The Judge, Spacetrucker 8

JOE METZKA BAND: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues

p.m., $12-$14. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis,

& Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

314-289-9050.

5222.

MAIN EVENT BAND: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar &

KIM MASSIE: 10:30 p.m., $10. Beale on Broad-

Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

8300.

SHUT THE FOLK UP AND LISTEN: w/ Keller

PHIL FEST: w/ Headed to the Mud, Banjo Rat,

Williams and Leo Kottke 9 p.m., $42-$46. The

Humanoids, Cross Examination 6 p.m., $10.

Sheldon, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis,

The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-

314-533-9900.

0353.

THE STRANGE PLACES: w/ Googolplexia, Matt

ROCK KO FOL: 9 p.m., $35. The Ready Room,

arnish

4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

p.m., free. Schlafly Tap oom, 2

SLOTHRUST: 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The

Locust St., St. Louis, 314-241-2337.

Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City,

FRIDAY 10

314-727-4444.

CHRISTINE BREWER: 4:30 p.m., $10. Webster

VIOLENT AFFAIR: w/ Hard Evidence, 1918, An-

University-Moore Auditorium, 470 E. Lock-

tithought 8 p.m., TBA. San Loo, 3211 Cherokee

wood Ave., Webster Groves, 314-968-7128.

St., St. Louis, 314-696-2888.

CREE RIDER FAMILY BAND ALBUM RELEASE: 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Stage at KDHX, 3524 Wash-

SUNDAY 12

ington Ave, St. Louis, 314-925-7543, ext. 815.

THE AMERICAN CHAMBER CHORALE: March 11,

EL TEN ELEVEN: 8 p.m., $12-$15. The Firebird,

7:30 p.m.; 3 p.m., free. Northside SDA Church

2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

Complex, 9001 Lucas & Hunt, Ferguson, 314-

INTEGROW: w/ The Roads Below, Matt Jordan 8

868-0707.

Nikki Lane.| PHOTO VIA ARTIST WEBSITE

p.m., $10. Cicero’s, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-862-0009.

Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

JAKE’S LEG: 9:30 p.m., $10-$12. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505.

JOHN PRINE: w/ Amanda Shires 8 p.m., $59.50$99.50. Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-241-1888.

LEROY JODIE PIERSON: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314436-5222.

MATT “THE RATTLESNAKE” LESCH BAND: 7 p.m., free. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster Groves, 314-968-0061.

MEMPHIS MAY FIRE: w/ blessthefall, The Color Morale, Sylar, Bad Seed Rising 6 p.m., $20-$23.

The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.

MICKEY AVALON: 8 p.m., $20-$23. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

NICK HAKIM: 8 p.m., $12. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444.

46

RIVERFRONT TIMES

CHAD ELLIOTT: 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues &

Nikki Lane 8 p.m. Friday, March 10.

Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $15 to $45. 314773-3363.

The field of fast-toking, quick-witted, crazy-but-not-too-crazy country chanteuses may be getting crowded, but there damn well better be room for Nikki Lane. As if to put some space between herself and the formidable likes of Margo Price and Kacey Musgraves, the Nashville-based singer uses her sex appeal like she uses her voice: Her unvarnished twang, strung out on smoke and memories, is exquisitely dirty and poignant at

MARCH 8-14, 2017

riverfronttimes.com

5222.

once. Lane’s latest album Highway Queen highlights the independence of that voice and her growing skill with country archetypes. In these songs, forever truly lasts forever, honky-tonk frauds always get their comeuppance and foolish hearts somehow find their way in a foolish world.

Outlaw Outliers: For her current tour, Lane is joined by album co-producer Jonathan Tyler and fellow outlaw-tinged songwriter Brent Cobb. Order a double at the bar and settle in for an extended night of hardcore honky-tonk music.

-Roy Kasten

A HILL TO DIE UPON: w/ Astral Blood, Ode Vinter, Polterguts 8 p.m., $8-$10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

JUDY KOEN: 2 p.m., free. Howard’s in Soulard, 2732 S 13th St, St. Louis, 314-349-2850.

KEITH MOYERS “GENESIS JAZZ PROJECT”: 5 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 9:30 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

MIKE FRAZIER AND THE DYING WILD: w/ Optimus Rex, Biff K’narly and the Reptilians, A New State 8 p.m., $7. San Loo, 3211 Cherokee St., St. Louis, 314-696-2888.

OTEP: w/ The Convalesence 6 p.m., $15-$20. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

SOUL REUNION: 10:30 p.m., $7. Beale on Broadway, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS’ BEST DESTINATION BAR ENCLOSED, CLIMATE CONTROLLED PATIO PAVILION IT’S A PARTY - ALWAYS!

[CRITIC’S PICK]

Mac Sabbath. | PAUL KOUDOUNARIS

Mac Sabbath 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 14.

The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street. $20. 314-5350353.

Black Sabbath is no more. Having performed its final show on February 4, the pioneering band that helped define the heavy metal sound has laid down its instruments. But have no fear, diehard fans, because Mac Sabbath.... Ha! Nah, just kidding: Fans of the original are likely to find little to love about Mac Sabbath, the parody act that marries Sabbath songs with fast-food themes.

Singer Ronald Osbourne can’t quite hit

the high notes, the parody lyrics render singing along with your favorite tunes a futile effort, and frankly, the entire affair amounts to a kind of blasphemy of the blasphemous. But for those ready to laugh at a clown — or two, even, as Ronald is pals with St. Louis harlequin Clownvis Presley, who joined the band on stage last time it came through — a Mac Sabbath show will surely amount to a gut-busting good time.

Hi-Dilly-Ho Neighborinos: Opening the show is Phoenix’s Okilly Dokilly, a metalcore act whose members all dress like The Simpsons’ Ned Flanders.

Sure, why not?

-D ani el H i l l

MONDAY 13

314-436-5222.

CAVEOFSWORDS: w/ Sunset SNST, Hope and

HEY VIOLET: 7 p.m., $15-$17.50. Delmar Hall,

Therapy 7 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird, 2706

6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.

JAMAICA LIVE TUESDAYS: w/ Ital K, Mr. Roots, DJ

MUSIC UNLIMITED: 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues

Witz, $5/$10. Elmo’s Love Lounge, 7828 Olive

& Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

Blvd, University City, 314-282-5561.

5222.

KIM MASSIE: 10:30 p.m., $10. Beale on Broad-

SOULARD BLUES BAND: 9 p.m., $5. Broadway

way, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-7880.

Oyster Bar, 736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

MAC SABBATH: w/ Metalachi, OKILLY DOKILLY

621-8811.

8 p.m., $20. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St.

LIVE MUSIC or DJ EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY

Louis, 314-535-0353.

TUESDAY 14

PARLOR WALLS: w/ Complainer, CCDS - Death AFTER THE

Squad, Ish 8 p.m., $7. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359

BURIAL: w/ Emmure, Fit For A King, Fit For An

Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.

Autopsy, invent, animate 7 p.m., $20-$23. The

STATE OF EMERGENCY: HEAL THE CITY: 8 p.m.,

Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis,

TBA. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St.

314-833-3929.

Louis, 314-977-5000.

BOB “BUMBLE BEE” KAMOSKE: 9:30 p.m., $5.

WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOR: w/ Tef Poe, the Knuckles,

BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St.

T-Dubb-O, Mvstermind, Indiana Rome, Monkh

Louis, 314-436-5222.

& the People, Nick Menn 7 p.m., $15. 2720

ETHAN LEINWAND & GUESTS: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s

Cherokee Performing Arts Center, 2720 Chero-

Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis,

HDTVs EVERYWHERE & ALL THE SPORTS

Continued on pg 48

riverfronttimes.com

MARCH 8-14, 2017

RIVERFRONT TIMES

47

Rhythm & Blues • Reggae Latin • Jazz

OUT EVERY NIGHT Continued from pg 47 [CRITIC’S PICK]

Slothrust 8 p.m. Saturday, March 11.

The Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Boulevard. $12. 314-727-4444.

Bad phonetics should never get in the way of good rock & roll, but Slothrust has us asking the big questions: Is it pronounced “slow thrust” or “sloth rust”? The first option seems best, owing in part to the ragged, thrusting sensuality of the trio’s pop-punk nuggets and the tender, slow-burning moments burnished in shades of red and blue.

Singer and guitarist Leah Wellbaum can be both forceful and bruised, and the band’s simple guitar/bass/drums format makes a direct pathway into your skull. Last year’s Everyone Else will certainly scratch your mid-’90s guitar-rock itch, but these songs sink in deeper than mere nostalgia.

Kids’ Table: Massachusetts trio And the Kids will open the show with a mix of gossamer girl-group pop and glammy, strutting punk.

DINOSAUR PILE UP: Fri., May 26, 8 p.m., $10.57-

WEDNESDAY 15

$13. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis,

BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 7

314-726-6161, delmarhall.com.

p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broad-

GHOSTFACE KILLAH: Thu., April 6, 8 p.m., $20-

way, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.

$25. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St.

BOB “BUMBLE BEE” KAMOSKE: 8 p.m. Beale on

Louis, 314-833-3929, thereadyroom.com.

Broadway, 701 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-621-

JAMESTOWN REVIVAL: Tue., May 9, 8 p.m., $18.

7880.

Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-

CALL OF THE VOID: 8 p.m., $8. Fubar, 3108 Lo-

588-0505, oldrockhouse.com.

cust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.

K CAMP: Thu., May 4, 8 p.m., $20-$50. Fubar,

EXCISION: w/ Cookie Monsta, Barely Alive, Dion

3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050, fubarstl.

Timmer 8 p.m., $30-$35. The Pageant, 6161

com.

Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

THE LACS: Thu., April 27, 8 p.m., $20-$25.

LAND AT LAST: 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues &

Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-

Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-

726-6161, delmarhall.com.

5222.

MADELEINE PEYROUX: Sun., March 26, 7 & 10

LOUIS THE CHILD: 8 p.m., $17-$20. Delmar Hall,

p.m., $45-$100. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St.,

6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.

St. Louis, 314-588-0505, oldrockhouse.com.

SOUL LOW: w/ Royal Vessels 9 p.m., $5. The

POKEY LAFARGE: Sat., May 20, 8 p.m., $30-$40.

Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-

The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-

328-2309.

726-6161, thepageant.com.

THE FOUR BS: BACH, BOLLING, BJORN & BLIZNIK:

SIKDOPE: Sat., March 18, 9 p.m., $10-$20.

8 p.m., $15-$30. The Sheldon, 3648 Washington

Europe Nightclub, 710 N 15th St, St. Louis, 314-

Blvd., St. Louis, 314-533-9900.

221-8427, europenightclub.com.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT JAZZ CRAWL: 5 p.m. contin-

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Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-

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DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES: W/ Tears for Fears,

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Allen Stone, Sat., May 6, 7 p.m., $32-$126.50.

The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-

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48

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Fletcher Moley Group with Katie Turnbull

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kee St, St. Louis, 314-276-2700.

Photo by: Ed Linn

MARCH 8-14, 2017

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SAVAGE LOVE DEFINING DECENCY DOWN

BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: My wife and I have a decent sex life. Pretty vanilla, but we’re busy with work, chores and life in general with two small kids, so I can’t complain too much. About a year after having our second kid, I went down on my wife. Unfortunately, about a week later she got a yeast infection. She attributed the YI to the oral, and since then I am strictly forbidden from putting my mouth anywhere near her pussy. I understand that YI are no fun, painful and embarrassing. I understand her reluctance. But I’ve never heard of oral sex causing YI, although I realize I might be misinformed. How do I win back her trust to let me go down on her? No one is about to mistake me for Sting when it comes to my endurance during intercourse, so having the ability to pleasure her without penetration is important.

Dirty Mouth Guy “Yeast is not an STI,” said Dr. Anika Denali Luengo, an ob-gyn in Portland, Oregon. “Yeast (candida) is a normal denizen of the vagina, and an infection simply means there is an overgrowth of it on the vulva or in the vagina.”

People are likelier to get a yeast infection — or likelier to experience yeast overpopulation, since yeast is a citizen of Vagina City — when they’re on antibiotics, they

have diabetes or their immune system has taken a hit.

“Oral sex can be a slight risk factor in transmission of candida,” said Dr. Denali Luengo, “but the frequency of candidiasis is not increased by the frequency of sex, so it may not happen next time.

Also, if her symptoms developed one week later, it could have been pure coincidence.”

A coincidence — that was my hunch when I read your letter, DMG. “Luckily, they are easy to treat — over the counter miconazole or the single-dose pill fluconazole and are basically just a nuisance and present no major health risks,” said Dr. Denali Luengo.

Hey, Dan: I’m a 31-year-old gay man. I grew up in a conservative town and got a late start exploring my sexuality. I lost my virginity at 26, but I lacked the confidence to really allow myself to enjoy sex until I learned how to enjoy the present moment. I really hit my stride a couple of months ago, and now the floodgates have opened. I get on Grindr and have sex up to three times a week. I feel in my gut that this isn’t a compulsion so much as an exploration, and something I need to get out of my system while I search for a monogamous relationship. As long as I’m safe, do you see any problem with me fucking around for a while?

Please Don’t Use My Name You’re on your cumspringa, PDUMN. Most gay men have at least one. Be safe, get on PrEP,

remember that HIV isn’t the only sexually transmitted infection (use condoms), enjoy yourself and be kind to the guys you meet on your cumspringa (even those you don’t expect to see again). And if a monogamous relationship is what you ultimately want — and monogamy is a fine choice telling yourself that sexual adventures are something you have to get out of your system first is a mistake.

People who convince themselves that serious commitment means the death of sexual adventures — particularly people who enjoy sexual adventures — will either avoid commitment entirely or murder the ones they make so they can have sexual adventures again.

I’m not saying you have to be non-monogamous, PDUMN. I’m saying a couple can be exclusive and sexually adventurous at the same time. I’m also saying the person you are now — a person who enjoys sexual adventures — is the person you’re likely to be after your cumspringa is over and you’re ready to make a commitment.

Hey, Dan: I’m a straight-identified guy in my early 30s. I am married, but my wife lives in another part of the country and we’re doing an open relationship until she moves to live with me. Last weekend, I met a girl at a bar who ended up coming home with me, and she turned out to be a pre-op trans woman. I’d never been with a trans person before, so I decided to just roll with it and ended up having a pretty good time. Over the course of the weekend, I started

49

to get the sense that she really liked me and maybe even considered me boyfriend material. I want to see her again, but I’m not really available for a serious relationship. Knowing the kind of unbelievable shit trans people have to deal with, I feel like it would be unfair to string her along.

She is not aware of my marital status. What should I do?

Can’t Think Of Funny Acronym O brave new world that has such straight-identified guys in it.

Anyway, CTOFA, here’s what you should do: Handle it the same way you would if you’d deceived some cis woman — excuse me, if you’d accidentally gotten some cis woman’s hopes up by failing to mention the wife. Level with her — you’re married — and let the nips fall where they may. She might be angry or she might not give a wet squart (she may not be as interested as you think she is).

If she accuses you of making up a wife because you don’t want to date a trans woman, it shouldn’t be hard to prove your wife — and your marriage — exists.

Finally, CTOFA, you say it would “be unfair to string her along” because of the “unbelievable shit trans people have to deal with.”

It would be unfair — it would be wrong — to string a cis woman along, too. Stringing people along is wrong, period.

Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter

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