AUGUST 8-14, 2018 I VOLUME 42 I NUMBER 32
RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM I FREE
2
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
PRIDE NIGHT
at Busch Stadium VS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 17 7:15 PM
Pride St. Louis and the St. Louis Cardinals are partnering to present the 2nd Annual Pride Night at Busch Stadium on Friday, August 17. Join LGBT friends, family, and allies to watch the Cardinals take on the Milwaukee Brewers. With the purchase of a special Theme Ticket, fans will receive a Cardinals t-shirt with a rainbow STL logo. A portion of each ticket sold will benefit Missouri Courage Scholarship, which is the first, and largest, state-wide LGBTQ scholarship organization in Missouri.
/theme
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW AT riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
3
8205 GRAVOIS ROAD • ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 63123 • (314) 631-3130 MIDAMERICAARMS.COM • FACEBOOK.COM/MIDAMERICAARMS
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS SAFES & KNIVES
HAND GUNS
YOUR HOMETOWN FIREARMS RETAILER FOR OVER 15 YEARS! 2015
WINNER!
4
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
VOTED BEST GUN SHOP OF 2015
-2015 RIVERFRONT TIMES BEST OF ST. LOUIS
5
THE LEDE
PHOTO BY THEO WELLING
“ There are so many things that are like, ‘Well you have to buy this’ or ‘You have to get that.’ But everything that’s here today is something that had another purpose at another time, and I think that’s what I like about it. It’s whimsical and odd and just different.” Natalie JohNsoN, photographed with soN Micah daNiel at the teMporal cities BlaNket Fort Festival iN BeNtoN park oN July 29
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
5
6
TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE
14.
The Making of The Gringo The local headliner at this year’s St. Lou Fringe has roots in Miami but resonance that’s all St. Louis Written by
ELIZABETH SEMKO Cover photo by
ANDY PAULISSEN
NEWS
ARTS
DINING
CULTURE
5
22
31
40
The Lede
Calendar
Your friend or neighbor, captured on camera
Seven days’ worth of great stuff to see and do
9
25
Stage
Elections
Cafe
Toys
Cheryl Baehr would drive a long distance to eat at Nubby’s. Good thing she doesn’t have to
Daniel Hill slavishly devotes himself to test-riding St. Louis’ new electric scooters
34
42
Side Dish
Homespun
Not one but three medical marijuana measures make the November ballot
Paul Friswold finds that The Robber Bridegroom is the hilarity we need
Chloe Yates, now of Alphateria, is finding fame as the Pin-Up Chef
Thomas Crone profiles Summer Magic
10
27
37
44
Crime
A St. Louis judge gave an ex-con caught with a gun probation. Then he killed a south-city woman
Film
In Lauren Greenfield’s insightful Generation Wealth, all that glitters is not gold
Food News
Yapi has a new home, while a Taste of Black St. Louis aims to give the city just that
38
12
First Look
Litigation
HopCat is now open in the Loop
Josh Hawley defends the state’s Byzantine liquor laws
In Memoriam
Evan Sult remembers Bob Reuter
46
Out Every Night
The best concerts in St. Louis every night of the week
48
This Just In
This week’s new concert announcements
53
Savage Love 6
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
3528 Greenwood Blvd. Please join us in welcoming our associate stylist
Jessica to the floor!
She’s done our vigorous training program and is ready to bring you beautiful hair!
Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Sarah Fenske E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Jaime Lees Staff Writers Doyle Murphy, Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Editorial Interns Alison Gold, Mario Miles-Turnage, Lexie Miller, Camille Respess, Ian Scott Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Sara Graham, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer, Lauren Milford, Thomas Crone, MaryAnn Johanson, Jenn DeRose, Mike Fitzgerald Proofreader Evie Hemphill Cartoonist Bob Stretch
A R T Art Director Evan Sult Contributing Photographers Mabel Suen, Monica Mileur, Micah Usher, Theo Welling, Corey Woodruff, Tim Lane, Nick Schnelle P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Steve Miluch Production Assistance Jack Beil
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 Account Executive Cathleen Criswell, Erica Kenney Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Michael Gaines, Jason Thompson Event Coordinator Grace Richard
Call for Associate Stylist Pricing
314-669-9222
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 VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein Creative Director Tom Carlson www.euclidmediagroup.com N A T I O N A L A D V E R T I S I N G VMG Advertising 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com S U B S C R I P T I O N S Send address changes to Riverfront Times, 308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $78/6 months (Missouri residents add $4.74 sales tax) and $156/year (Missouri residents add $9.48 sales tax) for first class. Allow 6-10 days for standard delivery. www.riverfronttimes.com The Riverfront Times is published weekly by Euclid Media Group Verified Audit Member Riverfront Times 308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103 www.riverfronttimes.com General information: 314-754-5966 Fax administrative: 314-754-5955 Fax editorial: 314-754-6416 Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977
Riverfront Times is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1.00 plus postage, payable in advance at the Riverfront Times office. Riverfront Times may be distributed only by Riverfront Times authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Riverfront Times, take more than one copy of each Riverfront Times weekly issue.
HAIL OF A SALE!
Ackerman p/up with change 6/27: Can you possibly add some thunder bolts or something? Change Employee Pricing to Hail of a Sale Leave in All Month Long Remove You Pay What We Pay Change Exp to 9/4/18
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
ALL MONTH LONG!
"Rebuilding in the City for the City" EXP. 8/22/18
The entire contents of Riverfront Times are copyright 2018 by Riverfront Times, LLC. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the expressed written permission of the Publisher, Riverfront Times, 308 N. 21st Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63103. Please call the Riverfront Times office for back-issue information, 314-754-5966.
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
7
Horse Racing Season Continues!
FAIRMOUNT PARK Collinsville, Illinois
YOUR NEW FAMILY STEAK HOUSE ON THE HILL 5257 SHAW AVE, STL HILL
NewSTEAK HOUSE BRUNCHES SAT & SUN 10AM - 2 PM HAPPY HOUR 4 - 6PM TUE-FRI (314) 449-MEAT
TWO RESTAURANTS, ONE GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD
HAPPY HOUR 4 - 7PM
LOCAL SMOKEHOUSE + STL BBQ CATERING
2131 MACKLAND AVE, STL HILL
(314) 499-PITT
PATIO DINING • HAPPY HOUR LUNCH BOX – 2 COURSES FOR $15.5 CHEF’S TRILOGY – 3 COURSES FOR $20.5
FAMOUS AMONG FRIENDS 8
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
1820 Market St. • St. Louis, MO 63103 • 314.231.4040 • LandrysSeafood.com @LandrysSeafoodHouse
NEWS
9
3 Marijuana Measures Make MO’s Fall Ballot Written by
DANNY WICENTOWSKI
I
n 2016, voters in seven states successfully passed medical marijuana ballot initiatives — but in the Show-Me State, the leading campaign to legalize medical marijuana failed to show up with enough signatures to make the ballot. This year, things are looking different. New Approach Missouri has managed to secure a spot on the ballot — but it’s going to share that space with two other medical marijuana ballot initiatives. The three measures were among the five initiatives certified by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. That means the November 6 election isn’t just setting high expectations for local cannabis activists: It also sets up the possibility that pro-pot voters could approve multiple legalization measures on the same ballot. (More on that in a bit.) First, let’s start with the options. As noted, New Approach Missouri came up just short in 2016, missing the ballot by as few as 23 signatures. (The group even took the matter to court, but couldn’t convince a judge that St. Louis County had wrongly invalidated 2,000 signatures.) This year, the group crossed the signature benchmark. The New Approach measure is a constitutional amendment that would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with one of ten specified medical conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, chronic pain, PTSD and Parkinson’s. The measure would impose a 4 percent sales tax, and some of that revenue would be earmarked for veterans programs. The state’s Department of Health and Senior Services would regulate sales, cultivation and licensing. New Approach is the only bal-
Jeff Mizanskey, who spent 22 years in prison for marijuana, campaigned for Missouri’s failed 2016 ballot initiative. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI
lot initiative that would permit patients to grow their own weed, but the plants would have to be grown in a state-inspected facility. Patients would also have to pay a $100 license fee. According to estimates by the secretary of state’s office, New Approach’s proposal would cost the state $7 million to operate annually, while generating $18 million in tax revenue for the state and $6 million for local governments. The second constitutional amendment to make the ballot is known as the Bradshaw Amendment, named for Springfield attorney and physician Brad Bradshaw, who largely self-funded the measure. The Bradshaw Amendment is, in a word, ambitious: It would create a “state research institute” and establish a nine-person research board led by Bradshaw himself. According to the petition, the institute would work on “developing cures and treatments for cancer and other incurable diseases or medical conditions.” That board could also determine what diseases would benefit from medical marijuana treatment. Among the three initiatives, the Bradshaw Amendment would im-
pose the highest tax: 15 percent. Some of that tax revenue would fund health and care services for veterans. The secretary of state’s office estimates that the measure would cost the state $500,000 annually and would generate revenue off taxes and fees, to the tune of $66 million. It’s worth noting that both the Bradshaw Amendment and New Approach’s proposal are constitutional amendments, meaning they could only be amended later by an additional vote of the people. Not so with the Missourians For Patient Care Act, a statutory amendment that, if passed, would essentially create a new law — meaning that it could potentially be altered by legislators at a later date. That flexibility could come in handy when creating new regulatory bodies and bureaucracy. In a February interview, lobbyist Travis Brown — his PR firm, Pelopidas, led the signature-collection efforts for the Patient Care Act — argued that a statutory amendment would create a more flexible framework for getting Missouri’s medical-marijuana industry up and running. “When you have constitutional mandates, when you create new bureaucracies that no one has run
riverfronttimes.com
or governed before, that always takes extra time and has the effect of slowing down access to medical treatment,” Brown noted at the time. The Patient Care Act would impose a 2 percent tax, the lowest rate of the three proposals. The revenue would fund programs for veterans, drug treatment, earlychildhood education and public safety in cities with a medicalmarijuana facility. The secretary of state’s office estimates the annual cost of the proposal at $10 million, with annual revenue projected to hit at least $10 million. The proposal is estimated to not cost local governments a dime and would generate $152,000 for them in annual revenue. With three measures on the ballot, there’s a real possibility that more than one passes — or even all three. It’s not clear what happens if both the Patient Care Act (a state law) passes along with one of the constitutional amendments, but state law does define what happens if two constitutional amendments pass on the same ballot: The one with the higher vote total wins. It would be a lot simpler, of course, if voters just chose one. n
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
9
Freed After Gun Charge, Ex-Con Murders South-City Woman Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
F
or decades, Walter David Kemp has hurt people. The 64-year-old St. Louis man has spent more than half of his life in prison. His short interludes of freedom have often ended in nightmarish violence. In 1978, he was convicted of second-degree murder. In 1997, he held his 23-year-old neighbor against her will for eleven hours, sodomizing her seven times. She later sued the managers of their apartment complex for placing a man with his horrendous past across the hall from her — and accepted a $500,000 settlement. Kemp, upon hearing in 2002 from a Riverfront Times reporter about the payment, joked, “She came out pretty good. You tell her she owes me.” Eric Davis, who lives in Sikeston, has learned about Kemp’s twisted history during the past two weeks. Police say the career criminal killed Davis’ 30-year-old daughter Haley on the morning of July 20 at her apartment in the 3200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. “It’s a death that should have never happened, because he should have never been on the streets,” Davis says in a phone interview. After the 1997 attack on his neighbor, Kemp was convicted of seven counts of forcible sodomy and sentenced to seventeen years in prison. Court records indicate he served all or nearly all of his time, but seventeen years was up in 2015. He soon returned to St. Louis. In February 2017, St. Louis police arrested Kemp on charges that could have sent him back to prison for decades. Officers responding to a report of gunfire found Kemp alone in his Dutchtown apartment. During a search of the place, one of the officers found a Hi-Point 9mm handgun in the trash can, according to court records.
10
RIVERFRONT TIMES
Walter Kemp, shown in mugshots from 2018 and 2004, has spent most of his life in prison. | ST. LOUIS CITY JUSTICE CENTER / MO DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Kemp pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a firearm and two counts possession of a controlled substance. Any of the charges could have put him away again. St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer sentenced him in August to ten years on each of the drug possession and gun possession charges as well as another five for unlawful use of a weapon. But in a stroke of leniency that Davis simply cannot understand, the judge suspended Kemp’s sentence in favor of probation. Circuit Attorney spokeswoman Susan Ryan says prosecutors recommended eight years in prison. Yet Kemp was allowed back on the streets. Less than a year after his August 2017 sentencing hearing, he allegedly killed Eric Davis’ daughter. On Friday, Judge Ohmer told the RFT that he doesn’t remember Kemp’s case and can’t say much about the decision because he is still presiding over his probation. He says he only learned that Kemp had been recently charged with murder after being contacted by RFT. The judge has now suspended his probation in the 2017 case and set a hearing for October. That is not likely to be much consolation to Davis. “They released him to the streets,” Davis says. “It ain’t right.” Kemp’s fatal July 20 encounter with Haley Davis began because he was searching for a man. Eric Davis says he heard Kemp stopped by the night before as well, and that his daughter and her roommate ran him off. The man Kemp was after was
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
Prosecutors recommended a sentence of eight years, yet Kemp was allowed back on the streets. Less than a year after his sentencing hearing, he allegedly killed Haley Davis. apparently the father of Haley Davis’ ex-boyfriend. Kemp claimed the guy had ripped him off, Eric Davis says. When the roommate left for work in the morning, Kemp returned with a handgun. Eric Davis says his daughter again tried to chase away the older man. “He turned around and shot her multiple times — a little 100-pound, unarmed girl,” the father says. Police say a witness, who knew Kemp as “Uncle Dave,” confirmed there was a verbal argument and then the ex-con started shooting. Officers found the young mother dead on the sidewalk. Detectives later reviewed video from a surveillance camera that showed Kemp had arrived in the area on a bicycle and then hur-
ried away around the time of the shooting, court records say. When police found Kemp later, his tattoos and limp helped link him to the surveillance footage. He admitted to killing Haley Davis, police say. Eric Davis says his daughter had grown up in Sikeston and moved to St. Louis about six years ago. “She was open-minded,” he says. “She was happy, willing to help others more than herself, witty.” Father and daughter had argued in recent years. “I didn’t approve of a lot of things and the lifestyle she was living,” Davis says. He says he’ll leave it at that, but he doesn’t understand how Kemp was allowed to be anywhere near her or anyone else. “He’s been nothing but a criminal most of his life,” Eric Davis says, adding, “I want to see him executed. He is a menace to society.” In the 1970s, Kemp was accused in a pair of murders and multiple robberies. He was acquitted of one of the killings but convicted in 1978 of second-degree murder for shooting a man with a shotgun two years before. In 1990, after serving fourteen years of his 29-year sentence, he was arrested again on accusations he had kidnapped an eighteen-year-old woman and sexually assaulted her multiple times in a mobile home before she was able to escape out a window, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported at the time. The case enraged law enforcement officials, who even then complained that Kemp was too dangerous to be paroled. “He should never have gotten out,” Buzz Westfall, who was then St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, told the newspaper at the time. “Now we have another victim on our hands.” Kemp was eventually acquitted in that case. Reporter Jeannette Batz Cooperman later wrote in a 2002 RFT story that jurors apparently thought the young woman was afraid of getting in trouble with her parents. It was a remarkably similar case to Kemp’s later attack, in 1998, of the young neighbor who eventually sued the apartment complex. Cooperman, who wrote a terrifying account of the 1998 sexual assault, reported that Kemp bragged to her during a phone interview that he was responsible for two more killings inside prison. He was convicted of forcible sodomy in that case. He is now being held in the St. Louis City Justice Center without bail. n
SUNDAY BURLESQUE BRUNCH TWO SEATINGS EVERY SUNDAY 10AM & 1PM 5 0 0 N . 1 4 T H ST. D OW N TOW N ST. LO U I S
G
R
A
N
D
SPECIAL OFFER
O
P
E
N
IN
G
RECEIVE ONE CLASSIC FULL SET OF E Y E L A S H E X T E N S I O N S F O R O N LY $ 1 0 9 * .
Our upscale salon specializes in providing safe & customized eyelash extensions. Our exclusive technique tailors a perfect design for each individual’s unique eye shape using our custom-built mapping system.
SALON SERVICES: ◗ eyelash extensions ◗ brow extensions ◗ tinting & threading
$109 offer valid through 9/30/18 and for new client appointments only. Mention grand opening special when booking your appointment.
L O O K
B E A U T I F U L
314-858-5520 •
•
F E E L
C O N F I D E N T
WWW.THELASHLOUNGE.COM/CHESTERFIELD
1728A CLARKSON RD @ DIERBERGS MARKET PLACE
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
11
Hawley Continues Fight on Booze Ads Written by
SARAH FENSKE
I
n June, the Missouri Broadcasters Association won a legal ruling allowing bars and alcohol distributors to advertise their prices — a surprisingly hardfought victory for something that sounds so simple. U.S. District Judge Douglas Harpool’s verdict followed more than five years of legal wrangling, an appeals court decision and a trial. It also seemed to follow simple common sense. Yet in late July, the broadcasters association got some bad news: The office of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley filed notice that it would appeal. The fight will continue. Mark Gordon, CEO of the broadcasters association, says that the organization is “disappointed but not surprised.” Says Gordon, “Continuing this litigation is not right and makes no sense. There was overwhelming evidence that the state had no viable justification to ban truthful advertising. In the end it is going to result in more legal fees for Missouri businesses and the state and it will not change the outcome of what has already been decided by two federal courts. Business and consumers are entitled to a free and truthful marketplace.” Maybe not, however, in Missouri.
“Continuing this litigation is not right and makes no sense. It will not change what has already been decided by two federal courts.” For decades, the state has engaged in the kind of bizarre rulemaking that you’d associate with Soviet Europe (or maybe just an American state in the years after Prohibition, which is where Missouri’s laws have their origin). It has long been illegal for retailers in Missouri to advertise what they’re charging for booze if the state deems it too cheap. A store can tell you they have, say, Smirnoff on sale. It can even put Smirnoff on sale. But if they’ve paid their distributor $19.99 per bottle, they can’t tell you in an ad or a mailer that it’s selling for $18.99 — even if it is. Missouri’s laws required them to zip their lips. Not only are those laws not on the books in the many states we neighbor (and which Missouri TV and radio stations must compete against), but those laws were enforced. Gordon says that, while local broadcasters had long chafed under the Byzantine rules, it wasn’t until the state’s bizarre decision to use its muscle to investigate a Springfield radio station’s promotion, subpoenaing no less than sixteen businesses, that the broadcasters decided they had no
STREAK’S CORNER • by Bob Stretch
12
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
Attorney General Josh Hawley is fighting to keep Prohibition-era regulations in Missouri. | FACEBOOK choice but to fight back. The association made its case to the state’s alcohol-control board and attorney general’s office that the rules were needlessly prohibitive and should go without enforcement. But those state agencies declined. The state argued that it had an interest in curtailing overconsumption and underage drinking. But it’s never shown how alcohol pricing information might be responsible for doing that. In fact, after a trial in federal court in St. Louis earlier this year, Judge Harpool found the attorney general’s arguments weak at best. He concluded that the broadcasters association had shown “credible and substantial evidence” that there was no demonstrative relationship between advertising and consumption rates. “The State failed to present any evidence contradicting the tes-
timony, empirical studies, and statistical analysis relied on by Plaintiffs’ expert,” he wrote. “... [T]he Court finds the State has provided no evidence [emphasis added] that the challenged regulations significantly advance a substantial State interest.” Yet still the attorney general’s office is appealing. Asked to explain the reason for the appeal, Mary Compton, a spokeswoman for Hawley, says, “It is the Attorney General’s responsibility to defend the constitutionality of state statutes. We will continue to defend the validity of this statute on appeal.” In other words: Because the law said so. Nevermind if there’s any purpose to the law, or if it makes sense to keep using taxpayer money to advance an argument that doesn’t serve the taxpayers. This is Missouri. And so the broadcasters’ fight continues. n
9th Annual
INSPIRE Fashion Show
August 11 .......................................Les Gruff and the Billy Goat August 18 ................................................................ Diesel Island August 25 ................................................. Pappy with a Hatchet August 31 ...............................................................Whoa Thunder Sept 1 ................................................... AV and the Dirty Details
October 5th- Ameristar Casino- Discovery Ballroom- RYSE Night Club “Benefiting the United Way of Greater St. Louis
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
13
The local headliner at this year’s St. Lou Fringe has roots in Miami but resonance that’s all St. Louis
14
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
horeographer Christopher Page-Sanders just wants all the dancers in the room to be chill. “With your arms you can do whatever you want, but it has to be really chill. Chill and relaxed. Chill and relaxed. Yes? Clear? Has anybody ever been to Miami?” he asks the group of auditionees lining the basement dance studio in University City’s Center of Creative Arts, or COCA. One says no. “There’s a certain atmosphere in Miami that we are looking for,” Page-Sanders continues. “Chill, relaxed, cool, clean.” It’s not Miami; it’s St. Louis in
February, and it’s dark outside, and freezing cold. Inside, under the fluorescent lights, everyone is wearing shorts, sweatpants or leggings along with their dance shoes. But when Page-Sanders turns the music on, from the rhythm pulsing through the room, you’d think you were at a party in Little Havana. The concentration is fierce as Page-Sanders shouts counts over the music. The dancers move across the wood floor, working to match the hip-hop-influenced choreography to the beats. You can tell it’s not what they are used to performing at a typical musical-
Left: Writer, director and music director Colin Healy. Above: Choreographer Christopher Page-Sanders.
theater audition. And it’s not supposed to be. These local performers aren’t auditioning for a traditional, Golden Age Broadway musical like you’ve seen at the Muny or the Fabulous Fox. They’re instead trying out for the new musical serving as the local headliner for St. Lou Fringe this month. The festival, which takes place in Grand Center each summer, doesn’t produce your grandma’s idea of the arts: We’re talking new work, uncensored, unjuried performance and exposure for semi-professional performers. That makes St. Lou Fringe a perfect fit for this particular musical, simply titled The Gringo, which is set to premiere at .ZACK August 16 to 19. Written, directed and
riverfronttimes.com
music-directed by 28-year-old St. Louisan Colin Healy, The Gringo takes place between two graffiticovered Miami neighborhoods — Overtown, which is historic but rundown, and Wynwood, which Healy describes as “graffiti and gentrification central.” The script follows a young street artist named Ishmael who arrives in town shortly after a beloved local street artist known as El Fantasma is shot to death by police. The story follows Ishmael as he confronts his white privilege in unfamiliar territory and reveals the stories of others he meets along the way, leading to the musical’s ultimate question: If your home is hell and you have the privilege to leave, do you? Or do
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
Continued on pg 14
RIVERFRONT TIMES
15
The Gringo “is one of the few times where as an artist I get to use my art as activism,” says Alicia Revé Like, who plays the role of Kahlo.
THE GRINGO
Continued from pg 13
you stay and fight for it? If any of this storyline seems familiar, well, it should. While The Gringo takes place in Miami, it deals with themes that would be recognizable anywhere in 2018, such as internet fame, hook-up culture and police brutality — and offers particularly uncomfortable parallels for St. Louis. But from the look of the audition turnout, St. Louis is here for it. And if this production team’s hopes come true, this year’s St. Lou Fringe festival won’t be the last stop for The Gringo: It will instead be the one that helps launch it. o trace the beginnings of The Gringo, you have to back up to 2013, a time when tragedy struck in Miami — a trauma not so different from the shooting of Michael Brown, which galvanized St. Louis the following
16
RIVERFRONT TIMES
year. On August 6, 2013, Miami Beach Police found local graffiti artist Israel Hernandez-Llach, also known as “Reefa,” tagging an abandoned McDonald’s that was already covered in graffiti. The eighteen-yearold ran, beginning a chase involving more than half a dozen officers, according to Miami New Times. The chase ultimately concluded with Officer Jorge Mercado tasing Hernandez-Llach in the chest. The Colombian immigrant later died at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Six months later, the medical examiner would call HernandezLlach’s passing a “sudden cardiac death” and declare the incident an accident, according to the Miami Herald. Hernandez-Llach’s death led to his parents filing a lawsuit against the city of Miami Beach and its police department for using excessive force. It also cued protests against the police and debate about the use of Tasers. At the time, Healy was studying theater education and acting at Florida International University in Miami. Having grown up in the
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
suburbs of Miami, he found that Hernandez-Llach’s death struck close to home — literally. As night fell a day or two after the teen’s death, Healy wrote down two little words that served as the title for a story idea: “The Gringo.” As he sat in his 350-square-foot West Miami apartment, Healy began exploring the characters that now make up the story. It wasn’t long after that he realized that Hernandez-Llach, who was only a few years younger, had gone to his high school. “I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that could’ve been me,’” Healy remembers. But that mindset wouldn’t last. “Once I started digging into the story a little more, I’m like, ‘No, it was never going to be me,’” Healy says. “It really started this whole journey of privilege awakening in a way for me, like realizing despite anything — despite anything that’s not whiteness and straightness and maleness, it doesn’t matter. I still have that privilege, regardless if I’m financially and socially equal to someone else ...
I didn’t ever see that growing up, and it was this event that was the turning point for me.” Often sporting a baseball cap with his beard and glasses, Healy today has a demeanor that’s more low-key composer than Broadway diva. But while he’d likely blend in with the twentysomethings at your favorite Cherokee Street bar, there’s a big difference: Few people his age have had a project like The Gringo consuming their thoughts for five-plus years — or put the same kind of passion and drive into bringing it to fruition. It was after his wakeup call while researching HernandezLlach’s story, Healy says, that he truly dove into writing the show. Thinking back on it now, he thinks he might have been aware of his privilege at a much younger age had he grown up in St. Louis and not Miami. South Florida’s melting-pot makeup can be deceptive. But time passed. Healy went on tour with the Republik, the band he was a part of at the time, and The Gringo fell to the wayside. That is, until a year later, when
THE SHELDON 2018-2019 SEASON
Tickets on Sale August 11 JON BATISTE DEL MCCOURY BAND
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER & THE MEMPHIS SOULPHONY
DIANNE REEVES HOT RIZE
ILLPHONICS
DAVID HALEN
LILA DOWNS ANITA JACKSON SIERRA HULL AND MUCH MORE!
CALL METROTIX AT 314.534.1111 OR VISIT THESHELDON.ORG
Gheremi Clay, left, helps Robert Crenshaw with stretches.
Michael Brown was shot. That year, Healy moved to St. Louis, where he had family and had accepted a job teaching and music-directing in the vocal department at COCA. He came to town about a month after prosecutors announced Officer Darren Wilson would face no criminal charges for the fatal shooting. And it was then that he realized that The Gringo needed to be told. “That was the moment where I remembered what I was writing before, and I was like, ‘Well, this is relevant,’” Healy says. “And obviously I was paying attention to Michael Brown and all that when it happened, and it was in the back of my mind. But once I moved up here I was like, ‘Yep, this is the story that I need to resurrect now,’ because I think what happened down there is pretty similar.” The result may be a musical that stars a white kid, but it is not about a white kid — rather, Ishmael is what Healy calls a “backseat protagonist” who tries and fails to drive the story. Instead,
The Gringo spotlights the stories of the people Ishmael comes in contact with, many of whom are people of color with complex lives and experiences much different than his own. The story deals with modern issues — and is filled with elements that plant it solidly in the 21st century. Dialogue only makes up about five to ten minutes of the show; the rest of the play is told via music and choreography influenced by the people and cultures depicted on stage. The score includes many forms of Latin music, including salsa, merengue and bossanova, with rap also making the occasional cameo. The dancing, too, is inspired by the various music styles and physicalizes the themes of the show. Case in point: One of the songs, “On the Internet,” takes places on Tinder, with the characters on their phones — and yes, Page-Sanders cleverly ties a swiping motion into the dancing. And upon a second viewing, you’ll notice the way
long live print
riverfronttimes.com
Continued on pg 16
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
17
THE GRINGO
Continued from pg 15
his choreography in the opening number, “The Streets Are Still Grey in Miami,” uses dance to refer to the various themes and relationships you learn about later in the show. In its simplest terms, The Gringo is a love triangle between characters of varying levels of privilege. But unlike many musicals, it takes the thin archetypes you’re accustomed to seeing on stage — the ingenue, the jealous boyfriend, the best friend — and completely breaks them down by the second act, showing how much more there is to each one, just like in real life. “I think what Ishmael learns in the show is to view those who we don’t think about because they’re not on our radar, to view those people when we’re thrust into their world, to view them complexly. And I think the more we don’t put others in little boxes, the less we’ll hate each other,” Healy
18
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
says. It’s an idea worth listening to in St. Louis. “Despite the screaming and yelling we do, we don’t see each other complexly a lot in this city and in the county and the metro area at large,” Healy says. “The Delmar Divide is one of those many lines that we draw, and stories like The Gringo seek to blur those things and make people of different classes and colors see each other a little bit more complexly and understand that our lives are as complex as theirs.” atthew R. Kerns, the executive director of St. Lou Fringe, definitely sees the potential in such a story. Kerns has come to the audition for The Gringo to scout talent for a different part of the festival, the national headlining act. Stepping out of the dance studio, Kerns explains that he connected with Healy during St. Lou Fringe last year, when he hired him to be the music director for
Christopher Page-Sanders runs the dancers in the cast through a demanding rehearsal routine.
that year’s national headliner. He picked a good person for the job — beyond Healy’s obvious credentials at COCA and his work with the Republik, he has extensive training in both music and theater. He began with violin lessons at age five, later picking up both voice and a number of other instruments, including piano, guitar and drums. He also has experience performing, starting with a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at age fourteen and eventually working with some semi-professional companies in Ft. Lauderdale. Healy went to public performing-arts elementary and middle schools, both magnet schools that he says were formative in exposing him to music as well as a variety of people and cultures. After high school, Healy returned to his alma mater to music-direct competitive high school theater. It didn’t take long for Kerns to see Healy’s potential. “It was almost instantly where I was like, ‘This kid is going places.
This kid is going, like, all the way.’ He’s so talented, and I wanted to, and continue to want to, help him do exactly what the Fringe does, which is incubate new work and elevate it to the next place,” Kerns recalls. “And so I wanted to give him an opportunity, because I really feel like The Gringo has some chops to it to go far.” In the summer of 2016, Healy held his first audition for The Gringo, presenting a reading of scenes from Act One that featured the three leading actors who have been with the project ever since. Additional actors were brought on board to perform a full staged reading and create a cast recording. After The Gringo was picked up by St. Lou Fringe, Healy also found himself in the producer’s chair, cueing the creation of his theater production and education company, Fly North Music, to see The Gringo to the fringe festival. The enthusiasm has been palpable. That cast recording? It had a goal of $2,000 on fundraising site Indiegogo, and it ended up earnContinued on pg 18
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
19
Samantha Madison rehearses “On the Internet,” a song that takes place on Tinder.
THE GRINGO
Continued from pg 17
ing $5,797. The funds needed to produce The Gringo at the fringe festival? They’ve all been secured thanks to a number of local fundraisers and 50-plus backers, who have ranged from friends to students’ parents to strangers. And those staged readings that helped get all of this started? Well, we’ll get to that in a moment. If history is any indication, St. Lou Fringe could only increase the momentum. In 2016, for example, a show titled Count Time! that debuted at the festival. The play tells the story of a woman named Patricia Prewitt who was wrongfully incarcerated for her husband’s murder. Count Time!, which received an award for best production at the fringe festival, went on to become a Missouri Arts Council touring show and now tours around the state. Some of the national headlining acts, too, head to the East Coast after incorporating the feedback they get at St. Lou Fringe. But before The Gringo can reap any potential benefits from the festival, it needs a cast. Most of the principal roles will be played by the actors who originated the
20
RIVERFRONT TIMES
“Because we are dealing with heavy social issues — police brutality, violence, the struggle of people of color in this country right now — we have to be completely honest. We have to be completely open.” parts, but spots for a number of supporting characters and the ensemble have yet to be filled. Kerns heads to a small music classroom at COCA, where auditionees are now lined up out in the hallway, music books in hand. The air is a mix of nervous energy and chilly February temperatures creeping through the windows behind the casting table as each performer enters to sing a chosen cut of music. One by one, they give their sheet music to Healy, who is in his element accompanying at the piano. He sight-reads everything he’s handed, from staples cut from Chicago and Hamilton to more obscure samples from lesserknown musicals. Sometimes he asks the singer to demonstrate an additional song. Sometimes
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
he has them perform scales to assess their vocal range. Every time, the casting team discusses their options after the potential actor leaves the room. Ultimately, the cast ends up being made up entirely of St. Louis actors — a rarity for many productions, Page-Sanders muses later, but also one of Healy’s goals for the St. Lou Fringe version. Page-Sanders, a COCA-kidturned-teaching-artist and professional dancer, is impressed with the number of actors that showed up to audition. “I just think that when it comes to art, I think that people just want that opportunity to be a part of something new. And especially in St. Louis, I think artists of color are so underrepresented in the community,” he says. “So to know
that there is somebody who wants to tell one of the many stories of our community makes people want to be a part of that.” In the end, they land both a diverse and accomplished group. The majority of the cast is made up of people of color, including actors of African American, Latinx and Asian descent. There are a wide variety of backgrounds: an actor from rural Missouri, an activist, a single mom, a few college students. Some are prominent community theater actors with nine-to-five jobs; another is a dance instructor who attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy; still another is a COCA grad with a number of Muny credits. It’s not until mid-July that the cast starts rehearsals for St. Lou Fringe. In a phone interview a few days before rehearsals begin, Kern explains that he thinks The Gringo has the essential ingredients to be a success: a story that is compelling and real, and music that is smart, innovative and unlike anything else out there. “I see The Gringo being picked up by regional theaters across the country,” he says of its potential following St. Lou Fringe, “and I really could seriously see The Gringo in an off-Broadway run.”
n January 21, 2017, Healy wasn’t thinking about St. Lou Fringe success, much less making it off-Broadway. That Saturday, the real question for The Gringo was simply how COCA could fit all the excited people who’d turned out for its staged reading into the facility’s small blackbox theater. While that evening offered the second staged reading, it was the first time the story would be performed in full. Theatergoers showed up in droves, forming a line that stretched through COCA’s lobby and down the connecting hallway. Staffers had to add chairs along the walls and put the start time on hold as they worked to accommodate the crowd. By the time the theater reached capacity, a long line still waited outside. Healy had people put down their contact information, already mulling the idea of another reading to accommodate the demand. St. Louis-based actor Jon Hey witnessed the incredible reaction. “It seems so passé to say it was electric, but it just was kind of alive,” Hey remembers. “The audience was excited and very supportive, the cast was in it and supportive and really excited — I just didn’t get the feeling that anybody had been dragged to the theater that night.” The enthusiasm only continued after the show, as audience members chattered about their favorite songs, characters and parts of the story. Hey found himself swept up in similar feelings. “A couple of the songs we just thought were brilliant,” he recalls, “not only in how it was staged but how it was written and what he was trying to depict and the story he was trying to tell.” Original cast member Alicia Revé Like can’t put her finger on what made that reading so successful — maybe it’s because people know Healy is talented and want to see his work, she suggests, or because it was free, or simply because of the magic of theater. A professional singer and actor as well as a COCA teaching artist, she will be reprising her leading role, Kahlo, in the fringe festival production. “The reason why I’ve stuck around besides just looking at the project and being like, ‘This is so cool!’ is it’s one of the few times where as an artist I get to use my art as activism. It doesn’t come along often,” says Like. “So it’s not often that as an actor you get a script, you look at it and you’re like, ‘Whoa, this has to be done.’” The crowd at the January 2017
reading only affirmed her feeling that The Gringo is something special. “That also solidified for me, like, ‘We have a gem on our hands. Like, maybe we have the next hot thing in the country.’ Because everything has a starting point. Like, you don’t get Hamilton overnight. You don’t get Hamilton in a year. You get Hamilton over years. And Colin has already put in years of writing and composing.” Since that reading, The Gringo has seen its fair share of changes. Healy has made the show a collaborative effort, looking to his cast and team members such as PageSanders for their thoughts and ideas on the work. Page-Sanders stresses the need for honesty and authenticity in the process, rather than simply trying to create a good book. “Because we are dealing with heavy social issues — police brutality, violence, the struggle of people of color in this country right now — we have to be completely honest. We have to be completely open,” he says. “The question is, what message are we trying to say? What message are we trying to send out to the world, and how do we do that? Especially emotional moments, because there are many emotional moments in The Gringo. How do we create an emotional moment with a message and not whitewash the message?” Now as the show sees its final edits and rehearsals, the next question is whether The Gringo can draw the kind of crowd it saw at that staged reading to its performance at St. Lou Fringe — and see life beyond the festival. “Where I want it to go, of course Broadway,” Healy says with a small laugh. “I want it to be a licensable product that’s accessible for casts of any color, creed or financial ability to put on, as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.” And if that’s all The Gringo ever does, Healy says, it will be victory in his book. But of course, he’d like it to have a life of its own before becoming a licensable product, and Broadway is always the dream. He’s not the only one with such a vision. Both Page-Sanders and Like express similar hopes about The Gringo, and many others have bought into its message along the way. After all, it’s not every day you find a story that resonates with so many people — and amplifies the voices of people who too often go unheard. “I believe so much in this project that it legit is like, ‘Oh, this is a Tony winner,’” Like says. “And I want to be on the fricking train when it’s a Tony winner.” n
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
21
22
CALENDAR
BY PAUL FRISWOLD
You won’t go home hungry from the Great Muslim Food Fest. | COURTESY OF CAIR-MISSOURI
FRIDAY 08/10 The Light in the Piazza R-S Theatrics opens its eighth season with The Light in the Piazza. The Adam Guettel/Craig Lucas musical eschews the typical Broadway sound for a more romantic, classical-music approach and follows the ups and downs of a whirlwind Italian romance. Clara and her mother Margaret are visiting Florence, Italy, when Fabrizio notices Clara across the piazza. At first rebuffed by the protective Margaret, Fabrizio soon enough is falling in love with Clara, and his feelings are reciprocated. Margaret still harbors doubts, even after meeting the young man’s delightful family. Why is she so concerned about letting her adult daughter fall in love and start a new life? The Light in the Piazza is performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday (August 10 to 26) at the Marcelle (3310 Samuel Shepard Drive; www.r-stheatrics.com). Tickets are $20 to $25.
22
RIVERFRONT TIMES
SATURDAY 08/11 St. Louis Classic The Grove Criterium has expanded to cover two days and three different courses, and those changes require a new name. Now called the St. Louis Classic, the event includes the Babler State Park Time Trial (7:30 a.m. start on Saturday, August 11) and the Tower Grove Park Criterium (noon start time on Saturday as well). Also on Saturday is the Be Like Casey Bike Rally, a kid’s cycling safety clinic and skills course, which runs from 2 to 5 p.m. in Tower Grove Park. Sunday, August 12, brings the Trailnet Fun Ride at 7:30 a.m. (at the corner of Newstead and Manchester avenues) and then the original Grove Criterium, which starts at 10 a.m. Urban Chestnut’s beer garden will be back in the Grove and in Tower Grove Park, and BEAST Craft BBQ will be there serving up its award-winning ’cue. As exciting as the race through the Grove is, the Tower Grove Park course has great viewing spots and a long straightaway on Main Drive that should allow riders to really gen-
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
erate some speed — it might be the best cycling race in the city. Admission to all races is free for spectators. For course maps, race registration and general information, visit cyclingstlouis.com.
Ghost in the Shell Masamune Shirow’s groundbreaking cyberpunk manga Ghost in the Shell is about a counter-terrorist organization operating in a high-tech, mid-21st-century Japan. Many of the agents have technology implanted in their bodies, with team leader Motoko Kusanagi having a full-body replacement. Shirow’s philosophy of crime and punishment, the essence of what makes us human and the impact of rapid technological development all underpin the series and its animated film adaptations. The original film version, also called Ghost in the Shell, delves into Kusanagi’s own doubts about her humanity (if she doesn’t have an organic body, is she merely an advanced appliance?) even as the team tracks a criminal who can hack into cybernetic brains and control them. Seeing the intricately detailed city where the ac-
tion takes place is alone worth the price of admission; it’s a grubby, beautiful character that grounds the story. The Reel Late film series presents Ghost in the Shell at 11:55 p.m. Friday and Saturday (August 10 and 11) at the Landmark Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar Boulevard, University City; www.landmarktheatres.com). Tickets are $8.
SUNDAY 08/12 Great Muslim Food Fest Summer is festival season, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better, more delicious example than the Great Muslim Food Festival. It’s both a celebration of a cuisine that transcends national borders and a fantastic chance to meet your neighbors and friends in the park. Family favorites and delicacies from India, Bosnia and a host of Middle Eastern and African nations are on the menu, with local restaurants and organizations manning various booths. The Bubble Bus will be on site, and live entertainment will range
WEEK OF AUGUST 9-15
Grave of the Fireflies is beautifully animated, but not necessarily child-friendly. | © STUDIO GHIBLI from music to traditional dance to poetry. The Great Muslim Food Festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, August 12, at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. Admission is free but bring cash for food and drink.
Grave of the Fireflies Isao Takahata’s anime adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka’s short story Grave of the Fireflies may have been made and released by Studio Ghibli, but that doesn’t make it a movie for children. It’s a stark tale of a young brother and sister trying to survive in Japan during the waning days of World War II. Seita does his best to take care of his little sister Setsuko, but there’s little food left to scrounge or steal. It’s a realistic depiction of both the human cost of war and the damage wrought when those most in need of guidance and aid are left to fend for themselves. Fathom Events screens the film at 12:55 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday (August 12, 13 and 15) at Marcus Wehrenberg Ronnies Cine (5320
South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $12.50.
MONDAY 08/13 St. Louis Cardinals At the time of writing, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals are essentially mirror images of each other. Both teams hover right around .500, both are about a half-dozen games back and neither has played up to its own expectations this year. The Nationals still have their big weapon, Bryce Harper, on the roster (yes, even after the trade deadline), and the Cardinals are still led by Yadier Molina. If either team is going to turn things around and storm into the playoffs, a four-game series in midAugust is a good time to get going. The Cards play the Nationals at 7:10 p.m. Monday, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 6:15 p.m. Thursday (August 13 to 16) at Busch Stadium (700 Clark Street; www.stlcardinals.com). Tickets are $10.90 to $234.90.
Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble presents No Exit starting Wednesday. | JOEY RUMPEL
WEDNESDAY 08/15 No Exit Three people — Joseph Garcin, Estelle Rigault and Inès Serrano —are taken by the Valet to the same nondescript room. All three expect to be tortured, for that’s what happens to damned souls. Instead they are left to their own devices, which mostly consists of justifying their damnation, complaining that they’re not
riverfronttimes.com
supposed to be here and arguing for the truth to be told. Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit is the quintessential existential drama, and in Alyssa Ward’s new translation the characters must once again suffer as they see themselves through another person’s eyes. Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble presents No Exit at 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday (August 15 to September 1) at the Chapel (6238 Alexander Drive; www.slightlyoff.org). Tickets are $15 to $20. n
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
23
South City Scooters
@ the corner of Connecticut & Morgan Ford Up To 100 MPG
314.664.2737
Tell The Big Oil Companies To Kiss Your Gas Consumption Good Bye With South City Scooters. MORE MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM
Starting At No Tariffs Yet
$995
Closed Sunday & Monday Tuesday-Thursday 10:30AM - 6PM • Friday 10:30AM - 5PM • Saturday 10:30AM - 4PM
Want a better future than fast food? bpi
Learn a skilled trade you can take anywhere in the world.
brentwood plastics, inc.
no experience preferred | vision, dental and medical
314-968-1135
www.brentwoodplastics.com
HELPING SCHLAFLY NAME: Charles Kopman ROLE: Legal Counsel YEARS WITH SCHLAFLY: 27 RESIDES IN: Richmond Heights WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD TO BE A PART OF SCHLAFLY? It is well thought of in my community and by my friends.
© 2018 The Saint Louis Brewery LLC, Saint Louis, MO
24
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
STAGE
25
[REVIEW]
Jokey and the Bandit Now at Stray Dog, The Robber Bridegroom is the lark we needed Written by
PAUL FRISWOLD The Robber Bridegroom Written by Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman. Directed by Justin Been. Based on the novella by Eudora Welty. Presented by Stray Dog Theatre through August 18 at the Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; www. straydogtheatre.org. Tickets are $25 to $30.
T
he world has delivered an abundance of bad news and despair this past year, and St. Louis theater companies have explored that turmoil on stage in numerous productions. These plays have helped audiences see painful issues from other view points, and allowed us to process pain and confusion into understanding. But after several months, the unending cavalcade of misery wears you down. If you go see a play for the twin purposes of entertainment and enlightenment (and you should), non-stop focus on the latter grinds you down. Which is a roundabout way of saying, “Hey, a comedy appears at long last.” Stray Dog Theatre’s new production of the musical The Robber Bridegroom is heavily tilted toward entertainment, and it could not have arrived at a better time. Director Justin Been and his exceptionally gung-ho cast romp through this bluegrass fairytale, which made its Broadway premiere in 1975, and their work is a shining beacon of joy in a very dark world. Rosamund Musgrove (Dawn Schmid) is the beloved daughter of wealthy planter Clemment (Jeffrey M. Wright) and despised stepdaughter of the nasty Salome (Sarah Gene Dowling). Rosamund dreams of love and excitement, while Salome dreams only of getting rid of Rosamund and becoming the rightful queen of
Clemment (Jeffrey M. Wright), left, watches as Salome (Sarah Gene Dowling) grapples Jamie (Phil Leveling). | JOHN LAMB her own home. One fine day, Rosamund encounters the legendary Bandit of the Woods (Phil Leveling) and romance quickly blossoms. The only things standing in the way are the flunkies Salome sends to kill Rosamund, the Bandit’s fear of commitment and his secret identity. Mistaken identities, misunderstandings and comedic near-misses abound. Schmid and Leveling are an enchanting pair, and their voices sound marvelous together during the romantic songs “Deeper in the Woods” and “Love Stolen.” He’s suitably swashbuckling at all times, while Schmid’s Rosamund is no delicate flower to be plucked; a surreptitious affair in the wilds of frontier Mississippi is exactly what she longed for. She plays hard to get only to amplify her new beau’s ardor and gives in to him rapturously. Her stepmother is just as passionate about her own life and desires. Salome brags about how quickly her fingernails grow and the tremendous heat generated by her constantly plotting brain, and wraps herself around handsome stranger Jamie Lockhart (Leveling again) when he visits. Dowling belts out “The Pricklepear Bloom” (a paean to Salome’s voluptuous charms and abrasive personal-
Director Justin Been and his exceptionally gung-ho cast romp through this bluegrass fairytale, and their work is a shining beacon of joy in a very dark world. ity) and nearly shakes down the building in the process. The only time she’s louder is when she bellows “bye!” in the faces of people she wishes would exit. The townsfolk are just as deliciously batty. They populate the background, watching and reacting to all the action along with the audience. Goat (Bryce Miller) is the young simpleton Salome hires to kill Rosamund, but he’s ludicrously ill-suited for the job; his equally dense sister Airie (Christen Ringhausen) walks around
riverfronttimes.com
stiff-legged with a fixed grin plastered across her face, laughing every time Goat misses his target. The hapless outlaw Little Harp (Logan Willmore) stalks the town and wilds arguing with his talking Raven (Susie Lawrence) and his brother Big Harp’s decapitated head (Kevin O’Brien), an illusion faked by having O’Brien kneel and place his head inside a box when entering a scene. Together they sing the rollicking duet “Two Heads” and continue their pursuit of helpless women they could despoil. (Little Harp notes that he’ll have to do most of the despoiling.) All of this nonsense is enhanced by Tyler Duenow’s evocative lighting and Mike Hodges’ clever choreography. If you were so inclined you could analyze the sexual dynamics between Rosamund and the Bandit, and Clemment and Salome, and maybe dig into the casual attitude toward violence in young America. Maybe you’d like to explore the proto-panopticon created by having the ensemble watch the action when they’re not participating. You’re better off graciously accepting the gift of a thoroughly entertaining musical beautifully brought to life by a talented cast and crew; they don’t come around as often as they once did. n
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
25
26
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
FILM
27
[REVIEW]
Get Rich and Die Trying Lauren Greenfield’s new documentary exposes the long-term effects of naked consumerism Written by
ROBERT HUNT Generation Wealth Written and directed by Lauren Greenfield. Opens Friday, August 10, at the Landmark Plaza Frontenac Cinema.
T
he trailer for Generation Wealth might give the impression that it’s two hours of excessive greed and vulgar capitalism at its worst, an update of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous for a crasser, more decadent time. (The film even briefly shows Robin Leach — who knew he was still alive and latching on to any free limo ride he could get?) Even if Lauren Greenfield’s film was entirely critical of her Botox-addled, bling-heavy subjects, it might still seem like more than any person sensible enough to have spent the last eleven years Keeping Away From the Kardashians could take. Yet Generation Wealth is a far more thoughtful film than you might expect, and probably a more insightful one than its interviewees knew they were making. Drawing upon her own 30-year career as a photographer, Greenfield retraces the steps of her earlier work, much of it exploring the themes of self-image and wealth, to create a wide-ranging meditation on consumerism, success and personal happiness. Greenfield’s subjects include a group that she first photographed in the 1990s as students at an affluent Southern California high school (Kim Kardashian was a classmate). Some, like the aspiring teen rapper lording over a table full of dollar bills in a music video, are embarrassed by their earlier shallowness; other merely show that obnoxious teenagers in 1991 may well become obnox-
Ostentatious wealth is all fine and good, but what does it do to you after twenty years? | COURTESY AMAZON STUDIOS © LAUREN GREENFIELD ious adults. A fellow student from Greenfield’s Harvard years turned hedge-fund manager turned fugitive in Germany is reflective, but not entirely remorseful about his history. “Does Harvard Business School teach you to be a good person?” he asks. The question is entirely rhetorical. Along with the spoiled teens and jaded businessmen who take wealth for granted, Greenfield profiles those whose search for money and fame is confined to the bottom of the economic barrel. For most of these, the easy way up has something to do with sex. Greenfield visits Atlanta strippers in a club where patrons pay to throw money at them and porn star Kacey Jordan, whose career highlight is a $30,000 paycheck from Charlie Sheen. There’s a weird, depressing interlude with a 21-year-old man who works with his mother, a Las Vegas hostess (not, he assures us, a madam), and, most disturbingly, a six-year-old in rural Arkansas embracing her inner Anna Nicole Smith on the pageant circuit. Generation Wealth may sound like a freak show, a Mondo Cane for an era of post-Gordon Gekko ethics and reality-TV exhibitionism, but that’s just the glittery sur-
It’s a far more thoughtful film than you might expect, and probably a more insightful one than its interviewees knew they were making. face. Greenfield’s subject isn’t just conspicuous consumption. She’s interested in how we reached this intersection of avarice and bad taste and what it says about us. Using her own life and interviews with her family, she creates an autobiographical essay not just about affluence and extravagance, but about family matters and peer pressure, about self-identity and values in a consumer-driven culture. The extravagant people and things she photographs provide
riverfronttimes.com
an extraordinary picture of a society headed for a hangover, but Greenfield is able to step back and examine her own identification with these things over decades of work. No matter how unusual the answers she receives, her central question is this: What do people do to fill their lives? By the end of the film, she’s able to resolve her personal views. Some of the people she’s filmed over the years have outgrown their obsession with wealth or seen the quest for fame and possessions turn disappointing. Some are amused by the shallowness of their past selves; others are still trying to recover from it. Others, like the workaholic investment counselor who has a child through a surrogate pregnancy, seem to have simply switched from their old obsession with money to new ones (for the investment counselor, motherhood has simply become a different but no less demanding career). Greenfield doesn’t judge her subjects, but she seems to hope they will recognize their excesses. The hunger for bigger, better and more gold-plated things won’t go away, but Generation Wealth exposes it as an unfulfilling diet. n
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
27
THIS WEEK THE GROVE SELECTED HAPPENINGS
IN
Day or night, there’s always something going on in The Grove: live bands, great food, beer tastings, shopping events, and so much more. Visit thegrovestl.com for a whole lot more of what makes this neighborhood great.
2248 R RI RVI IVEVERERFRRF FRORONONTNT TT IT TMI IMEMESESS MF EJAAUBRUNRCGEUHUA2SR10T4Y- -822680-,-, M12240A0, R1182C80H 1 r58ri,ivve2err0ri fv1frre8oornnf trtrtoti invmmteetersifsm.r.coceonosmt.mct iomme s . c o m
THURSDAY, AUG 9
SATURDAY, AUG 11
VIRTUAL REALITY TOUR, ABSTRACT, RYAN OAKES & DYLAN REESE
$10, 8:15PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
$10, 9PM AT THE MONOCLE
FRIDAY, AUG 10 THIS IS ME, A CABARET WITH SAM REVILLA $15, 8PM AT THE MONOCLE
UMPHREY'S MCGEE, FUNK YOU
$15-20, 10PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY
COMEDY SHOWCASE BATTLE OF THE DADS
$5, 7PM AT THE READY ROOM
ADAM GAFFNEY
7:30PM AT THE GRAMAPHONE
PRINTBANGERZ BALL 8PM AT PARLORSTL
THE BON-BONS BURLESQUE BOUDOIR $10, 8PM AT THE MONOCLE
haPPy hoUr 3-5pm Mon-thu 9-11pm everyDay liQUiD reFreshMent civil liFe BroWn ale ...................... $3 BroaDWay honey Wheat .......... $3 Wells ........................................................... $3 hoUse reD/White .............................. $5
choW sliDers ............................................ 3 for $3 French Fry BasKet ......................... $3 hUMMUs .................................................... $3 KrisPy Kale ............................................ $3
4130 MANCHESTER AVE. IN THE GROVE FIRECRACKERPIZZA.COM
soUthsiDe nachos .......................... $4 sMoKeD WinGs .................................... $5 4 3 1 7 M a n c h e s t e r av e i n t h e G r o v e 314.553.9252
|
l ay l a s t l . c o M
SUNDAY, AUG 12 D CAMPBELL, SPECIAL GUEST
FRIDAY, AUG 17 FIELD DAY
8:30PM AT HANDLEBAR
$8, 8PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
MONDAY, AUG 13
STUART JOHNSON LIVE
IS SUMMER JAM
8PM AT THE IMPROV SHOP
TUESDAY, AUG 14 SAMMY BRUE, PEARL CHARLES, CARA LOUISE BAND $10-13, 7PM AT THE READY ROOM
6PM AT HANDLEBAR
COLE SWINDELL, ALL OF IT TOUR $42, 7PM AT THE READY ROOM
KARL DENSON'S TINY UNIVERSE
CLASSES. SHOWS. FOOD. BAR.
8PM AT ATOMIC COWBOY
KACIE SARGENT, LB KOOL, A'SNJ 8PM AT THE MONOCLE
r i v erri fvr eo rnf tr toi nmt et si m. ceosm. c o m A U GJ UU NS TE 82 0- - 21 64 ,, 22 00 11 88
R RI VI VE ER RF FR RO ON NT T T TI MI ME ES S 2 25 9
BISTRO & MUSIC HOUSE “New” New Orleans Cuisine
"
"
The
MadCrab FRESH SEAFOOD
“ Deliriously Good Time” -CHERYL BAEHR RIVERFRONT TIMES RESTAURANT CRITIC
SEASONAL FRESH CRAWFISH BUY 5 POUNDS, GET 1 FREE (Market Price)
•FRIED OYSTERS
NEW S! EM •SWEET POTATO FRIES MENU IT
•BLUE CRAB IS BACK!
HAPPY HOUR
MONDAY-THURSDAY 3-5PM 50% OFF BEER & SODA 50% OFF 1LB. SEAFOOD
(CLAM, SHRIMP, MUSSELS OR CRAWFISH)
or 50% OFF FRIED BASKET (SOFT SHELL CRAB, CATFISH OR SHRIMP)
LUNCH & DINNER • OPEN WEEKDAYS AT 3PM • WEEKENDS AT NOON 8080 OLIVE BLVD. • 314-801-8698 • NOW SERVING BEER & WINE 30
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
CAFE
31
[CAFE]
Holy Smoke From an obscure location in Mehlville, Nubby’s is serving destination-worthy barbecue Written by
CHERYL BAEHR Nubby’s 11133 Lindbergh Business Court, 314-2009123; Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-midnight; Sat-Sun. 9 a.m.-midnight.
M
att Hines was floored when folks started coming from across the river to check out Nubby’s. When Rick and Jan Lloyd showed up all the way from California, he was positively gobsmacked. Hines’ five-month-old south county barbecue restaurant had become a destination. Hines’ surprise at that fact doesn’t reflect a failure to recognize the quality of his work. Ever since he started seriously smoking meats in his backyard, about two years ago, Hines knew he was onto something special. He set out to achieve as much, beginning his barbecue project with a vision of capturing the nuances that different woods impart to various types of meat, something he felt was missing in the area’s explosive barbecue scene. However, unless you are a serious barbecue enthusiast like the Lloyds, a friend of Hines’ family or a club hockey player, you’d have no reason to know that Nubby’s exists. The restaurant sits off a business court in deep south county, on the second floor of All American Sports Mall, a rec complex that hosts roller- and ice-hockey games, baseball clinics and a handful of miscellaneous businesses, such as an audio-visual company and a chiropractic office. Hines knows Nubby’s location is far from the first place you’d expect to find top-tier barbecue — he hears it from just about everyone who makes the trek in and circles Lindbergh Business Court, looking for what they wrongly assume must be a standalone restaurant.
Nubby’s excels at everything from barbecue chicken pizza to a burger to a behemoth of a pork steak. | MABEL SUEN But when a friend who owns the complex saw how serious Hines was getting about barbecue and offered to let him take over the existing restaurant space, which had been sitting vacant for eight years, the offer was simply to good to refuse. Besides, Hines did not have much time to look for something else. Until he opened Nubby’s in February, he had been working in the landscaping business, running an operation that created custom patios. Barbecue had been a way to decompress in his free time, but the more he got into it, the more he realized he wanted to devote himself fully to smoking meat. Within two months of his friend suggesting the space, he had converted it from a vacant sports bar into a massive barbecue restaurant. “Massive” is not hyperbole. Nubby’s occupies the entire second floor of All American Sports
Mall and consists of two separate rooms: One, which contains the main order counter and some high-top tables, looks over the hockey rinks; the other is a huge, open sports bar complete with a wall of televisions, darts, skee ball, a seating area with leather couches and a bar that takes up nearly the entire back wall. The setup is mainly counter service, though on one occasion, a friendly bartender greeted our table with menus and took our orders. It’s a cozy setup if you can get there; my only complaint with the restaurant is that it is not accessible. There is no elevator, rendering it basically impossible for people with certain disabilities or mobility issues to get up to the second floor. Hines is not the building owner, so I understand this is out of his hands, but I hope it will be addressed. The neon liquor signs and banners that decorate the room
riverfronttimes.com
make Nubby’s look like the sort of county sports bar where you’d find deep-fried finger foods like crab Rangoon and things akin to a taquito — and you will, only instead of straight-from-the-deepfreeze junk, they are handmade and based on old family recipes. The Rangoon, for instance, is a delicate, hand-rolled wonton wrapper filled not only with hunks of imitation crab but also a black-peppery, scallion-laden cream cheese. Flaky, and not at all greasy, these golden wontons have more in common with a haute beggar’s purse than the heavy, mass-produced versions found on a Chinese American buffet. Nubby’s “Chorks” are another example of a fried bar appetizer done extremely well. The same wontons used for the crab Rangoon are filled with a mix of smoked chicken, pork and a topsecret minced vegetable compo-
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
Continued on pg 32
RIVERFRONT TIMES
31
NUBBY’S
Continued from pg 31
nent that tastes like pickles. The filling is then rolled into a cigar shape that looks like a taquito but is actually a two-bite roll-up of delectable barbecue. Hines both celebrates and curses the “Chorks” success, lamenting how difficult it is to keep up with demand. They may be a pain to make, but they are worth the effort. Burgers also set Nubby’s apart from the average sports bar. Hines uses a blend of chuck and brisket for a decadent, thick patty. But what makes the burger so mouthwatering is that he mixes the beef with a touch of his beef marinade prior to cooking. The savory sauce infuses the meat with flavor from the inside out and caramelizes around the exterior when seared on the flattop. It’s wonderful just simply dressed with some lettuce and tomato on a grilled bun. As a patty melt, smothered with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and 1000 Island dressing on bacon-fat-grilled marble rye, it’s otherworldly. The patty melt is the kissing cousin of one of Nubby’s other outstanding sandwiches: the brisket Reuben. Here, Hines shows off his barbecue prowess with
thick, fatty, fall-apart slices of the smoked beef, then piles them atop marble rye with Swiss, sauerkraut and 1000 Island. It’s as good a riff on the classic Jewish deli staple as I’ve seen. That brisket, however, needs no adornment to shine, as is apparent when it’s presented as a simple barbecue platter. The thick slices are not quite as broken down as Texas-style barbecue, but they are close — and among some of the best served in the area. The same can be said for Hines’ pulled pork, which picks up the subtle sweetness of its peach wood smoke. The tender meat is hand-pulled in large hunks – not shredded beyond recognition as is the case at lesser barbecue operations. Likewise, it’s succulent enough that it does not need to be doused in sauce, though if you choose as much, you’ll be treated to a sweet, molasses-y glaze that is the KC barbecue sauce of your dreams. That peach wood also shines through on Nubby’s ribs, which are dry-rubbed with a sweet-andpeppery spice blend then smoked enough to be tender but still retain their chew and pull-style texture. Your server will ask if you want them with or without sauce, but you won’t get that option on
Authentic MexicAn Food, Beer, And MArgAritAs!
2817 cherokee st. st. Louis, Mo 63118 314.762.0691 onco.coM www.tAqueriAeLBr 32
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
Nubby’s pork steak. At one-and-ahalf pounds, it’s a thick-cut behemoth, coated in a sweet and tangy sauce that makes Maull’s seem like tomato water. The smoky meat doesn’t quite fall apart, but it’s tender enough that you can dig in without a steak knife — that is if you can refrain from picking it up with your bare hands and devouring it caveman style. Along with that behemoth of a pork steak, Nubby’s fatty brisket and deep, smoky ribs have the wow factor when placed in front of you, but the restaurant’s best item may be its most understated: the smoked turkey. The sweet flavor of fruit wood stands out without taking over, and the meat is the juiciest smoked bird I’ve ever enjoyed. Putting sauce on such a beautiful specimen would be blasphemy. It’s perfect as is. Hines takes pride in his side dishes, which are mostly old family recipes. They have that homey family-picnic feel to them: crisp green beans glazed with maple and accented with hunks of bacon, and baked beans, which are a mélange of several different varietals, including large butter beans, lightly tossed in a sweet sauce. Mac and cheese is so rich and creamy it should come with a waiver. Provel and heavy cream
form a luxurious sauce that coats the noodles in a velvety blanket. You can’t stop eating it, even as you can feel your arteries start to constrict. The side I can’t stop thinking about, however, is the German potato salad, an old recipe from Hines’ grandmother. Unlike most versions of the old-fashioned picnic staple, this one does not hit you over the head with vinegar. It’s there, but is tempered with sugar and bacon fat to give it a rich, smoky mouthfeel. On all three of my visits, it’s the dish my tablemates most raved about. My family and friends aren’t the only ones swooning over it. Remember the Lloyds, those barbecue pilgrims from California? They were so taken with the potato salad that it ended up being the highlight of their trip. They begged Hines for the recipe, and it’s now served at all their family functions. A new family staple and some fantastic barbecue might be reason enough cross the country. Lucky us; all we have to do is drive a few miles south on I-55.
Nubby’s “Nubby’s Chorks”................................... $7.99 Patty melt .............................................. $8.99 Pork steak ............................................$12.99
LOCATED IN THE HEART OF DOGTOWN
lunch • dinner
sunday brunch 6335 Clayton Ave. St Louis,MO 63139
314-349-1933 stoneturtlestl.com
HUNGRY? RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM
REAL MEXICAN STREET FOOD Trivia Every Tuesday | Live Music Wednesday - Saturday (Never a Cover) 4069 Shenandoah Ave. | 314-696-2783 | thurmansinshaw.com
experience
indian & nepalese flavors DAILY LUNCH BUFFET $9. 99 • DINNER 7 DAYS
NOW OPEN!
experience
HIMALAYAN YETI
an & nepalese flavors
UNCH BUFFET $9. 99 • DINNER 7 DAYS 3515 S. KINGSHIGHWAY • 314-354-8338 HIMALAYANYETISTLOUIS.COM
indian & nepalese flavors DAILY LUNCH BUFFET
$10.99 ON WEEK DAYS, $11.99 ON WEEKENDS
DINNER 7 DAYS • DELIVERY & PICK UP 9814 MANCHESTER RD • ST. LOUIS, MO 63119 314-962-3555 • 314-942-2535
rs
IMALAYAN YETI
DAYS
3515 S. KINGSHIGHWAY • 314-354-8338 HIMALAYANYETISTLOUIS.COM
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
33
34
SHORT ORDERS
[SIDE DISH]
A Pin-Up Chef With Big Plans Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
A
t first, the name “the Pin-Up Chef” (@yourpinupchef) started as a joke between Chloe Yates and her friends — a nickname they gave her in her teens based on her love of throwing dinner parties and her vintage-inspired look. But the name stuck. “I’ve always had this style. If I could snap my fingers and have lived in the 1940s and ’50s, I would do it,” Yates says. “My friends started calling me this as a joke because I started having dinner parties when I was twelve and would dress up for them. Now that’s how people know me, but it actually began as a way for my friends to tease me about what a goofball and weirdo I am.” Yates may consider herself a goofball, but these days, she is dead serious when it comes to building her brand, the Pin-Up Chef. It’s a whirlwind that really began to pick up steam over the last couple of years, initially with her first full-time cooking gig at OSP Tap House, then as a contestant on the Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games and finally, just a few weeks ago, as the host of her first pop-up at Alpha Brewing Company. However, as Yates explains, the foundation for her culinary success started much earlier. “It started with my grandmothers,” Yates says. “My dad’s mom was more of the baker and could decorate the hell out of any cake or dessert. My mom’s mom mostly did savory stuff. We’d go fishing and she’d clean all the fish and fry them up. Those are the memories I love the most.” Growing up in Pomona, Missouri, a small town just outside of West Plains, Yates recalls days spent in the kitchen where the coffee machine was always on and
34
RIVERFRONT TIMES
Chloe Yate, who made a splash on Guy’s Grocery Games, is now second in command at Mandy Estrella’s Alphateria. | MONICA MILEUR Grandma always had something for her to try. It was an experience that made her fall in love not just with food but in how it has the power to bring people together. Still, Yates did not intend to end up in the food business, instead planning on going into the medical field. But school kept getting pushed back, and she found herself working to pay the bills. Then her life was turned upside down by heartbreak. After meeting a man from England, marrying and packing up her things to move across the pond to start a new life with him, Yates found herself stranded at the London airport, denied entry into the country. She spent eighteen months in limbo and bored to tears as she navigated the visa process, awaiting the moment she would be reunited with her husband. During that time, a friend who was opening a new restaurant, OSP Tap House, approached her about running the kitchen.
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
She accepted the gig, thinking it would be a temporary way to pass the time until she left the country. That would all change when she received a devastating text in the middle of the night on Valentine’s Day 2017. “I got a text from him at 2 a.m. saying that he could not longer ‘do this,’” Yates recalls. “For reasons I will never fully understand, he just ended it. It was heartbreaking.” Yates threw herself into cooking as a way to take her mind off her broken heart and keep from moping and dwelling on her situation. “I lived at work; I was there seven days a week,” she explains. “It was a great place to put my energy. Cooking ended up being my saving grace.” Yates was happy coursing along at OSP, gaining a following for her beer-pairing dinners and brunch. Then one day, out of the blue, she got a phone call that would would launch her career to places she never could have imagined.
“It was a Wednesday night, and I got a call on the bar’s phone from someone saying they were from the Food Network,” Yates recalls. “I thought it was the owner being funny, and then the woman told me she was from Guy’s Grocery Games and that she’d seen my Instagram and wanted me to be a contestant on an upcoming show. I thought I was being punked, but the next thing I knew I was going through a month-and-a-half of vetting and they said they wanted me on the show. It was surreal — the craziest thing I’ve done in my life, next to marrying a British guy!” Since her episode aired, Yates has been riding a wave of buzz that she still can’t believe. She has since left OSP, taking on the role at Alpha Brewing Company’s Alphateria as what her boss, “Plantain Girl” Mandy Estrella, calls “Cafeteria Lady de Cuisine” — essentially, the second in command. It’s a position that has allowed her to not only learn about Caribbean food, Continued on pg 36
FEATURED DINING
6 RESTAURANTS YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT...
THE BLUE DUCK
THURMAN’S IN SHAW
314.769.9940 2661 SUTTON BLVD, MAPLEWOOD, MO 63143
314.696.2783 4069 SHENANDOAH AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110
There aren’t many businesses named after Adam Sandler movies, but at the Blue Duck, the food is as whimsical as its “Billy Madison” reference. Originally founded in Washington, Mo., owners Chris and Karmen Rayburn opened the Blue Duck’s Maplewood outpost in 2017, bringing with them a seasonal menu full of American comfort-food dishes that are elevated with a dash of panache. Start the meal with the savory fried pork belly, which is rubbed with coffee and served with a sweet bbq sauce and root vegetable slaw. For the main event, the Duck’s signature DLT sandwich substitutes succulent smoked duck breast instead of the traditional bacon, adding fried egg and honey chipotle mayo along with lettuce and tomato on toasted sourdough. Save room for dessert; the Blue Duck’s St. Louberry pie – strawberries and blueberries topped with a gooey buttercake-like surface – is a worthy tribute to the Gateway City.
In January, Doug Fowler made big changes to Thurman’s in Shaw, and it’s paid off big time. A year and a half after taking over the old Thurman’s Grill location, Fowler switched from burgers and traditional bar fare to hearty handheld Mexican grub to great acclaim. Everything on Thurman’s menu now is designed for maximum portability – perfect for both full dinners and light bites on the go. The street tacos and giant burrito have earned love from Shaw residents, with tortillas bursting with a choice of mouthwatering meats, fish or vegetable mix plus all the fixings. Looking to scoop up deliciousness? Try Thurman’s chips with frijoles dip (traditional or vegetarian), spicy salsas, queso (chorizo or vegetarian) or smooth guacamole. Polish off a meal with churros sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and served with warm chocolate dipping sauce. Don’t forget drinks! Thurman’s goes well beyond its tasty margaritas, with plenty of craft cocktails, wines and beers available.
STONE TURTLE
J. SMUGS GASTROPIT
STONETURTLE.COM
JSMUGSGASTROPIT.COM
314.349.1933 6335 CLAYTON AVE, ST. LOUIS MO, 63139
314.499.7488 2130 MACKLIND AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110
At Stone Turtle, a classic American gastropub menu finds a way to fit right in with Dogtown’s Irish history. Principal owner and general manager Nick Funke drew on his years in the restaurant business in both St. Louis and New York and on Stone Turtle chef Todd Bale’s expertise to develop the signature menu. In a neighborhood known for burgers and drinks, Stone Turtle instead offers elevated dinners that are perfect for date night. Fried burrata serves as a much-lauded appetizer, exploding when a knife cuts into the breadcrumb-coated molten cheese. Mushroom gnocchi continues the cheesy goodness, mixing marsala mushrooms and garlic alongside spinach and goat cheese in tiny pasta curls. The highlight of the menu is the savory pork chop, cut thick and served with jus and creamy grits. But true to Dogtown roots, whiskey does take a star turn, with the Smoked Old Fashion appearing on many “must-try” lists in St. Louis.
Housed in a retro service station, J. Smugs GastroPit serves up barbecue that can fuel anyone’s fire. Married teams of Joe and Kerri Smugala and John and Linda Smugala have brought charred goodness to the Hill neighborhood, nestled among the traditional Italian restaurants, sandwich shops and bakeries. Part of St. Louis’ ongoing barbecue boom, the J. Smugs’ pit menu is compact but done right. Ribs are the main attraction, made with a spicy dry rub and smoked to perfection. Pulled pork, brisket, turkey and chicken are also in the pit holding up well on their own, but squeeze bottles of six tasty sauces of varying style are nearby for extra punch. Delicious standard sides and salads are available, but plan on ordering an appetizer or two J. Smugs gives this course a twist with street corn and pulled-pork poutine. Several desserts are available, including cannoli – a tasty nod to the neighborhood. Happy hour from 4 to 7pm on weekdays showcases half-dollar BBQ tastes, discount drinks, and $6 craft beer flights to soothe any beer aficionado.
CARNIVORE STL
BLOOM CAFE
314.449.6328 5257 SHAW AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110
314.652.5666 5200 OAKLAND AVE, ST. LOUIS, MO 63110
Carnivore fills a nearly 4,000-square-foot space on The Hill with a dining area, bar lounge, and adjoining outdoor patio gracefully guarded by a bronze steer at the main entrance. Always embracing change, Joe and Kerri Smugala, with business partners Chef Mike and Casie Lutker, launched Carnivore STL this summer. As the Hill’s only steakhouse, Carnivore offers a homestyle menu at budget-friendly prices appealing to the neighborhood’s many families. Steak, of course, takes center stage with juicy filet mignon, top sirloin, strip steak and ribeye leading the menu. Customize any of the succulent meats with sautéed mushrooms, grilled shrimp, or melted housemade butters, such as garlic-and-herb and red wine reduction, on top of the flame-seared steak. Other main dishes include a thick-cut pork steak (smoked at J. Smugs) and the grilled chicken with capers and a white wine-lemon-butter sauce. St. Louis Italian traditions get their due in the Baked Ravioli, smothered in provel cheese and house ragu, and in the Arancini, risotto balls stuffed with provel and swimming in a pool of meat sauce. With an exciting new brunch menu debuting for Saturday and Sunday, Carnivore should be everyone’s new taste of the Hill.
A new restaurant with a meaningful cause has sprouted up near the Saint Louis Science Center. Bloom Café is a breakfast and lunch spot with a mission – empower people with disabilities through job training while providing a tasty menu full of sandwiches and sweets. An endeavor from Paraquad, a disability resources nonproft, Bloom Cafe makes good on its promises. Trainees work under culinary director Joe Wilson to prepare a variety of fresh dishes (including plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options) that are perfect for a lunch date, a business meeting or a family meal before fun in Forest Park. For a morning jolt, try the breakfast burrito, stuffed with sausage, egg and pepperjack cheese and topped with tomato salsa. At lunch, the reuben stands out, making mouths water with a smoky, juicy corned beef brisket, sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and tangy Thousand Island sandwiched between swirl rye bread and toasted. A rotating array of pastries is available daily, but you’ll definitely want to pick up the cinnamon roll – cinnamon and sweet glaze make their way into every nook of the light dough for a delight in every bite.
BLUEDUCKSTL.COM
CARNIVORE-STL.COM
SPONSORED CONTENT
THURMANSINSHAW.COM
THEBLOOM.CAFE
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
35
be a little bit country.
CHLOE YATES
Continued from pg 34
but also become acquainted with other members of the area’s dining community as part of the Alphateria’s “Chef Friends” Sunday pop-up series. And Yates is not just a pop-up spectator. A few weeks ago, she did one of her own, a Southern-inspired affair under the Pin-Up Chef name. It was a ton of work, she admits, but well worth the effort. She was so inspired by the event that she can’t wait to do another, and even has dreams of owning her own concept one day soon. But first, Yates has her heart set on doing a big, Great Gatsby-style event that she hopes will include other chefs — that is, if she can keep her cool. “I’ve been meeting all these people, and I am getting so excited, like completely awestruck,” Yates laughs. “It’s really humbling. I never thought it would happen. I feel like I’m almost one of the cool kids!” Yates took a break from the Alphateria to share her thoughts on the St. Louis food-and-beverage scene, her love of Jameson and hot dogs, and why she will always
What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did? I’m a country girl, born and raised off of a dirt road in a town of about 300 people. It certainly made me the woman I am today. I spent hours in the massive garden my mom planted with my cat, whom I used to dress up and put blush on (no shame). I live for the times I can get back to those dirt roads, skies so dark you can see the Milky Way, and the back-road drives with my dad and the playlists we make for each other. What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? My morning concert — music on and coffee brewing while I water my flowers and, of course, sing to them. That’s why they grow so well. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? To be able to speak to my dog, or the power to heal people. I’m a softie. What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year? I love watching St. Louis become a real food-centric city — seeing
the public get excited about food that is locally sourced, real and cooked by people who are living out their dreams. I’m all for fewer and fewer chain restaurants! What is something missing in the local food, wine or cocktail scene that you’d like to see? We’re missing good 24-hour food spots. Sometimes you just need a decent meal you didn’t cook yourself and eat standing up. Who is your St. Louis food crush? Mr. Ben Welch. His Lucy Quinn pop-up was the kind of concept I can get behind. I love Southern food, and I love the reinvention of it as well. Not to mention his barbecue is absolutely to die for. That pastrami haunts my dreams. Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene? Loryn Felciano-Nalic. Not only is her food to die for, but she is an absolute doll! I can’t wait to see what she does next. Which ingredient is most representative of your personality? This may be a cheap answer, but I’ll say an onion. I’m definitely a very layered person. Some people will say I’m too strong for their taste. My mom would tell you I make anything better. And, of course, the best way to mellow
me out is soaking me in water! If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? I’d be a hospice nurse. I believe so much in creating more caring and empathetic health care, especially at the end of life. People should be allowed to live their last days with the same dignity they lived the rest of their lives with. Or a country singer. Ha! Name an ingredient never allowed in your restaurant. Anything other than 100 percent real butter! It’s really just a sin to cook with margarine. What is your after-work hangout? Most often, my living room with Desi Lou Arnez, my four-pound rescue Chihuahua, and watching Cardinals baseball. But I do love a good hole-in-the-wall bar with a Jameson on the rocks. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? Jameson and hot dogs. I’m a simple girl. What would be your last meal on earth? A ribeye from Sam’s Steakhouse, my dad’s take on Kraft Mac & Cheese, my grandma’s burritos, strawberry pie and a really good bottle of pinot noir. n
dining read more at
RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM
SUNDAY BRUNCH For Reservations Call (314) 932-1034
3212 SOUTH GRAND BLVD WWW.BRASILIASTL.COM 314-932-1034
36
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
[FOOD NEWS]
Yapi Opens Its New Home Written by
SARAH FENSKE
L
isa and Armin Grozdanic, the owners of Yapi Mediterranean Subs and Sandwiches, only closed their two-year-old cafe on Kingshighway a month ago, but to hear their loyal patrons tell it, it’s felt like a veritable eon. They’ve called. They’ve messaged. They’ve tracked down the Grozdanics at their soon-to-open new location, which is just about a mile southwest of the original, on Hampton near Loughborough. “Every day we’ve worked on this place, people have knocked on the door,” Lisa says of the new location. “‘I’ve been watching you guys every day; when are you going to be open?’ Those are the new customers. And with our existing customers, they’re really missing us.” The last month Yapi was open was Ramadan, during which many regulars fasted during the day — something that’s made the forced separation even harder. “Now they’re going on two months without us,” Lisa laughs. Fortunately for Yapi’s many fans, however, that long wait finally ended on July 28. The very day before, the Grozdanics got the sign-off from health inspectors to open the new Yapi Mediterranean Subs and Sandwiches (6413 Hampton Avenue). The move wasn’t really their idea, but all fell into place so quickly it felt like destiny. Earlier this year, they learned their landlord had put their building on Kingshighway up for sale. They decided their best move was to find a new place (“We don’t like surprises,” Lisa says). The former home of Cafe Korzo quickly beckoned. “The for-sale sign went up on Friday, and on Saturday after I got off work, my husband said, ‘They put Corzo’s up for rent,’” Lisa recalls. The rest is history. In the month that the Grozdanics had possession, they worked to put their stamp on the low-key cafe — new lighting, new carpeting and a thorough cleaning. “It needed a whole lot of TLC,” Lisa says. That’s even though Armin
Armin Grozdanic is still preparing halal meats and terrific cevapi, only now at a new location. | MABEL SUEN
“You can’t go to a Palestinian restaurant and get an American cheeseburger. They’ll look at you like you have twelve eyes.” suffered a freak accident in June, being struck by a pedestrian who ran out into traffic while he was on his motorcycle. (“He ran into me like a deer!” Armin marvels.) The accident cleaned out their savings and complicated what should have been a pleasant month of transition. But they’re feeling good now, and they promise that what people loved about the original Yapi has stayed the same. The same galley of flags that mark various places of significance to them, from Bosnia to the Philippines, takes a proud spot on the new walls. Their prices remain as reasonable as ever. And they’re offering the same menu, which includes both Bosnian and American classics and 100 percent halal meat. The chance to eat Americanstyle dishes like hamburgers pre-
Yapi’s signature cevapi, served with griddled flatbread, onions and sour cream. | CHERYL BAEHR pared with halal standards has been a major draw, the Grozdanics say. “Most halal restaurants only serve authentic things,” Lisa explains. “You can’t go to a Palestinian restaurant and get an American cheeseburger. They’ll look at you like you have twelve eyes.” At Yapi, which comfortably reflects both Lisa’s American upbringing and Armin’s Bosnian heritage, you can have it both ways. And you can also get Bosnian food that’s as authentic as it comes. On Sundays only, Armin’s mother Sabiha Grozdanic, who was well known in their Bosnian town as a great cook, takes over the kitchen,
riverfronttimes.com
offering her signature pita. “When people know she’s cooking, everyone comes in and buys it,” Armin says. And naturally, that’s become part of their customers’ lament: “When is the restaurant opening? I need your pita!” The grand re-opening didn’t come a moment too soon. Two days before the scheduled date, with one final inspection still to go, the couple was counting down the minutes. It was time to start cooking again. And after one month of just working her day job and assisting with cafe renovations, with no customers to serve, “I’m getting stir-crazy,” Lisa laughed. n
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
37
[FOOD NEWS]
Taste of Black St. Louis to Debut Written by
SARAH FENSKE
W
hen Aisha James first shared a video on Facebook about a Chicago food festival devoted to black chefs and restaurant owners, she didn’t have any bigger plans. She just thought it was cool. “It was just great seeing everybody who came out,” she says of the video. “I began to tag a lot of my friends who own restaurants here. ‘You guys you should do this. I look forward to attending it.’” But her friends who commented had other ideas. “When are you going to set this up?” they asked James. “That was not the plan,” she says, laughing. Or so she thought. James wanted someone in St. Louis to step up
— but what if that someone was she herself? After consulting the friends she’d originally hoped to see run with the idea, she decided they were right: She should go for it. And with that, Taste of Black St. Louis was born. Initially, James had hoped to introduce the event last October, but the realities of pulling off a largescale festival made it clear that she needed more time. Trained as a nurse, and working for a Fortune 500 financial institution, James admits that event planning has been a new challenge: “I am a fish out of water — I’m learning every day.” Having numerous friends in the food industry helps. “I lean on them a lot,” she says. Like the festival in Chicago that inspired it, Taste of Black St. Louis is meant to showcase the city’s “black restaurants,” in James’ words. But you shouldn’t try to parse exactly who qualifies — James isn’t drawing hard lines. She’d rather err on the side of inclusivity. “Everyone is more than welcome,” she says. “You can be a white business owner, and you are more than welcome to be there. You can sit next to a person of color and hopefully do some networking.” Since friends encouraged her to give a St. Louis version of the event a go, James has formed a new company, Everybody Eats STL, and gotten her feet wet by
Taste of Black St. Louis founder Aisha James, center, flanked by event coordinators Y’Nette Perkins (left) and Kizzy Hammonds. | LAYLA BRODERICK hosting smaller-scale events around town. But Taste of Black St. Louis — planned for September 22 in Tower Grove Park — will be by far the company’s largest undertaking. The idea is to offer free admission, with attendees paying vendors directly — by July, nearly 2,000 have indicated on Facebook they plan to attend, with another 14,000 expressing interest in doing so.
[FIRST LOOK]
HopCat Says ‘Hello’ to the Loop Written by
LEXIE MILLER
W
ith 80 Missouri craft beers on tap, HopCat (6315 Delmar Boulvard, 314-582-3201) hopes to become a new staple in the Delmar Loop. HopCat is a Midwestern chain that opened its first doors in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2008. In the past ten years the company has opened sixteen locations, adding St. Louis to its list on July 28. “The Loop is one of the best entertainment districts in St. Louis, if not America, because there’s a great group of bars and an amazing diversity of retail,” says Chris Knape, vice president of marketing and communications. “The neighborhood its self is inclusive and diverse so we have people from all walks of life
38
RIVERFRONT TIMES
HopCat burgers include a mushroom Swiss-stuffed version topped with fried onions. | LEXIE MILLER walking around here, and that’s really what we look for for a HopCat.” HopCat’s focus isn’t only on highlighting local craft beers; it also has an extensive menu of American classics and “Crack Fries” so addictive they’ve earned a top-ten ranking from Food Network Magazine.
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
These famous french fries are beerbattered and sprinkled with black pepper and served with a side of cheese. You can order the fries with cheese for $6 or a loaded, sloppy or poutine version for $9. Another item on offer at HopCat is Detroit-style pizza, so if you’re mourning the upcoming closure of Porano Pasta, here’s
And that was even before the organizers announced the participating vendors. “Every week it’s grown,” James says, with wouldbe festivalgoers snapping up online tickets. “We just had to add another 1,000 tickets online. At first glance it’s overwhelming, but I’m taking it in stride. I’m confident there’s a need for this. And we’re excited to be bringing it to St. Louis.” n
a new place to get your pan-pizza fix. These cheesy, focaccia-thick squares may be a shock to anyone assuming a square-cut pizza means cracker-thin crust and Provel cheese, but it’s become a hot menu item across the country for a reason. And hey, it pairs really well with HopCat’s signature offering. “All of our food is really designed to go great with craft beer,” Knape says. A major initiative of the restaurant’s is to reduce waste. HopCat uses many recyclable and compostable items and hopes to reduce the waste going to the landfill to zero. For the time being, about 90 percent of HopCat restaurants’ waste is recycled in some form, Knape says. HopCat in the Loop is located in what used to be the Sole and Blues clothingand-shoes store in the heart of the Loop. It’s been transformed with a bar area, dining room, an upstairs game room and a meeting room for local groups or beer tastings. The company also built an outdoor beer garden behind the building. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Thursday and Saturday the place will stay open late, until 1:30 a.m.; Sunday, it’s open early at 10 a.m. and closes at midnight. n
ALL KILLER. NO FILLER. FREE side of pasta with each sandwich purchase
HAND-CRAFTED SMOKED MEATS AND BREWS
2916 Cherokee St. St. Louis, MO 63118 | 314 - 833 - 3034 Parmpasta.com
* Now Offering Delivery With Photography by JENNIFER SILVERBERG
Photography by JENNIFER SILVERBERG
MENTION THIS AD RECEIVE
20% OFF ★ DINE-IN ONLY ★
1900 Arsenal St. St. Louis, MO 63118 | 314-343-0294 riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
39
40
CULTURE
[SCIENCE]
We Put Lime Scooters to the Test Exhaustively researched by
DANIEL HILL
L
ime, the company behind those ubiquitous highlightergreen rideshare bikes blanketing the St. Louis area since April, unceremoniously dumped a whole bunch of electric scooters onto the city’s streets in late July, aiming to serve the St. Louisan who has places to be but is far too fat and out of shape to pedal anywhere. I am one such St. Louisan, and therefore I decided to take it upon myself to run extensive tests on the new rides, for the good of the people. Over the course of two rather temperate St. Louis days I managed to ride no less than eight of the little buggers, so as to have a large enough sample set for accurate scientific research. Here are my findings. 1. Locating One Is a Fucking Bloodsport. For its launch, Lime brought 200 scooters to the St. Louis area. Since St. Louis City proper still has, like, at least 250 people living in it, this makes for some competition to get your hands on one of the little electric toys. I secured my first scooter at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, where it was parked neatly with three others outside the Parkway Hotel. This appears to be the only time of day you can reasonably expect to get your hands on one with little effort. I transported it in the back of my car to a research site near my home for testing. (Note: Make sure you unlock your scooter with the Lime app before trying to move it anywhere — in a car or otherwise — or else a female robotic voice will start yelling at you from the bike’s frame that she’s going to call the cops.) After getting the hang of riding at a secure location, I decided first
40
RIVERFRONT TIMES
to take the scooter to the Delmar Loop. I parked it outside United Provisions while I stopped to get a drink, and within only two minutes or so vultures were already circling, cell phones in hand. I was barely able to get back to it in time, or else I’d have been left stranded. Throughout my two days of testing I had one scooter I was seconds from riding snatched up just as I approached, and another I’d just been using taken while I sat with my head down a mere two feet away. In other words, if you somehow do secure one, don’t let your scooter out of your sight for even a second, or else it is gone. 2. These Things Are Moderately Terrifying. Lime explicitly instructs you to stay off the sidewalks and instead ride on city streets, which can be nerve-wracking considering the scooters’ average speed is only about 15 mph (though with the assistance of a rather large hill I was able to hit a top speed of 29.3 mph at one point). It feels much like riding an oversized Razor scooter on the street among a bunch of vehicles that weigh thousands of pounds and could easily kill you. Lime suggests you wear a helmet while riding, but they don’t provide the helmet, which means if you’re like me, you’re not gonna wear a helmet. Over the course of two days I had to bail twice, went flying over the
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
“Fridge” gets ready to test-ride a scooter at the skate park. | DANIEL HILL handlebars once (didn’t see that hole in the ground) and straight laid it down and slid across the pavement once (avoid multi-tasking with your hands while riding, even if you’re thirsty). Be prepared for road rash. 3. You Can Bunny-Hop on Them. This is a good thing, considering the hilarious disrepair of St. Louis’ cratered roadways. You will soon be a pro at hopping over potholes on a scooter (or else you too will fly over some handlebars).
Git r dun! | DANIEL HILL
riverfronttimes.com
4. No Burnouts, But You Can Kick up Gravel With ’Em. Siiiiiiickkkkkk! 5. Everyone Will Stare at You. And mostly with disgust. People in cars are angry with you for holding up traffic; people on bicycles are angry with you for taking up space in the bike lane. In the Loop, I actually had a man boo me, from across the street. “Boooo!” he yelled. He looked me dead in the eyes, too, and then repeated it, his stare unblinking. “BOOOO!” These things have quite the reputation for being hated in the cities in which they’ve so far been rolled out; St. Louis will, predictably, be no different. 6. You Can Park Them, Like, Anywhere. Two of the scooters I found had been stashed in various backyards in University City; one was even deliberately obscured by leaves. People will try to hoard and hide these things for their own later use, but you can push a “ring” button in the Lime app that makes them loudly announce their location. I also found one thrown in some bushes near Delmar and North Kingshighway. When I was finished with it I left it in a primitive dwelling I found in the woods of Forest Park. Hopefully the teepee’s inhabitant has the Lime app.
of my debit card, thinking it had been stolen because there were suddenly dozens of payments to Lime. Maybe be prepared to talk to some customer service representatives.
7. Brakes Are Good Enough for Sick Powerslides. This is especially true in the rain, but regardless, if you lock those brakes, you’re gonna start sliding. Whether you look cool doing it depends on how much you’ve practiced, so get out there and get after it, sport. 8. You Could Totally Hit Some Ramps. A skate park seems like one of the more hilarious places to bring an electric scooter that you don’t own, and so of course I took one down to the Peter Mathews Memorial Skate Garden in Bevo Mill to see what fun the skateboarders there might have with it. I soon found a young man who goes by “Fridge” who was game to test the scooter out on the ramps. After a little trial and error he was soon riding it effortlessly up embankments and across the course. I left that scooter there in the hopes that some of those guys get really good at it and come up with some sick tricks. Fingers crossed. (Note: All kidding aside, don’t actually bring a scooter to the skate park, unless you want to get your ass kicked by scooter-hating skateboarders. We ran our test, with permission from a park volunteer who was on site, just for grins. Don’t be like us.) 9. At Last, We Have a Way to Experience St. Louis’ Bike Trails Without Collapsing from Exhaustion. I’d heard for years that the bike trails in Forest Park are gorgeous and fun to ride, but I had no firsthand knowledge of this, because I’m a big fat sweaty man ill-equipped for physical exercise of any kind. But thanks to these Lime scooters, I can now confirm that the rumors are true! Lime encourages customers to take the scooters out onto bike trails, and honestly, this is probably their best possible use. 10. Shut Them Down When You Are Done, Or Else. In the midst of a rainstorm, I spotted two scooters in Soulard that were parked in the middle of the street and not appearing on the Lime app’s GPS map. Upon closer inspection, I realized they both had been left unlocked by the people who had been riding them —
Lime employee Marcus Wolff says that the furthest he’s had to travel so far to pick up a scooter has been Kirkwood. | DANIEL HILL you have to push a button within the app to end your ride, which they did not. It appeared as though these people abandoned their rides when the rain picked up and simply forgot to turn them off. I waited a while for them to turn up, and even poked my head in the nearby businesses to see if anyone was around to claim them, but when that proved fruitless I decided they were abandoned and threw both scooters in the back of a hatchback to take elsewhere for more study. Since they were already unlocked I didn’t have to deal with that robot voice screaming at me about the police. There’s no way a single person could transport two scooters with only one cell phone other than by the previous riders’ neglect, and there’s also no way to lock the bike for someone else if they errantly forgot to do so themselves, so this seemed the best option. About an hour later one of the scooters was finally locked by whoever in Soulard had left it on. The other one’s battery died before anyone ever locked it. Seeing that Lime charges fifteen cents every minute that a scooter is unlocked, it would be wise not to forget to shut yours down when you finish riding.
12. They Bring People to You. Sometimes those people are kindly Lime employees with names like Marcus Wolff who notice via GPS that you have a bunch of scooters you’ve been doing research on parked directly in front of your home for some reason. Sometimes it’s a would-be customer who comes upon your cache, but who is unaware that the one with the really full charge is hidden on your porch (sucker!). Regardless, it would probably be a good idea for anyone running a struggling business to drag a whole bunch of scooters to their front door and just wait. People will come. 13. They Are Fun as Fuck. Though as time goes on they will surely raise the ire of motorists and bicyclists and pedestrians and everyone who ever eats shit while riding one and probably a lot of other people as well, there is no denying that these scooters are an absolute blast to ride. They’re user-friendly and reasonably effortless, and they take you to parts of the city you might not normally go, if only because you’re trying to track down their location, app in hand. They are head-turners, so
11. Your Bank Might Not Know What’s Happening and Panic. Twice over the course of the weekend my bank suspended the use
you’re bound to meet new people, full of questions. Over the course of a weekend I spent time in north county, north city, the Central West End, Soulard, the Delmar Loop, Forest Park, Bevo Mill and Tower Grove. I met a man with a German accent who wanted to take my scooter for a ride, a man with an accent I couldn’t place who just wanted to know where they came from, and even a rather talkative if sketchylooking fellow who I’m pretty sure was trying to figure out if it was possible to break the GPS off one and steal it. In the Central West End, just after I’d picked up a scooter parked outside Jet’s Pizza, I came across a man named Derek, whose dog, Princess, was playing in the fountain in front of Maryland Plaza. Her game seemed to be one called “Eat the Water,” and she was splashing all about looking happy as can be as she attempted to get her mouth over the jets while the fountain was in action. As I watched her play, I couldn’t help but think that the look of happiness on her face matched my own as I rode around on my little scooter. In other words, if you’re looking for a dog-playing-in-a-fountainlevel good time, Lime’s new scooters have got you covered. Just don’t forget to shut them down once you’re ready to return to the drudgery of your real life. n
They’re pretty much exactly this much fun. | DANIEL HILL
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
41
[HOMESPUN]
Watch for Sharks Summer Magic’s debut album, recorded at Native Sound, was years in the making Written by
THOMAS CRONE
W
hen Kevin Bachmann and his wife Laura were expecting the imminent arrival of their child earlier this year, a short delay in the baby-production process occurred and the firsttime parents were sent home for a few days of restless waiting. During that brief period, a different present arrived, as test pressings of Bachmann’s album Sharks and Other Dangers shipped to the couple’s house. And so the AM-pop-soaked debut of Bachmann’s new project Summer Magic preceded his son by a few days. “I remember being bummed that he wasn’t born yet,” Bachmann says. “But I thought, until we go back to the hospital, this will hold me over for a couple days.” Summer Magic’s eight-song debut was an album with a long gestation period of its own, recorded by David Beeman at Native Sound Studio over a portion of two years, the length of time partially owing to Beeman’s touring demands as a member of the Father John Misty road crew. During that time, Bachmann worked on material with his friend and collaborator Benjamin Marsh. The two had previously shared time in the band Troubadour Dali, and Marsh would contribute one song outright to Sharks, with the two co-writing another. In that period, they’d periodically play live dates, with Bachmann constructing a six-piece band to bring the songs to life. Bachmann says he met Beeman a few years ago, while Bachmann was still playing with Troubadour Dali. “I called him out of the blue and asked to see his studio,” he recalls. “We hit it off immediately and I played some demos. He was more excited by them than some other people I’d played with had been. He’d worked on a single flexi-disc
42
RIVERFRONT TIMES
The eight-song Sharks and Other Dangers is set for release on August 31. | NATE BURRELL
“I just asked a bunch of my best friends to play with me ... when you play with people you love, it just makes things sound good. And there’s way less drama.” for Troubadour and then as soon as he built Native Sound in the the current location, I knew that’s where I wanted to record.” Bachmann believes that Beeman coaxes a winning sound thanks to his own songwriting chops. “He treats recording like art-making, and that’s the biggest thing that drew me to him. He’s focused on the sound, more so than the technical aspects.” Extending the familial nature of the Summer Magic/Native Sound arrangement, Bachmann has been producing work for a couple of
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
acts with St. Louis ties, Spectator and Natalie Huggins (the latter a member of the Summer Magic live band). Recording for those acts is done at Native Sound as well. He hopes that Summer Magic will have more of a presence on the local live scene in coming months, now that there’s music to support. And, ideally, that the group will be able to at least take off on select Midwestern tour dates, with a van of pleasant people. “I basically just asked a bunch of my best friends to play with me,” Bachmann says. “They’re all great musicians, too, and when you play with people you love, it just makes things sound good. And there’s way less drama.” But while the band shares personal good vibes, the trick is going be getting all of them available at the same time. The group features a variety of players who split time between Summer Magic and other projects, a lineup that includes Bachmann (vocals, guitar); Marsh (vocals, guitar); Mike Schurk (drums); Natalie Huggins (keys/ synth/guitar/vocals); Andy Kahn (bass); and Danny Mayo (guitar). Bachmann himself even spends time playing in other groups, including a standing relationship in Essential Knots, as well as some pinch-hitting roles, primarily on bass. He’s also someone who’s con-
stantly tinkering with songs, whether at home or at Native Sound. It helps that Bachmann is skilled on a variety of instruments, not limited to the bass guitar, on which he was featured in Troubadour Dali and in Lapush, which enjoyed some national success in the early aughts. At this point, Bachmann figures that he’s got roughly a full album’s worth of demos ready to be put into the final recording phase, not even including any tracks that Marsh might feel comfortable sharing with the project. With the release of Sharks and Other Dangers, Bachmann’s spills the beans on one aspect of his musical skillset: vocals. “I think a lot of people have really liked it and that they hadn’t heard me sing, or known that I could sing,” he says. “That’s been kind of cool, since people didn’t know that, but knew me as someone who could play a lot of different instruments, or as a bass player in different projects.” Sharks and Other Dangers will be released digitally on August 31. A vinyl release party is set for Off Broadway on Friday, September 28, along with David Beeman and Golden Curls; that will be followed by a Vintage Vinyl in-store gig on Sunday, October 7. A single — “Hey!” — is currently available for streaming on Spotify. n
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
43
[IN MEMORIAM]
Introducing the Late Bob Reuter Written by
EVAN SULT
F
ive years ago Bob Reuter knew full well: There’s nothing fair about life. In a lot of ways he really couldn’t complain. Sure he was in his sixties and always flat broke, but he had his own radio show on KDHX where he could raise an unholy ruckus and work out his personal demons in front of the whole city. He had a bunch of punks half his age who not only knew what a great songwriter he was but had built themselves into a band for him, then threw him in a van and brought his cranked-up rock & roll romanticism to whatever dive bar would have ’em. He had a little old Pentax SLR camera, nothing digital about it, that had memorialized thousands of beat-up buildings, hard-luck cases, foxy punk musicians, icedup alleys — so many of the city’s dark corners and the people found there. He had a darkroom at Tom Huck’s Evil Prints Studio where he could set up an enlarger and developer trays and spend all night printing photos, instantly recognizable by their filed-out edges and sprocket holes, their black-and-white grain and their clumsy, unprofessional but undeniable power. There was both a little publishing house and a monthly magazine that were not just willing but eager to publish his endless grimed-out stories and poems. He had an audience, he had venues for his work, and he had a lot to say. He had even gathered up all his shit and was moving it all into an old warehouse downtown where he knew he’d be able to print photos and write all night and work on songs and finally get to be as productive as he always meant to be. Sixty-one years old and it felt like the world was finally picking up what he was laying down. And that of course was the mo-
44
RIVERFRONT TIMES
stories, worst jokes and signature song selections that made up Bob’s Scratchy Records. This book would be available at Left Bank Books, of course, so that anyone in St. Louis who wanted to could go to the music section and find the legend of Bob Reuter prominently displayed alongside the legends of Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Lester Bangs, Gil Scott-Heron, Malcolm McLaren, Serge Gainsbourg and the rest of his contemporaries. And maybe there’d be a copy in the photography section alongside the work of Mick Rock, Diane Arbus, Weegee and Larry Clark. But this book could also be found on the shelves of City Lights in San Francisco, the Strand in New York, Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Shakespeare and Company in Paris, and the Library of Congress. This book would be a document of an American city at the height of its grimy powers, captured at its most un-self-conscious and legendary. It would be a revelation to anyone who came across it, revealing analog rock & roll in full swing and every bit as seductive as ’60s San Francisco, ’70s NYC or ’90s Seattle. Bob Reuter would probably hate this book for its pure size and pretension. At least at first. I want so badly for this book to exist. I want to see it in living rooms around the city; I want people in other cities, in other countries, to know those stories. I want people in other decades to know those stoThis should be page 329 of Rockin’ Our Lives Away: Bob Reuter’s St. Louis, published by Taschen. | BOB REUTER ries. In fact, I would be OK if, 100 years from now, Bob Reuter’s stories, photos, songs and broadcasts they’ll never get to meet. They live single photo, shown on whatever were the only surviving record in a different city than those of us scrap of paper it was originally of St. Louis in this time. What he printed on. Each left-hand page is caught in those photos of friends who knew Reuter’s work. And that drives me crazy. We a small note — maybe written by and musicians and brick buildings haven’t just been living without the subject of the photo, maybe and smoke-filled summer nights Bob Reuter the person for the last something Bob said about it, may- right at the bottom of the top of half decade, we’ve been living be just the year that the photo was the dirty South, what he said every without the story he was telling, taken. It’s broken into chapters, week on the radio, whether he was without the city that he was mak- each fronted by a lush two-page lunging around the studio throwing up around us. Post-Reuter, spread featuring a blown-up detail ing records or muttering darkly sometimes the music scene here from one of his prints. It contains about a dream he had earlier that feels like an abandoned novel, all of his published short stories day, what he caught in those songs a story stranded without an au- and poems, and transcriptions of and grimy poems: That all stands for a century’s worth of informathor. Not that there aren’t plenty passages from the radio show. On the inside front cover there’s tion about this place and time. of great bands making great muThe fact that he’s dead at the sic — there always has been great a large pocket sleeve holding an music in St. Louis and there al- LP full of songs by the Dinosaurs, moment, that he’s been dead five ways will be — but the giant nar- Thee Dirty South, Kamikaze Cow- years now even — from 100 years’ rative arc that he spent so long boy, Serious Journalism and Bob distance, who would even notice? building, across so many formats, Reuter’s Alley Ghost. A matching sleeve on the back gathers a vinyl Evan Sult is RFT’s art director. He is broken. Or maybe, I guess, it’s just com- best-of collection of the greatest misses his old friend dearly. ment, right there at the brink of his next chapter, when he stepped into an empty elevator shaft in that old building and suddenly reached the very last page of his story. Five years on, and there’s nothing fair about death, either. In 2018, I have so many friends in the city who have never heard the songs of Bob Reuter, never heard him yank a needle across a record live on air during Bob’s Scratchy Records, never answered his desperate pledge-week plea to “put your hands on the radio,” never read his stories or heard the Ray Scott song that goes, “And if that’s not bad enough for the guv’nor ...” They’ve never seen his iconic, strung-out, miserably elated street-punk photos glorifying the alleys and gutters and beautiful dirty denizens of a St. Louis
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
plete? Everybody dies somehow, and if nothing else, Reuter’s death was a shock as big as his life, and thus maybe somehow fitting. This week, I’ve been wanting to introduce those friends to Bob Reuter the person and Bob Reuter the artist and Bob Reuter the hellraiser. I’ve found myself fantasizing about a book. It’s a big book, a deluxe coffee-table edition: glossy dust jacket over a black cloth binding with debossed goldleaf cover type that reads Rockin’ Our Lives Away: Bob Reuter’s St. Louis. There’s an introduction by Tom Huck and extended essays by both good friends of Bob’s and art historians who write at length about the way these photos both reveal and summon the secret life of the city. On each right-hand page is a
music read more at RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM
DISCOVER THE SOUNDTRACK DISCOVER THE SOUNDTRACK TO AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT TO AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT live music every week
DECEMBER MIXTAPE live music08 every week
AUG03 AUG04 AUG10 AUG11 AUG17
C A R PE NOCTEM
HELLA SNAPS THE LONE RANGERS LONE RANGERS WELLDECEMBER HUNGARIANS 15 AUG24 MIDNIGHT PIANO BAN DECEMBER GROOVETHANG HAZARD TO YA BOOTY 16 AUG25 MC LOVIN DECEMBER RETRONERDS BREAKDOWN SHAKEDOWN22 AUG3 1 KING PIN DECEMBER 23 SEPT GRIFFIN & THE GARGOYLES POP’N ROCKET 1 PROUD LARRY DECEMBER KINGPIN V I E W29M O R E A T DECEMBER w e s t p o r t s29 o c i a l- s t l . c o mMCLOVIN DECEMBER THE LONE RANGERS 09
AUG18
VIEW MORE AT
9 1 0 w e s t p o r t P L A Z A d r i v e • s a i n t l o u i s , m i s swo eu rsit6p3o 1 4r6 t •s o3 1c4 .i5a4l8 . 2s8t7 6l . c o m
9 1 0 w e s t p o r t P L A Z A d r i v e • s a i n t l o rui vie sr f r, o nmt t iimse ss. coo mu r AiU G6U 3S T 184-61 4 , •2 0 168 3 6R I.7V E R5F 1R O. 5N T 7T6I MoE S
45
46
OUT EVERY NIGHT
[CRITIC’S PICK]
Slayer. | VIA HERFITZ PR
SLAYER FINAL TOUR
Wednesday August 8 9:30PM Urban Chestnut Presents
The Voodoo Players Tribute To Jerry Garcia Thursday August 9
El Dub
Alligator Wine August 10 at 5PM & August 11 at NOON
Po Boy and Taco Festival
Saturday August 11 NOON | FREE SHOW!
John Henry
Presented by Logboat Brewing Company and The Roots and Blues St. Louis Preview Show. Wednesday August 15 9:30PM Urban Chestnut Presents
The Voodoo Players Tribute To The Blues Brothers RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
4:30 p.m. Thursday, August 9. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, $29.50 to $59.50. 314-298-9944.
hollow shell of its former glory. In 2018
For most diehard fans, Slayer ended in
to be the group’s last, with Holt confirm-
2013 with the liver-failure death of gui-
ing in January that Slayer will not be
tarist Jeff Hanneman and the unceremo-
releasing any new albums. The lineup
nious firing of drummer Dave Lombardo
might not be ideal (Paul Bostaph will
over a pay dispute, leaving affable band
never not pale in comparison to Lom-
dad Tom Araya and sentient pile of tribal
bardo, sorry, Paul), but the songs are an
tattoos Kerry King as the group’s lone re-
indelible part of heavy metal, and the
maining founding members. Lombardo
world deserves to see them played one
and Hanneman were arguably most re-
last go-around.
sponsible for the creation of the band’s
We Want the Metal Militia: Joining
evil, light-speed thrash metal sound,
Slayer for this show is a who’s who of
and while the loss of one of them could
some of metal’s biggest acts, including
be survived — especially with legendary
Lamb of God, Testament, Anthrax and
Exodus guitarist Gary Holt stepping in
Napalm Death.
it seems as though Araya and King have finally gotten the memo. This tour is said
to fill the breach for the latter — losing
–Daniel Hill
8PM
with Special Guests
46
both resulted in the band becoming a
riverfronttimes.com
THURSDAY 9
AMANDA SEALES: 8 p.m., $25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DAVE STONE TRIO: 6 p.m., free. Element, 1419 Carroll St., St. Louis, 314-241-1674. DRAG DOLL HOUSE: 9 p.m., $5. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. IVAS JOHN & BRIAN CURRAN: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JEREMIAH JOHNSON BAND: 8 p.m., $5. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. KINKY FRIEDMAN: 8 p.m., $30. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. PAUL NIEHAUS: 4 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. SLAYER FINAL TOUR: w/ Lamb of God, Anthrax, Testament, Napalm Death 4 p.m., $29.50$59.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. TORREY CASEY & SOUTHSIDE HUSTLE: 10 p.m.,
$5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. YEAR OF THE COBRA: w/ Spacetrucker 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. YOUNG ANIMALS: w/ Honey and Salt, Biff K’Narly and the Reptilians 7 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353.
FRIDAY 10
AMERICAN IDOL LIVE! 2018: w/ Cade Foehner, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Catie Turner,Gabby Barrett, Jurnee, Maddie Poppe, Michael J. Woodard 7 p.m., $29.50-$99.50. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111. D I A M O N D S: w/ Golden Rodeo, Sparrowhead 10 p.m., $7. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. DEVON ALLMAN PROJECT: 8 p.m., $25-$30. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. JEFF KELLY AND THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT: w/ Karen Choi, Jr Gears 8 p.m., $5-$7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. KILBORN ALLEY BLUES BAND: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s
It’s Always a Party! Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LEROY JODIE PIERSON: 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LOOPRAT: w/ Tonina, Root Mod, Rhythm Tribe, ZenMugen 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. LUCKY OLD SONS: 8 p.m., $3. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. THE NELS CLINE 4: 8 p.m., $20-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. POWERGLOVE: 7 p.m., $15-$17. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS: 8 p.m., $35-$37.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. THE SKYLINE SINNERS: w/ NOCO Incidents 9 p.m., $5. Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-664-7638. SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD: 8 p.m., $20. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. STEEPLES MIXTAPE #3 RELEASE PARTY: w/ The Bad Haircuts, Z-Major, Taylor James, DropJa 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. UMPHREY’S MCGEE: w/ Spafford 6 p.m., $37$42. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield.
SATURDAY 11
A.L.I.: 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar & Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-8300. BATTLE OF THE DADS: 8 p.m., $5. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. A BENEFIT SHOW FOR LYMPHOMA: w/ CaveofswordS, The Vigilettes, Mammoth Piano, Pat Sajak Assassins, Emcee Chris Ward, DJ Anita 8 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. BIG GEORGE BROCK & THE HOUSEROCKERS: 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BIG MIKE AGUIRRE: 2 p.m., free. Molly’s in Soulard, 816 Geyer Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-6200. BLACK TUSK: w/ White Nails 8 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BREWER & SHIPLEY: w/ Gavin M. 8 p.m., $30$35. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. DAN RUBRIGHT’S WIRE PILOTS: 8 p.m., $10-$15. Ozark Theatre, 103 E. Lockwood Ave., St. Louis, 314-962-7000. EL MONSTERO: w/ Here Come The Mummies 7 p.m., $20-$55. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. EUGENE & COMPANY: 9 p.m., $3. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. HUSH LITE: 3 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. IAN FISHER: 8 p.m., $12-$15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. JOE ROGAN: 7 p.m., $36.50-$72. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. KALEB KIRBY: 9 p.m., free. Sophie’s Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club, 3224 Locust St second floor of .Zack, St. Louis, 314-775-9551. LARRY GRIFFIN & ERIC MCSPADDEN: 7 p.m., $4. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LES GRUFF AND THE BILLY GOAT: 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. MARVIN F. COCKRELL & FOCUS: w/ Darryl Gerdine, J. Shipp, Tobie Hudson, Edward Nicholson, Cylint Praize 7 p.m., $35-$210. Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square, St. Louis, 314-533-0367. MEMBERS OF LITTLE FEAT: w/ Fred Tackett, Gabe Ford, Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Kenny Gradney,John “Papa” Gros, Ron Holloway, Craig & Patrick Fuller, Falling Fences, The Melissa Neels Band 7 p.m., $44.50-$1000. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161.
NO THANKS: w/ Body Leash 9 p.m., $7. Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., St. Louis. THE PI TOWN PARTY: w/ Ej Carter 9 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. PICKIN’ MISFITS: 8 p.m., free. Stone Spiral, 2500 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314-335-7388. RADOLESCENTS: w/ The Hajj 8 p.m., $15-$17. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. SAD BAXTER: w/ Tok, Bounce House 9 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. SUZY’S PLAYLIST: 8 p.m., $5. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster Groves, 314-968-0061. TOWER OF POWER: 7 p.m., $40-$50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777.
SUNDAY 12
BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS: w/ Los Lobos, Greyhounds 6 p.m., $35-$85. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. BLACK & WHITE BAND: 5 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. G-EAZY: w/ Lil Uzi Vert, Ty Dolla $ign, YBN Nahmir, P-LO, Murda Beatz 6 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: 9 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. POLLY O’KEARY & THE RHYTHM METHOD: 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. RIVVRS: 8 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. STEPPING STONE: w/ Life Sucks, Brute Force 7 p.m., $5. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. SUMMER SPOKEN WORD SERIES: w/ Jim McGowin, Endya Goliday, Jeanette Powers, Benjamin Kuzemka 6 p.m., free. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. YAKUZA: w/ Aseethe 8 p.m., $10-$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
MONDAY 13
FERNWAY: w/ Goaltender, Seek Help 7 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. HARVEY PEKAR: w/ Family Medicine, Magmadiver 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. HIGHDIVE: w/ An Unfortunate Trend, The Volunteers, New Day Pops 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. MUSIC UNLIMITED: 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
duke’s VOTED ST. LOUIS’ FAVORITE BAR & BEST SPORTS BAR AT THE CORNER OF MENARD & ALLEN IN THE HEART OF HISTORIC SOULARD
Duke’s Photos by Big Stu Media
Duke’s Sports Bar Where the Games Begin
TUESDAY 14
BLACK & WHITE BAND: 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. PICKWICK COMMONS: w/ Polterguts, Lo and Behold, Bardock, Out of Orbit 6 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. THE PINK SPIDERS: w/ Bruiser Queen, Shark Dad 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. SAMMY BRUE: w/ Pearl Charles, Cara Louise Band 8 p.m., $10-$13. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. SWEAR TAPES: w/ Killer Dale, Sunset Over Houma 9 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100.
WEDNESDAY 15
AARON LEE TASJAN: 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: 9
Continued on pg 48
FIND OUT ALL THAT’S GOING ON @DUKESINSOULARD
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
47
LISTINGS
[WEEKEND]
Continued from pg 47
BEST BETS
Five sure-fire shows to close out the week
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 Music and Performances by the Texas Room 7 p.m. Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Boulevard. Free. 314-754-1850.
In 2014, St. Louis producer Louis Wall founded the Texas Room as a recording resource for immigrant and refugee musicians who have relocated to the U.S. Less than two years later, Wall and company celebrated the release of Texas Room’s first major project: Non-Fiction, a collaborative album featuring 50-plus musicians with origins across five continents. Now the group is presenting a live performance of an audio exhibit that has accompanied Mona Hatoum: Terra Infirma, an installation available in the Pulitzer galleries April 6 through August 11. Consider this event a closing reception of sorts, as musicians from across the world engage in a night of storytelling in their respective native languages.
Reaches w/ Ex Salis, JoAnn McNeil, Zak M 7 p.m. Beatnik Bob’s. 750 North Sixteenth Street. Free. 314-231-2489.
Reaches’ altered state of synth pop has been eroded by time. The body of work from the now New York-based Justin Randel can be traced back to the mid-aughts, when he performed psychedelic psalms under the name I Love You. And if that name seems familiar, it’s because Randel came through St. Louis on a regular basis when touring from his former hometown of Kansas City. His nomadic nature has brought asymmetrical dance songs across fourteen countries, and now he brings those askew beats back to the river city. Beatnik Bob’s is located inside the City Museum, so while the admission to this show is technically free, you’ll still have to pay for general admission to the building.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 Byron Fest: A Benefit for the Lymphoma Society 7 p.m. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Avenue. $10. 314-352-5226.
Every band on this bill has played its fair share of benefit shows, but few hit home like this one. CaveofswordS, Buttercup, Mammoth Piano, the Vigilettes and Pat Sajak AssasContinued on pg 49
48
RIVERFRONT TIMES
p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BOONDOGGLE: A TWO-MAN COMEDY SHOW: 9 p.m., $5. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. LE BUTCHERETTES: 8 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050.
THIS JUST IN ALL THAT REMAINS: W/ Toothgrinder, Escape the Paradigm, Gears, Wed., Sept. 19, 7 p.m., $15-$17. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. ALL THEM WITCHES: W/ Handsome Jack, Sat., Nov. 24, 9 p.m., $15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. ASTRONOID: Wed., Oct. 17, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Blueberry Hill - The Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314-727-4444. BIG GEORGE BROCK & THE HOUSEROCKERS: Sat., Aug. 11, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: Wed., Aug. 15, 9 p.m., $5. Wed., Aug. 22, 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BILLY THE KID: THE DEFINITIVE BILLY JOEL TRIBUTE: Fri., Sept. 14, 8 p.m., $12.50-$15. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. BLACK & WHITE BAND: Sun., Aug. 12, 5 p.m., $10. Tue., Aug. 14, 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BOO DAVIS & THE RHYTHM RENEGADES: Sat., Aug. 18, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BOOTS, BLUE JEANS & BOOGIE: Fri., Sept. 14, 7 p.m., free. Cedar Lake Cellars, 11008 Schreckengast Road, Wright City, 636-745-9500. BROTHER JEFFERSON BLUES BAND: Thu., Aug. 16, 9 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. CIRCA SURVIVE: W/ La Dispute, Queen Of Jeans, Sun., Nov. 4, 8 p.m., $29.99-$35. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. DAN RUBRIGHT’S WIRE PILOTS: Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $10-$15. Ozark Theatre, 103 E. Lockwood Ave., St. Louis, 314-962-7000. FERNWAY: W/ Goaltender, Seek Help, Mon., Aug. 13, 7 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. FINN’S MOTEL: W/ The American Professionals, Sun., Sept. 2, 1 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. THE FREEKS: W/ Sons of Vulcan, Murtaugh, Wed., Oct. 3, 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. GENESIS JAZZ PROJECT: Sun., Aug. 19, 5 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. GLADYS KNIGHT AND PEABO BRYSON: Fri., Oct. 19, 8 p.m., $47.50-$152.50. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111. GO HARD OR GO HOME: W/ Jmoney the Great, Lt Johnson, Yyung tay, Drique B Swaqqn, Mizzery, June Bug and Lil Murder, Keepsake, Thu., Aug. 16, 8 p.m., $12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. HARRY POTTER PARTY STL: Thu., Sept. 20, 8 p.m., $15-$75. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. HARVEY PEKAR: W/ Family Medicine, Magmadiver, Mon., Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. IVAS JOHN BAND: Fri., Aug. 17, 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. JAKE OWEN: W/ David Lee Murphy, Fri., Oct. 19, 7 p.m., $25.50-$60.25. Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., St. Louis, 314-977-5000. JEFF KELLY AND THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT: W/ Karen Choi, Jr Gears, Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $5-$7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. JONATHAN DAVIS OF KORN: W/ The Birthday Massacre, Julien-K, Tue., Oct. 23, 8 p.m., $25$30. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929.
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
KEN MODE: W/ Birds in Row, Slow Damage, Dodecad, Mon., Oct. 15, 7 p.m., $12-$14. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. KILBORN ALLEY BLUES BAND: Fri., Aug. 10, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. KILVEREZ: W/ Astral Moth, Motherfather, Van Buren, Thu., Aug. 23, 7 p.m., $7-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. KYLE LACEY & HARLEM RIVER NOISE: Wed., Aug. 22, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LARRY GRIFFIN & ERIC MCSPADDEN: Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $4. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LEROY JODIE PIERSON: Fri., Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LIKE PACIFIC: W/ Raom, Story Untold, Bearings, Between You & Me, Tue., Oct. 9, 6 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. LOBSTER & THE CRABS: Thu., Aug. 23, 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: Sun., Aug. 12, 9 p.m., $10. Sun., Aug. 19, 8 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE MARCUS KING BAND: W/ Bishop Gunn, Wed., Sept. 19, 8 p.m., $15-$18. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MARQUISE KNOX BLUES BAND: Fri., Aug. 24, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE MATTSON 2: W/ Astronauts etc., Sun., Aug. 26, 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. MAYDAY PARADE: W/ This Wild Life, William Ryan Key, Oh Weatherly, Sun., Oct. 28, 7 p.m., $27.50-$30. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MT. THELONIOUS EP RELEASE: W/ Brotherfather, Tristaño, Fri., Sept. 7, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. MULE MAN MASSEY: Fri., Aug. 24, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. MUSIC UNLIMITED: Mon., Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. PICKWICK COMMONS: W/ Polterguts, Lo and Behold, Bardock, Out of Orbit, Tue., Aug. 14, 6 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. POLLY O’KEARY & THE RHYTHM METHOD: Sun., Aug. 12, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. RADIOACTIVITY: Thu., Oct. 11, 8 p.m., $12-$14. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. RADKEY: W/ the Slow Boys, Fri., Aug. 17, 8 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. ROBBIE FULKS: W/ Kevin Gordon, Wed., Oct. 17, 8 p.m., $15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. ROCKY MANTIA & THE KILLER COMBO: Mon., Aug. 20, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. RUSSIAN CIRCLES: Thu., Oct. 18, 8 p.m., $16-$18. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. RYAN KOENIG AND FRIENDS: Sun., Aug. 26, 1 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SAD BAXTER: W/ Tok, Bounce House, Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. SADIE HART & THE HIGH VIBES: Wed., Aug. 29, 8 p.m., free. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644. SHARON BEAR & DOUG FOEHNER: Fri., Aug. 17, 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. ST. LOUIS SOCIAL CLUB: Tue., Aug. 21, 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. STEPPING STONE: W/ Life Sucks, Brute Force, Sun., Aug. 12, 7 p.m., $5. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. SUMMER SPOKEN WORD SERIES: W/ Jim McGowin, Endya Goliday, Jeanette Powers, Benjamin Kuzemka, Sun., Aug. 12, 6 p.m., free. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. SWEAR TAPES: W/ Killer Dale, Sunset Over Houma, Tue., Aug. 14, 9 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee &
Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. TEN FOOT POLE: W/ The Disappeared, Fri., Oct. 12, 7 p.m., $15-$16. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE THROWBACK: Sat., Nov. 17, 9 p.m., $5-$20. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. TITUS ANDRONICUS: W/ Ted Leo, Tue., Oct. 23, 8 p.m., $22-$25. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. TOM HALL: Sat., Aug. 18, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. VICKY MICHAELS & EDICKS WAY BLUES BAND: Thu., Aug. 23, 10 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222.
THIS WEEK A.L.I.: Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., free. Nightshift Bar & Grill, 3979 Mexico Road, St. Peters, 636-441-8300. AARON LEE TASJAN: Wed., Aug. 15, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. AMERICAN IDOL LIVE! 2018: W/ Cade Foehner, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Catie Turner,Gabby Barrett, Jurnee, Maddie Poppe, Michael J. Woodard, Fri., Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $29.50-$99.50. The Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314-534-1111. BATTLE OF THE DADS: Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $5. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. A BENEFIT SHOW FOR LYMPHOMA: W/ CaveofswordS, The Vigilettes, Mammoth Piano, Pat Sajak Assassins, Emcee Chris Ward, DJ Anita, Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $7. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-352-5226. BIG GEORGE BROCK & THE HOUSEROCKERS: Sat., Aug. 11, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS: W/ Los Lobos, Greyhounds, Sun., Aug. 12, 6 p.m., $35-$85. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. BIG MIKE AGUIRRE: Sat., Aug. 11, 2 p.m., free. Molly’s in Soulard, 816 Geyer Ave., St. Louis, 314-241-6200. BIG RICH MCDONOUGH & RHYTHM RENEGADES: Wed., Aug. 15, 9 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BLACK & WHITE BAND: Sun., Aug. 12, 5 p.m., $10. Tue., Aug. 14, 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. BLACK TUSK: W/ White Nails, Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. BREWER & SHIPLEY: W/ Gavin M., Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $30-$35. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. D I A M O N D S: W/ Golden Rodeo, Sparrowhead, Fri., Aug. 10, 10 p.m., $7. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. DAN RUBRIGHT’S WIRE PILOTS: Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $10-$15. Ozark Theatre, 103 E. Lockwood Ave., St. Louis, 314-962-7000. DEVON ALLMAN PROJECT: Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $25-$30. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. EL MONSTERO: W/ Here Come The Mummies, Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $20-$55. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. EUGENE & COMPANY: Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., $3. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. FERNWAY: W/ Goaltender, Seek Help, Mon., Aug. 13, 7 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. G-EAZY: W/ Lil Uzi Vert, Ty Dolla $ign, YBN Nahmir, P-LO, Murda Beatz, Sun., Aug. 12, 6 p.m., TBA. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. HARVEY PEKAR: W/ Family Medicine, Magmadiver, Mon., Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $5. W/ Family Medicine, Magmadiver, Mon., Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. HIGHDIVE: W/ An Unfortunate Trend, The Volunteers, New Day Pops, Mon., Aug. 13, 7 p.m., $10. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. HUSH LITE: Sat., Aug. 11, 3 p.m., free. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565.
[CRITIC’S PICK]
THE NELS CLINE 4
summoning guitarist who tends to dis-
8 p.m. Friday, August 10. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard. $20. 314-7266161.
sect pop songs like a calculus problem,
Wilco may be an established part of the
tric guitarist Julian Lage and an amor-
indie-rock firmament, but the band’s
phous rhythm section for an exercise
strength and longevity is partially trace-
in interlocking grooves and unfamiliar
able to its members’ rich extracurricu-
harmony.
lar activities. All six bandmates have
Current Release: The band’s latest LP,
side gigs that effectively deepen their
Currents, Constallations, is its second
roles within the band, and so it’s a rare
for the famed Blue Note record label.
take center stage with the Nels Cline 4. The quartet pairs Cline with fellow elec-
treat to see Nels Cline, the Jazzmaster-
–Christian Schaeffer
IAN FISHER: Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $12-$15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. JEFF KELLY AND THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT: W/ Karen Choi, Jr Gears, Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $5-$7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. JOE ROGAN: Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $36.50-$72. Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market St, St. Louis, 314-499-7600. KALEB KIRBY: Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., free. Sophie’s Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club, 3224 Locust St second floor of .Zack, St. Louis, 314-775-9551. KILBORN ALLEY BLUES BAND: Fri., Aug. 10, 10 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LARRY GRIFFIN & ERIC MCSPADDEN: Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $4. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LE BUTCHERETTES: Wed., Aug. 15, 8 p.m., $15. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. LEROY JODIE PIERSON: Fri., Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LES GRUFF AND THE BILLY GOAT: Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., free. Das Bevo Biergarten, 4749 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314-224-5521. LOOPRAT: W/ Tonina, Root Mod, Rhythm Tribe, ZenMugen, Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $10. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989.
LOVE JONES “THE BAND”: Sun., Aug. 12, 9 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. LUCKY OLD SONS: Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $3. Hammerstone’s, 2028 S. 9th St., St. Louis, 314-773-5565. MARVIN F. COCKRELL & FOCUS: W/ Darryl Gerdine, J. Shipp, Tobie Hudson, Edward Nicholson, Cylint Praize, Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $35$210. Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square, St. Louis, 314-533-0367. MEMBERS OF LITTLE FEAT: W/ Fred Tackett, Gabe Ford, Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Kenny Gradney,John “Papa” Gros, Ron Holloway, Craig & Patrick Fuller, Falling Fences, The Melissa Neels Band, Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $44.50-$1000. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. MUSIC UNLIMITED: Mon., Aug. 13, 8 p.m., $5. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. THE NELS CLINE 4: Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $20-$25. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. NO THANKS: W/ Body Leash, Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., $7. Blank Space, 2847 Cherokee St., St. Louis. THE PI TOWN PARTY: W/ Ej Carter, Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., $10. Pop’s Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Ave., East St. Louis, 618-274-6720. PICKIN’ MISFITS: Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., free.
WEEKEND Continued from pg 48 sins perform a wide range of rock and pop in honor of the late Byron Jefferson, a longtime staple of the St. Louis music scene who passed away in July 2017 after a battle with lymphoma. Chris Ward brings levity to the stage as an irreverent emcee, reprising the comic wit that can be heard every Monday on loudQUIETloud, his show on 88.1 KDHX. Simply put, expect some of the best that St. Louis has to offer.
Discent Trio w/ Fragile Farm, Janet, Alex Cunningham 9 p.m. Flood Plain, 3151 Cherokee Street. $5 to $7.
Last time Chicago musician Bill Tucker came to town, he led a kinetic set of sinewy free-jazz with local drummer Alberto Patino. Tonight that duo expands with the help of bassist Alex Auby. They call themselves Discent Trio, a name that, according to Tucker, is the “third-person plural future active indicative of disc — hard ‘c.’” Sure, OK. Of special note on
STL’s Hottest DJ Dance Party! THURS - FRIDAY - SATURDAY
Continued on pg 43
this show is local opener Fragile Farm, the solo endeavor of Glued guitarist Sean Ballard, who commands odd pop hymns with vocal leads that are both poignant and verbally pungent.
Duke’s Photos by Big Stu Media
Always Fun and Games on the Patio
No Thanks w/ Ra Child, Body Leash 9 p.m. RKDE, 2847 Cherokee Street. $7. 314-669-9240.
The music that No Thanks makes is dark, and we’re not talking about metal where the heft comes from how heavy and loud the band plays its songs. With this Omaha crew, the music has an implied weight where the gloomy riffs, played no louder than any other punk band, bring that sinking feeling all on their own. Most songs clock in right around two minutes, but that’s more than enough time for No Thanks to inject lead into its verbose brand of post-punk. –Joseph Hess Each week we bring you our picks for the best concerts of the weekend. To submit your show for consideration, visit riverfronttimes. com/stlouis/Events/AddEvent. All events subject to change; check with the venue for the most up-to-date information.
AT THE CORNER OF MENARD & ALLEN IN THE HEART OF HISTORIC SOULARD FIND OUT ALL THAT’S GOING ON @DUKESINSOULARD
riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
49
P C W L V W F Z C A I L Z P Z F
50
C E R V I C A L Y A P Y U A X U
O T E S T I C U L A R X D P F T
Q R F B S X L J S U C E F P F E
RIVERFRONT TIMES
K X C V Q A L A J A S R V O B R
L T B T I K A N W E C U G I E I
A G R J F P Z A C O L J Y N M N
P W E J D S R N A V G H E T V E
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
R L A K Q E C L A F D E O M H U
O X S M N Q T R J T O A V E V V
S K T E X Z Y E E K G L A N W A
T Y S P V K C M C E T T R T E G
A S N P E N I L E T N H I O W I
riverfronttimes.com
T K F G P F V J J S I I A U C N
E U Q P R E V E N T I O N T N A
P R R L S F Z U P Z G Y N G Y L
Cancer can be hard to find. can help. APPOINTMENT AWARENESS BREAST CARE CERVICAL DETECTION HEALTH OVARIAN
PENILE PREVENTION PROSTATE SCREENING TESTICULAR UTERINE VAGINAL VULVAR
Make an appointment today! 6 locations in the St. Louis metro area – make an appointment by phone or online. www.plannedparenthood.org/stlouis 1-800-230-PLAN (7526)
[CRITIC’S PICK]
WEEKENDS ARE FOR GOOD TIMES
Aaron Lee Tasjan. | CURTIS WAYNE MILLARD
AARON LEE TASJAN
it probably won’t. His tunesmithing
8 p.m. Wednesday, August 15. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $10. 314-773-3363.
channels Harry Nilsson, and his wit
When you visit the Aaron Lee Tasjan
possum. But beneath that trickster
merch table after the show, check
persona, Tasjan has a heart of gold,
your wrist, because your watch might
and you’d be a fool not to follow him
go missing. And check your heart while
down every twisted honky-tonk back
you’re at it: This cool-as-the-Nudie-suit-
alley. Something in his songs always
he’s-still-paying-off East Nashvillian
shines through the dark.
will steal into whatever soft spot
Yeah, He’s a Player: Tasjan isn’t just a
you have for hazy and high rock and
killer songwriter. Dude swings a mean
twang with a psychedelic (as in “thin,
axe. Just ask the reformed New York
wild mercury”-era Dylan) spin. His
Dolls, Alberta Cross or Drivin’ N’ Cryin’,
forthcoming album, Karma For Cheap,
all of whom he’s backed on guitar.
should make him a rock star, though
LISTINGS Continued from pg 49 Stone Spiral, 2500 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314-335-7388. PICKWICK COMMONS: W/ Polterguts, Lo and Behold, Bardock, Out of Orbit, Tue., Aug. 14, 6 p.m., $10. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. THE PINK SPIDERS: W/ Bruiser Queen, Shark Dad, Tue., Aug. 14, 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. POLLY O’KEARY & THE RHYTHM METHOD: Sun., Aug. 12, 7 p.m., $10. BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314-436-5222. POWERGLOVE: Fri., Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $15-$17. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS: Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $35-$37.50. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, 314-726-6161. RADOLESCENTS: W/ The Hajj, Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $15-$17. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. RIVVRS: Sun., Aug. 12, 8 p.m., free. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Ave., St. Louis, 314-498-6989. SAD BAXTER: W/ Tok, Bounce House, Sat., Aug. 11, 9 p.m., $7. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. SAMMY BRUE: W/ Pearl Charles, Cara Louise Band, Tue., Aug. 14, 7 p.m., $10-$13. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. W/ Pearl Charles, Cara Louise Band, Tue., Aug. 14, 8 p.m., $10-$13. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, 314-833-3929. THE SKYLINE SINNERS: W/ NOCO Incidents, Fri., Aug. 10, 9 p.m., $5. Way Out Club, 2525 S. Jef-
and wordplay snarl like a junkyard
–Roy Kasten
ferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-664-7638. SLAYER FINAL TOUR: W/ Lamb of God, Anthrax, Testament, Napalm Death, Thu., Aug. 9, 4 p.m., $29.50-$59.50. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, I-70 & Earth City Expwy., Maryland Heights, 314-298-9944. SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD: Fri., Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $20. Old Rock House, 1200 S. 7th St., St. Louis, 314-588-0505. STEEPLES MIXTAPE #3 RELEASE PARTY: W/ The Bad Haircuts, Z-Major, Taylor James, DropJa, Fri., Aug. 10, 7 p.m., $10-$12. The Firebird, 2706 Olive St., St. Louis, 314-535-0353. STEPPING STONE: W/ Life Sucks, Brute Force, Sun., Aug. 12, 7 p.m., $5. The Sinkhole, 7423 South Broadway, St. Louis, 314-328-2309. SUMMER SPOKEN WORD SERIES: W/ Jim McGowin, Endya Goliday, Jeanette Powers, Benjamin Kuzemka, Sun., Aug. 12, 6 p.m., free. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. SUZY’S PLAYLIST: Sat., Aug. 11, 8 p.m., $5. Hwy 61 Roadhouse and Kitchen, 34 S Old Orchard Ave, Webster Groves, 314-968-0061. SWEAR TAPES: W/ Killer Dale, Sunset Over Houma, Tue., Aug. 14, 9 p.m., $5. Foam Coffee & Beer, 3359 Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-772-2100. TOWER OF POWER: Sat., Aug. 11, 7 p.m., $40-$50. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., St. Louis, 314-388-7777. UMPHREY’S MCGEE: W/ Spafford, Fri., Aug. 10, 6 p.m., $37-$42. Chesterfield Amphitheater, 631 Veterans Place Drive, Chesterfield. YAKUZA: W/ Aseethe, Sun., Aug. 12, 8 p.m., $10$12. Fubar, 3108 Locust St, St. Louis, 314-289-9050. YOUNG ANIMALS: W/ Honey and Salt, Biff K’Narly and the Reptilians, Thu., Aug. 9, 7 p.m., $8-$10. The Firebird, 2706 Olive, St. Louis, 314-535-0353.
Voted St. Louis’ Favorite Wings & Favorite Appetizers
DJ DANCE PARTY FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE MUSIC SATURDAY AFTERNOON & NIGHT LIVE MUSIC SUNDAY-FUNDAY AFTERNOON
200 N. MAIN, DUPO, IL @GOODTIMES.PATIO.BAR riverfronttimes.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
51
MEN 4 MEN Contact
Adult Entertainment
Adult Services
930 Adult Services
Classified Advertising 314-754-5925 PLAYMATES & SOUL MATES FREE!!
SEXY LOCAL SINGLES 800-538-CHAT (2428)
Straight 314-739-7777
FREE 24/7 SEX
Gay & Bi 314-209-0300 18+ MegaMates.com
1/16 ANC #95292 Ad Attached
HOT, BEEFY BI STUDS 800-GAY-MEET (429-6338) REAL SINGLES... REAL FUN! (314) 207 - 8406
samedaySTDtesting.com
314-932-2564 More Numbers 1-800-926-6000 18+ LiveLinks.com
PRIVATE Half Hour Free!
1/12V Confidential Wellex #103776 Pick Up
&
#1
Personalize Jenny For A Your Massage FULL BODY THERAPEUTIC Body Exfoliation & MASSAGE
Curvy Ebony Sweet LLLLL Contact Latina Magic Jenny for a Body FULL Moves Rub BODY
Grooming For Men! Call For Appt
314-683-0894 4 Full Body Massage O’ Fallon Location
4 Soft Sensual Touch
THERAPEUTIC
MASSAGE (314)853-2561
blackladystrippers.com St. Charles, MO (347)980-0628 2pam@visitproviders.com
MagicalTouch Location. ByLiz.co Call for appt
BOY Don’t CHEAT Yourself, TREAT Yourself
m4mmassagexxx.com
Join the conversation! Connect live with sexy local ladies! Choose from Try it FREE! 18+ Busty Blonde,
PHONE SEX
Ebony Hotties, 314-480-5505 Hot Coeds or www.nightexchange.com Older Ladies
Tantric Incalls/Outcalls
314-236-7060 PLAYMATES stlouismalemassage.com Stlouismalemassage & @gmail.com SOUL MATES FREE!!
866-515-FOXY (3699)
ttt Hot So are the sexy Black singles waiting for you on Chat!! the line!! sdoesn’t s s get It
800-538-CHAT (2428)
Call Kandi 314-565-3971 Clean, Safe, Discreet Location
314-932-2568 Check it out
CALL K KTODAY! KKK 18+ Vibeline.com
FREE 24/7 SEX HOT, BEEFY BI STUDS
1
#
Body Rub
Call FREE! LOCAL 314-932-2564 or WOMEN! 800-926-6000
Magic Moves Call FREE!
314-932-2568
or (314) 853-2561 REAL 800-811-1633 Safe Discreet Location/ Drive By
Come & Go Home Happy
800-GAY-MEET (429-6338)314-236-7060 SINGLES... SEXY LADY BOY REAL FUN!
blackladystrippers.com 18+ Well Established Adult Male-Female Couple
vibeline.com 2pam@visitproviders.com
Don’t CHEAT Yourself, 314-932-2564 TREAT More Yourself Numbers
1-800-926-6000
To A Sexy 5’7 140 lbs, Long Hair (38C-24-36)
18+ Call Kandi LiveLinks.com
Half Hour Free!
314-565-3971 Clean Safe Discreet Location
Bootylicious!
SINGLES!
CALL TODAY! Browse & Reply 314.450.7920 Must be 18+
FREE!!
DAT MA REAL EA SINGLES... LOOKING TO T 18+ livelinks.com
Straight 314-739-7777 Gay & Bi 314-209-0300 Use FREE Code 3275, 18+
Call FREE! 314-932-2564 or (347)980-0628 800-210-1010 MagicalTouch 18+ ByLiz.co livelinks.com
18+ vibeline.com
Hot Black Chat!!
Straight 314-739-7777 314.425.7600 Gay & Bi 314-209-0300 18+3275, Use Must FREE be Code 18+ Lavalifevoice.com
FUN! FUN! Curvy TSweet 18+ MEET FLIRTY! LAVALIFE VOICE FLIRTY! to 1000s of EXCITING HOT LOCAL TalkSINGLES in St. Louis! Latina 1st TimeLOCAL T Buyers Special WOMEN! Only $20 for 80 min!
or
Feel The Vibe!
SINGLES in
St. Louis! FREE!!
18+
Well Established Adult Male-Female Couple nightexchange.com 314-209-0300 800-811-1633 Call for appointment 18+ 314-236-7060
407-494-7425 MegaMates.com
of EXCITING Browse & Reply
BROWSE FREE!
Then just 20 cents p/m
LOOKING TO MEET TONIGHT?
1/4V Patricia’s #98854 You have new ad
1/12V 314-250-6088 #106101 www.IntimateCoaching.Com Sacred Touch (New Ad Sent)
HOT LOCAL
SINGLES REAL HOT 1-800-LET-CHAT CHAT NOW! (538-2428)
314-932-2568 Safe Location/ Drive By GayDiscreet & Bi 314-480-5505
Visit Our Website For Services & Rates Theshavemster.com
K MEET HOT LOCAL SINGLES! Talk to 1000s
FREE SEX SLGBT
Feel The Only $10 per Call Vibe...
Above & BelowStraight The Belt Come & Go Home Happy HOTTER than this!!! 314-739-7777 Manscaping For Men TryCall it FREE! FREE!! 18+
for Conscious Relationships, Intimacy & Sexuality
IIIIII
Real hot chatCALL now.
FREE PROM
REAL FUN!
MEET 314-7 TONIGHT? Tele
GORGEOUS So are the sexy SINGLES ON singles waiting for THE314-932-2564 NIGHT you on the line!! EXCHANGE! More Numbers It doesn’t get Live Local Chat.
HOTTER than 1-800-926-6000 this!!!
Try us FREE! 18+ 18+
314-480-5505
www.nightexchange.com LiveLinks.com
Try it FREE!! 18+ Half Hour Free! 314-480-5505
ALL SEXGAY HO FREE SEX!
IIIIII
www.nightexchange.com
SLGBT HOT LOCAL SINGLES
1-800-LET-CHAT Call FREE! 30 MINUTES FREE TRIAL (538-2428) 314-932-2578 314-932-2568 Check it out BROWSE FREE! guyspyvoice.c 18+ Vibeline.com Then just 20 cents p/m 18+ Free trial for men,
Who are you always free for ladies. after dark? 1-314-932-2561
DATING MADE EASY! (314) 207 - 8406
samedaySTDtesting.com
PRIVATE
FREE PROMO CODE 9512 314-739-7777 Telemates
Confidential
Celebrate Booty Love Month In August... Shop Patricia’s! South City
www.sacredtouchstl.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
Mid County 10210 Page Ave.
3552 Gravois at Grand
(3 miles East of Westport Plaza)
Open until Midnight Fri & Sat
Open until Midnight Fri & Sat
314-664-4040
314-250-6088 RIVERFRONT TIMES
MASSAGE 866-515-FOXY For Men Full(3699) body Massage
SEXY LOCAL SINGLES
Personal Coaching
52
MEN
Older Ladies
4 Incalls & Outcalls
To A Sexy 5’7 140 lbs, Long Hair (38C-24-36)
FREE
Platonic Intimacy (Cuddling), Deep Attention, Affection & Conscious Touch
CHOOSE FROM: Busty Blondes, Ebony Hotties, Hot Coeds or
NASTY TALK is waiting YOU. $10 for BEST
Soft$10 Sensual Touch Only per Call
Stress
Sacred Touch STL
$10 BEST MEN PHONE SEX
4 Tantric
314-236-7060
314-683-0894 SEXY LADY
CALLING HOT HORNY ST. LOUISANS!
960 Phone Entertainment
314-423-8422
riverfronttimes.com
St. Peters
1034 Venture Dr. (70 & Cave Springs, S. Outer Rd.)
636-928-2144 Open until Midnight Thur-Sat
&
ALL MALE GAY HOOKUPS!
Stress
FREE
Call FREE!
314-932-2578 or 800-777-8000 guyspyvoice.com
18+
SAVAGE LOVE APRÈS PILL, LE DÉLUGE BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I’m a 27-year-old woman living on the East Coast. I’ve been sexually active and on birth control since I was sixteen — almost always on the pill. I recently switched to the NuvaRing, which I had a bad reaction to: I had no libido at all and extreme mood swings/bouts of depression I could not live with. My boyfriend and I decided it would be a good idea to go off hormonal birth control for a while, just to see what would happen. We’ve been together for almost four years, so we agreed condoms would be fine, and I would try the route of no more supplemental hormones. I stopped a couple of months ago, and it’s been a mix of good and bad. The good is that my moods are more even. Another good thing is I feel like I’m having a sexual awakening. My libido came back! But the bad thing is... my libido came back in a way I wasn’t expecting. My sexual appetite is insane. I want to have sex with everyone! Men, women, friends, colleagues, acquaintances. My boyfriend has been amazing through all of this. He’s agreed to let us open up our relationship under specific terms. I agree with the terms we placed, but I still feel like my urges are going to get me in trouble. I know not to have sex with friends and colleagues, but a lot of situations come up that make it hard to resist — especially when alcohol is involved. I’m very good with selfpolicing, and I don’t think I’ll actually act on my urges. My question is one you get a lot: Is this normal? Can removing a cocktail of hormones from my life really change me this much? I used to want sex, but now I WANT SEX. I want a lot of it, and it’s overwhelming. I don’t want to blame it all on the birth control, but I can’t help but feel it to be true since it was the only variable in my life that changed in the last couple of months. I want to be faithful to my boyfriend, who has been great and understanding — allowing us to open our relationship to casual encounters with strangers. (Also: No friends, no one we both know, DADT, and no intimacy with any-
one — it must be purely sexual/ physical.) But I’m feeling sexual connections to so many more people now, and often to people I’ve known for a while. I see this all as mostly positive, but the adjustment to the new sexual hunger has been strange and difficult to wrap my head around. Suddenly Horny And Going Gaga Isn’t Normal “I’m so glad to hear this woman sees the increase in her libido as positive,” said Dr. Meredith Chivers, an associate professor of psychology at Queen’s University, a world-renowned sex researcher, and — I’m proud to say — a frequent guest expert around here. “At the same time, I understand how overwhelming these urges can feel, especially when they are new.” Luckily for you, SHAGGIN, you’re with someone who’s secure enough to let you feel the fuck out these new feelings. Whether or not you act on them is one thing — DADT agreement or no DADT agreement — but not having to pretend you aren’t suddenly interested in fucking men, women, friends, colleagues and acquaintances is a real gift. Another example of your good luck? Dr. Chivers is about to give you the Actual Science download on hormonal birth control! “It’s difficult to say what is and isn’t normal when it comes to the effects of hormonal contraception (HC) on women’s sexual interest,” said Dr. Chivers. “To my knowledge, researchers have not specifically examined the question of what happens to women’s sex drive after stopping HC.” But lots of women have stopped using hormonal contraception for the exact same reason you did, SHAGGIN: worries about how it might be affecting their libido — and there is some indirect evidence that HC can negatively impact a woman’s desire for sex. “The NuvaRing is a combined hormonal contraceptive containing synthetic estrogens and progestins (the same as many birth control pills),” said Dr. Chivers. “HC like the NuvaRing works, in part, by raising and stabilizing progesterone levels throughout the menstrual cycle, which helps to prevent ovulation and implantation.” And it’s those stabilized progesterone levels that could be the
“My sexual appetite is insane. I want to have sex with everyone! Men, women, friends, colleagues, acquaintances.” culprit. “Progesterone is one of the hormones involved in the menstrual cycle and pregnancy; levels are highest in the week before menstruation (called the luteal phase) and are also high during pregnancy,” said Dr. Chivers. “A recent, large-scale study reported that women with higher progesterone — women who weren’t using HC — had lower sexual interest, on average. Because using HC is associated with reductions in sexual interest, we could predict that stopping HC, and thus progesterone levels returning to more typical lower levels, could be associated with increases in sexual motivation.” Since you definitely experienced an increase in sexual desire after you removed your NuvaRing and started using condoms, SHAGGIN, Dr. Chivers was comfortable saying… that you definitely experienced an increase in sexual desire and that might be related to going off HC. “Given that she has been using some form of HC since she became sexually active, my guess is that she’s never had the chance to experience her sexuality while naturally cycling,” said Dr. Chivers. “Part of her process could be learning about her unmedicated hormonal cycle, her sexuality, and the variations in her sex drive. For example, does her sexual interest fluctuate over her cycle? She might want to consider collecting some data with a cycle tracker app. Flo, Clue and Period Tracker are among those that my women sex-researcher/educator colleagues recommend. This might help her notice patterns in her libido, attractions and sexual pleasure — and help her to develop strategies to manage, and perhaps even capitalize on, her
riverfronttimes.com
53
sexual desires.” As for your boyfriend, SHAGGIN, and your desire to be faithful to him: So long as you honor the terms of your openness agreement, you are being faithful to him. But check in with him more than once before you fuck someone who isn’t him. Because when a partner agrees to open the relationship but then places a long list of restrictions on who you can fuck — a list that excludes most of the people you wanna fuck — that can be a sign your partner doesn’t actually want to open the relationship. The last word goes to Dr. Chivers: Whether you’re having fun with others or you decide to remain sexually exclusive with your boyfriend, “Have fun!” To learn more about Dr. Chivers’s research, visit the SageLab website (queensu.ca/psychology/sexualityand-gender-lab) and follow her on Twitter @DrMLChivers. Hey, Dan: I’m part of a nonhierarchical polycule. In a few months, one of my girlfriends will be marrying her fiancée. I’ll be attending as a guest with my other girlfriend. What are the guidelines or expectations for purchasing a gift for your girlfriend’s wedding? Surprisingly, the other advice columnists don’t have guidance on this one. Wedding Etiquette Dilemma Get the couple something nice, something you can afford, maybe something from their gift registry. Or give them a card with a check in it so they can spend the money on whatever they might need for their household or use it to cover the expense of the wedding itself. In short, WED, weddinggift guidelines are the same for people in nonhierarchical polycules as they are for love-muggle monocules. I’m not slamming the poly thing for overprocessing and overthinking — most people process (aka communicate) too little, and it’s often better to overthink than to under-think or not-think — but not everything needs to be dumped into the poly processor and pureed. Congrats to your girlfriend (the one who’s getting married) and her fiancée! Listen to Dan’s podcast at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
53
Health & Wellness MASSAGE FOR MEN Certified Massage Therapist In business 20+ years. At least an hour's notice is required
A NEW INTUITIVE MASSAGE
Call Natalie
By appointment only!
314-799-2314
Contact Carl at (636) 248-2796
Artformassage.org
National Board Certified
$50.00/hr ~ Cash only
LMT 2003026388
Discounts Available
A
Rentals Health Therapy Massage
THERAPEUTIC
HANDS Will Leave You Happy & Healthy 314-852-0234
Relax Rejuvenate & Refresh Call Cheryl 314-895-1616 Or 314-258-2860 Appointments Mon thru Sun (walk-ins welcome) 320 Brook’s Drive 63042
314-706-4076 Licensed practitioner 2002030286
Escape The Stresses of Life with a
Relaxing ORIENTAL MASSAGE & REFLEXOLOGY
Massages For Men Tailored to YOUR needs!
You’ll Come Away Feeling Refreshed & Rejuvenated!
314-972-9998
In/Out Calls Call/Text Paul @ 314-608-4296 Mon-Sat 11-9
Swedish Deep Tissue Reflexology Reiki CALL or TEXT 314-202-5222
Incall - Outcall
(Home-Office-Hotel) Cash or Credit Licensed Massage Therapist
LMT 200101083
Wonderfully
Relaxing Intuitive Massage
MASSAGE By Tanya
Simply Marvelous Call Cynthia today for your massage 314-265-9625 Eureka Area M-F 7-5, Sat. 9-1 #2001007078
By Leia
DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE SOFT SENSUAL TOUCH
7 Days A Week
573-227-0281 (No Texts) Florissant, MO
THE HEART OF BENTON PARK
Tailored to YOUR needs! In/Out Calls
Call/Text Paul @ 314-608-4296 Mon-Sat 11-9
Contact Jenny For A
FULL BODY THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE Call For Appt 314-683-0894
314-223-8067 OVERLAND/ST. ANN 314-995-1912 CLEAN, SAFE QUIET!
South County 314-620-6386 Ls # 2006003746
Harmony Massage & Spa 1/32 Lotus Massage Full Body & Foot Massage • 7 Days A Week Before & After Hours • By Appointment Open Everyday 9:30am - 10:30 pm #103933 (Pick up) $5 OFF FULL BODY MASSAGE
4137 Old Hwy 94 S. | St. Charles, MO 63304 | 636-685-0330
Lotus Massage $5 OFF FULL BODY MASSAGE
1/32 Harmony Massage #103926 (Pick up)
8517 Manchester Rd. | Brentwood, MO 63144 | 314-738-9060 Full Body & Foot Massage • 7 Days A Week Before & After Hours • By Appointment Open Everyday 9:30am - 10:30 pm
Employment Event Staff Needed! Experienced Servers and Bartenders Flexible weekly schedules and weekly Pay. Work on your days off for extra cash! Email or call for interview
StLouis@LGCAssociates.com
314-863-7400 Services
MEN 4 MEN
WANTS TO PURCHASE MINERALS and other oil & gas interests. Send Details To: PO Box 13557, Denver, CO 80201
PERSONALIZE YOUR MASSAGE
Get Ready For Summer!
ONE MONTH FREE!
RICHMOND HEIGHTS/MAPLEWOOD $575-$645 Near MetroLink, Hwy 40, 44 & Clayton. ONE MONTH FREE!
SOUTH CITY $725 3 bedroom, 1 bath apartment, 1st fl in a 4 fam, w&d hookups,c/a. $30 app • $725/mo Call to prequalify 314-221-9568 SOUTH CITY
$695
Two-bedroom duplex, hdwds, c/a, private basement with w&d hookups. $30 application fee.
Call to prequalify, 314-221-9568 SOUTH-CITY
$525
Spacious 1BR's, Hardwood floors, A/C, stove, fridge, ceiling fans, deck in rear. Clean, quiet. Near bus and shopping.
314-223-8067 SOUTH CITY
Relaxing One Hour Full Body Massage Swedish Deep Tissue Daily 10am-5pm
$595-$625
Great location near Hwy 170, 64, 70 & 270. 10 minutes to Clayton.
NEW O’ Fallon Location
ULTIMATE MASSAGE BY SUMMER
$795
Spacious 2 BR, 2nd floor. Laminate floors, ceiling fans, W/D hookup, dishwasher, private back yard.
314-995-1912 CLEAN, SAFE QUIET!
Amazing Touch Relaxing Full Body Therapeutic Massage For Men
APARTMENTS
$400/$850
1 - 3 BR apts. Many different units. NO CREDIT, NO PROBLEM! 314-771-4222 www.stirr.com UNIVERSITY CITY
$795
2 BR apt, new kitchen, bath & carpet. C/A & heat. No Pets. 314-727-1444 WESTPORT/ LINDBERGH/PAGE
$595/$635
Nice area near Hwy 170, 64, 70 & 270 & Clayton ONE Patio, laundry, great landlord! MONTH 314-995-1912 FREE! CLEAN, SAFE QUIET!
Classified Advertising 314-754-5925
Legal
1/12V MEN 4 MEN Ad Here BODY EXFOLIATION & #95299 GROOMING (Pick Up)FOR MEN! • FULL BODY MASSAGE • SOFT SENSUAL TOUCH • TANTriC • iNCALLS • iN/OUT CALLS TO YOUr HOTEL/MOTEL, HOME & OFFiCE
Above & Below g capin The Belt s n a M Grooming For Men Visit Our Website For Services & Rates Theshavemster.com
314-236-7060
stlouismalemassage@gmail.com stlouismalemassage.com 54
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
Call For Appointment
407-494-7425 riverfronttimes.com
Self-storage Cube contents of the following customers containing household and other goods will be sold for cash by CubeSmart 2661 Veterans Memorial Parkway, St Charles, MO 63303 to satisfy a lien on August 15, 2018 at approx. 3:00 PM at www.storagetreasures.com Cube # 1664, Erica Canestraight Cube # 1184, Debra Clark Cube # 1647, William Fasick Cube # 1326, Belen Hutchison Cube # 1644, Amy Spafford
Self-storage contents of the following customers containing household items and other goods will be sold for cash by CubeSmart 725 N. 23rd St., St. Louis, Mo 63103 to satisfy lien on August 15, 2018 at 1:00 P.M. at www.storagetreasures.com Cube # 4091 Shanta Shumpert Cube # 4010 Gail Kennard Cube # 2170 Kimberly Bradley Cube # 3061 Melonie Williams Cube # 2110 Jacquiline Long
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE
MUSICIANS
Do you Need: A Musician? A Band? String Quartet?
Do you have a band? We have Bookings Call For Information
314-781-6612
DATING MADE DATING EASY! MADE Mon-Fri 10-4:30
FREE PROMO CODE 9512 MUSICIANS AVAILABLE FREE PROMO 314-739-7777 Do you Need: A Musician? Telemates CODE 9512 A Band? String Quartet?
EASY!
Call The Musicians
314-739-7777 Association of St. Louis
Call The Musicians Association of St. Louis
314-781-6612
The Changing Pointe
Mon-Fri 10-4:30
MUSICIANS
Call Angela Jansen Do you have a band? 314-645-5900
(314) 207 - 8406 samedaySTDtesting.com
We have Bookings bankruptcyshopstl.com Call For Information The choice of a 314-781-6612 lawyer is an important decision Do you have a band? and should not be based solely on advertising. Mon-Fri 10-4:30 We have Bookings Call For Information
MUSICIANS
PRIVATE Confidential
314-781-6612 Mon-Fri 10-4:30
&
Hope for a bright future
Stress
314-781-6612 Telemates Mon-Fri 10-4:30
FREE
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE Do you Need: A Musician? A Band? String Quartet?
Call The Musicians MUSICIANS AVAILABLE Association of St. Louis
Do you 314-781-6612 Need: A Musician? A Band? String Quartet? Mon-Fri 10-4:30 Call The Musicians Association of St. Louis
314-781-6612
Call Angela Jansen 314-645-5900 bankruptcyshopstl.com
Call Angela Jansen 314-645-5900
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertising.
All The Newest Ideas! Mon-Fri 10-4:30
bankruptcyshopstl.com
Ultimate Massage by
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertising.
9” Monitor “Floats” Above A 1-DIN Dash!
Summer!
SWEDISH & DEEP TISSUE FULL BODY MASSAGE MONDAY-FRIDAY 10AM-5PM SOME WEEKENDS
South County/ Lemay Area
314-620-6386 # 2006003746
Get all the latest technology without cutting your dash! Rear-view camera and iDataLink Maestro compatible.
899
$
99
Compatible Amp For Stop-Start Vehicles! 180-watt, 4-channel amp works — even if your engine shuts off.
Full Body Massage Soft Sensual Touch
314-236-7060 Stlouismalemassage.com stlouismalemassage@gmail.com
Personal Coaching for Conscious Relationships, Intimacy & Sexuality
314-250-6088
www.IntimateCoaching.Com
Sacred Touch STL
19999
$
Platonic Intimacy (Cuddling), Deep Attention, Affection & Conscious Touch
SOUTH: 5616 S. Lindbergh • (314) 842-1242 WEST: 14633 Manchester • (636) 527-26811 HAZELWOOD: 233 Village Square Center • (314) 731-1212 Mon. - Sat. 9 AM - 7 PM; Sunday Noon - 5 PM Unless otherwise limited, prices are good through Tuesday following publication date. Installed price offers are for product purchased from Audio Express installed in factory-ready locations. Custom work at added cost. Kits, antennas and cables additional. Added charges for shop supplies and environmental disposal where mandated. Illustrations similar. Video pictures may be simulated. Not responsible for typographic errors. Savings off MSRP or our original sales price, may include install savings. Intermediate markdowns may have been taken. Details, conditions and restrictions of manufacturer promotional offers at respective websites. Price match applies to new, non-promotional items from authorized sellers; excludes “shopping cart” or other hidden specials. © 2019, Audio Express.
riverfronttimes.com
SL Riverfront Tim
314-250-6088 www.sacredtouchstl.com
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
RIVERFRONT TIMES
55
Happy Hour Specials LUMBERJACK SALOON HITS THE BULLSEYE
SPONSORED CONTENT
St. Louis’ ONLY Axe Throwing Bar and Grill FREE Axe Throwing with Food and Beverage Purchase!
720 N. 1ST ST, ST. LOUIS, MO 63102
“The Other Office” Group HAPPY HOUR Program @ Big Daddy’s on the Landing GROUP HAPPY HOUR SIGN YOUR WHOLE OFFICE OR GROUP UP TODAY & GET: • One hour free happy hour buffet -
SIGN YOURYouWHOLE can even pickOFFICE the food! OR GROUP• Discounted UP TODAY & GET: $3 you-call-it beers & cocktails & $5 premium & specialty drinks.
• Large or small groups welcome into program -
One Hour Free Happy Hour Buffet from 20 to 400 people. Discounted Beers & Cocktails • Book once a month, Monday-Friday. Hassle free - takes two minutes to sign up. Book Once a Month, Monday-Friday • Book online today @ lacledes-landing.bigdaddystl.com From•20 to 400 People Entertainment requests (DJ, karaoke, trivia, live music)
Tired of the same old happy hour? Axecite your night with Lumberjack Saloon’s frosty booze, cracklin’ bacon, and wood splitting axe throwing happy hour! Located off the cobblestone street of St. Louis’ revitalized riverfront landing, Lumberjack Saloon is breathing new life into their 3pm-7pm happy hour by incorporating a fun new bar game that puts darts to shame - axe throwing. Take the edge off by hurling a lightweight, 1.25lb axe down one of Lumberjack Saloon’s six axe throwing lanes while accompanied by a professional ‘axepert’. Axepert’s, as coined by owner Aaron Cockrell, are professional axe throwers who coach you during the 1.5 hour session of axe-llent fun. Axe throwing isn’t the only cuttingedge spin that the Lumberjack Saloon is serving up at it’s happy hour. You can
also indulge in the roughneck kitchen’s new Bacon Flight with whiskey parings. The Bacon Flight includes a plate of mouth watering, thick cut bacon strips in 5 different sizzilin’ flavors. To further enhance the flavors of the meat candy that is the Bacon Flight, each one comes with a whiskey paring fit for a lumberjack. Whether you want to impress your friends with an innovative evening out, or let off some steam after a long day at work, the Lumberjack Saloon offers an exhilarating evening of axe throwing. And because nothing goes better together than axe throwing and alcohol, for a limited time you can enjoy a free axe throwing session with a food and beverage purchase! Mix it up, and stop by the Lumberjack Saloon’s weekday happy hour from 3pm-7pm at 720 North 1st Street.
HAPPY HOUR 3-6 PM | 10-CLOSE THE LOOP
314-721-3388 6307 DELMAR BLVD. UNIVERSITY CITY, MO 63130
DES PERES SOUTH COUNTY
314-858-1067 11925 MANCHESTER RD. DES PERES, MO 63131
THREEKINGSPUB.COM
ENJOY THE BIG 3 FOR $3.50 EACH
HOTSHOTS BURGER 9” PIZZA BONELESS WINGS MONDAY - FRIDAY 3 - 6PM
FREE upon request with large groups.
Book online today at lacledes-landing.bigdaddystl.com
Make Big Daddy’s “THE OTHER OFFICE” for happy hour. Book it today. Totally free to sign up!
314-293-3614 40 RONNIE’S PLAZA ST. LOUIS, MO 63126
HOTSHOTSNET.COM
LUMBERJACK SALOON | 720 NORTH 1ST ST, ST. LOUIS, MO 63102 | Facebook.com/LumberJackSTL
HAPPY HOUR DAILY 3PM – 6PM
HAPPY HOUR 4-7 Tuesday–Friday
HAPPY HOUR MONDAY – SATURDAY 4 TO 7PM
Domestic Buckets..........................$15 Select Drafts...........................$2 off Wells...............................................$3 Pizzas........................................$3 off Select Appetizers.....................$2 off
$2 Tall Boys $3 Wells $4 Wine $15 Buckets $18 All-You-Can-Eat Wings
the cocktails are classy & the beers are white trashy
1933 Washington Ave, STL MO
see our website for party reservations doubledstl.com
1740 S. Brentwood Blvd
Happy Hour Mon-Fri 3pm-7pm $2 Domestics • $3 Wells Tues - $2 tacos • wed - steak night thurs - 1/2 off all pizzas 1432 N Broadway 56
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 8 - 14, 2018
riverfronttimes.com
1730 South 8th Street | Soulard
CLASSIC COCKTAILS $7 GIN TONIC $6 CLASSIC MARTINI’S $8 DOLLAR OFF LOCAL BEERS NatashasGinRoom.com
314-771-3411