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JANUARY 17, 2019 | 3 1/10/19 11:46 AM

::NEWS&VIEWS FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | ISSUE OF THE WEEK

Is It Time to Reform Wisconsin’s Cannabis Laws?

IS THE BADGER STATE ON THE VERGE OF FOLLOWING 33 STATES INTO THE FUTURE? ::BY LOUIS G. FORTIS epublican politicians are terrified of marijuana. In hushed tones around the Capitol in Madison, they worry about a growing political reality: Wisconsin voters’ overwhelming support for reforming Wisconsin’s marijuana laws, which are some of the harshest in the nation. Cannabis may just be the GOP’s political kryptonite.

Arguably the strongest winners in the Nov. 6, 2018, election in Wisconsin were a variety of advisory referenda on cannabis reform, on the ballot in 16 counties and two cities. All passed with solid majorities, including up to 89 % support for legalizing medical cannabis, while full legalization garnered between 59-76 % of the vote where it was on the ballot. In Milwaukee County, 70 % of voters favored legalization. Statewide, that support adds up to nearly one million votes for some type of cannabis reform in Wisconsin from just the 16 counties, both rural and urban, and the two cities that had a referendum on the ballot.

4 | JANUARY 17, 2019

Former Attorney General Brad Schimel blames the cannabis referenda as a factor in his election loss. He told WTMJ that having cannabis reform on the ballot around the state boosted Democratic turnout.

Looking nationwide, Forbes magazine declared marijuana to be the clear victor on Nov. 6, under the headline: “Marijuana Won The Midterm Election.” Michigan voters approved a ballot measure legalizing cannabis. Missouri and Utah approved medicinal legalization. According to Governing Magazine, 33 states and the District of Columbia have passed some sort of marijuana reform, including 10 states and D.C. passing full legalization. Wisconsin sits in the bottom third, alongside states like Mississippi and Alabama.

Wisconsin lags behind national trends as stigma and myths about consumption are increasingly debunked. As with alcohol, states have implemented laws and regulations to prohibit driving under the influence and to limit use to adults 21 and older. Many states have used cannabis tax revenue for such crucial needs as health care. A number of Wisconsin polls, including the Marquette University Law School poll, have shown two-to-one support for full legalization. Medicinal use support in Wisconsin has always garnered far broader support. Both have economic development and state revenue implications. Cannabis is a very serious treatment for people with debilitating illnesses. As a cancer survivor, Gov. Tony Evers says his support for medicinal cannabis use “is a given.”

At least equally compelling is the strong racial justice aspect that can only begin to be addressed with full legalization. Nationwide, according to the Brookings Institute, white and black populations use marijuana at roughly equal levels. Yet, arrests for African Americans are 3.5 times higher than among whites. In Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, that number jumps to a staggering six times higher.

So, while economic and political rationale remains strong, there is a crescendo of voices arguing the social and racial justice benefits of full legalization.

“In referenda across the state, we heard that people are done with marijuana prohibition,” says state Rep. Melissa Sargent, the Assembly author of past bills to support full legalization who plans to reintroduce her bill with some changes in the first half of this year. “We need to honor the overwhelming will of the people.”

TO STAY INFORMED OF WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH RESPECT TO MARIJUANA IN WISCONSIN, NEIGHBORING STATES AND THE REST OF THE WORLD, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE SHEPHERD’S NEW WEEKLY SECTION ENTITLED “CANNABIS CONNECTION,” WHICH THIS WEEK IS ON PAGE 12.

Marijuana laws have harmed communities

Racial bias in the enforcement of Wisconsin’s antiquated cannabis laws results in the fifth worst disparity in the nation. That not only carries monetary and jail time penalties, but collateral consequences of an arrest record hurt employment opportunities, eligibility for student loans and public housing, child custody decisions and immigration status.

That’s why Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) put marijuana legalization at the center of his racial justice bill: “For decades, the failed War on Drugs has locked up millions of

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non-violent drug offenders—especially for marijuanarelated offenses—at an incredible cost of lost human potential, torn-apart families and communities and taxpayer dollars.” His bill would also penalize states like Wisconsin with racially disparate arrest or incarceration rates for marijuana-related crimes to undo some of the harm the War on Drugs inflicted on minority communities.

After seeing the Wisconsin referenda results, Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas noted it is his job to enforce current laws, but added, “The voters spoke loudly last night that they support legalization of marijuana.” He is a strong supporter of decriminalization, saying arrests and prosecutions for possession is definitely discriminatory, but he wants more research before supporting full legalization.

Wisconsin is punitive: A first marijuana offense is punishable by fines or up to six months incarceration. A second offense is a felony that can result in up to three-anda-half years in prison.

The Wisconsin Justice Initiative analyzed Milwaukee County arrest records from 2015 and 2016 and found that 86 % of second felony arrests (with no other crime involved) were African Americans, 70 % of possession cases were filed against African Americans in the city of Milwaukee. In Madison, while African Americans represent roughly seven percent of the population, they make up more than half of marijuana arrests.

The Economic Impact

Former Gov. Scott Walker gave away Wisconsin taxpayer dollars to billionaires and Foxconn, growing future debt while letting state roads crumble. It’s no secret that fixing Republican negligence toward infrastructure, health care and public education has a high price tag. Cannabis reform can help.

Colorado generated $250 million in tax revenue from marijuana in 2017. Sales in Washington generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year, primarily used for public health programs such as Medicaid.

Rep. Sargent’s 2017 bill would charge annual fees to dispensaries while producers and sellers would pay sales and excise tax. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue has predicted that the bill would generate $138 million in tax revenue annually, while a 2015 Tax Foundation study estimate projected that legalizing and taxing marijuana in Wisconsin would raise $159 million a year.

In addition to the potential revenue, legalization can boost the economy in other ways, including job creation and attracting coveted “young professionals” to Wisconsin. Talented young professionals, unlike those in earlier generations who followed a job, often choose where they want to live and then look for a job there. This is also the case for young, educated entrepreneurs. They want a forward-looking state that values amenities like good public schools and has progressive state policies. Currently, one of the main indicators of how forward-looking a state is comes down to its laws on marijuana. Unfortunately, Wisconsin is at the bottom of that list. We can’t attract young talent and the young entrepreneurs who want to hire that young talent if we are viewed as a backward-looking, reactionary state.

If Illinois is going to allow you to smoke a joint on a Saturday evening without fear of arrest while Wisconsin would make you a felon, we are going to continue to hover at the bottom of the pack of our fellow Midwestern

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

states when it comes to new job creation. These backward-looking policies are definitely hurting our state’s image as well as our economy. Wisconsin, for decades, had been viewed as a smart and forwarding-looking state, but unfortunately that all changed with the 2010 election and the subsequent extreme gerrymandering of our state’s legislative districts.

Also, Milwaukee Rep. David Bowen makes a strong economic case for legalization with respect to filling many skilled jobs. A failed drug test because the applicant smoked a joint the previous weekend can eliminate a talented candidate from consideration. Bowen authored a bill to remove THC—the active ingredient in cannabis— from employment drug tests.

Legalizing marijuana would also create jobs in itself.

An article in the Washington Post, citing a Marijuana Policy Group study of economic impact in Colorado from two years of legal sales, concluded it had created 18,000 new jobs and generated $2.4 billion in economic activity.

Then, there are costs that can be cut. According to a 2013 American Civil Liberties Union report, a person is arrested every 37 seconds in the United States for marijuana, and enforcement costs $3.6 billion per year. In Wisconsin, where a second arrest is a felony, the monetary costs of conviction, incarceration, law enforcement and judicial resources is staggering. Gov. Evers and former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson both tout prison reform and lowering the incarcerated populations as a top goal.

Full legalization is one critical factor in reaching this goal.

GOP begins to see the light

Marijuana reform is one issue where good politics and good policy intersect for elected officials, particularly Democrats. It also moves votes to the D-column for Libertarians, who have long been vocal on full legalization but in the past may have leaned Republican. Some Republican elected leaders are taking note of the rapid swing in public attitudes. Speaker Robin Vos has stated that if you can get a prescription for an opioid, marijuana shouldn’t be any different. He told Mike Gousha the week after the Nov. 2018 election, “I am all in favor of [medicinal use].”

Former Republican House Speaker John Boehner said that, like many Americans, he’s had a change of heart and now favors cannabis legalization. He is now an investor in the U.S. cannabis startup Acreage Holdings. “I’m convinced de-scheduling the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities.” Also advising this company is conservative former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Democrats who drag their feet on cannabis reform could be stung. Indeed, documentarian filmmaker Michael Moore told MSNBC that if Democrats want to win the presidency in 2020, cannabis should be on the ballot.

In states that led on regulating marijuana, many of the arguments, such as legalization increasing teen use, have shown the opposite to be true—a federally funded study shows that teen use has actually decreased since 2012, when legalization began in the U.S.. Plus, it’s popular. A Forever Wisconsin poll by Myers Research, last October, showed 64 % support overall and 91% among Democrats in our state. Among those Democratic respondents, 72 % said they were more likely to vote if full legalization of cannabis were on the ballot.

Gallup, which, incredibly, has been polling on marijuana legalization since 1969, when only 12 % nationwide favored it, reflects the shift. In 2005, Gallup found only around 30 % support, but now it has sharply increased to 66 %—a two to one favorability overall. And 2017 marked the first year Gallup found Republicans rising to a majority—this year 53 %—in favor.

If, over the next two years, Wisconsin doesn’t catch up to the majority of other states and begin to start legalizing marijuana, the pro-marijuana legalization advocates— Democrats, Libertarians and some Republicans—vow to have full legalization on the ballot in all 72 counties in 2020.

This would be a disaster for the Republicans at the polls.

Wisconsin moves to legalize

Rep. Sargent says she anticipates introducing her bill, which plans to legalize and regulate cannabis similarly to state regulation of alcohol, in the first half of this year after making some minor changes based on lessons and feedback. She expects that, with the Wisconsin referenda showing overwhelming support, she may see an increase in co-sponsors and legislators who would vote yes.

Sen. LaTonya Johnson, the senate sponsor of the full legalization bill, said the Wisconsin referenda should be the beginning of a bipartisan discussion. But she believes it won’t happen unless the public puts pressure on their elected officials. As she told Urban Milwaukee: “I urge legislators on both sides of the aisle to take note of the widespread support shown by voters throughout the state and take action accordingly. I also encourage members of the public to not let their voice end with the referenda and keep reaching out to your elected officials and asking that they move forward with changing our state’s marijuana laws.”

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n Marijuana continued on page 6 >

IF, OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WISCONSIN DOESN’T CATCH UP TO THE MAJORITY OF OTHER STATES AND BEGIN TO START LEGALIZING MARIJUANA, THE PRO-MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION ADVOCATES— DEMOCRATS, LIBERTARIANS AND SOME REPUBLICANS—VOW TO HAVE FULL LEGALIZATION ON THE BALLOT IN ALL 72 COUNTIES IN 2020.

THIS WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR THE REPUBLICANS AT THE POLLS. JANUARY 17, 2019 | 5

NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE > Marijuana continued from page 5

CANNABIS REFORM IN NORTH AMERICA If Wisconsin wants to keep pace with neighboring states and Canada and secure the full fiscal benefit from an initial surge in sales to fund top state priorities, it cannot wait. “Legalization will thrive here if we do it right and we do it soon,” says Rep. Melissa Sargent. “We don’t want Wisconsin to be a dead zone while other states all around us invest in prosperity.”

Newly elected Democratic governors in Minnesota and Illinois have both indicated they will move toward full legalization, while Michigan and Canada recently did. It appears even Iowa, the only other bordering outlier, could move forward as part of a sentencing reform bill that includes expungement of criminal records.

Here is what Gov. Evers’ new counterparts have to say on cannabis legalization:

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Voters approved a proposal to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana by a margin of 56 % to 44 %. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer touted her vote on Twitter: “I will be a ‘yes’ vote on legalizing recreational marijuana... we need a governor who will tax it and regulate it so that we can #fixthedamnroads.”

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Democratic Gov. Tim Walz summarized his views on Twitter: “I support legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use by developing a system of taxation, guaranteeing that it is Minnesota grown, and expunging the records of Minnesotans convicted of marijuana crimes.”

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As of October 2018, cannabis became fully legal in Canada.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker (who now works with a Democrat-controlled legislature) made cannabis reform a centerpiece in his campaign for its disproportionate impact on black and brown communities: “We can begin by immediately removing one area of racial injustice in our criminal justice system. Let’s legalize, tax and regulate marijuana.”

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The Hop Update: Ridership Numbers, Expansion and a New App? The Hop saw more than 75,000 rides during its first month of operation ::BY EVAN CASEY

T

he Hop, Milwaukeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shiny new streetcar serving a portion of Downtown, is alive and well. However, difficulties still remain regarding expansion to more areas across the city.

This comes as ridership data was released for December. 76,044 total rides were given during the month, with 2,453 average daily rides. Ridership is holding steady from The Hopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first month in operation, which saw 76,125 total rides.

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Expansion Expanding The Hop has remained a top priority for city officials who support the streetcar. It was at the grand opening event

that Mayor Tom Barrett said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have started the design work on the first leg of the streetcar to Bronzeville.â&#x20AC;? The City has been making plans to extend the streetcar to the Wisconsin Center District. Also possible is an expansion to the Fiserv Forum. However, funding has remained an issue for this possible expansion.

As it is now, the streetcar runs 2.1 miles, from the Lower East Side to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, with 18 stops in between that include the Milwaukee Public Market, Milwaukee School of Engineering and City Hall. Further expansions could bode well for Milwaukeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bid for the 2020 Democratic National Convention. But expanding the streetcar to Bronzeville and beyond has also SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::FEATURE been important for many streetcar naysayers, as many opponents of The Hop say the streetcar is only benefiting the downtown area.

“We have already begun to initiate design for the first leg of an extension to Bronzeville,” said Public Works Commissioner Jeff Polenske. “In an effort to make the project more shovel ready and better positioned to more quickly utilize any funding sources that may become available, we have begun the preliminary engineering and utility coordination activities.”

The Common Council has already approved $20 million for the $40 million expansion project to the Fiserv Forum, but the city was recently denied a federal BUILD grant that would have likely paid for the rest of the project. “Ideally, we’re always trying to leverage as much federal funding as we can,” Polenske recently said, “but we are looking at our options.”

Alderman Robert Bauman said he has had informal talks with representatives from the Milwaukee Bucks regarding them helping to pay for the expansion, but he said that, so far, all he has received is “a polite decline.”

Ald. Bauman, who is a vocal advocate for the streetcar, said he is hopeful that the transit system will at least get to Wisconsin Avenue soon, adding that they will go as far as they can with the funds they have.

“To me, they would be the biggest beneficiary,” said Ald. Bauman about the Bucks.

A New App? Riders are still choosing to brave the cold to ride the streetcar, even as the only schedules available for patrons are a printed schedule posted at each platform and an online PDF timetable on the streetcar’s website. City officials have said an app providing real-time data on the location of the streetcar would come in December—but that was back in November.

An app like this could help inform riders when there are substantial delays, saving riders time and keeping them warm, especially during the cold winter months.

When asked about the app, Polenske said proving real time data is a “top priority.”

However, he said that he still doesn’t have an exact date for when they will roll out the app publicly.

Delays have been of concern at times, as cars blocking service or mechanical issues have been impacting wait times for the streetcar. The Hop hoped to fix this issue with their Hop Alerts Twitter account, which has posted regular “rider alerts” since the account began in the middle of December.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n SHEPHERD EXPRESS

JOIN US Monday, January 21, 2019

22nd ANNUAL MLK CELEBRATION BREAKFAST Join us as we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and recognize local community members and organizations who are dedicated to serving others.

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Monday, January 21, 2019 • 7–9 a.m.

7 a.m. Registration 7:30 a.m. Breakfast and Program

Special thank you to Aurora Health Care, our lead event sponsor.

Italian Community Center 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee Please respond by Friday, January 11, 2019 via the event page on our website: ymcamke.org

AWARD RECOGNITION:

» Northwestern Mutual Youth Development Spoken Word Award: TO BE ANNOUNCED » GE Healthcare Healthy Living Award: UWM ZILBER SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH » Potawatomi Hotel & Casino Social Responsibility Award: CITY OF MILWAUKEE OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION

3rd ANNUAL YOUTH ENGAGED MLK Join us as we come together to watch the film PERSONAL STATEMENT by Juliane Dressner, which follows three Brooklyn teens who want to be the first generation in their families to go to college.

This presentation is open to youth ages 14-18 years old.

ON: Monday, January 21, 2019 • 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

AT: Oriental Theatre • 2230 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee FEE: This event is FREE to all youth serving organizations,

Special thank you to our partners.

but seating is limited, so registration is required.

REGISTER by Monday, January 14 at ymcamke.org/YOUTHMLK JANUARY 17, 2019 | 9

::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( JAN. 17 - JAN. 23, 2019 ) The Shepherd Express serves as a clearinghouse for all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Donald Trump administration, as well as others who seek to thwart social justice. We will publicize and promote actions, demonstrations, planning meetings, teach-ins, party-building meetings, drinking-discussion gettogethers and any other actions that are directed toward fighting back to preserve our liberal democratic system.

Thursday, Jan. 17

Sixth District Town Hall Meeting @ Bader Philanthropies (3300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), 5:30-7 p.m.

Sixth District Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, along with a number of representatives from various city departments will come together to address concerns and answer questions residents may have. The 2018 Dr. James G. White Sixth District Difference Makers will also be recognized at the meeting.

Town Hall Meeting @ South Milwaukee Public Library (1907 10th Ave., South Milwaukee), 6-7:30 p.m.

Steven Shea, Milwaukee County Supervisor representing the Eighth District, will host a town hall meeting at the South Milwaukee Public Library to give constituents a chance to discuss the issues that are most important to them.

Saturday, Jan. 19

Peace Action of Wisconsin: Stand for Peace @ The corner of 92nd Street and North Avenue, noon-1 p.m.

Every Saturday from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action Wisconsin to protest war and, literally, “Stand for

Peace.” Signs will be provided for those who need them. Protesters are encouraged to stick around for conversation and coffee afterward.

Sunday, Jan. 20

35th-Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration @ the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts (929 N. Water St.), 1-3 p.m.

The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts will host its 35th-Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration, making Milwaukee and Atlanta the only cities that have celebrated King’s birthday every year since 1984. Programming will consist of local young people interpreting his words through an art, speech and writing contest.

Monday, Jan. 21

Working Moms of Milwaukee MLK Jr. Celebration @ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library (310 W. Locust St.), 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The King library branch will host a day dedicated to honoring the life and legacy of its namesake. Activities include poetry, music, dance, crafts, games and community services. Mayor Tom Barrett and City Librarian Paula Kiely kick off live programming at noon.

Keeping the Dream Alive @ The Oriental Theatre (2230 N. Farwell Ave.), 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

In this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day event open to youth ages 14-18, participants will watch Personal Statement, a film by Juliane Dressner that follows three Brooklyn, N.Y., teens who want to be the first generation in their families to go to college. A group discussion follows.

Allied in the Fight: Lunch and Learn with Curator Molly Dubin @ Jewish Museum Milwaukee (1360 N. Prospect Ave.), 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Jewish Museum Milwaukee curator Molly Dubin will give a presentation on the museum’s spring 2018 exhibit: “Allied in the Fight: Jews, Blacks and the Struggle for Civil Rights.”

The event is free and open to the public. RSVP at jewishmuseummilwaukee.org.

Tuesday, Jan. 22

Town Hall Meeting @ South Division High School (1515 W. Lapham Blvd.), 5-7 p.m.

Aldermen Jose G. Perez and Bob Donovan and Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales will lead a town hall meeting on ways to improve police-community relations in Milwaukee. Registration and socializing will be held from 5-5:30 p.m., with the town hall taking place until 7 p.m.

Environmental & Social Justice Film Series: ‘13th’ @ Urban Ecology Center—Washington Park (1859 N. 40th St.), 5:30-7 p.m.

This month’s Urban Ecology Center Environ-

mental & Social Justice Film Series installment is 13th, an in-depth look at the prison system in the U.S. and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality. The screening will be followed by a group discussion around how to better our communities.

Wednesday, Jan. 23

Community Forum on Excessive Supervision in Milwaukee @ Wisconsin African American Women’s Center (3020 W. Vliet St.), 5-8 p.m.

A number of progressive community organizations will come together to host a panel discussion featuring people who have been directly impacted by Wisconsin’s horrific, racist system of mass supervision (which follows mass incarceration). The event will also include a presentation on mass supervision in Wisconsin and state budget advocacy training.

MPS School Board District Eight Candidate Forum @ Bay View Library (2566 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), 6-7:30 p.m.

Milwaukee students, staff, parents and community members are invited to meet the candidates for the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors. Eighth District candidates Derek Beyer, Kathryn Gabor and Megan O’Halloran will be in attendance.

To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@shepex.com.

Together, we can fight to minimize the damage that Donald Trump and others of his kind have planned for our great country. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

NEWS&VIEWS::POLL

You Think it’s Bizarre that Scott Walker is Moving to Milwaukee Last week, we asked if you find it odd that, after eight years of doing so much damage to Milwaukee, former Gov. Scott Walker has decided to live here. You said: n Yes: 75% n No: 25%

What Do You Say? Recent reports have renewed concerns about Donald Trump’s strange behavior with respect to Russia. Do you believe Vladimir Putin has leverage over Trump? n Yes n No Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue.

10 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

NEWS&VIEWS::TAKINGLIBERTIES

Walker Is No Lee Sherman Dreyfus ::BY JOEL MCNALLY

S

cott Walker, having no other immediate job prospects, recently announced he was launching a new career as a public speaker.

The first person I thought of was Lee Sherman Dreyfus, the only Wisconsin Republican governor in history to use the office as a stepping stone to a successful career in after-dinner entertainment.

I knew Lee Dreyfus, and Scott Walker is no Lee Dreyfus. Walker’s nasty, mean-spirited Republican Party also bears little resemblance to the state Republican Party Dreyfus took over with an upset, grassroots, populist, primary victory in 1978 over Congressman Bob Kasten, the party’s endorsed candidate for governor.

The term “populist” obviously has lost all meaning these days after being used to describe both democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders and racist demagogue Donald Trump.

But Dreyfus was the original recipe, a nonpolitician chancellor of the UW-Stevens Point who campaigned joyously, attracting attention with student members of his university’s marching band.

In 1978, Dreyfus beat Democrat Martin Schreiber, the lieutenant governor who had the top job a year and a half after President Jimmy Carter appointed Gov. Patrick Lucey ambassador to Mexico. Dreyfus was the media’s favorite kind of politician, regardless of party. He was always accessible and endlessly quotable. Dreyfus’ background was in broadcasting as a communications professor who managed a university radio station at Detroit’s Wayne State University and later WHA-TV at the UW-Madison.

Working Across Party Lines

Dreyfus sometimes called himself as “a Republicrat.” The worst fears of rightwing Republicans were realized when Dreyfus worked with the Democratic legislature in 1982 to pass legislation making Wisconsin the first state in the nation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations.

But Dreyfus also was a fiscal conservative. In his campaign, he attacked Schreiber for having a large budget surplus and promised to return it to taxpayers. His successful line was: “We didn’t tell them to keep the change.”

Then, just as quickly as Dreyfus had burst onto Wisconsin’s political scene, he was gone.

Dreyfus surprised his own party by announcing in the spring of 1982 he’d never wanted SHEPHERD EXPRESS

to be a career politician and wouldn’t seek a second term. He worked for a year as CEO of Sentry Insurance in Stevens Point, but then he spent the rest of his life doing what he really loved, entertaining audiences as a public speaker. His wife, Joyce, ran his personal speaker’s bureau, booking appearances around the country.

Obviously, the end of Walker’s political career wasn’t nearly as voluntary. Neither has Walker ever been known as a riveting public speaker or even a particularly interesting one.

Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” created a comic video mashup of presidential candidate Walker in various venues telling that long story about how little he paid for his sweater at Kohl’s. Fallon wondered how egregious someone’s sins had to be to get stuck next to that guy on an airplane. Certainly no one ever would confuse Walker for an upbeat political speaker like Dreyfus who could appeal to both Republicans and Democrats. By the end of his brief presidential campaign, Walker had enough difficulty appealing to Republicans.

Walker filled the same, very specific niche in Republican politics as his friend Paul Ryan. As the Republican Party moved to the extreme right, bland and boring worked very well for them. They put innocent, boyish faces on increasingly reprehensible Republican policies. They specialized in dog whistles and code words to mask their party’s ugliest appeals to society’s most disturbing fringes.

Going Hard Right

Then Trump suddenly upended Republican politics by discarding namby-pamby euphemisms and openly providing cheering rightwing crowds with hardcore, racist, antiimmigrant porn. Walker’s low-key, innocuous persona was virtually invisible in two presidential debates before he dropped out.

Like Ryan, Walker temporarily attempted to separate himself from Trump, saying he was dropping out of the presidential race so the strongest possible alternative to Trump could emerge as a more respectable Republican nominee. Also, like Ryan, when Trump shocked everyone—including himself—by winning the presidency, Walker immediately started sucking up. Now, he’s already declared his first job as a renowned public speaker will be to chair Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign in Wisconsin.

We know it can difficult for someone in his 50s unexpectedly thrown into the job market, especially without a college degree. But public speaking may not be a realistic long-term career path for Walker. As quickly as possible, his wealthy political sponsors who received enormous financial windfalls during his two terms as governor should create a phony-baloney job for him.

Walker’s prospects could be much worse.

He could be a federal employee going without pay indefinitely with no end in sight until an irrational president can figure out how to back down from an outrageous political promise to his most gullible supporters to spend billions of dollars on an enormous, worthless memorial to hatred of immigrants.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

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::CANNABISCONNECTION THE GO-TO SITE FOR EVERYTHING CANNABIS IN WISCONSIN

We will keep you informed each week about the growing availability of legal cannabis products in Milwaukee and what’s happening at the state level with respect to Wisconsin’s movement towards legalization, what’s happening in other states and in the rest of the world.

Alternatives Dispensed at Elev8 Milwaukee ::BY SHEILA JULSON

A

FTER ANTHONY OLIVERA TORE HIS ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT WHILE ON THE JOB, his doctors suggested pharmaceuticals for pain relief. Olivera was skeptical of prescription pain drugs and began researching alternatives such as cannabidiol (CBD). He found relief after using CBD lotion on his injury, and he realized that others could also benefit from the hemp-derived product. That led him to open Elev8 (pronounced “elevate”) Milwaukee, a CBD dispensary, located at 3242 W. National Ave. Olivera’s uncle owns Elev8 Eastlake, a marijuana dispensary in the San Diego area (the two businesses are independently owned and operated). Through him, Olivera learned about CBD and established connections with California-based manufacturers of CBD products. Olivera also offers products made by CBD Therapeutics of Wisconsin, owned by his friend, Rachel Cartwright.

“I chose this location because I wanted to be right in Milwaukee, not in a suburb, and the VA hospital is here,” Olivera said, gesturing west toward the nearby Milwaukee VA Medical Center. “So many veterans have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” For this reason, he offers a 15% discount to veterans.

In his shop, painted a striking gecko green, with a couch for people to relax, Olivera aims to create a brand while also helping people in the neighborhood affected by poverty. Guests are greeted with the phrase “Did you Elev8 today?” and the staff also speaks Spanish. To make CBD products accessible, Olivera keeps prices low.

“I’m not in this business to make a million bucks,” he emphasized. He pointed toward packages of disposable vape pens priced at $15. “Anywhere else, these same ones are $30.” He cites direct relationships with manufacturers for his ability to keep prices low and noted some CBD businesses are just trying to cash in on the hemp trend by drastically marking up items. He noted his CBD flower prerolls, available in several flavors, run $6 and $7, while many others charge about $10.

Olivera typically doesn’t recommend prerolled CBD flower joints for people seeking wellness properties because he said burning hemp reduces the CBD. He carries prerolls primarily for people who enjoy the sensation of smoking or want a safe alternative to synthetic cannabinoids.

In addition to droplets, lotions, creams, balms, bath salts, vapes and vape oils, Elev8 Milwaukee carries gummies, honey sticks, and CBD-infused cola and fruit seltzer water. Olivera noted that CBD gummies may be available at gas stations and convenience stores, but people should use caution. “We actually investigate our products. I wouldn’t put just any soda or candy in here.”

Olivera and his staff strive to dispel any myths, the most common being that CBD gets people high, or they will test dirty on a drug test. Since opening, on Saturday, Dec. 15, they’ve welcomed guests from the neighborhood, veterans and people from Lake Geneva, Neenah, Mukwonago, New Berlin and even Michigan. The Elev8 Milwaukee staff hears from guests that CBD has helped with their muscle and joint pain, mobility and anxiety.

However, Olivera said he just makes suggestions for products and has even sent guests away if they had reservations or weren’t sure if CBD was right for them. “I tell them to do their own research and talk to their doctors,” he said. He’s also given free product to guests to try.

Olivera recently partnered with Cartwright to offer a free class where she answered questions and discussed CBD products. “Rachel’s one of the most knowledgeable people I know who can educate about CBD,” Olivera said. He plans to offer more classes in the future. He also has a team of volunteers that go to campuses to talk to students about CBD. Elev8 Milwaukee will soon open an 800 square-foot relaxation lounge in February.

For more information, call 414-226-6711 or visit facebook.com/Elev8_milwaukee.

“I CHOSE THIS LOCATION BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE RIGHT IN MILWAUKEE, NOT IN A SUBURB, AND THE VA HOSPITAL IS HERE,” OLIVERA SAID, GESTURING WEST TOWARD THE NEARBY MILWAUKEE VA MEDICAL CENTER. “SO MANY VETERANS HAVE POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD).”

FOR THIS REASON, HE OFFERS A 15% DISCOUNT TO VETERANS. 12 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

Medical Marijuana is Legal in Illinois RECREATIONAL USE IS NEXT ON THE STATE’S AGENDA ::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

M

edical cannabis is legal in Illinois, and its use was expanded in August 2018 by making it an alternative to opioid painkillers. Since their inception in November 2015, the state’s 55 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries have sold more than $220 million worth of cannabis. That number is growing quickly: In the first nine months of 2018, medical cannabis brought $100 million of revenue to the state.

The recent expansion of medical marijuana use is likely to bring another massive wave of users and income. As of October 2018, only 46,000 Illinois residents qualified for the program, as only some conditions qualify patients for it, but that number is bound to increase dramatically even if a tiny fraction of patients switch from opioids to marijuana.

Recreational cannabis is illegal under Illinois state law, but enforcement is relatively lax. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act clearly states that the law does not seek to punish users. “It is not the intent of the General Assembly to treat the unlawful user or occasional petty distributor with the same severity as the large-scale, unlawful purveyors and traffickers,” the law reads. Possession of less than 100 grams of cannabis is a misdemeanor, and “casual deliveries” of cannabis are treated like possession to lighten punishment.

Punishment for selling or delivering cannabis is stricter, however: Any amount more than 10 grams is considered a felony, with increasing fines and prison sentences depending on the amount. For selling more than 5,000 grams of cannabis, penalties may increase to as much as a $200,000 fine and 30 years in prison, but this could soon change.

JB Pritzker, recently elected governor of Illinois, is a staunch proponent of legalization. “The path forward for Illinois is clear: we need to legalize marijuana,” he writes on his website. “It would have real benefits for Illinois, including reducing opioid overdoses and bringing in much-needed revenue from taxation.” He also recognizes that people of color are disproportionately targeted for drug use, and that it is not fair to send consumers to prison. “It’s time to bring the era of mass incarcerations for minor drug offenses to an end,” he adds.

A recent study by the Illinois Economic Institute and the University of Illinois strengthens the new governor’s position: “If marijuana were legalized, regulated and taxed in Illinois, an estimated $1.6 billion would be sold in the state.” Economists also estimate that “taxpayers would save $18.4 million annually in reduced incarceration costs, law enforcement spending and legal fees.”

With overwhelming public support, a new governor in office and Democrats controlling both legislative chambers of the state, a bill legalizing cannabis in Illinois is very likely to pass. According to the Chicago Tribune, “Sponsors plan to introduce a new legalization bill in January and hope to get it passed before the session ends in May.” Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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EVERY SONG TELLS A STORY

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Songs of The Guess Who & Bachman-Turner Overdrive

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2/8 Michael McDermott 2/9 Signalfire, Grace Under Water, A Legend Alone 2/12 Marty Friedman 2/14 Gang Of Four 2/15 Big Bang Baby, Ten, Super Unknown 2/16 Yipes! 2/21 Two Fifteen, Conniption, Amberstein 2/22 Cash Box Kings J A N UA RY 17, 2 0 1 9 | 13

::DININGOUT

For more Dining, log onto shepherdexpress.com

FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK

Mulligans

Living the Pub Life at Mulligan’s

and pretzel bread, sliders ($8.95) in pulled pork or cheeseburger renditions and a Reuben quesadilla ($8.95) with corned beef, Swiss and kraut, served with thousand island for dipping.

You can get that same corned beef in a number of menu items, including a creamy Reuben soup ($2.95) topped with rye bread croutons and a classic Reuben sandwich ($9.95). This is a grilled Reuben, with an appropriate ratio of salty, lean corned beef to bread, instead of one of those piled-6-inches-high behemoths. A few slices on top of the McGinty burger ($11.95) make for a meatier meal if that’s ::BY LACEY MUSZYNSKI what you’re looking for.

Burgers are overall well-seasoned and seared but suffer from overcooking. here wasn’t much around Mulligan’s on its stretch of The Milwaukee burger ($11.95) aims to cover the dryness of the patty with South 27th in Franklin when it opened, save for a few cheddar cheese sauce, onion rings, fried cheese curds and bacon, and does an seedy motels and Jim Dandy’s, a restaurant across the admirable job of distracting you. Fries on the side are boring, so opt for potato street. Once you passed the adult store on Rawson, you chips or soup instead. knew you were getting close. But, in the decade since it Shepherd’s pie ($12.95) is about as rib-sticking as you can get, since it’s mostly opened, suburban sprawl has helped build up the area, mashed potatoes. The ground beef and vegetables on the bottom form a kind of with new businesses like medical centers, Woodman’s homogeneous mass with the potatoes, so much so that it arrives on your plate in a and IKEA now nearby. big square slice. A healthy ladle of brown gravy on top is necessary lubricant. (If you But, even with new restaurants around, Mulligan’s remains a pit stop feel you can eat 8 pounds of it in one sitting, enter their Shepherd’s Pie Challenge.) that can fulfill a multitude of needs. It’s family-friendly with a couple of Another comfort food option is the thick Irish lamb stew ($13.95) that is just as arcade games in the back, a bar area that’s completely separate from hearty but less stodgy. the dining room and high dividers between booths, just in case There are some lighter things on the menu as well, like a chicken spinach melt someone’s a little rowdy. It’s also a very good hangout, with a large ($9.95). Hot artichoke and spinach dip are spread on top of grilled chicken on horseshoe-shaped bar, loads of high-top tables, good happy hour sourdough, leaving me to wonder why the appetizer dip isn’t used on sandwiches specials, plenty of TVs, as well as games like darts and that arcademore. Entree salads are pretty standard, including a Southwest version ($10.95) and style golf game people are nostalgic for but I never see play. a crispy chicken cobb ($11.95).

The food, too, seems designed to satisfy everyone. It’s pub and bar fare, with an Friday is a busy day at Mulligan’s thanks to its popular fish fry. Haddock and wallemphasis on Irish-inspired dishes to stay true to its theme. But, unlike many pubs eye can be beer battered in light, golden crust ($11.95-$14.95), while lake perch and restaurants with long menus, the food at Mulligan’s is pretty consistently exand blue gill can only be breaded ($14.95). Skip the fries again and ecuted and enjoyable. go for the potato pancakes, which have a uniformly crisp exterior I have yet to find an appetizer as satisfying as the tavern fries all around. There’s also a weekly Friday seafood special, which runs Mulligans ($8.95). Thick, soft, lightly fried rounds of potato are smothered the gamut from shrimp scampi to pineapple glazed grouper with in melted cheddar and jack cheeses, along with bacon, green 8933 S. 27th St. jerk carrots and plantains. onions and diced tomatoes. They are served alongside a small 414-304-0300 • $$ We all need go-to restaurants in our back pockets that will bowl—yes, bowl—of garlic-laden ranch dressing. This is one mulliganson27th.com please lots of different people. Mulligan’s is that sure bet on the place where I become a ranch fiend, and you will too on these South side, whether it’s for St. Patrick’s Day (they go all out), a famHandicapped potatoes. All the other items on the long app menu are crowd ily lunch or bar trivia night with friends. accessible: Yes pleasers: beer cheese dip ($9.95) served with fresh vegetables

14 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

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Located in the Country Inn & Suites • 350 E Seven Hills Rd • Port Washington (414) 803-5177 • www.lepantobanquet.com SHEPHERD EXPRESS

J A N UA RY 17, 2 0 1 9 | 15

DININGOUT::EATDRINK

::SHORTORDER

ENGBERG ANDERSON

MEXICAN BRUNCH at EL BESO

::BY JAMIE LEE RAKE

El Beso Mexican Restaurante & Cantina (5030 S. 74th St.) resembles a village decorated for the Day of the Dead with skull-faced portraiture adorning walls painted with rustic vistas. It’s the kind of environment practically begging to be franchised. Thankfully, El Beso’s spectacle doesn’t override the quality of cuisine. It offers brunch daily, including mimosas and Bloody Marys. El Beso’s signature omelets makes for a worthy companion for either beverage. Cage-free eggs are splayed out in almost frittata-like fashion in combination with poblano and jalapeno peppers, tomato, onion, Chihuahua cheese and finely-ground chorizo. A topping of cilantro sprinkles adds to an already rich array of color, flavor and texture. A side of whole black beans in a bowl (instead of the usual mashed refried pintos) marks another way El Beso distinguishes itself. For a dessert rich and singular, platanos machos is the obvious option. Eight pieces of fried plantain drizzled with condensed milk and chocolate and caramel sauces surround a veritable mountain of hard vanilla ice cream, strawberries, pillowy whipped cream and a touch more chocolate. El Beso’s ornate building stands out amidst the Greenfield strip malls. What’s cooking inside provides reason to venture within.

Rendering for Spur 16

New Mequon Development Spurs Community Through Food and Drink ::BY SHEILA JULSON

M

Children’s Book Drive During the month of January, Shepherd Express will be accepting gently used children’s books for ages 1-5.

BOOK DROP OFF: 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 410, Milwaukee, WI 53202 Monday through Friday 8:30am – 5pm

Your contribution doesn’t just build literacy and life skills for Milwaukee’s children—it builds a brighter future for us all.

16 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

ixed-use retail, residential and civic projects are becoming the future of suburban development, creating walkable neighborhoods reminiscent of traditional Downtown communities. Mequon’s Spur 16 (6300 Mequon Road) will feature, in addition to townhomes and apartments, a public market with some of Milwaukee’s most renowned restaurants, a St. Paul Fish Company location and a summer farmers’ market, along with a concert series and movie nights.

Shaffer Development, LLC, was awarded the project because they submitted a proposal that included repurposing three original buildings on the site, says Jenni Vetter, Shaffer’s director of operations. The 10,000-square-foot, 1930s-era building that will be the Mequon Public Market was formerly a Department of Public Works (DPW) building. The project is also Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified.

The three original buildings are on the south end of Spur 16, near West Mequon Road and the Interurban Trail. One will be the additional location for St. Paul Fish Company; the middle DPW building will be the Mequon Public Market; and the third building will be a wellness center occupied by Yama Yoga and Mequon Club Pilates. Vetter says the Mequon Public Market and St. Paul Fish Company are expected to open during the first quarter of 2019.

Despite having similar names and signage, the Mequon Public Market is not affiliated with the Milwaukee Public Market. The former

will have 10 restaurants on the first floor and a 3,700-square-foot mezzanine that runs the perimeter of the north and east sides of building.

The mezzanine will have seating and a test kitchen for workshops and cooking classes. It can also be rented for events. Confirmed Mequon Public Market vendors include Beans & Barley, Screaming Tuna, Anodyne Coffee, Purple Door Ice Cream, Café Corazon, Bavette La Boucherie and Happy Dough Lucky. On Friday, Jan. 4, Shaffer Development announced that Milwaukee-based Bowls would also open a second location at the Mequon Public Market.

When choosing vendors, Vetter says she approached those she thought were Milwaukee’s standout restaurants and food artisans. She credits securing St. Paul Fish Company—one of the first businesses to sign on to Spur 16—as influential in getting other vendors. “That helped give validity to the subsequent restaurants that signed on,” Vetter explains. “He [owner Tim Collins] is a great businessman with a phenomenal reputation, and when we were able to tell others that we had St. Paul Fish, it definitely helped validate where this project was going.” St. Paul Fish’s 5,000-square-foot stand-alone building will feature an oyster bar, a retail component and a sitdown restaurant.

Vetter noted the uniqueness of Spur 16 attracted restaurateurs who might not have otherwise considered an additional location in the suburbs.

Beans & Barley, an East Side staple since the 1970s, had no intentions of expanding, but coowner Polly Kaplan said they were introduced to the Spur 16 development through friends at Anodyne Coffee and decided to meet with Vetter and Cindy Shaffer, owner of Shaffer Development.

“We were really excited about what they were doing,” Kaplan says. “We never saw the suburbs as a good fit, because we so enjoy the neighborhood and community vibe we have on [Milwaukee’s] East Side. What they were planning really had a community feel. We loved that it was a group of independently owned and locally operated businesses. The fact that it would be in a LEED-certified, repurposed building on the bike trail sealed the deal. We are excited to share a space with so many like-minded businesses.”

Spur 16 will host a summer farmers’ market with local fresh produce vendors, an outdoor concert series and art fairs—attractions that Vetter sees as making Spur 16 a hub for the Mequon/North Shore communities to come together to eat, drink and interact.

For more information, visit spur16.com.

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::A&E

Brought to you by The Milwaukee Art Museum

MARK FROHNA

FEATURE | FILM | THEATRE | ART | BOOKS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | DANCE

‘Zie Magic Flute’

‘ZIE MAGIC FLUTE’ PUTS a ‘NEW TILT’ ON MOZART ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

riday, Jan. 20, 2017, saw the debut of Zie Magic Flute. The imaginative adaptation of Wolfgang Mozart’s (1756-’91) The Magic Flute

by Milwaukee Opera Theatre (MOT) and friends coincided with Inauguration Day for the current U.S. president. “It was helpful to do a Mozart opera that night instead of sitting home, watching television,” says Jill Anna Ponasik, MOT’s artistic director.

In collaboration with MOT, Quasimondo Physical Theatre and Cadence Collective, Zie Magic Flute returns this month to a story-appropriate setting, the Historic Tripoli Shrine Center. Why is the production such a welcome break from bleak politics? The Magic Flute’s message is signaled by an overture ascending on golden chords of optimism to a better world. Dressed up as an adventure-romance in exotic locales, the singspiel (dialogue mixed with operatic song) that follows concerns the triumph of good over evil and the future over the past. And, like a Hollywood movie, it has a spoiler-alert plot twist. “It’s about letting light into darkness, letting go of grievances; it’s a nice piece for opening the New Year,” Ponasik says. “It’s about facing fears and coming together.”

Zie Magic Flute grew out of an opera class at UW-Whitewater taught by Ponasik and Quasimondo’s Brian Rott. “We carpooled each week. It was a 50-minute ride, and those were our production meetings,” Ponasik recalls.

“It developed through exercises and conversation with our students.”

18 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

LIGHT VS. DARKNESS; ORDER VS. CHAOS

The libretto, as adapted by Daniel Brylow, includes elements of Emanuel Schikaneder’s (1751-1812) original lyrics as sung by the Queen of the Night. “We drew a spectrum,” Ponasik explains. The Queen of the Night, who rules the forest of darkness, “is a deranged force of vengeful emotion. She sings in German. Sarastro, keeper of the light, doesn’t sing at all. He’s super logical and speaks in English.” Other characters, as Ponasik points outs out, “fall along the spectrum.” The three ladies who serve the Queen “communicate in English when they have to.”

Papageno, the half-human creature with a small brain but enormous appetites, “sings some parts in German,” while the male protagonist, Tamino, sticks to English.

The arrangement creatively plays with Mozart’s concept of characters arranged by their vocal registers. In The Magic Flute, high voices signaled the shrill fury of unilluminated chaos. By contrast, Sarastro, embodying good order and positive change, was written for a deep, reassuring bass.

“The Magic Flute is full of treasures; every time you look at it, you see something else,” Ponasik says. “It’s all about balance: speaking and singing, movement and stillness, darkness and light, nobility and baser elements… and gender balance.” To the latter end, the female lead, Pamina, effects her own escape from imprisonment instead of waiting to be rescued in one of several scenes “given a new tilt,” as Ponasik puts it.

Zie Magic Flute’s staging involves a giant papier-mâché dragon. Costumes crisscross the ages from powdered wigs to T-shirts. Arrayed at stage center are a dancer and musiZie Magic cians—piano, cello and (of course) flute. The opera’s action Flute unfolds around the music. The third concentric circle is the Jan. 18-27 audience in the round. “The melodies and harmonies are all Historic Tripoli Mozart,” Ponasik adds. “We don’t suddenly turn an aria into a Shrine Center klezmer song. Nothing is wildly out of context.”

Aside from its gilt-edged Orientalist glamour, the Tripoli Shrine Center is an ironically apt site for the production.

When The Magic Flute debuted in 1791, Mozart and Schikaneder allegedly drew threats from Freemasons angered that the opera revealed their secrets. Nowadays, all has been forgiven. For Sarastro’s costume, the Shriners kindly lent a fez. As Ponasik says of Zie Magic Flute’s masonic origins, “We embrace the broader concepts of brotherhood and enlightenment, of coming together as a community. When we first performed it, we got a lot of emails saying, ‘In this time of darkness, thank you for bringing so much light.”

Zie Magic Flute will be performed Jan. 18-27 at the Historic Tripoli Shrine Center, 3000 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, call 1-800-838-3006 or visit milwaukeeoperatheatre.org.

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::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE FRIDAY, JAN. 18

FRIDAY, JAN. 18

Wisco Inferno Ice Bar @ Wicked Hop

Erykah Badu @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

If forecasts are right, the weather is about to dip back down to temperatures closer to those you’d expect from a January in Wisconsin. That’s a bummer, but there’s an upshot: That’ll give patrons a chance to enjoy the return of Wicked Hop’s popular ice bar. According to the venue, “50 blocks of ice weighing more than seven tons will be used to construct The Wicked Hop’s outdoor ice bar, sculpted by Guinness World Record holder and master carver Max Zuleta, from Franksville-based ice sculpture studio Art Below Zero.” The bar will also offer a variety of specialty cocktails, beer and mixed drinks in iced tumblers, as well as hot cider and hot chocolate drinks, with portion of the proceeds benefiting ALS Association of Wisconsin and Courage MKE to help LGBTQ youth.

Local Coverage @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7:30 p.m.

Mike Mangione and The Kin @ Sharon Lynn Wilson Center for the Arts, 8 p.m.

It’s not every year the city announces an Erykah Badu show. Or even every decade.

The last time the legendary neo-soul innovator played Milwaukee was 2004, when she appeared at the Northern Lights Theater, but she’ll make her belated return at this show. The influential singer has been fairly quiet in recent years, working on a follow-up to her charmingly loose, heartfelt 2010 album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) at an unhurried pace, though she did release a delightfully odd mixtape in 2015 called But You Caint Use My Phone, which was themed entirely around telephones. It was great.

Few concerts push local artists outside of their comfort zone quite like Milwaukee Record’s annual Local Coverage, a benefit show that challenges each performer with presenting a 15-minute set covering another artist on the bill. This year’s concert will feature Direct Hit! (playing Nickel&Rose), Paper Holland (playing Immortal Girlfriend), Amanda Huff (playing LUXI), Something To Do (playing Direct Hit!), Nickel&Rose (playing Paper Holland), Immortal Girlfriend (playing Amanda Huff ) and LUXI (playing Something To Do). All proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Milwaukee Women’s Center.

Laura Gibson @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.

“I was born a wolf in woman’s clothes,” Laura Gibson sings on her latest album, Goners, “Shadow-stain, blue and gray/Tore a hole in every dress I made.” The Oregon singer-songwriter writes folk songs that mirror the calm rhythms of nature, wrapping herself in warm arrangements that accentuate her serene voice, which was beautifully showcased in the very first NPR Tiny Desk concert. For this show, Gibson will be performing with her four-piece band.

Milwaukee songwriter Mike Mangione has long performed with his brother Thomas, but for his most recent album But I’ve Seen The Stars, the two were joined by another pair of siblings as well: violinist Chauntee and cellist Monique Ross, of the duo SistaStrings. They lend an elegant, orchestral flair to Mangione’s reflective latest batch of songs, which were also recorded with drummer Josh Collazo and bassist Seth Ford-Young of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

SATURDAY, JAN. 19 Petal w/ Sir Babygirl and Cave People @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.

On Magic Gone, her latest album for Run For Cover Records, singer/songwriter Kiley Lotz of the Scranton indie-rock project Petal writes about the struggles of being true to yourself.

She wrote the record over an eventful year that saw her coming out as queer and entering intensive treatment for depression and panic disorders, and the songs are as raw as you’d expect given those origins. But they also radiate hope and wisdom. Julien Baker fans will probably relate deeply to her deeply emotional songwriting, but there’s a bit of Waxahatchee in the record’s buzzy, hooky guitar riffs, too.

Laura Gibson Petal 20 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Read our daily events guide, Today in Milwaukee, on shepherdexpress.com

C E L E B R AT E M I LWA U K E E ’ S I N A U G U R A L M U S E U M W E E K

MONDAY, JAN. 21

Louie Anderson @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, 8 p.m.

January 21-27, 2019

Viewers of a certain age best remember Louie Anderson as the namesake star of the children’s show “Life With Louie,” a warm-hearted cartoon based on the comedian’s memories of growing up in the Midwest. His gentle, family friendly comedy is decidedly out of step with the harder, more cynical edge of most modern stand-up these days, but in recent years critics have begun showing him newfound appreciation, thanks in part his mesmerizing performance as Zach Galifianakis’s mother in the surreal FX comedy “Baskets.” (Anderson will do three nights at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Theater, through Jan. 23.)

Immerse yourself in art, science, technology and history as you explore some of Milwaukee’s greatest cultural assets – our museums.

PARTICIPATING MUSEUMS:

Betty Brinn Museum • Brew City MKE Beer Museum Charles Allis Art Museum • Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear Discovery World • Grohmann Museum Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University Harley-Davidson Museum • Jewish Museum Milwaukee Milwaukee Art Museum • Milwaukee County Historical Society Milwaukee Public Museum • Mitchell Park Domes • The Pabst Mansion North Point Lighthouse • Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum Wisconsin Black Historical Society/ Museum

TUESDAY, JAN. 22

Violent J and Esham @ Club Garibaldi, 6:30 p.m.

This is one of the weirder quirks of Milwaukee’s winter concert calendar: The two scary rapping clowns from Insane Clown Posse will each be performing at Club Garibaldi a few weeks apart from each other. The first to perform is Violent J, who is touring behind his new solo EP Black Eye’d Kids and will be joined by fellow Detroit rapper Esham at this show. Then Juggalos can get a second fix on Friday, Feb. 1, when Shaggy 2 Dope plays the venue with Ouija Macc. Here’s hoping Club Garibaldi has Faygo on tap.

See a full schedule of activities at MKEMuseumWeek.org

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 23 Neil Young @ The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m.

DANNY CLINCH

Few songwriters have a richer legacy than Neil Young. After springing to countercultural superstardom with the folk-rock groups Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Young launched an enormously successful solo career, trademarking his ragged, melancholy folk-rock in the early ’70s, then paving the way for grunge and ’90s alternative-rock with his feedback-heavy ’80s records. He’s remained prolific, releasing a steady output of politically and environmentally charged new albums since the early ’00s. This solo show, as part of a small Midwest tour, will be the 73-year-old rocker’s first time in Milwaukee since he headlined Summerfest’s Marcus Amphitheater in 2015, with Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real as his backing band. They also backed Young on his most recent album, 2017’s The Visitor.

Neil Young

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J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9 | 21

Photograph 51

::PERFORMINGARTSWEEK For More to Do, visit shepherdexpress.com

THEATRE

A Murder is Announced “Here we are again—another mystery and another Agatha Christie,” says Sunset Playhouse director Carol Dolphin about the venue’s upcoming production. “Dame Agatha often listed A Murder is Announced among her top-10 favorites. Our current production is unique in that Christie did not write the stage adaptation herself [it’s by Leslie Darbon] and, for the first time in many years, we welcome the inimitable Miss Jane Marple to the Sunset stage.”

In A Murder is Announced, a newspaper item tells of a murder yet to occur in a certain Victorian home. What follows from that set-up is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death, a determined inspector grimly following all the twists and turns of the unfolding drama and, of course, Miss Marple making an appearance to provide the puzzle’s final piece. (John Jahn) Jan. 17-Feb. 2 in Sunset Playhouse’s Furlan Auditorium, 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430 or visit sunsetplayhouse.com.

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In 1953 London, England, scientists are on the verge of discovering the secret of life: the DNA double helix. At the center of this scientific breakthrough is the work of a driven young chemist, Rosalind Franklin. But, if the double helix was arguably the greatest scientific discovery of the last century, why isn’t Franklin more widely known? Photograph 51 follows the history of her achievement, as well as the unfortunately still very relevant and timely story of how a woman’s endeavors were, largely, swept under the rug by her male cohorts.

Renaissance Theaterworks continues its 26th season theme of “She Blinded Me With Science” with this production of Anna Ziegler’s compelling play. Directed by Renaissance Theaterworks’ co-founder and artistic director Suzan Fete, it features performances by Cassandra Bissell, Neil Brookshire, Nick Narcisi, Trevor Rees, Joe Picchetti and Josh Krause. (John Jahn) Jan. 18-Feb. 10 in the Broadway Theatre Center’s Studio Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit r-t-w.com.

Mark Twain’s River of Song

Mark Twain’s River of Song is an exploration of the music and culture of America’s first superhighway, the Mississippi River. From the iron-red water in Minnesota to the great Southern delta region, the river carries the stories and songs of the people. Performed by three talented musicians (Harvy Blanks, David Lutken and Spiff Wiegand), this world-premiere show will embark its audience on a journey through America’s Heartland. It boasts traditional songs like “Dance Boatmen Dance,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” and “Deep River Blues,” among many other songs.

For performers and music lovers alike, Lutken will host his famous “Hootenannies” after three Thursday shows during the run on Jan. 31, Feb. 21 and March 14. Audience members for those performances are encouraged to bring in their own instruments and join in on the fun after the show, sharing stories, song and revelry with the cast.

This is a Milwaukee Repertory Theater production that emerged from the Rep’s John D. Lewis New Play Development Program.

(John Jahn) Jan. 18-March 17 in the Stackner Cabaret, 108 E. Wells. St. For tickets, call 414-224-9490 or visit milwaukeerep.com.

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HEATHER MROTEK

A&E::INREVIEW

SueMo’s ‘Symbiosis’

DANCE

Loss, Survival and Renewal at SueMo’s ‘Symbiosis’

I

::BY JOHN SCHNEIDER

n Fi(V)e, SueMo’s concert last August, the Milwaukee contemporary dance company celebrated its fifth anniversary with revivals of signature works from its repertory. In Symbiosis, last weekend, the pains of change were the subjects of several premieres as the company shifted its focus forward. Co-founder and artistic director Melissa “Sue” Anderson has left, along with another leading choreographer/dancer, Christa Smutek.

Co-founder Morgan “Mo” Williams remains as artistic director, dancer and leading choreographer. The company’s longtime photographer and videographer, Heather Mrotek, has been given new artistic responsibilities as creative director.

Most of the amazing dancers in Symbiosis were long-time members. Resident choreographer/dancers Kameron Saunders and Ashley Tomaszewski contributed lovely new works to this show. But Symbiosis was mostly William’s statement, a bridge from loss to renewal. Break-ups are part of every art organization’s journey. Once survived, as Williams said in a recent conversation, “you can enrich the whole community and that’s all we want to do.” This concert did that.

Short, sweet dances by William’s students at Life Dance Academy and In Motion Dance Studio formed a prologue. Sharply focused and passionate, the young performers executed the speedy shifts of weight and direction, the sudden changes from movement to stillness, from floor work to lifts, from group work to partnering to solos that characterizes William’s style. Then, still by way of prologue, the SueMo dancers set the concert’s theme with a ferocious work by Williams to a Kanye West song about break-ups. This included a harrowing passage in which the choreographer repeatedly shoved and tossed dancer Jasper Sanchez across the stage.

The concert opened and closed with major statements by Williams, both premieres. Sanchez (phenomenal) was the sole dancer in Action, Re-action, and Words… Drummer Jacob Durbin, using a standard kit, laid down rhythms in perfect sync with Sanchez’ moves—or vice versa—until this relationship turned unbearable for Sanchez. Spoken word artist Brooklyn Lloyd then arrived onstage to deliver a grown-up poem on love’s travails that provided new rhythms for Sanchez to dance to. Growing up takes thought. The WilliamsMrotek multimedia collaboration Imagery Portrayed had dancer Madyun Wilson (stunning) as the dying artist. In an accompanying silent film by Mrotek, Williams appeared as a shadowy hooded figure, both mourner and murderer, perhaps; existentially hard to separate. Incredible, heartening dancing by the company followed, to audience cheers. The concert in Vogel Hall was gorgeously produced, thanks to the Marcus Center.

24 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

THEATRE

‘Dooby Dooby Moo’ Is an American Barnyard Musical ::BY SELENA MILEWSKI

A

dapted from Doreen Cronin’s children’s book by the same name, Dooby Dooby Moo is a charming, gentle barnyard tale for little ones.

Marquette University’s production takes audiences on an “American Bandstand”-flavored musical journey in which Cow (Katie Markle), Pig (Piper McCaffrey), Duck (Maaz Ahmed) and newest farm addition Ewe (Liz De Vere Hunt) secretly rehearse for a talent show at the county fair. Why the secrecy? Farmer Brown (Nick Parrott) is just plain tired of the barn animals going on adventures; viewers will benefit from reading the preceding books in Cronin’s Click Clack series to

catch the sly references to the characters’ previous shenanigans.

Grown-up social messages are layered in fairly unassumingly. For instance, Ewe comes to the farm because she’s been laid off due to downsizing at her previous job at a sweater factory. She’s afraid that she lost her job because she wasn’t good enough and the main action of the story works to unpack this. There are also many teaching moments, such as the distinction between “you” and “ewe,” which will feel a little overplayed to grown-up audience members but functions as a nice reinforcement of the concept of homophones for kids.

Under Niffer Clarke’s direction, stand-out performance moments come from De Vere Hunt’s welcoming speech to the audience, beautiful two-part harmonies sung by Markle and McCaffrey, Ahmed’s strong physical characterization of Duck and Parrott’s tongue-in-cheek gruffness as Farmer Brown. The school children audience at the preview performance I attended also tremendously enjoyed the “American Idol”-spoofing puppets in the talent show scene.

Clarke and Parrott’s dance choreography is also notable for its entertaining and well-executed sampling of the classic moves of the ’50s and ’60s.

Production-wise, Marquette’s offering is attractively simple. Aside from a few sound issues causing some dialogue to be lost during the preview, all elements cohered well. Lindsay Webster’s large red barn set piece dominates the stage, offering a pleasant illustration-style backdrop for the action, and Grace Weir’s costumes reinforce the show’s retro vibe.

A little ray of sunshine in the dreariness of winter, Dooby Dooby Moo is a great choice for the kiddos.

Jan. 7-20 at Marquette University’s Helfaer Theatre, 525 N. 13th St. For tickets, visit showclix.com.

CLASSICALMUSIC

Edo de Waart’s Operatic Return

E

::BY RICK WALTERS

do de Waart first brought opera to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra a decade ago with Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, a stunner of a performance. Three Mozart operas followed over the years at the MSO, all wonderfully memorable. The De Waart/MSO opera tradition continued in fine form last weekend with Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.

The legend of a ghost ship doomed to roam the seas existed since the 18th century. This is probably the most approachable of Wagner’s operas, not only because of its tunefulness, but also because of its length, coming in at less than two-and-a-half hours. Above the performers in concert dress, two sail-like screens showed evocative videos designed by S. Katy Tucker, along with an easy-to-read English translation of the German text.

De Waart’s clout as a veteran opera conductor attracted a top-notch cast of singers. Bass-baritone Ryan McKinny gave the title role appropriate angst and gloom with his richly dark voice and expressive way with a phrase. As Senta, the woman who sacrifices herself to grant the Dutchman’s salvation from his curse, Melody Moore was fascinating, using her full lyric soprano as a vocal actress, with nuance after nuance and singing with a brilliant tone.

As Senta’s father, Daland, Peter Rose sang with a booming and clear voice, bringing to the part the engaging freedom of an experienced singing actor. Tenor AJ Glueckert sang with bright and pleasing resonance as Erik (his Metropolitan Opera debut role), doomed to be disappointed by Senta. I’ve heard the unusually dark voice of Nancy Maultsby many times over the years, and as Mary, she showed that it’s still one of the most distinctive sounds around. Young tenor Evan LeRoy Johnson sounded fresh and intriguing as the Steuermann (helmsman).

This is a career to watch.

De Waart’s strength has always been more a vivid realizer of the composer’s score than as interpreter, and that approach delivered a robust performance. The orchestra rose to the challenge with colorful excellence overall.

The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus sounded better than ever. Where did that full and luminous tenor section sound come from?

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A&E::INREVIEW

CHARLES MUNCH BETWEEN THE LINES

First Stage’s ‘Matilda’

THEATRE

‘Matilda’ Triumphs Over Bullies (and a Dumb Dad) at First Stage

R

::BY BLAINE SCHULTZ

oald Dahl’s story Matilda is the tale of a young person’s triumph, how her wisdom and tenacity thwarts the folly of adults. The opening night of First Stage’s Matilda The Musical found Reese Bell in the title role leading the “Diligent” cast (A second cast, “Determined,” will rotate performances and there will be three lead actresses alternating the role of Matilda Wormwood throughout the production’s run.)

Using the Todd Wehr Theater’s three-quarter round stage, littered with oversized alphabet blocks and keywords written on the back-wall chalkboard, we are offered hints that knowledge is important to Matilda. Her father (a hilariously over-the-top Jackson Evans) goes out of his way to let his daughter know he doesn’t think too much of her voracious reading habits. He also fails to notice that she is a girl. Then again, he also fails at being a used car salesman.

At school, the students are bullied by headmistress Miss Trunchbull, a former hammer throw champion, but Matilda finds a compassionate ally in her teacher Miss Honey. Matilda also begins making up a story she tells Mrs. Phelps, the school librarian, about a fantastical couple who are acrobats and intent on having a child. The second act opens with Matilda’s father apologizing for all the talk of reading with a song proclaiming he learned everything from television. It also includes a witty bit of audience interaction. By this point, the seeds of rebellion have been sown with an offhand comment he made to Matilda about punishing people.

We learn that, in addition to diligence and determination, Matilda’s skillset includes telekinesis, the ability to move objects with her eyes. This comes in handy when battling Trunchbull. We also learn that Trunchbull is Miss Honey’s step-aunt who may have murdered her father in order to get his estate, and that the baby in the acrobatic couple’s story is actually Miss Honey.

The students’ final act, a mutinous spelling bee, sends Trunchbull over the edge, and she flees. Miss Honey learns her parents will has been found and the house is turned over to her, no longer the property of Trunchbull. The First Stage production includes 20 songs, some choreographed like heavy traffic through a roundabout with the 14 student cast. The performance was backed by a three-piece orchestra. At more than two hours with an intermission, Matilda kept the young audience entertained and included a short Q&A afterward.

Through Feb. 24 at Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, 123 E. State St. For tickets visit firststage.org or call 414-286-4936.

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J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9 | 25

A&E::VISUALART

WHAT IS HAL RAMMEL’S ‘STEREO PHOTOGRAPHY’?

D

::BY SHANE MCADAMS

avid Letterman used to feature a preposterous segment called “Is This Anything?” You may remember it: Behind a suddenly drawn curtain, a crazy human spectacle would be underway, and the audience declared by applause whether it was “anything” or nothing at all. They would always reach a consensus despite having no methodological rationale. Was “anything” a measure of talent, entertainment, uniqueness, sympathy or art? Who knew it was rhetorical. But still, they did know: From the confused input always came organized, consensual output.

Several weeks ago, I found myself daydreaming about this very subject while I shuffled cautiously through a room of delicate displays of side-by-side photos with a pair of homemade binoculars pressed against my face and silently posing a modified version of that “Late Night” interrogative to myself: “What is this?” This was, or is, an exhibition of magical stereoscopic photographs aptly titled “The Stereo Photography of Hal Rammel,” which is currently at the Cedarburg Art Museum through Sunday, March 31.

It looks at first like a standard-enough show of intimate black-and-white photographs and photograms, until the handmade viewing contraptions and dioramic setups that bring the show to life are understood and utilized. Rammel has a long history of making, tinkering with and playing homemade musical instruments. His life and work blur the lines between science and art the way Samuel Morse, Henry Fox Talbo and Sir Charles Wheatstone, the inventor of the stereoscope, did at the dawn of Modernity, when distinctions between art and science meant little.

I eventually engaged with one of the photographic tandems and initially saw only two blurred images bisected by the bridge of my nose. Turns out that to get the full effect from the 10 stereoscopic works, a viewing apparatus and a certain amount of mental focus is required…or a lack thereof, as was explained to me by Rammel himself during the opening. For one’s visual cortexes to process the two slightly shifted photographic images into a single, three-dimensional composition, the eyes and consciousness must be relaxed. My initial frustrations eventually gave way to satisfying visual triumphs, not unlike recognizing the dolphins in one of those holographic posters at a Deck the Walls in 1995, but, of course, with more meaningful content.

Once I made it inside Rammel’s stereo universes, the builder-scientist gave way to the odd and unique perspectives of an artist: pinhole visions of a ghostly water tower; a shadowy interior overseen by a Sun mask; and, most memorable of all, a silver gelatin print of a ghostly garden statue whose eyes seemed on the verge of opening. The dramatically compressed space and high-contrast print make “In the Garden” striking enough in two dimensions but completely haunting in three. That the content of the image came into focus as I was trying to turn off the left side of my brain and Zen-out made for an extra-phenomenal moment of reception.

Rammel does an admirable job of mixing up the nature of the imagery and allowing you to see the range of possibility in the stereoscopic process. His vegetation and wire photograms flirt with pure abstraction, in which case the eventual accordioning of space seems magical. Not in a supernatural way, but in the technologically illusionistic way it must have seemed to the audience of the Lumiére brothers’ “The Arrival of the Train,” who are said to have screamed and lurched out of the way during the screening in 1895.

I departed the exhibition without fear, but also not caring exactly where science ended and art began in Rammel’s work, which ultimately lives as both an instance and a symbol of the process of turning complex information into manageable content. In other words, his work is both art and science—an interactive demonstration of the reductive forces of gestalt psychology and those artistic anti-forces that resist and complicate them. Everything and anything, processed by our minds into something manageable.

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OPENINGS: “Dance of Life: Out of Africa & Beyond”

Jan. 18 and 19 (opening reception) • David Barnett Gallery 1024 E. State St.

“In a divisive time, it is important to remember what connects us all,” says David Barnett Gallery manager Jennifer Wagner about “Dance of Life.” “This exhibition celebrates the connections shared by all humans: milestones of life and death, including birth, coming-of-age and marriage. The gallery’s extensive collection of African art, artifacts from around the world and contemporary artworks are curated side-by-side to explore a common global humanity.” Also, “Home: Of Place & Displacement” in the Barnett’s Gallery 1SW opens, the venue’s “staff-curated pop-up exhibition space,” Wagner explains, “presenting a selection of art exploring conceptions of home.” For more information, visit davidbarnettgallery.com.

Charles Munch and Chris Maddox at MOWA January-March • Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) 205 Veterans Ave., West Bend

Two exhibitions kick off with an opening party on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2-5 p.m.

“Chris Maddox: Atlas Chronos,” features mixed-media artwork from the artist’s 2018 residence in Luxembourg. There will be a gallery talk and curator tour held on Tuesday, Feb. 26. “Charles Munch: Between the Lines” consists of 30 paintings ranging from more than four decades depicting the complex relationship between humans and the rest of nature. There will be an artist talk and book signing on Saturday, Feb. 2, and curator talks on Tuesday, Feb. 12, and Saturday, Feb. 23.

Both exhibitions will remain on view through March 10. For more information, visit wisconsinart.org.

“She Bends: Women in Neon”

Opening Saturday, Jan. 19 • Var West • 423 W. Pierce St.

Curated by artist and neon bender herself, Meryl Pataky, this exhibition features the work of female-identifying neon benders from around the world. With an emphasis on craft, artistry and the handmade, these artists work start to finish with neon to bring their concepts to life. “She Bends” has shown in numerous cities around the U.S. Along with being a traveling exhibition, it provides workshops and mentorship to promising artists looking to take up the craft anew or hone their existing skills in the artform. For more information, visit shebends.com.

“Irish Journeys: Holy Wells and Home Turf”

Jan. 20-March 24 • Alfons Gallery • 1501 S. Layton Blvd.

This new exhibition features photography by Patricia Delker of and about Ireland. It opens on Sunday, Jan. 20, with a reception (1-3 p.m.) and an artist talk at 2 p.m. “Delker’s black-and-white photographs capture intangibles we can all relate to: memory, mystery, dreams and inspiration,” says curator Valerie Christell. “Her quiet images inspire viewers to take a moment to consider our connections to specific places and what we leave behind on our journey.” For more information, visit alfonsgallery.org.

Milwaukee Museum Week Jan. 21-27 • Various locations

The inaugural Milwaukee Museum Week features fun events, interesting programs and special experiences to participate in at 17 Milwaukee museums. It was created to bring into focus the full impact these museums have for area residents, tourism and the local economy. More than 100 programs or events will be offered during the week, and people are encouraged to support their local museums by participating. Museum Week was created to call attention to Milwaukee’s wonderful array of museums, promote our shared missions and distinctive focuses and to ignite new interest in nature, history and art. Participants can opt for behindthe-scene tours, lectures, specialty tours, children’s programming and, in some instances, specially reduced or even free admission. For more information, visit mkemuseumweek.org.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::OFFTHECUFF

PROVIDING JOBS FOR THE DISABLED Off the Cuff with Gear Grove’s Lyle Stoflet and Tom Daugherty ::BY CATHERINE JOZWIK

S

ince 2012, local custom furniture and design company Gear Grove (4720 N. 27th St.) has proven a leader in progressive hiring practices by employing a number of individuals with disabilities for positions as CAD engineers, welders, woodworkers and office help. In October, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development presented owners Lyle Stoflet Jr. and Tom Daugherty with an Exemplary Employer Award. Off the Cuff caught up with Stoflet and Daugherty to ask them a few questions.

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When you founded your company, was your main focus on hiring individuals with disabilities?

TD: In the past, I’ve worked at different camps for people with disabilities, and became exposed to the number of programs in the area, such as the Milwaukee Center for Independence, that help these individuals find work. Now, we have about 20 employees of all different ages with disabilities.

LS: We are always looking for the best people we can find, and those who fit in best with our company culture. Some employees do also happen to have a disability.

As a company, what sort of training programs do you offer?

TD: We work with several nonprofit organizations, including MCFI and City Partners, to find employees. We will bring someone on for a temporary work experience, around 6-12 weeks, and train them to do everything from entry-level woodworking to filing and market research. We take a really flexible approach to finding ways to work with people.

LS: For example, we do a lot of laser engraving. We etch designs in cutting boards, coasters, and other items. Through one of the nonprofit organizations we mentioned before, we were matched with the employee that now runs our laser department.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: lyndensculpturegarden.org 2145 W. Brown Deer Rd. | Milwaukee, WI 414.446.8794

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How did Gear Grove get started?

LS: I’ve pretty much built stuff my whole life, a lot of it for family and friends. Tom and I went from building in my garage to a 30,000-foot warehouse space. We have a passion for design and keeping things unique and interesting.

Can you tell me a little about your products, services and the materials you use?

LS: We use a lot of reclaimed materials and a lot of wood from the city, including from fallen trees, and we work with a lot of different municipalities. We also work with a lot of commercial, residential and marketing firms. We really listen to our clients and want to make spaces as unique and comfortable as possible.

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A&E::FILM

‘Vice’ a Damning Indictment of Dick Cheney

cated history into a plausible, entertaining yarn with a snappy sense of timing. A half century of Cheney is amply covered in slightly over two hours with nary a dull moment or a beat missed.

Although many details are imagined, Vice runs on the track laid by known facts. It’s a damning indictment.

As the story begins, Cheney is a drunken ne’er do well in the early 1960s, booted from Yale for poor grades, working as a lineman in

::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

A

ccording to Vice, Dick Cheney had no interest in George W. Bush’s offer of the vice presidency, an office with little authority and less power. He changes his mind after arriving at an “understanding” with the feckless presidential candidate. As writer-director Adam McKay tells it, the ambitious Cheney offers to assume the “mundane” responsibilities of the presidency, little things like foreign policy, energy and defense. Bush is visibly relieved that the burden will be lifted from his back.

As in his film about the 2008 financial meltdown, The Big Short, McKay wraps compli-

MUSIC THAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS with Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra & Misha Litvin, Stas Venglevski & Robin Pluer

JAN. 26, 7:30 PM

28 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

‘Vice’

Casper, Wyo. Christian Bale gives a head-turning performance as Cheney, eventually disappearing entirely into the corpulent white-haired eminence who attained the summit of power.

Bale accurately mimics the commanding soullessness of the man’s voice. Like Darth Vader, whom he almost sounds like, Vice President Cheney never had to raise his voice to be heard.

Young Cheney’s fiancé, Lynne, played with strength and understanding by Amy Adams, turns him around, promising to boot him from her life if he doesn’t shape up. The child of an abusive marriage, Lynne won’t stand for what her mother endured. She’s also willing to be Lady Macbeth, blocked from rising by social norms but able to forge her husband into her ramp of ascent. They are partners in politics as well as in life.

If Vice is correct, one wonders what promise she saw in the weak material at hand. On his first day as a congressional aide in 1968, Cheney arrives with no party affiliation and becomes Republican at random. As lackey to congressman Donald Rumsfeld, Cheney tags along with him into the Nixon White House and is given a windowless closet with a desk, a phone and an empty in-box. It’s a start. With Rumsfeld as mentor, Cheney learns to handle the levers of power.

Vice is packed with supporting characters, none more prominent that Rumsfeld, played with ill-concealed arrogance by Steve Carell.

Imagine his dismay when tables turn and Cheney is at the head. Bush (an affably bumbling Sam Rockwell) stumbles into the story during the ’80s, drunk at a Washington party.

As the family’s black sheep, he appears to have no political future and yet, his elevation to the

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White House is only one of several unanticipated turns in recent history. McKay cuts from the main narrative to show the results of American policy, including bombs dropping on Cambodian civilians in 1970 and an Iraqi family in 2003.

Cheney may have come to Washington with no firm convictions but eventually coupled the quasi-libertarian notion of small government with an authoritarian understanding of presidential power. Too plodding on the campaign trail to win a presidential race, he would work through the man he helped elect. With Lynne’s coaching, Cheney plays populist while being bankrolled by the 1 percent. As vice president, he throws the henhouse Vice doors open to the foxes Christian Bale of industry. Behind Amy Adams the boyish president’s Directed by bravado lurks a puppet Adam McKay master too boring to be noticed by a public Rated R fixated on “reality” TV. Padding through the corridors of power with ghostly stealth, Cheney changed the direction of America and the shape of the world, leaving a legacy that included subverting the norms of good government and public service in favor of corporate interests. He plans the Iraq invasion before 9/11.

However, Iraq was not the success story imagined by Cheney, Rumsfeld and associates.

Vice alludes to—but doesn’t explore—how Cheney’s power slipped during Bush’s final years. Apparently, the “understanding” with Bush was broken by failure. Vice concedes that Cheney was a decent family man, but depicts his public career as unredeemable.

LIGHTWIRE: THE SHOW

combination of dance, puppetry & lighting

FEB. 15, 7:30 PM

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

[ FILM CLIPS ] Glass PG-13

[ HOME MOVIES / NOW STREAMING ] n Iranian Cinema: Before and After the Revolution

lieving themselves to be superheroes. We know a trademark Shyamalan twist is

Iranian cinema has thrived since the revolution of 1979. The nation’s filmmakers are more prolific than those of many larger nations, and while a certain amount of schlock is produced for local consumption, Iran has earned respect on the worldwide film festival circuit. Walled off by government controls, Iran’s filmmakers have retained European art-house influences and, untainted by recent Hollywood trends, they have focused on their own culture. In the face of global homogenization, Iran’s directors have preserved a local cinema with universal appeal.

Those are several conclusions drawn from this set of documentaries by film scholar Jamsheed Akrami. In interviews, Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui and other directors discuss the benefits and liabilities of the censorship they work under. Not unlike the Soviet Union or Production Code-era Hollywood, the rules provide a frame that begs to be subverted and crossed. Creativity is spurred in finding new ways to express ideas.

coming. What we don’t know is whether it will be worth the wait. (Lisa Miller)

n A Paris Education

M. Night Shyamalan revisits the lead characters from two of his best films.

Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn, the security guard from Unbreakable, whose indestructibility is discovered by Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price, a man cursed with glass-like bones. James McAvoy’s Kevin Wendell Crumb was first seen in Shyamalan’s Split. His super-agile Beast is a serial killer and one of Crumb’s 24 personalities. Crumb, Dunn and Price are all patients at a mental hospital where they are treated by Dr. Staple (Sarah Paulson), a shrink specializing in those be-

If Beale Street Could Talk R Set in Harlem during the 1970s, Beale Street introduces us to a beautiful pair of young African American lovers. Tish (KiKi Layne) is 19 when her 22-year-old boyfriend Fonny (Stephan James) is charged with rape. Regina King and Colman Domingo portray Tish’s parents, determined to help Fonny beat a false rape allegation. Told in flashback by Tish, the film is adapted from James Baldwin’s 1974 novel. Quibbles include browbeating us with this couple’s goodness rather than trusting us to see it. However, critics admire this portrait of a black family that remains both steadfast and hopeful. (L.M.)

A Paris Education deliberately evokes the romance and excitement of French New Wave through its study of young film student Etienne. He’s a provincial lad who, arriving at a Paris college, falls in with a smart crowd where heady discussion is the rule.

They don’t kill time talking about reality TV! The story wraps around a mini-history of cinema and multiple discussions of aesthetics as Etienne and friends explore love and sex while constructing their identities.

n k.d. lang—Ingenue Redux: Live From the Majestic Theatre

San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre is a grand old place, ideal for the elegant show presented by k.d. lang. A compelling performer, lang doesn’t sing with the brassy force of a “Voice” contestant but with smoldering subtlety. Elevating her quasi-alt-country roots into cabaret, lang performs Ingenue in its entirety. Almost every note is infused with yearning romance, as if redemption can be found in eros. “Constant Craving,” her Grammy-winning hit, is the showstopper.

—David Luhrssen

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A&E::BOOKS

BOOK|PREVIEW

BOOK|REVIEW

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (ALFRED A. KNOPF), BY ANAND GIRIDHARADAS Beware of people who call themselves “thought leaders” or “change agents” and worse yet, the “venture philanthropists” and “social entrepreneurs” who pull the wires. They may be well intentioned, Anand Giridharadas writes in Winners Take All; their money might even help “lives within the faulty system,” but those donors have no interest in “tackling the faults.”

Winners Take All reminds us of the unevenly distributed benefits of the contemporary world presided over by the great philanthropists. Medical research is highly advanced in America, but public health is poor; the internet created “astonishing new ways to learn” yet reading scores have slipped; Google has scanned millions of books (depriving writers of royalties?) that barely anyone reads. And don’t get Giridharadas started on the accelerating income gap. “Three-and-a-half decades of wondrous, head-spinning change” has had “zero impact on the average pay of 117 million Americans.”

Winners Take All is a scathing attack on a society that sells Uber as “empowering the poor.” At the end of the night, the driver still doesn’t have a family sustaining job.

With their mania for privatization, the philanthropy of social entrepreneurs “crowds out public solutions that would solve problems for everyone.” But then, public solutions haven’t always worked either. Winners Take All is thought-provoking and revealing yet perhaps too optimistic about achieving positive alternatives to the present malaise.

—David Luhrssen

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Anna Clark’s ‘Poisoned City’ Explores the Crisis in Flint, Mich.

::BY JENNI HERRICK

T

he still-evolving public health crisis that emerged in Flint, Mich. over its lead-tainted water serves as a cautionary tale for every city and town in America. In 2014, the city switched its water supply from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the cheaper Flint River, exposing more than 100,000 city residents (and more than 8,000 school-aged children) to contaminated drinking water. The urban neglect that ultimately led to this catastrophe resulted in the declaration of local, state and federal states of emergency in Flint as well as ensuing lawsuits, several criminal investigations, numerous firings and 15 criminal indictments. Economically, the city is facing almost $400 million in future costs to the city and thousands of cumulative years of poor health for those affected.

In the first complete account of this tragedy, Michigan journalist Anna Clark traces a meticulous course through the public mismanagement of the emergency, the citizens most deeply affected by the crisis and the underlying racial subtext of the entire situation. Her comprehensive reporting is published in a new book, The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy, which Clark will discuss at Marquette University (Weasler Auditorium) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23. This event is free but registration is required.

Clark is a Detroit-based journalist whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, ELLE Magazine and other publications. She served as editor of A Detroit Anthology, which was named a Michigan Notable Book, and she has also been a Fulbright fellow in Kenya and a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. This event is co-sponsored

by Boswell Book Co.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Visit MIAD for January Gallery Night & Day in the Third Ward!

January 18, 5 – 9 p.m. | January 19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

On view through March 2 Spectacular Vernacular Brooks Stevens Gallery Journey with creators Tim Parsons & Jessica Charlesworth as they mix their craft and industrial design backgrounds with influences from fiction, science and the arts.

Opening this week I Contain Multitudes Frederick Layton Gallery Ten diverse artists examine how they navigate multiculturalism, social norms and immigration. Generously supported in part by the Mary L. Nohl Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. On view through March 9, with special programming: Jan. 19, 2 p.m. | Artists’ Discussion and Opening Reception with Documentary Screening Feb. 7, 7 p.m. | Navigating Between Cultures: Artists’ Talk and Panel Discussion Feb. 27, 7 p.m. | Talking Suitcases

273 E. Erie St.

miad.edu/galleries

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Gallery exhibitions and programming are free and open to the public.

J A N UA RY 17, 2 0 1 9 | 31

Know Your Status.

::HEARMEOUT ASK RUTHIE | UPCOMING EVENTS | PAUL MASTERSON

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Jan. 17—Screening of The Lavender Scare at Jewish Museum Milwaukee (1360 N. Prospect Ave.): Learn how the Cold War created a very real persecution of gays and lesbians in the government with this eye-opening documentary. Take in the 7 p.m. viewing for $8 (or $5 for museum members). To learn more, explore jewishmuseummilwaukee.org.

BESTD Clinic, 1240 E. Brady Street Go to bestd.org for more information.

Jan. 17—Transgender Night at Riverwest Public House Cooperative (815 E. Locust St.): Relax, socialize and party in this safe space for the transgender community and their allies. This 7-11 p.m. good time is free to adults over 21, but a donation to The Trevor Project (supporting LGBTQ youth) is greatly appreciated.

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My husband and I made the mistake of snooping through our son’s tablet. He accidentally left it behind after a Christmas visit, and now he’s back in (another state) where he attends college.

On the tablet, we found evidence that he’s either living a gay lifestyle or certainly quite intrigued by it. This came as a shock to us, but we’re dealing with it quite well and truly have no issue with his sexual orientation. Actually, I think I’m more upset at myself for snooping around! Shame on me!

Well, we’ve done what we’ve done, and we now know what we know. What’s our next step, Ruthie? Tell him what we found? Ignore it? As soon as I realized my conundrum, I knew you were the right person to ask.

Love your column, Meddling Mom

Dear Mommy Dearest,

You might have tip-toed through the tulips, but you didn’t necessarily step in any manure. There’s nothing wrong with having a gay kid, so turn that tablet off and get it back to your son ASAP. Coming out is a personal process, so keep your lips zipped and let your son come out in his own time and in his own way (if he’s gay to begin with, that is!). Continue giving your son love, showing your support of the LGBTQ community and being the great parents that you are. Then, if your son is gay, and if he decides to come out, he’ll know that his parents are there to love and support him. And stay the heck outta his personal business moving forward!

Jan. 17—Jasmine Masters at Hamburger Mary’s (730 S. Fifth St.): The RuPaul doll struts her sultry stuff into Cream City for a fun-filled appearance at Milwaukee’s burger haven. Tickets to the 8 p.m. show start at $25 with an additional fee for a meet-and-greet afterward. (See eventbrite.com for ticket info.) Sorry, kids! This show is 18+ only.

Jan. 17—Bad Idea Thursday En Español at D.I.X. (739 S. First St.): The lovely Marbella Sodi hosts this muy bueno 9 p.m. night of Latin music, dancing and beverages. Don’t miss out on the $8 Absolut bottle deal and the 10 p.m. show. What a great way to usher in the weekend a bit early!

Jan. 18—Pagan Holladay’s Schadenfreude Funhouse at This Is It! (418 E. Wells St.): Season 1 “Camp Wannakiki” scene stealer, Pagan Holladay offers up what’s billed as a “spectacular evening with shade and entertainment” at one of Brew Town’s favorite hot spots. The change-of-pace drag show starts at 10 p.m. with no cover. Will the new expanded space be open? Come on down and see for yourself.

Jan. 21—Open Rehearsal for City of Festival Men’s Chorus at Plymouth Church (2717 E. Hampshire Ave.): Like to sing? Looking to meet people and make new friends? Join the chorus! Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to see what this group is all about, learn a few songs and sing along. As long as you can sing in the tenor or base range, you’re sure to have a great time.

Jan. 22—Shepherd Express Best of Milwaukee Party at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino (1721 W. Canal St.): Every year, the best of the best come together for savory appetizers, sweet bites, cocktails, live entertainment and more as Shepherd Express honors the nominees and winners of the “Best of Milwaukee” reader survey. Join the bash (5-8:30 p.m.) for $20 but note that tickets are not available at the door. You’ll need to pick them up at shepherdtickets.com.

Ask Ruthie a question and share your events at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on Instagram @ruthiekeester and Facebook at Dear Ruthie. Don’t miss her hilarious reality show on YouTube—“Camp Wannakiki.”

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::MYLGBTQPoint of View

::BLACKBLUE&RAINBOW

Hello, 2019! Keeping Sane in the New Year ::BY CHRISTOPHER WALTON

H

LGBTQs Should Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ::BY PAUL MASTERSON

L

ast year, the Marcus Center’s Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration was listed on the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center’s calendar. This year, the event’s 35th anniversary, it is not. It’s an unfortunate lapse for many reasons. Milwaukee is one of but two cities (the other is Atlanta, Ga.) that have, since 1984, held an annual commemoration of the civil rights leader’s legacy with a youth-focused cultural program.

Sponsored by the Forest County Potawatomi Foundation (among a score of Milwaukee corporations, arts organizations, Aurora Health Care, educational entities, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks, the MLK Birthday Celebration represents the city’s broad spectrum of diverse allies in the common cause for social justice. There are few opportunities like this one to gather as a community coalition. The symbolic value of LGBTQ people joining with others in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. should not be lost on our leadership.

Besides, beyond solidarity, we need to show gratitude and acknowledge our own LGBTQ activists rode the wave of King’s SHEPHERD EXPRESS

civil rights movement. Were it not for the actions of Milwaukee State Representative Lloyd Barbee, our black political ally during the pre-Stonewall days of the liberation struggle, the passage of Wisconsin’s Gay Rights Bill (Assembly Bill 70) a decade-and-a-half later, may never have happened.

To be fair, I did notice a lack of response to last year’s announcement of the MLK Celebration on the LGBT Community Center’s social media page. It appears only a few people attended. It’s odd, isn’t it, that a Center fundraiser can attract 500+ attendees, and its monthly TGIF bar forays average 100, but only a scant few showed up for the MLK event?

Still, while that apparent lack of interest might justify not bothering this year, it should actually be an embarrassment and trigger a reappraisal of the state of our activism, especially in these times of renewed attacks on our rights. Granted, the LGBT Community Center isn’t the only act in town, and for whatever reason, it may have simply stepped back.

Perhaps another group should take the lead?

PrideFest 2018’s attendance spiked to more than 45,500. The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce now boasts nearly 600 members some of whom are sponsors of the Marcus MLK Celebration. So, either of those organizations could easily pick up the slack.

It just seems that more could be done. We know Milwaukee is the most segregated city in the country. Just a week ago, the Brookings Institute released yet another study confirming that unfortunate statistic. Speaking of symbolic gestures, the recent installation of the Rainbow Flag crosswalks at Cathedral Square added black and brown stripes to the traditional six colors in deference to—and in recognition of—the fact that our LGBTQ community still grapples with its own issues of racial exclusion. But, while such symbols may ease our collective guilty conscience, only real action can achieve Martin Luther King Jr.’s goal of universal equality.

The Marcus Center’s Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration takes place 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20.

ello, new year. I have never spoken with a “Year” before, so let me apologize now for the mistakes that I will most certainly make as we get moving. I’m sure when this goes to print I will have already made at least two. You and I have a lot of work to do this year, especially as we gear up for the onslaught of another presidential election. I know you’re just a baby year right now and you’re only a few weeks old, but we have to get this show on the road early to get ready for the history books. So, let us begin because I have a few things you need to accomplish this year.

To all of us with student loan debt, remind us to make sure we have our income-based payment forms in. An income-based payment can lower your monthly student loan payments. If your payments are unaffordable due to a high student loan balance compared to your current income like mine, an IBR plan can provide much-needed relief and the ability to actually survive this mountain of debt that those of us who took a vow of poverty by getting a degree in political science have made. Also work on getting the debt to salary ratio down. Apply for that new job you want, start that business you’ve been planning to since 2015 and save that extra money to do mission two.

Get out of town! Like not just out of town to Gurnee Mills, go visit Wisconsin! Go visit somewhere you’ve never been. Go visit our nation’s capital, go visit New York City and take a road trip with some friends to a concert. Also go check out Berlin or Accra while you’re out. There are great apps like GayCities that will give you tips on where to go that’s safe and welcoming for you and whatever you might be looking to do.

To paraphrase the words of Sebastian from The Little Mermaid: Kiss the boy! Make sure you have consent first, though. At the very least, go talk to him! You’ve been wanting to talk to him since he walked into the room and you lost your ability to speak. Just do it already. The worse thing that will happen is that he just might say yes. Now your whole life is going to change. Take the chance.

Get tested and know your status. Get on PrEP if you are sexually active. Places like Diverse & Resilient and ARCW can help you navigate the hoops to enjoy yourself safely.

Protect your health at all cost, that’s the only thing you totally own. Get in that gym too and sweat it out. Summer is coming, even though I might not feel like it right now and you already have your winter body on point. Dust off that planet fitness gym card, get in there and burn off grandma’s mac and cheese. Drink a lot of water too!

Be involved in 2019. Pick a cause and support it. Go volunteer for a cause you believe in. Stand up for the rights of someone else or yourself at a protest march. Join your local County Democratic Party, which has meetings every third Monday of the month. They have plenty of volunteer opportunities and events to keep you busy all year long.

Also, any damage caused by you last year, make amends. You cannot move forward with an anchor of guilt attached to you. Fix that relationship if it’s salvageable and only do it if you genuinely mean it, because it’ll backfire in your face if you don’t truly mean it from your core. Remorse is a dish served sincerely. When it’s all said and done, forgive yourself as well and work on yourself so you’ll never cause harm to them again.

So, 2019, these are your missions which you have no choice but to accept. Finish this decade stronger one day at a time and always remember, nothing changes until it changes. Let’s roll.

GET OUT OF TOWN! LIKE NOT JUST OUT OF TOWN TO GURNEE MILLS, GO VISIT WISCONSIN! GO VISIT SOMEWHERE YOU’VE NEVER BEEN. GO VISIT OUR NATION’S CAPITAL, GO VISIT NEW YORK CITY AND TAKE A ROAD TRIP WITH SOME FRIENDS TO A CONCERT. J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9 | 33

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Driveway Thriftdwellers

Driveway Thriftdwellers Find Comfort in Country ::BY EVAN RYTLEWSKI

t’s funny how many country musicians grew up with no particular fondness for the genre. Many performers find that country is an acquired taste, something they have to spend years around before they realize their love for it. And so it was with brothers Jon and Ryan Knudson of the Driveway Thriftdwellers, who grew up on a steady diet of popular country music thanks to their father.

“Our dad was really into the country music that was on the radio in the ’80s and ’90s,” Ryan says. “Anytime we were in the car, it was Travis Tritt or whoever was big at the time, so we grew up hearing that, and really not really liking it that much. But there were certain elements of that sound that hit a nerve, especially the twangy, crying sound of the pedal steel, and it always stuck with me. I guess somewhere between those Sunday morning drives home from church with my dad listening to the radio, then going home and listening to Black Flag and The Circle Jerks, something hit.”

The Knudson Brothers each independently discovered artists like Gram Parsons, The Byrds and Merle Haggard, and by adulthood they were playing Flying Burrito Brothers songs and other country covers together at bars in Northern Wisconsin.

“We called ourselves the Driveway Thriftdwellers, but I wouldn’t say we were a real band at the time,” Jon says. “Ryan and I played with one other guitar player, just two acoustic guitars and pedal steel, and we played almost exclusively at the Minocqua Brewing Company, because we loved going up there and making a weekend out of it.

34 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

“Eventually, we began writing our own tunes, which was pretty liberating,” he continues. “At first, it was really fun just to play whatever songs we were listening to, but that gets a little old after a while. Now, instead of having people saying to us, ‘I love the way you were playing that old Merle Haggard tune,’ they’re complementing us on something we wrote, which is much more satisfying.”

It’s also been vindicating for the brothers’ dad, watching his kids embrace the music he always knew was great. “It’s an ‘I told you so’ thing for him,” Jon says.

“He’s like, ‘That’s the music I played for you as kids and you hated it!’”

After a few years of members coming and going, Driveway Thriftdwellers settled into a five-piece lineup, with the Milwaukee-based Knudson Brothers joined by a trio of musicians from Madison. “There’s a group up there called the Five Points Jazz Collective, and we poached a few of those guys,” Ryan says. “Our lead guitarist has a weekly gig where he plays trombone with the Five Points.

Where Driveway Thriftdwellers’ 2016 debut album Cutover Country aimed for a raw, live sound, the group’s new self-titled sophomore album takes a slicker, more studio-centric approach. Recorded by Ian Olvera at Wauwatosa’s Wire & Vice studios and mixed by Daniel Holter, it’s hookier and more direct than its predecessor, playing up the group’s pop sensibilities. It’s still plenty country— “This Might Hurt a Little Bit” is an old-school weeper, and “Grandpa’s Tattoos” draws from the autobiographical songwriting tradition of staples like Loretta Lynn and Waylon Jennings—but tracks like “King of Milwaukee” and Driveway News” skirt nostalgia in favor of crisp, modern Thriftdwellers “Bad production.

Anodyne Coffee Despite the album’s studio polish, Jon says the Friday, Jan. 18, band hasn’t lost touch with its roots as a live band with nothing to prove. They still gig often, and 8 p.m. they still throw a few covers into their set, even if they’re more selective about them now.

“I think it makes us have a little more fun on stage, because the way this band started was four or five bands on stage drinking beer and having fun and playing whatever we want to play,” Jon says. “We didn’t care if somebody tried to do some crazy solo and screwed it up. Now we rein it in a little bit more, but we’re not afraid to play a song, whether it’s one that we wrote or a favorite we’re covering, and just take it in a totally new direction.”

Driveway Thriftdwellers play a vinyl release show with Coyote Brother (featuring songwriters J. Hardin and Hayward Williams) at Anodyne Coffee on Friday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m.

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J A N UA RY 17, 2 0 1 9 | 35

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::CONCERTREVIEW

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials Proved Themselves Deft Entertainers ::BY JAMIE LEE RAKE

I

t would be enough for some blues guitarists to sell a crowd on their dazzling virtuosity. There is certainly compelling value in that for the music’s hardcore aficionados. But Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials go beyond providing exquisite musicianship, excelling as entertainers as well.

That is in great part to lead singer/guitarist Lil’ Ed Williams being such a charismatic character. With a smile bright enough to top a lighthouse, even during some of the band’s most dolorous ditties, Friday night at Shank Hall he coupled his occasional dance moves with bright-eyed showmanship that recalled Louis Armstrong at his most jovial. The overall effect was an irresistibly effervescent life force, drawing the audience into blues’ transformative power of turning sorrow into joy.

All that extra-musical charm is no distraction from his prodigious primary talents, though. On hollow- and solid-body guitars, Williams is an amiably menacing slide player, bending strings, softly strumming on his guitar’s bridge and furiously shredding with an open palm. Abetting and sometimes trading off with Williams for lead runs, Mike Garrett evinced a bit of fuzz in his tone to licks that skirted the peripheries of rockabilly, Chuck Berry’s rocking country fusion and deeper electric blues. Williams’ half-brother James “Pookie”Young contrasted the rest of the frontline as he played his bass at a high angle in seated repose, drawing no attention to himself apart from the unobtrusive foundation he provided.

Williams’ and Garrett’s vocal styles offered even greater contrast than their instrumental approaches did. Whether refreshing his genre’s tropes comparing romance and its physical counterpart to car maintenance and bees’ business in honey, warning of biblical apocalypse, honoring a request for one of his quartet’s several songs about food (“Icicles In My Meatloaf”), or simply bemoaning love gone wrong, Williams’ near-constant smile didn’t diminish his mellifluous, raw-throated sincerity. On the two of the night’s 23 songs that found Garrett as leader, he showcased a less wild, more tightly controlled instrument with a burnished quality complementing the band leader’s looser vibe.

Drawing about as little attention to his effectiveness as Young did with his bass, drummer Kelly Littleton rode the night’s varieties of rhythms with minimal fills and maximal power. It’s probable he worked up the greatest sweat of the foursome, but—save for the break between the Imperials’ two sets—Littleton likely barely had time to wipe his perspiration.

No opening act preceded Lil’ Ed and his band’s fierce house rocking. And it’s doubtful anyone could have given them serious competition for blues entertainment value.

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Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra

MANDOLIN ORCHESTRA PLAYS THE ‘MUSIC THAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS’ ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

M

ost local bands number their existence in a few years or at most, a few decades.

The Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra (MMO) tops everyone as they amble into their 119th year. Tracing their origins to 1900, MMO is older even than the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra or the Florentine Opera.

With such longevity, they have as much business as any area musicians to organize a concert called “Music That Made Milwaukee Famous.” The evening at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center will include guest performances by Robin Pluer, Misha Litvin and Stas Venglevski.

Although the mandolin now usually brings to mind bluegrass or country roots, the instrument was popularized in many American cities before the start of the 20th century by Italian and other European immigrants. Orchestras consisting of mandolinists (accompanied sometimes by guitar or violin) were common and several were established in Milwaukee around the same time as MMO. Their repertoire was pop music in the era when most middle-class homes had a piano in the parlor; when sheet music sales determined the hit parade and sound recordings were novel and technically crude.

“You could say that the mandolin is having a rebirth in the U.S.,” says Katy Vandenberg, MMO’s assistant director, referring to several new mandolin orchestras that have formed elsewhere in recent years. “Attending the annual Classical Mandolin Society of America conventions, we see that other orchestras are gaining members as mandolin orchestras perform more and become more prevalent in musical settings.

Getting the word out is mainly through social media, word of

mouth, attracting musicians who play similar instruments like cellists (for mandocello) or violinists or even by playing in local bars or coffee shops.”

As current pop music, MMO and its peers in other cities pose no threat to Beyoncé or Bruno Mars. Besides the charming tonalities of their chosen instrument, MMO serves dual purposes as a living archive of popular songs circa 1900—a time when Milwaukee was already an important center for music publishing—and a vehicle for exploring the instrument’s potential in classical music. Recent years have seen MMO perform arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Vivaldi.

For “Music That Made Milwaukee Famous.” Robin Pluer, best known as the Bastille Days chanteuse and for performing with the R&B Cadets, will sing a song that likely figured in MMO’s original repertoire, Stephen Foster’s lovely “Beautiful Dreamer,” along with a pair of tunes from the early 20th century, “Pennies From Heaven” and “Who’s That Knockin’ On My Door?” Originally from Belarus, Milwaukee musician Misha Litvin plays domra, a Russian style mandolin, and Stas Venglevski, originally from nearby Moldova, plays bayan, a Russian accordion. Their contributions to the concert will “be a surprise for the orchestra” as well as the audience, according to Vandenberg. The two musicians will perform as a duo for 30 minutes and each will join MMO for one number.

“Our biggest news is that this July we’ll be performing two concerts in Japan,” Vandenberg says, in conjunction with a pair of Japanese mandolin orchestras whose ranks reach nearly 100 members. MMO maintains a regular schedule in Milwaukee with shows at Lakefront Festival of the Arts, the Sarah Chudnow Community Center and Lyndon Sculpture Gardens, and they have ventured out to Madison Milwaukee and Chicago. Several MMO memMandolin bers have been with the orchestra for Orchestra a quarter century. “We have gained South a few members in the last year and Milwaukee a couple of them are younger musicians,” Vandenberg adds. “Most, if Performing not all, American mandolin orchesArts Center tras have the same problem: attractSaturday, ing young musicians. There are a Jan. 26, couple of programs in the U.S. that 7 p.m. are teaching young children the mandolin in after school programs called Mando for Kids. We don’t have any in this area yet, but we are seeing that, over the years, many kids are retaining the mandolin as the instrument of choice.”

Music That Made Milwaukee Famous takes place at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 901 15th Ave. For tickets and more information, visit southmilwaukeepac.org or call 414-766-5049.

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Grab a solo cup and let’s rage!

Beer. Punch. Games. Music by DJ Shawna.

Friday, February 8 • 5:30pm to 9pm Tavern at Turner Hall

Tickets: Shepherdtickets.com

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Bradley This Is The Last Generation, and I Love You All When a rising style of music is characterized as futuristic, is someone continuing to make that music, long after it has been absorbed into the mainstream, a futurist or a revivalist? With This Is The Last Generation, and I Love You All, Jackson, Wisconsin’s Bradley Bohringer, using only his first moniker for his nom de disc, is a few albums into making electronic pop of a sort that knows little of house, rave and any synthetic style postdating the 1980s. With a voice recalling both the warmth and aloofness of The Human League’s Philip Oakey and keyboard programming of that vintage, Bradley’s work could pass as a lost obscurity from the Reagan years. Yet, if darkly nostalgic, he’s also a bit hopeful, doubtless from the Christianity obliquely referenced on many of Last Generation’s tracks. As with his other work in ’80s cover band The First Wave, Bradley is concerned with getting bodies moving, but he leaves room for chilling out, too.

Maybe he knows a bit more about raving than he first lets on?

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17

Cactus Club, Yam Haus w/Clear Pioneer & Skyline Sounds County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/Barry Dodd Jazz Estate, The Anne Davis Jazz Quartet Kelly’s Bleachers (Big Bend), Michael Sean Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Open Jam: Roadhouse Rave Up Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) Miramar Theatre, World Famous House Party w/DJ Effex, Riptide & Outlaw (all-ages, 9pm) On the Bayou, Open Mic Comedy w/host The Original Darryl Hill Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Phil Norby (8pm), In the Fire Pit: Waterloo Revival w/Keith Pulvermacher (8:30pm) Rounding Third Bar and Grill, World’s Funniest Free Comedy Show Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon, The Blaine Anderson Trio Sheryl’s Club 175 (Slinger), Acoustic Jam w/Milwaukee Mike & Downtown Julius South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Jesse Cook presented

by ACG The Back Room at Colectivo, Rayland Baxter The Bay Restaurant, Will Ulrich The Packing House Restaurant, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) The Suburban Bourbon (Muskego), The All-Star SUPERband w/ Muskego High School Big Band (6pm) Up & Under Pub, A No Vacancy Comedy Open Mic

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18 —Jamie Lee Rake

Amira Medunjanin Ascending (TOWN HILL COLONY) One often thinks of brass bands in connection with the music of the former Yugoslavia—all that crazy Balkan funk. Amira Medunjanin focuses instead on melancholy Balkan soul with intensely passionate singing rising from melodies of maximum yearning. Her voice is a precise instrument, going deep into the emotions behind the words. For Ascending, the Bosnian singer is accompanied by a young Norwegian chamber orchestra, the TrondheimSolistene.

—David Luhrssen

Alley Cat Lounge (Five O’Clock Steakhouse), Brian Dale Group American Legion Post #399 (Okauchee), The Ricochettes American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Bobby Way & JJ Brooks Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Julie’s Piano Karaoke Anodyne Coffee, Driveway Thriftdwellers record release show w/ Coyote Brothers Big Head Brewing Company, Open Mic Night Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Sex Scenes w/Solid Freex & Dogs In Ecstasy (8pm); DJ: The French Connection (10pm) ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Open Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & Friends Jazz Estate, Scott Napoli Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Matthew Rotker-Lynn (11:30pm) Lakefront Brewery, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Jared Rabin Band w/Tangled Lines Los Mariachis Mexican Restaurant, Larry Lynne Revue Mamie’s, The Blues Disciples Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Ryan McIntyre (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Waterloo Revival w/Jackie Brown (9:30pm) Rave / Eagles Club, Erykah Badu (all-ages, 8pm), Silverstein w/ Hawthorne Heights, As Cities Burn & Capstan (all-ages, 7pm) Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Janet Gardner of Vixen (ages 18-plus, 8pm) Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon, Apollo’s Beacon Shank Hall, Michigan Rattlers w/The Flood Brothers & The Tritonics The Back Room at Colectivo, Laura Gibson w/Stelth Ulvang (of the Lumineers and Dovekins) The Bay Restaurant, J. Ryan Trio The Packing House Restaurant, Mike Henszey & The Carmen Sutra Trio (6:30pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee Record Presents “Local Coverage”: A Benefit for Milwaukee Women’s Center Up & Under Pub, Grey Garden

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19

1/17 Amanda Huff 1/24 Keith Pulvermacher

38 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), The Falcons Cactus Club, Rebel Paris & BVNDO Promotions: Spaidez, Petti Hendrix, Trap Junkie Jet, @BankheadBeeeep & Supurr Dupurr Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Dan Whitaker & The Shinebenders (8pm); DJ: Roll-Yer-Own LP Spin (10pm) ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

Crush Wine Bar (Waukesha), Dave Miller Trio w/Mike Cascio & Hal Miller Cue Club of Wisconsin (Waukesha), The Cheap Shots Five O’Clock Steakhouse, Rafael Mendez Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Vocals & Keys Jazz Estate, Awake Nu- the music of Don Cherry (8pm), Late Night Session: Cody Longreen & Friends (11:30pm) Kelly’s Bleachers (Big Bend), The Now Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, John Stano & Kaia Fowler Mason Street Grill, Jonathan Wade Trio (6pm) Matty’s Bar & Grille (New Berlin), Winter Music: Joe Kadlec Mezcalero Restaurant, The Jammers Miramar Theatre, Rusko (all-ages, 9pm) Mo’s Irish Pub (Wauwatosa), 5 Card Studs Motor Bar & Restaurant, Bulleit Bourbon Presents BBQ & Blues (5pm)

Nice Ash Cigar Bar (Waukesha), Jude and The Acousti-Dudes Nomad World Pub, Frozen Toe Winter Block Party (noon) Pabst Theater, Eaglemania w/emcee Steve Czaban & McIntyre Wangerin Pistol Pete’s, The Sensations Plymouth Church UCC, The Coffee House presents: The YellowBellied Sapsuckers w/Fiona Blue Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: 3D (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Waterloo Revival w/Jackie Brown (9:30pm) Rave / Eagles Club, Banda Los Recoditos w/El Bebeto, Hijos de Leyva, Cuerda Elegante & Banda Agaveña (all-ages, 8pm) Roma’s Ristorante & Lounge (East Troy), Tom Sorce Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon, Crossfire Band Shank Hall, Substitute (Who tribute) w/Brainstewed (Green Day tribute) Slinger House (Slinger), Scotch and Soda Smith Bros. Coffee House (Port Washington), Lake Effects Steaming Cup (Waukesha), Fair Webber The Back Room at Colectivo, Petal w/Sir Babygirl & Cave People The Cheel (Thiensville), Swing Chevron The Packing House Restaurant, Lem Banks, Jeff Stoll, Alvin Turner & Omar (6:30pm) Up & Under Pub, New Cats

SUNDAY, JANUARY 20

Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/Julie Brandenburg Cactus Club, Bernice w/Strangelander & Caley Conway Band Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Mark E. Lee w/Paul Setser (8pm); DJ: John Riepenhoff & Sara Caron (10pm) Dugout 54, Dugout 54 Sunday Open Jam Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Full Band Open Jam w/host Wapatui (5pm) The Back Room at Colectivo, Lala Lala & Sen Morimoto

MONDAY, JANUARY 21

Dopp’s Bar & Grill, Larry Lynne Band Jazz Estate, Latin Jam Session with Cecilio Negrón Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Poet’s Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader Linetta Davis (sign-up 7:30pm, 8-11pm) Mason Street Grill, Joel Burt Duo (5:30pm) Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Open Jam: Christopher John & Friends w/featured band Up & Under Pub, Open Mic w/Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22

Club Garibaldi, Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J & Esham Tour Jazz Estate, Bad Habit Rabbit Kim’s Lakeside (Pewaukee), Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Mamie’s, Open Blues Jam w/Marvelous Mack Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), The Jim Yorgan Sextet Miramar Theatre, Tuesday Open Mic w/host Sandy Weisto (signup 7:30pm, all-ages) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White (4pm) Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Jam Session South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Randy Bachman w/

By George Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Transfer House Band w/Dennis Fermenich

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23

Cactus Club, Dirty Few w/Rexxx, Saebra & Carlyle & Platinum Boys DJs Caroline’s Jazz Club, Jimi Schutte American Blues Conway’s Smokin’ Bar & Grill, Open Jam w/Big Wisconsin Johnson Hudson Business Lounge and Cafe, Jazz at Noon: Don Linke and Friends Iron Mike’s (Franklin), B Lee Nelson Acoustic Jam Jazz Estate, One Man Band Isaiah Joshua Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage w/feature Valerie Lighthart (sign-up 8:30pm, start 9pm) Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Mezcalero Restaurant, Larry Lynne Trio Paulie’s Field Trip, Wednesday Night Afterparty w/Dave Wacker & guests Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White Riverside Theater, Neil Young Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk The Cheel (Thiensville), Andrew Trim Jazz Duo (6:30 p.m.)

The Packing House Restaurant, Tracy Hannemann & Kostia Efimov (6pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, Ex Fabula Spectacular: “Gut Feeling”

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MILWAUKEE CAMPUS When Joy isn’t practicing her yoga poses, you can find her curling up next to her favorite human, asking to go for a nice walk, or nibbling on a delicious treat. Joy is a very kind pup and her name fits her to a T! Like all our dogs, Joy is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped, and goes home with a starter bag of food and a lifetime of behavior support. If you’d like to meet Joy, stop by the Wisconsin Humane Society Milwaukee Campus today!

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SPORTSMANSHIP

THEME CROSSWORD

By James Barrick

PSYCHO SUDOKU! “Greater-Than Sudoku”

For this “Greater-Than Sudoku,” I’m not giving you ANY numbers to start off with!

Adjoining squares in the grid’s 3x3 boxes have a greater-than sign (>) telling you which of the two numbers in those squares is larger. Fill in every square with a number from 1-9 using the greater-than signs as a guide. When you’re done, as in a normal Sudoku, every row, column, and 3x3 box will contain the numbers 1-9 exactly one time. (Solving hint: try to look for the 1’s and 9’s in each box first, then move on to the 2’s and 8’s, and so on). psychosudoku@gmail.com

ACROSS 1. Dramatis personae 5. A lot 10. Vamoose 15. Uttar Pradesh city 19. Exchange fee 20. Kind of grass 21. — -ho 22. Farm building 23. Rent 24. Willow rod 25. Speaker of the quip at 27-Across: 2 wds.

27. Start of a quip: 3 wds.

30. Alphabetized list 31. Trees 32. Bridge support 33. Wildebeest 34. Like a night sky 37. Bank heist 39. Lamp fuel: Var. 44. Sensational 45. Intimidated 46. Schwarzenegger role 47. Gear 48. Pilaster 49. Be undecided 50. Part 2 of quip: 2 wds.

52. Blabbermouths 54. — da gamba 55. Onomatopoeic word 56. A palindrome 57. Eskers 58. — Fe Trail 59. Surrounded by 61. One-armed bandits 63. Salt and strip 64. Follower of an Indic faith 65. A Euro predecessor 67. Cynical 68. Flightless bird 69. Bounder 72. Lab device 73. Parts

74. Movie buff 76. Part 3 of quip: 3 wds.

79. Walked up and down, back and forth 80. Greek weight 81. — and outs 82. Coin 83. Called, in a way 84. “Kate & —” 85. Drunken ones 87. Got along 88. Invaders from Mars 89. Charged particle 90. Simple 91. Took legal action 92. Pumps 95. End of the quip: 3 wds.

102. Make holy 104. Pith helmet: Var. 105. Yep 106. Touch on 107. Grows dim 108. Genus of water birds 109. — Kett of old comics 110. Sub — 111. On the left 112. Rude looks 113. What’s done DOWN 1. Old Roman statesman 2. Old Greek contest 3. Father 4. Of barbering 5. Spine-chilling 6. — fortuitus 7. A dye 8. Conked out 9. Fighter 10. Bathe 11. Chavez or Millan 12. Risque 13. Actress Gardner et al.

14. Coco-de- —

15. Small drupe 16. Aurum 17. Took the bus 18. Ne plus ultra 26. Ryder the actress 28. Impenetrable 29. German art song 33. Steffi of tennis 34. Blackboard 35. Audio component 36. Naivete 37. Jacket 38. Dazzles 39. Kangaroo bear 40. New-age singer 41. Utterly simple 42. “Nanny” butler 43. Where Memphis is 45. Beverages 46. Curdles 49. “— la vista, baby” 50. Ached 51. Footnote abbr.

53. Bout of drinking 54. Windmill sails 58. Parties 59. Lent a hand 60. L-Q link 62. Spare 63. East Indies archipelago 64. Perfected

65. Lapwing, a bird 66. Peoples: Prefix 67. Saint- — -wort 68. Chopped 70. A purgative 71. Removes 73. Let 74. “La — aux Folles” 75. Vacationed 77. Defy 78. A noble gas 79. Fatherly (or motherly) 83. — -mutuel 84. Douglas-Home or Waugh 86. Snooze 87. Least 88. Hand tools 90. Device in a hack 91. Show scorn 92. Cicatrix 93. Bindlestiff 94. — probandi 95. Carriage 96. Saintly radiance 97. — the wiser 98. — dixit 99. Nerve network 100. Escort 101. Food fish 103. Books pro

C O E N D M E M I N A B E N G E A T

O L L O Q U I A L A W S C Z Y L A U N C H M I R O R A S U P E R B N H D G S P L I T R A E O L E D A R I N G C V P I L E E N L I S T D R E T T E R B O X

1/10 Solution

WORD FIND This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in any direction but always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when you have completed the puzzle, there will be 35 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

Astrology Solution: 35 Letters

© 2019 Australian Word Games Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.

© 2019 United Feature Syndicate, Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication

B F R E C A K S T H A R O J U G C H

Solution to last week’s puzzle

Afflicted Air Arc Aspect Bull Cardinal Combust Crab Cusp Cycle Dynamic Equinox Fire Fish

Gemini Goat Honest Houses Impulsive Joys Juno Ketu Kind Kite Leo Libra Lion Longitude

Luna Meridian Midpoints Natal Nodes Orb Pisces Ram Shy Stellium Sun Trine Water

40 | J A N UA RY 17, 2 0 1 9

1/10 Solution: From sleepy town to must see destination SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Solution: What happens when the planets are aligned?

Creators Syndicate 737 3rd Street • Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 310-337-7003 • info@creators.com

Date: 1/17/19

::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Writing at ThePudding, pop culture commentator Colin Morris reveals the conclusions he drew after analyzing 15,000 pop songs. First, the lyrics of today’s tunes have significantly more repetitiveness than the lyrics of songs in the 1960s. Second, the most popular songs, both then and now, have more repetitive lyrics than the average song. Why? Morris speculates that repetitive songs are catchier. But in accordance with current astrological omens, I encourage you Capricorns to be as unrepetitive as possible in the songs you sing, the messages you communicate, the moves you make and the ideas you articulate. In the coming weeks, put a premium on originality, unpredictability, complexity and novelty.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In May 1927, Aquarian aviator Charles Lindbergh made a pioneering flight in his one-engine plane from New York to Paris. He became instantly famous.

Years later, Lindbergh testified that partway through his epic journey he was visited by a host of odd, vaporous beings who suddenly appeared in his small cabin. They spoke with him, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of navigation and airplane technology. Lindbergh’s spirits were buoyed. His concentration, which had been flagging, revived. He was grateful for their unexpected support. I foresee a comparable kind of assistance becoming available to you sometime soon, Aquarius. Don’t waste any time being skeptical about it; just welcome it.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): More than four centuries ago, a Piscean samurai named Honda Tadakatsu became a leading general in the Japanese army. In the course of his military career, he fought in more than a hundred battles.

Yet he never endured a major wound and was never beaten by another samurai. I propose we make him your inspirational role model for the coming weeks.

As you navigate your way through interesting challenges, I believe that like him, you’ll lead a charmed life. No wounds. No traumas. Just a whole lot of educational adventures.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1917, leaders of the Christian sect Jehovah’s Witnesses prophesied that all earthly governments would soon disappear and Christianity would perish. In 1924, they predicted that the ancient Hebrew prophet Moses would be resurrected and speak to people everywhere over the radio. In 1938, they advised their followers not to get married or have children, because the end of civilization was nigh. In 1974, they said there was only a “short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.” I bring these failed predictions to your attention, Aries, so as to get you in the mood for my prediction, which is: All prophecies that have been made about your life up until now are as wrong as the Jehovah Witnesses’ visions. In 2019, your life will be bracingly free of old ideas about who you are and who you’re supposed to be. You will have unprecedented opportunities to prove that your future is wide open.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Movie critic Roger Ebert defined the term “idiot plot” as “any film plot containing problems that would be solved instantly if all of the characters were not idiots.”

I bring this to your attention because I suspect there has been a storyline affecting you that in some ways fits that description. Fortunately, any temptation you might have had to go along with the delusions of other people will soon fade. I expect that as a result, you will catalyze a surge of creative problem-solving.

The idiot plot will transform into a much smarter plot.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1865, Prussia’s political leader, Otto von Bismarck, got angry when an adversary, Rudolf Virchow, suggested cuts to the proposed military budget. Bismarck challenged Virchow to a duel. Virchow didn’t want to fight, so he came up with a clever plan. As the challenged party, he was authorized to choose the weapons to be used in the duel. He decided upon two sausages. His sausage would be cooked; Bismarck’s sausage would be crammed with parasitic roundworms.

It was a brilliant stratagem. The proposition spooked Bismarck, who backed down from the duel. Keep this story in mind if you’re challenged to an argument, dispute or conflict in the coming days. It’s best to figure out a tricky or amusing way to avoid it altogether.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

CANCER (June 21-July 22): An imaginative 27-year-old man with the pseudonym Thewildandcrazyoli decided he was getting too old to keep his imaginary friend in his life. So he took out an ad on eBay, offering to sell that long-time invisible ally, whose name was John Malipieman.

Soon his old buddy was dispatched to the highest bidder for $3,000. Please don’t attempt anything like that in the coming weeks, Cancerian. You need more friends, not fewer—both of the imaginary and nonimaginary variety. Now is a ripe time to expand your network of compatriots.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In December 1981, novice Leo filmmaker James Cameron got sick, fell asleep, and had a disturbing dream.

He saw a truncated robot armed with kitchen knives crawling away from an explosion. This nightmare ultimately turned out to be a godsend for Cameron.

It inspired him to write the script for the 1984 film The Terminator, a successful creation that launched him on the road to fame and fortune. I’m expecting a comparable development in your near future, Leo. An initially weird or difficult event will actually be a stroke of luck.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Psychologists define the Spotlight Effect as our tendency to imagine that other people are acutely attuned to every little nuance of our behavior and appearance. The truth is that they’re not, of course. Most everyone is primarily occupied with the welter of thoughts buzzing around inside his or her own head.

The good news, Virgo, is that you are well set up to capitalize on this phenomenon in the coming weeks.

I’m betting you will achieve a dramatic new liberation: you’ll be freer than ever before from the power of people’s opinions to inhibit your behavior or make you self-conscious.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): What North America community is farthest north? It’s an Alaskan city that used to be called Barrow, named after a British admiral. But in 2016, local residents voted to reinstate the name that the indigenous Iñupiat people had once used for the place: Utqiaġvik. In accordance with astrological omens, I propose that in the coming weeks you take inspiration from their decision, Libra. Return to your roots.

Pay homage to your sources. Restore and revive the spirit of your original influences.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The Alaskan town of Talkeetna has a population of 900, so it doesn’t require a complicated political structure to manage its needs. Still, it made a bold statement by electing a cat as its mayor for 15 years.

Stubbs, a part-manx, won his first campaign as a write-in candidate, and his policies were so benign— no new taxes, no repressive laws—that he kept getting re-elected. What might be the equivalent of having a cat as your supreme leader for a while, Scorpio?

From an astrological perspective, now would be a favorable time to implement that arrangement. This phase of your cycle calls for relaxed fun and amused mellowness and laissez-faire jauntiness.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Trees need to be buffeted by the wind. It makes them strong. As they respond to the pressure of breezes and gusts, they generate a hardier kind of wood called reaction wood. Without the assistance of the wind’s stress, trees’ internal structure would be weak and they might topple over as they grew larger. I’m pleased to report that you’re due to receive the benefits of a phenomenon that’s metaphorically equivalent to a brisk wind. Exult in this brisk but lowstress opportunity to toughen yourself up!

Homework: Write a one-page essay entitled “2019 Is the Year I Figure Out What I Really Want.” Share if you like at freewillastrology.com.

Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 877873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

::NEWS OF THE WEIRD ::BY THE EDITORS OF ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

O Mantis Tree, O Mantis Tree…

V

eterinarian Molly Kreuze of Springfield, Va., is planning to purchase an artificial Christmas tree next year after her natural one came with something extra: more than 100 praying mantises. Kreuze told WJLA-TV the large, leggy insects emerged from an egg sac under the tree’s branches and were “crawling on the walls, crawling on the floor, on the windows, on the ceiling!” Kreuze captured as many as she could and was hoping to find a new home for them, as it seems “people really like” the bugs. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture advised that people who find the egg sacs on their Christmas trees should clip the branch and take it outside. Otherwise, without their regular source of food, the newly hatched insects will start to eat each other.

Lickity Ick KION TV reported on Jan. 7 that a Salinas, Calif., family’s Ring doorbell camera captured video of a man licking the doorbell for more than three hours. The homeowners were out of town during the encounter, which took place around 5 a.m., but their children were inside.

Sylvia Dungan, who was alerted to the activity at her front door on her phone, said, “Who the heck is that!?” Salinas police identified the man as Roberto Arroyo, 33. Arroyo also relieved himself in the front yard and visited a neighbor’s house. “You kind of laugh about it afterwards because, technically, he didn’t do anything,” Dungan said, although police later charged him with petty theft and prowling.

The Band or the Team?

Dale Sourbeck, 49, of Pittston, Penn., had an arresting start to 2019. In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, he used a hammer to break into the Rock Street Music store and helped himself to two guitars, reported WNEP TV. Presumably realizing he was being watched by surveillance cameras, Sourbeck left and returned to the store—this time wearing a mask—and grabbed three more guitars. Police tracked Sourbeck down using the surveil-

lance camera footage from his first visit (and a shot of his license plate outside) and found the stolen guitars in his home. Upon his arrest, the only statement he made was “Go Eagles!”

Financial Dis-clothes-ure Three customers and staff of a Wells Fargo branch in Solana Beach, Calif., were stunned on Jan. 3 when 35-year-old Clint Gray entered the bank shortly after it opened and yelled, “This is a robbery! Everybody get on the ground!” a witness told The San Diego UnionTribune. But Gray, who was unarmed, didn’t follow through. Instead, he stripped down to his underwear and sat in a chair near the front door. He also kindly told one female customer that she could sit in a chair instead of lying on the floor. A sheriff’s deputy arrived shortly, and Gray surrendered without resistance; he was later charged with attempted robbery.

Hands-On Teaching Students at a Fairfield, Ohio, middle school were subjected to an unexpected lesson in anatomy on Jan. 8 when they reported suspicious behavior “taking place behind the desk” of substitute teacher, Tracey J. Abraham of Cincinnati. WHIO-TV reported that the school resource officer at Creekside Middle School received several complaints from students that the teacher was…ummm…taking matters into his own hands. Abraham was booked and charged with public indecency and ordered to stay away from all locations where there are children under 18 years old.

Gross!

Heather Carpenter, 42, was charged with damaging property and criminal mischief in Sarasota County, Fla., after expressing in a particularly gross way her dissatisfaction with the principal of the school where Carpenter was substitute teaching. Phillippi Shores Elementary School Principal Allison Foster had been helping Carpenter with a professional issue, but Carpenter was unhappy with the way it was going, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. So, on Dec. 1, in a park where Foster was hosting a birthday party for her daughter later in the day, Carpenter—whose own daughter was invited to the party—arrived with human feces, according to a witness, which she spread on the grill and picnic tables. Carpenter pleaded not guilty, but the Sheriff’s Office report stated that she admitted she “intentionally placed human waste and fecal matter on the tables at Urfer Park with the intent of disrupting the birthday party planned

by Foster.” © 2019 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9 | 41

::ARTFORARTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;SSAKE

42 | J A N U A R Y 1 7 , 2 0 1 9

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