Print Edition: April 25, 2019

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The Shepherd lost a great friend:

Joe Bartolotta

A MAN WHO HELPED BUILD MILWAUKEE PG. 9

WISCONSIN’S LARGEST LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER

‘Handmade for Home’ EXHIBIT REVEALS WISCONSIN’S LEGACY IN CRAFT AND DESIGN

Milwaukee County Budget in Crisis ... page 4

Humanity-Over-Hatred Message Highly Relevant in ‘Come From Away’ ... page 16

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APRIL 27

THE DANGEROUS DAMES OF COMEDY STARRING POPPY CHAMPLIN AND SONYA WHITE MAY 10

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::NEWS&VIEWS

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FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | ISSUE OF THE WEEK

Milwaukee County Budget in Crisis Is it time to increase the sales tax? ::BY DAN SHAFER T’S UNDENIABLE: THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE IS ON A TREMENDOUS WINNING STREAK. You know the list. You live in this city. You’ve seen what’s been happening in your own backyard. So many big changes that seemed inconceivable or farfetched just a few short years ago have since been realized. Milwaukee is charging toward a triumphant end to a decade that began in recession-induced shambles, but this winning streak is at risk of being washed away. Just as so many lofty plans are coming to fruition and just as impossible goals—like landing the 2020 Democratic National Convention during this of all presidential campaigns—are being achieved, another wave of big, difficult decisions is rising.

Milwaukee County is riding on the coattails of the city’s success. With a series of needed projects in front of them, Milwaukee County’s finances have reached a full-blown crisis point. The Milwaukee Public Museum has to find a new home. The Mitchell Park Domes are crumbling. The County desperately needs a new justice center. The list of repair and replacement needs at Milwaukee County parks grows every year, and the Downtown convention center could be rendered obsolete just as it’s about to reach its highwater mark next July. We don’t want to see the county slow down the momentum we have been experiencing.

Add it all up and costs to pay for these big capital projects and major backlogs could approach $1 billion. Costs for a new justice center alone—which Rob Henken, president of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum said is something that “must” happen—is estimated to be more than $300 million. That’s a higher cost than the public funding component of building Fiserv Forum. The Milwaukee Bucks’ new arena is nice to have; a replacement for the Milwaukee County Safety Building is something we need to have, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The bills are here; it’s time to pay them.

Broken Revenue Model for Local Government Sobering as that fact is, there’s good news here. The City of Milwaukee is, indeed, on a winning streak, and it’s in the city, county, region and state’s best interest to keep that streak alive. Paying our bills, reworking a deeply broken revenue model and taking steps to invest in our city and county’s future could do just that.

That’s why it’s time to start talking about raising the local sales tax. Sales tax rates in Wisconsin are relatively low, ranking 43rd among U.S. states. In the city of Milwaukee, the sales tax is lower than just about any city of its size. Of the 115 U.S. cities with populations greater than 200,000, Milwaukee is ranked at 111, with a rate at 5.6% (Madison is 112th at 5.5%). If the rate were raised by a single percentage point, Milwaukee would still reach only 98th for local sales tax.

A sales tax is, however, an inherently regressive tax, since it is the same for everyone regardless of income and therefore taxes lower-income people at a higher percentage of their income. The sales tax in Wisconsin does mitigate that regressive nature by eliminat-

4 | APRIL 25, 2019

ing sales tax from certain essential purchases like food items bought in grocery stores versus restaurants and for pharmaceuticals. At the same time, Wisconsin also has some of the highest property tax rates and state income tax rates in the country, so many economists would argue that the larger taxation formula in the state is out of balance.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum has exhaustively and thoroughly studied the County’s financial picture over the last three years in a five-part series, the last of which will be released later this spring. And put together, it shows deep, structural and seemingly insurmountable financial difficulties that: a) have been deeply damaged by state aid payments remaining flat for many, many years; and b) become further complicated by “these real big infrastructure projects that, even if you had local governments in very sound fiscal condition,” are difficult to manage, said Henken.

So why is a sales tax increase getting so much attention as a possible way to pay some of these bills and improve this condition? One is the state’s aforementioned taxation funding formula with property, sales and income taxes, said Henken, and the other is

the ability to “(draw) revenue from individuals who are visitors to the County or the City of Milwaukee, as opposed to just residents.” That means suburban commuters as well as tourists.

“Arguably, there are tens of thousands of commuters from outside Milwaukee County who are coming to the county every day to work and using county and municipal services, he said. “And then there are millions of visitors to various cultural, entertainment and sporting venues throughout the county, and they’re not being taxed at all for their use of city and county infrastructure. A sales tax is one way to get at that.”

No Silver Bullet

Henken stressed that a sales tax certainly would be no silver bullet to solving these problems; no one solution would be. But there is a certain logic to leveraging the part of the city that’s seen the most growth to help pay for the disrepair that other parts of the city and county have been left in.

Besides, is Milwaukee really going to follow this winning streak by folding its public museum? Are the Domes really going to be shuttered with no plans for replacement? Are we really going to talk about the county’s parks like the tremendous regional asset that they are while letting them continue to fall deeper into a state of disrepair? Are we really going to do nothing about a basic necessity of local government like the Milwaukee County Courthouse? Is the city really going to welcome the eyes of the world at its convention center and then fail to modernize and expand it?

In many ways, the list of projects in need of a capital infusion is an extension of the public funding debate that preceded the deal to fund the construction of Fiserv Forum. Beginning in 2013, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce (MMAC) convened many meetings of the Cultural and Capital Needs Task Force to examine what needs could be addressed and how the region could go about paying for them. But what has happened since? The arena got funded while nothing else did. That’s not how you move Milwaukee forward.

What’s also changed since 2013 is that we now have a governor who is not openly hostile to Milwaukee and trying to avoid tax increases like the plague (even if those increases are the only viable way to pay the bills). State legislation is key to this debate, as Wisconsin state law makes it extremely difficult for local counties and municipalities to raise their own sales tax or property tax. Legislation would be required to pass even enabling legislation for the city or county or region to vote in a referendum about raising our sales tax and gaining more local control over our own financial future.

That’s where this could all be headed, and we need to have this conversation now if we’re going to seize the moment Milwaukee finds itself in. July 2020 and the DNC will be here before we know it, and it would be a shame if that was the final chapter in Milwaukee’s renaissance and not the beginning of a bold new era for the city. The next wave for Milwaukee is fast approaching, and it’s time to make some decisions about whether we’re going to ride it to a bold future or watch it swallow us up.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

ASKTHEANTI-AGINGEXPERT:: SPONSORED CONTENT BY UTHOLOGY MEDICAL

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Am I a good candidate for BHRT? If you’re living with symptoms of a hormone imbalance, BHRT may be an excellent treatment option to restore your health and well-being. The research obtained over the decades showing the importance, safety and effectiveness of BHRT has been integral to making it available to healthy and chronically ill patients today.

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A BID for the Neighborhood’s Future Milwaukee has the highest concentration of BIDs per capita compared to anywhere else in the nation. The Granville BID, created in 2012, is a sprawling, commercially zoned district located generally along West Brown Deer and Good Hope roads between 60th and 95th streets. The Granville BID has 384 manufacturers, merchants, car dealerships and professional businesses. There are also currently approximately 39,000 Granville residents who call it home and another 38,000 who call it their workday home.

The Granville BID has five main goals in its 2019 operating plan: beautification, safety, economic growth, marketing and community outreach. Hoehne said all five of these goals are being met. It now has regularly mowed lawns in the medians, and flowers can be seen

all of the businesses that were once located in Granville is very unlikely, as the “retail apocalypse” is here. “The era of the mall is over, so to bring something like that back on the retail end is just not going to happen,” Little says.

Ninth District Alderperson Chantia Lewis mirrors these concerns. “We can’t wait on big boxes or big chains to ‘come in and save the day.’ We have to start right here in our backyard with our own people,” she says.

This is where Granville decided to get creative. With hubs like the Sherman Phoenix opening up just miles away, Little, Hoehne, Lewis and the Granville BID decided that it was time something like that finally came to their neighborhood. As a result, some of them took a 1,000-mile trip to DeSoto, Texas, to visit Grow DeSoto—a business incubator started in a vacant store. That’s where they got the idea for the “Granville Connection,” which they envision as a space for entrepreneurs and small businesses to gain a foothold and grow across the city.

::BY EVAN CASEY

‘We Are Talking About Cultivating Business’

orthridge Mall. If you grew up in the 1970s or ’80s in Milwaukee, you’ll remember this sprawling, 800,000-square-foot shopping center, which largely defined Granville and Brown Deer on the city’s Northwest Side. But if you didn’t grow up back then, you likely won’t even remember when or why Northridge shut down. That’s because Granville—the area where the old Northridge Mall is located—is often overlooked and forgotten by much of Milwaukee.

Once a retail paradise, Granville has since fallen prey to online shopping and the movement of industry jobs to Milwaukee suburbs.

Add to this the fact that the city just announced that the Chinese investment group who owns Northridge Mall has until the end of April to tear it down because of safety concerns. If Black Spruce Enterprise, who originally planned to renovate the space, doesn’t tear it down, the city will.

Despite all this, however, city leaders— along with a newly invigorated Business Improvement District (BID)—are making sure Granville stays relevant. One of their goals is to create an entrepreneurial hub for local individuals and businesses to learn and grow. But this isn’t the only thing the district has accomplished lately; add beautification, an uptick in safety and a focus on workforce training to the list of things Milwaukee and the Granville BID are doing to try to mold this area back to what it once was. The area is also growing in popularity and relevance due to the work of a popular jazz festival and monthly jazz pop-up events at abandoned parking lots and storefronts that used to be home to retail stores that have long since disappeared.

“The whole idea is to bring people back in, get that name out there and get people to realize that this area is not still waiting for something to happen anymore,” said an enthusiastic Mary Hoehne, Granville BID’s executive director. “It can never be the way it was in the

The goal is to convert the old JoAnn Fabrics building (8633 W. Brown Deer Road) into a space for an open-air mall environment that will attract foot traffic. They envision it mirroring the Grow DeSoto Marketplace, which is now home to nearly 50 businesses. A public-private partnership, Grow DeSoto offers low rent and utilities for growing businesses.

Ideas for businesses for Granville’s space include everything from designers and retailers to fitness gurus and coffee lovers. There would be room for 30 businesses, four to five restaurants and pop-up businesses as well.

Ald. Lewis also envisions many job training opportunities. “Not only having [businesses] come in, but we are also talking about cultivating business,” she says, “and helping them understand this is the grist of what a business looks like.” The goal is for businesses to move in and have the opportunity to grow at other locations across the city. Other positives for businesses inside the space include reduced rent and utilities, easy access to major thoroughfares and the freeway system and access to mentorship opportunities. Little envisions the space to also mirror Sherman Phoenix (which opened last year in Sherman Park) adding that it’s important to put entrepreneurs “in a visible location.”

The BID and the city are currently looking at funding sources for the Northridge Mall space, as they will need to renovate both the inside and outside of the location. Possible funding could come from the BID itself, the Department of City Development and/or grants. They are also looking at other funding sources, including private donations. However, the dream for this opportunity is increasingly looking more like a reality.

“How can we invest so that the third-grader who’s living in Granville right now, the people who are underserved—10 or 15 years from now—get jobs in Granville and buy homes in Granville?” Hoehne says. “That’s our hope.”

Comment at shepherdexpress.com.

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past because of what’s happened in retail, but there’s no reason it can’t look like a very vibrant area.”

“THE WHOLE IDEA IS TO BRING PEOPLE BACK IN, GET THAT NAME OUT THERE AND GET PEOPLE TO REALIZE THAT THIS AREA IS NOT STILL WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN ANYMORE,” there in the summertime. The BID has its own private security unit that monitors the businesses in the area, and it is also working on marketing the area for stores and businesses who might want to open (or reopen) there. But the city and Granville BID are also constantly working at reaching out to the community and increasing employment opportunities for area residents.

Kenneth Little—the City of Milwaukee’s neighborhood business development manager—essentially watches over Milwaukee’s 31 BIDs. He says the city recently did an area plan for Granville, adding that bringing back

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( APRIL 25 - MAY 1, 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 Trump administration and other activities that seek to thwart social justice.

Thursday, April 25

Racine SOUP @ Uncorkt (240 Main St., Racine), 5:30 p.m.

S.O.U.P. (Support of Urban Projects) is a forum in which community members can share their ideas for projects to enhance the quality of life for residents in Racine, Wis. A dinner featuring soup is served, while community projects are pitched to the audience.

Panel Discussion: ‘No Hate, No Fear’ @ YWCA —Southeast Wisconsin (1915 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), noon-1:30 p.m.

With the ever-growing hostility and violence towards immigrant communities emerging from places as high as the Oval Office, policies are being created that will continue the unjustified criminalization of innocent people searching for better opportunities—or just to be able to live in peace and freedom. The YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families and strengthen communities. Join their upcoming panel discussion.

Friday, April 26

The Story of America’s Black Holocaust Museum @ America’s Black Holocaust Museum (401 W. North Ave.), 7:45 a.m.

America’s Black Holocaust Museum was founded in 1984 in a Milwaukee storefront by James Cameron, the only known survivor of a lynching. Cameron spoke daily with most visitors about his survival experience, making for a special encounter with living history. His 2006 death—combined with the country’s economic downturn at that time—forced the museum to give up its building in 2008. Last fall, however, it reopened as part of the Historic Garfield Redevelopment Project. Hear the full story at this event.

Saturday, April 27

Dontre Day 2019 @ Red Arrow Park (920 N. Water St.), noon-6 p.m.

It has been five years since Dontre Hamilton’s death. This day represents his life and the community that pulled together in the face of injustice.

Gather in Red Arrow Park for a commemoration.

Peace Action of Wisconsin: Stand for Peace @ the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and North Avenue, noon-1 p.m.

Every Saturday from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action of 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.

‘Let’s Talk About It: Human Trafficking’ @ New Life Christian Fellowship Church (1529 N. Wisconsin St., Racine), 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Fight to End Exploitation will provide a presentation on human trafficking worldwide, nationally, in Wisconsin and Racine County. Topics will include labor as well as sex trafficking and how young people are lured into and groomed for exploitation—often without even knowing what is happening to them.

Earth Day Celebration presented by Milwaukee Riverkeeper @ Picnic Area Eight, Estabrook Park, noon–2 p.m.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is hosting its 24th-annual Spring River Cleanup with nearly 4,000 volunteers joining together across the Milwaukee River Basin to pick up trash, get outdoors and help to achieve swimmable, fishable rivers. Volunteers and the community may join the free, eighth-annual Rock the Green Earth Day Celebration with music provided

by Chicken Wire Empire and Lex Allen on a pedalpowered stage.

River Cleanup Kayaking with WWWK and MSOE @ Milwaukee Rowing Club Boathouse (1990 N. Commerce St.), 8 a.m.

Join members of Wisconsin Women Who Kayak (WWWK) and the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) at the Milwaukee Rowing Club Boathouse for a healthy breakfast and ecology seminar before the 9 a.m. launch of Milwaukee Riverkeepers’ Spring Cleanup (see above).

Adopt-A-River Cleanup @ Boone & Crockett (818 S. Water St.), 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Last year, Boone & Crockett teamed up with Milwaukee Riverkeeper and adopted its river front. It’s keeping the pledge to clean up the waterway.

Washington Heights Neighborhood Cleanup @ Community Garden (2111 N. 49th St.), 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Volunteers are needed to help pick up trash that accumulated over the winter throughout this Milwaukee neighborhood. Schedules are flexible; help for as long as you can. Rakes, trash pickers, nitrile gloves, trash buckets and bags will be furnished, and coffee, bottled water and cookies will be provided.

Sunday, April 28

Workers Memorial Day @ Zeidler Union Square (301 W. Michigan St.), 2:30-3:15 p.m.

Every year on April 28, the AFL-CIO observes Workers Memorial Day to remember those who were injured or killed on the job and to renew efforts for safe workplaces. Join the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Waukesha County Labor Council and WisCOSH at a ceremony commemorating Workers Memorial Day.

Monday, April 29

Film Screening: ‘The Pursuit’ @ Marcus Southgate Cinema (3330 S. 30th St.), 7 p.m.

Professional musician turned economist Arthur Brooks travels around the globe in search of an

answer to the question of how we can best help to lift up the world—starting with those at the margins of society? His journey takes him through the streets of Mumbai, India, a town in Kentucky left behind by the global economy, a New York homeless shelter, a Barcelona, Spain, street protest and a Himalayan Buddhist monastery.

2019 Diversity Counsel Program @ the Italian Community Center (631 E. Chicago St.), 8 a.m.-12:10 p.m.

How do we proactively address gender diversity in the workplace? This opportunity offers guidance for leading a practice, your firm or your community into becoming a more welcoming, allencompassing place. Hear practical, straightforward advice from lawyers as they share their strategies for increasing diversity and inclusivity.

Tuesday, April 30

Gov. Tony Evers speaks at the Newsmaker Luncheon @ Turner Hall Ballroom (1040 N. Fourth St.), 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Gov. Evers will be the featured speaker at the Newsmaker Luncheon, hosted jointly by the Milwaukee Press Club and WisPolitics.com.

Film Screening: ‘Citizen Jane’ @ East Library (2320 N. Cramer St.), 5:30-7 p.m.

® ® ®

EIGHTH ANNUAL

EARTH DAY EARTH DAY EIGHTH ANNUAL

Celebration Celebration

Presented by:

SATURDAY APRIL 27, 2019 12-2PM • MILWAUKEE, WI ESTABROOK PARK PICNIC AREA 8 Featuring the musical stylings of:

CHICKEN WIRE EMPIRE

LEX ALLEN

Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, helped change the way we look at urban living. Citizen Jane focuses on Jacobs’ most consequential battle in the 1960s, when she went up against a ruthless New York City power broker— and won. This free screening marks the beginning of 2019 Jane’s Walk MKE, a month of free resident-led neighborhood tours and explorations throughout Milwaukee.

Wednesday, May 1

Politely Angry Tour —Milwaukee @ Puddler’s Hall (2461 S. St. Clair St.), 8 p.m.

Comedian Krish Mohan explores various social, political and philosophical issues, such as war culture, immigration, economics and more with his quick wit and quirky attitude. Described as “dangerously perceptive and honest but somehow still loving and inclusive,” the show will make you think and laugh at the same time.

Diane Guerrero @ the UWMilwaukee Student Union (Second Floor, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.), 7-9 p.m.

UWM’s Distinguished Lecture Series welcomes Diane Guerrero—an outspoken advocate for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform.

In her memoir, In the Country We Love, she details her life as the citizen-daughter of undocumented parents and her long struggle dealing with the consequences of the broken immigration system.

Guerrero will speak about her personal story of how she transformed her situation into a platform for advocacy and activism.

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

APRIL 25, 2019 | 7

NEWS&VIEWS::TAKINGLIBERTIES

Mueller Exposes Trump’s Secrets and Lies ::BY JOEL MCNALLY

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ven the sanitized Mueller report, personally redacted by President Trump’s servile Attorney General William Barr, was filled with so much evidence of presidential corruption it’s difficult to imagine how Trump and Barr thought they could get away with declaring for weeks the investigation resulted in a complete and total exoneration of the president.

It’s not even close. That must be why Barr held a press conference the day Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report was released so he could hammer home the administration’s false claims one last time before everyone learned the truth.

“Awwk! No collusion! Awwk!” Barr squawked five times, parroting what Trump tweeted relentlessly throughout Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia’s illegal 2016 election interference on Trump’s behalf.

Barr’s other major claim was that Mueller had not reached any conclusion about whether Trump had illegally obstructed justice by attempting to thwart Mueller’s investigation. Barr said that allowed him and his deputy Rod Rosen-

stein, both Trump appointees, to immediately declare Trump’s innocence. In Mueller’s actual report, Americans learned neither of Barr’s claims was quite true.

The Truth About Trump

Mueller explained “collusion” was not a legal term and wasn’t even investigated. Mueller’s team did investigate “conspiracy” or “coordination” between Russians and the Trump campaign. That required evidence of a tacit or explicit agreement between campaign officials and the Russians. That’s extremely difficult to prove, and Mueller could not do it conclusively. But investigators uncovered numerous unreported contacts between Russians and the campaign those around Trump lied about. Mueller also concluded Trump’s campaign welcomed Russia’s efforts and expected to benefit from information Russia stole to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

But Barr’s biggest whopper was that Mueller was unable to make any decision about whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice. Actually, Mueller said a long-standing Justice Department rule against indicting a sitting president prevented him from making that decision. But Mueller’s investigation assembled an enormous mountain of evidence about Trump’s repeated attempts to fire Mueller, strictly limit what Mueller could investigate and Trump’s lies and ordering subordinates to lie to cover up the president’s obstruction.

“The president’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful,” Mueller

wrote, “but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests.” “Mostly” is a key word. That means Trump succeeded in obstructing justice at times. He certainly had criminal intent. Trump wanted to break the law.

Fortunately, Trump was just as incompetent at obstructing justice as he was at accomplishing many of his other undemocratic intentions as president.

Trump’s most brazen attempt to shut down the investigation came just a month after Mueller’s appointment. That’s when Trump twice ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to tell Rosenstein to fire Mueller. Fearing a political firestorm and getting caught up in a crime himself, McGahn drove to the White House, packed up his belongings and began preparing his resignation. He told White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that Trump was ordering him to “do crazy shit.” Priebus persuaded McGahn to ignore Trump. Later, McGahn refused another order from Trump to lie publicly about whether the president had ever ordered Mueller’s firing.

What the Constitution Says

The fact Justice Department rules prevented Mueller from indicting Trump for obstructing justice, lying about it and ordering others to lie didn’t mean Mueller was leaving it up to Trump’s hand-picked Attorney General to exonerate the president. Mueller wrote that the Constitution designated Congress as the body empowered “to prohibit a president’s corrupt use of

his authority.” Mueller said allowing Congress to apply obstruction laws “to the president’s corrupt exercise of the powers of his office accords with our constitutional system of checks and balances and the principle that no person is above the law.”

Most congressional Democrats aren’t terribly eager to bring impeachment charges, even with the documentation of all the ways Trump is corrupting our democracy. Trump’s fundamental dishonesty isn’t really news to anyone.

But Democrats know Republicans controlling the U.S. Senate will immediately swat down impeachment anyway to maintain their power going into the 2020 elections.

Mueller’s 448-page report on Trump’s sleazy, unethical conduct was never going to disturb many of his voters. The best Democratic course right now is their scheduled series of televised hearings exposing all the president’s secrets and lies in the report. Unlike Trump’s fantasy versions of reality, the Democratic hearings will be rooted in the American reality of having a national embarrassment as president. It might not reach the hard-core haters who would cheer if Trump really did shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue, especially if it were someone Latino or Muslim. But for everyone else, the hearings could build toward the election of a personally decent, respectable president in 2020.

Most Americans—Democrats, independents and any honest Republican whose job doesn’t depend on pleasing Trump’s most socially unacceptable supporters—have always preferred that.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com.

NEWS&VIEWS::POLL

You Didn’t Win Under Trump’s Massive Tax Cut Last week, we asked if you were a winner under Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut? You said: Yes: 26% No: 74%

What Do You Say Do you believe that Foxconn will create the 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin that they and the Republicans promised?

Yes No Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue.

8 | APRIL 25, 2019

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

In Memory of a Shepherd Friend:

JOE BARTOLOTTA

A Bartolotta Restaurants Group statement reads “Joe is beloved by the Milwaukee community for his hospitality heart, generosity and love of all” and that he passed away in his sleep “with a smile on his face” Monday night. Joe Bartolotta and his brother, Paul, opened their first restaurant in Wauwatosa in 1993. Their business has grown ever since, now operating 15 restaurants, catering services, food court establishments and a pizzeria. While the Bartolotta name is synonymous with great food here in Milwaukee, Joe saw to it that dedication to his community in a much broader sense was always at the top of his agenda. His charitable work has included tremendous support for the Humane Society of Wisconsin and in getting the Milwaukee Public Schools’ ProStart program, which gives students hands-on restaurant-centered learning experience. Joe once said that, in looking for employees, he sought out those to hire who showed what he called a “hospitality heart.” In doing so, he was only reflecting his own support for the community he called home.

NEWS&VIEWS::ISSUEOFTHEWEEK

Join the May 1 Statewide ‘Day Without Latinxs & Immigrants’ to Restore Driver Licenses for Immigrants and Keep Families Together ::BY CHRISTINE NEUMANN-ORTIZ

S

ome years ago, a mother of two called Voces de la Frontera’s office. Her husband had been driving to work when he was pulled over for driving without a license. Although she and her husband had lived in Wisconsin since the 1990s, he could not obtain a license because he was undocumented. Because of the lack of federal immigration reform, he could not receive a legal immigration status.

Her husband had been assigned a court date. When he arrived for court, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were there. They took him to an ICE detention center. Within weeks, he was deported; his wife and two children remained here, devastated.

Until 2007, all Wisconsin residents could access driver licenses and state IDs by showing proof of identity, residency and passing a driving and vision exam. But in 2007, a law passed by the state legislature to comply with federal REAL ID legislation went into effect requiring residents to present a Social Security Number to obtain a license.

The legislature can change this. Governor Tony Evers has included provisions to restore access to driver licenses and state IDs regardless of immigration status as part of his 2019-’21 budget. On Wednesday, May 1, Voces de la Frontera will hold a Day Without Latinxs & Immigrants statewide rally at the Capitol in Madison to urge the legislature to restore driver licenses for immigrants.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

According to the nonpartisan think tank Kids Forward, 32,000 Wisconsin residents would become eligible to obtain driver licenses, including 14,000 parents. Restoring driver licenses will also strengthen our economy. According to Michael Slattery, an economist and member of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, dairy workers produce more than 10% of Wisconsin’s GDP. The vast majority of these workers are undocumented.

Wisconsin’s dairy industry is in a crisis; 700 dairy farms here closed in 2018. This crisis has many factors, but Wisconsin has long suffered from a shortage of dairy workers.

Under Donald Trump, immigrant workers are leaving places where they are more vulnerable to deportation and separation from their families. Restoring driver licenses will keep workers in Wisconsin, stabilizing the rural economy, and will provide broader economic benefits as well. Kids Forward estimates that Wisconsin drivers as a whole would pay $16 million less in car insurance premiums. More consumers will be able to travel to work or shop more safely, putting money back into local economies.

Many local law enforcement officials—like Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith—support restoring licenses.

“People will be tested and know the rules of the road,” he says. According to studies, states that have restored driver licenses for immigrants have seen a decline in car accidents.

Immigrant residents will be safer to come forward to report crimes, knowing that they have identification and are not at risk of being detained.

While Voces de la Frontera has organized some of the largest marches in our state’s history, the Day Without Latinxs & Immigrants is a specific call to action for a statewide community strike as part of an escalated campaign. This means no work, no school and no buying to elevate the important contributions that Latinxs and immigrants make to our state as workers, small business owners, consumers and as a community.

It is fitting that this happen on May 1—an international day to honor workers. While it’s called a day without Latinxs and immigrants, it’s a day for all people—a day of solidarity in which to stand together against the politics of discrimination and division.

Visit vdlf.org/mayday2019 to reserve a seat on a bus, make a donation or to help organize. Together, we can restore driver licenses and strengthen our economy, improve public safety and keep families together.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz is the executive director of Voces de la Frontera.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

::OUTOFMYMIND

Guns, Violence and the Human Brain ::BY PHILIP CHARD

W

hile pumping gas, I witnessed the strongest argument for common sense gun control— the emotionally hijacked human brain.

It began with shouting and threats, followed by a pickup burning rubber as it lurched perilously between pumps. I exchanged glances with the wide-eyed gent in the next lane, who quickly noted, “If there’s gunfire, I’m outta here.”

Fortunately, the hothead sped off without creating a crime scene, but it proved an awful point: violence can erupt anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Why? Because, when triggered by some vexing person or event, many humans lack emotional self-control. Politics and ideology aside, this is a factual warning about the risks posed by the brain when emotionally compromised and in possession of lethal technology.

Whatever the weapon—guns and autos come to mind—when one’s psyche morphs from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, anything can happen in the blink of an eye. School shootings, workplace violence, homicidal road rage and the like fuel the delusion among clueless politicians that all evil doers are mentally ill, and that we simply need better treatment. This is a common refrain after a mass shooting: Never mind gun control, we just need to keep these whackos locked up or drugged down.

The oft-ignored facts from neuroscience prove otherwise. Most violent offenders are not suffering from a mental illness. In fact, persons with mental disorders are more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators.

The vast majority of deaths by firearms are suicides (63 per day or 23,000 per year) or domestic homicides, not mass shootings or premeditated murder. Meaning most gun violence stems from blokes who have lost control of their emotions in the moment and lack the mental leash to reign in that fire-breathing dragon. Seemingly normal folks can go temporarily insane when rage co-opts their mental faculties, and it doesn’t take long (under one second) to flip from okay to raving lunatic. Think of a time you witnessed someone (maybe yourself) in a blind rage and imagine putting an assault rifle in that person’s hands.

Sadly, we seem reluctant to acknowledge that many humans are ill-equipped to manage their behavior when something pushes one of their hot buttons. Because stressors like IT overload, hurry sickness, financial duress, booze and incivility are increasing emotional volatility across the population, more of us stand primed to “go off.”

Rage is temporary, but its impacts can be permanent. Many is the sad soul who awoke from a blind fury and returned to his or her senses only to face a life of regret, or worse. When emotionally compromised, there are things we do that cannot be undone.

I don’t have a legislative fix for this issue, but I find it irresponsible that those empowered to find one ignore what neuroscience knows about the emotionally hijacked brain. Bottom line? We can’t trust it.

If someone is going to be a so-called good person with a gun, he or she must first be a person with an in-control brain, which doesn’t always come naturally. While there are no panaceas for restraining rage, once triggered, there are proven methods that reduce emotional reactivity, such as specific breathing techniques used by some first responders, meditation and cognitive therapy tactics involving self-talk.

However, even when encouraged to learn such methods, many emotionally volatile people live in denial (“What, me worry?”). In their view, they are trustworthy, but when it comes to their limbic brains, the science says not so much. So, there will always be human land mines in our midst. If we want to make it easy for them to turn rage into bloody mayhem, just arm them to the teeth and keep pretending we’re a rational species. You’ll see the results on the news.

APRIL 25, 2019 | 9

::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.

Boutique Experience Is CBD Safe for at MKEHemp Rx Dispensary Pets?

S

::BY SHEILA JULSON

ince last spring, hemp stores and dispensaries have opened at a brisk pace throughout the Milwaukee area, but until recently, most of them have set up shop in the suburbs or neighborhoods surrounding Downtown. Now, those who live and work in the heart of Milwaukee have an option: MKEHemp Rx dispensary opened on Friday, March 1, at 706 N. Milwaukee St., between Wisconsin Ave. and Mason St. “We’re the first Colorado-style dispensary in Downtown Milwaukee,” said Gino Jab, one of the budtenders at MKEHemp Rx. Some cannabidiol (CBD) dispensaries have a policy where visitors have to be buzzed in; however, MKEHemp Rx takes security a few steps further to ensure customer and employee safety. If you plan to visit, leave the cellphones and cameras in the car or at your desk; they’re not allowed in the dispensary. Also, all visitors must show identification. Friendly security personnel then check each visitor for weapons by use of a scanning wand. After that, you’re guided to a relaxing waiting area with high ceilings, decorative molding, wood flooring and warm tones. When a budtender is available, you’re escorted to the screened-off dispensary for a private consultation. All sales are cash only; there is an ATM on the premises to assist in that regard.

MKEHemp Rx’s wood shelves are stocked with CBD oil, tinctures, edibles, capsules, hemp flower and prerolls. Brands include Secret Nature CBD vape products, Lazarus Naturals oil, Select brand pain balm, muscle rub and pain patches, Sacred Biology balms and lotions (designed to ease arthritis or hand pain) and Paradise CBD pet products, which people seek to calm separation anxiety in dogs. Jab pointed out that all of their products are tamper-resistant sealed, and the variety of products meets the needs of people who wish to consume hemp in different ways.

MKEHemp Rx’s staff has tried every product in the dispensary, Jab said, and they strive to share their education and knowledge with their customers. They try to stock what people are looking for, and they’ll decline to sell a product to a customer if the person is uncertain about an item. “Hemp is new again to Wisconsin; it hasn’t been used here in 60 years,” he said. “So, we wanted to start the store off right with the look and vibe of a professional dispensary.”

Jab had worked in a cannabis dispensary in California before relocating to Milwaukee several months ago to work at MKEHemp Rx. Other than Wisconsin’s wild weather, he said he likes Milwaukee and is optimistic about the future of hemp in Wisconsin, especially since the election of Tony Evers. “It’s evolving in the right direction, and we’re following other states,” Jab concluded.

For more information, visit mkerx.com. Any health claims in this article are intended for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for medical advice. Consult with a health care professional before starting any treatment.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

10 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

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any cannabidiol (CBD) retailers complement their range of oils, ointments and edibles with pet treats and products.

When asked about the effects of CBD on animals, Milwaukee-area veterinarians all share the same answer: They don’t know, as there is not enough research on the subject.

That doesn’t stop CBD sellers from claiming their products have miraculous properties, such as reducing pain, anxiety and inflammation, calming phobias and aggression, boosting the immune system and even curing cancer. CBD does have some of these effects on us humans (mammals have an endocannabinoid system, which allows us to be affected by CBD), but there have been no formal studies about the effect of CBD on other animals. We only know that, according to a few tests, dogs’ bodies seem to barely absorb CBD at all when ingesting it.

According to Joey DiFrancesco—cofounder of LolaHemp, a company specializing in CBD for dogs—“We can tell from experience, from word of mouth, that it works,” he says. “But our product is not approved by the FDA.”

The products sold by LolaHemp have been made with the help of professional veterinarians with the goal of ensuring the safety of animals, and lab tests are available on their website to see the quality of their oil. Pet owners who want to supplement their companions’ diets with CBD should make sure that the products they purchase follow a chart of quality, and it would be wise to obtain a veterinarian’s opinion before starting treatment.

Pot for Your Pets?

If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that pot and pets do not mix very well. While we don’t have evidence that CBD extracts are at all harmful to our four-legged friends, the other main component of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is dangerous to them.

As one study found, the number of dogs admitted with marijuana poisoning quadrupled when medical marijuana became legal in Colorado. The symptoms displayed by the animals included vomiting, twitches, incontinence and difficulty with mobility; additionally, two dogs died after ingesting THCcontaining food. Another study found that cats react violently when exposed to THC, and their behavior can be greatly worsened by marijuana smoke.

The main danger, as we currently know, lies in the risk of pets ingesting THC. It is currently illegal in Wisconsin to sell CBD products with more than 0.3% THC, but pets are not safe from an overdose, especially if they are small. Democratic Wisconsin Rep. Melissa Sargent just introduced a new bill aiming to legalize both medical and recreational marijuana in our state. If it becomes law, it will be every pet owner’s duty to ensure their critters don’t gain access to their stash!

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

IF THERE IS ONE THING WE KNOW FOR SURE, IT IS THAT POT AND PETS DO NOT MIX VERY WELL. WHILE WE DON’T HAVE EVIDENCE THAT CBD EXTRACTS ARE AT ALL HARMFUL TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS, THE OTHER MAIN COMPONENT OF CANNABIS, TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC), IS DANGEROUS TO THEM.

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::DININGOUT COURTESY OF FIRST WATCH

FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK

First Watch

New Restaurants— From Oak Creek to Riverwest and Many Places In Between ::BY LACEY MUSZYNSKI This month in restaurant openings, a breakfast chain comes to Oak Creek, seafood makes its way to the Crossroads Collective, a Middle Eastern takeout spot comes to Riverwest, and there’s plenty of new Asian eats.

Bento Xpert

A Taiwanese restaurant has joined the other stalls in the Eleven25 apartments on the western edge of Downtown Milwaukee. Bento Xpert is operated by Samuel Yin and Lydia Tai—owners of the Marco Pollo food truck and neighboring stall in the same food court. Taiwanese and Chinese dishes ($8-$9) are offered and come in meals with fried rice, stir-fried vegetables and a braised, hard-boiled egg.

A crispy, fried Taiwanese pork chop, gua bao (steamed buns with pork belly) and three-cup chicken are all specialties.

1125 N. Ninth St. • 414-935-2823

First Watch

A new location of a breakfast-and-lunch chain has opened in Drexel Town Square in Oak Creek. First Watch is the third location in the area and the closest one to Milwaukee, with the other two in Brookfield and Mequon. The menu is made up of breakfast classics, light sandwiches and salads. Eggs benedict ($11.59) is available four ways, while pancakes ($5.49-$10.59) can be made with bananas and granola or berries and lemon curd. Many items have Mexican or Italian influences, like the chile chorizo omelet ($10.29). A kale, roasted carrot and chicken salad ($9.69) and a Monterey turkey club ($9.99) round out the lunch options.

120 W. Town Square Way • 414-409-1414 firstwatch.com/locations/oak-creek

Maru Sushi

The owners of Kanpai 2 have rebranded that space into an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. Maru Sushi does not have a buffet; instead, diners order all they want from a menu of appetizers, rolls and nigiri from the kitchen for $14.99 (lunch) or $25.99 (dinner). Edamame and gyoza are classic starters or try red wine pork bulgogi. Maki, like spicy crab and shrimp tempura can be ordered two at a time,

12 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

Raw Bar

while nigiri is limited to seven pieces per person. Signature maki include two rolls that are served flaming, the Fuji volcano with spicy crab and salmon and the flaming shrimp with avocado. In an effort to reduce food waste, diners will be charged $1 per piece of sushi not consumed at the end of their meal.

2150 N. Prospect Ave. • 414-885-2524 marusushimke.com

Pho Saigon

A Vietnamese restaurant has opened in the former Sammy’s Taste of Chicago building in West Allis which has been vacant for years. Pho Saigon renovated the space into a modern, minimal, full-service dining room. Traditional Vietnamese soups are served, including a pho special ($12.95) with beef tenderloin, meatballs, brisket and tendon and shrimp pho ($12.95). Banh mi sandwiches ($4.95-$7.95) are offered with a variety of meats, as is bun ($8.95-$12.95), a rice vermicelli salad.

Specials include popular shaken beef tenderloin ($14.95) and lobster or crab in a ginger onion sauce. Bubble tea, smoothies and slushies are also available.

10534 W. Greenfield Ave. • 414-828-9698 facebook.com/phosaigonwi

Pita Palace Express

An offshoot of Pita Palace in Milwaukee has opened in the former Kabob Hub space in Riverwest. The Express location has counter service and a small area for eating in. Unlike the South Side location, Express is open late on weekdays and even later on weekends. The Middle Eastern menu is largely the same, including appetizers like hummus ($5.99) and beef kibbeh ($7.99). Sandwiches and plates can be made with beef or chicken shawarma carved off a rotisserie, chicken shish tawook, beef kufta or falafel. Family platters that serve four to 10 people are also available.

2713 N. Bremen St. • 414-702-1420

Raw Bar

A seafood spot has opened up in the Crossroads Collective food hall. Raw Bar is operated by chef Jonathan Manyo of Morel, his brother David Manyo and business partner Joe Elmergreen and features an all-seafood menu inspired by his time cooking on the West Coast. The menu and prices will all change frequently based on the market and availability. Items include oysters on the half shell with mignonette, king crab legs with drawn butter, stone crab claws, crab cakes with remoulade and sherry vinaigrette, hamachi tuna niçoise salad with olives and capers, two types of lobster rolls and a ceviche special that will change daily.

2238 N. Farwell Ave. • 414-763-9081 crossroadscollectivemke.com

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A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 13

::WHERETHEYEAT Vanda Brown:

EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF OF STAND EAT DRINK RESTAURANT GROUP

COURTESY OF STAND EAT DRINK

Vanda Brown doesn’t eat dessert out much on account of being a pastry chef herself, but when she does, she heads to Buckley’s. “I love Buckley’s key lime pie,” she says. “It has a chocolate crust that seems an odd choice, but it works.” For non-sweets, she recommends the shawarma or anything vegetarian at Shawarma House on Oakland Avenue. And if French is what she’s craving? “Pastiche Bistro in Brown Deer is French mixed with comfort food to me. I love the trout almondine.”

Buckley’s

801 N. Cass St. 414-277-1111 buckleysmilwaukee.com

Pastiche Brown Deer 4313 W. River Lane 414-354-1995 pastichebistro.com

Shawarma House

2921 N. Oakland Ave. 414-967-1000 shawarmahousemilwaukee.com

Vanda Brown

DININGOUT::SHORTORDER

Traditional African Dining at Ethiopian Cottage ::BY JAMIE LEE RAKE

LAUREN MILLER

Sunday June 2 Glass + Griddle

nd

The ideal way to partake of the food served at Ethiopian Cottage (1824 N. Farwell Ave.) may be communally. The fare is served in the traditional manner: mounds of chicken, beef, lamb, seafood and vegetable stews in the middle of a circle of moist, somewhat sourdough-tasting injera bread. Scooping up the delectables on the bread, by breaking off other pieces of that bread, is a style of eating intended for socializing, but it saves on washing utensils, too.

A recent visit for a meatless evening meal met the standard that has put Ethiopian Cottage on lists of favorite Milwaukee restaurants for years. Preparations of collard greens, red lentils, split peas and a carrot-and-potato combination centered by a miniature salad of iceberg lettuce and tomato slivers left a pleasant, warm fullness. A glass of Ethiopian honey wine or a bottled beer from Ethiopia, Kenya, Jamaica, Germany or Holland is a tasty accompaniment. Whether you arrive alone or in a group, Ethiopian Cottage offers hospitality as welcoming as its name and food at least as inviting.

10am-2pm VIP • 11am-2pm ga presented by shepherd express 14 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

Ethiopian Cottage

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DININGOUT::EATDRINK

Lush Pops Up Bold Flavor Combinations

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::BY SHEILA JULSON

arcia Taylor, a biomedical engineer, never intended to start a popcorn business. But when her homemade gourmet popcorn became a hit with friends, family and coworkers, she realized she was on to something. In 2014, after successfully setting up a popcorn bar for a coworker’s wedding, Taylor officially launched Lush Popcorn with her brother, Marc Taylor. This past November, Lush Popcorn moved from a commercial kitchen in the Ninth District to Sherman Phoenix development, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave. Taylor started selling white chocolate popcorn at farmers markets, but it didn’t hold up well in the summer heat. That prompted her to play around with other flavors. “We took two things we love—liquor and popcorn—and came up with beer caramel. We eventually got to maple bourbon,” she said.

The name Lush is a double entendre, Taylor explained—lush is short for luscious, and because they put liquor in the popcorn (although all flavors don’t contain liquor), lush also fits that aspect. “It’s a fun name, reflecting the fun

lush culture of Milwaukee, the Brewers and Brew City,” she said.

The maple bourbon popcorn is caramel corn with a twist, and it’s Lush’s signature flavor.

They also make a vegan version. Other standards include Wisconsin cheddar with a tangy pop of cheddar; white chocolate; cookies and cream; Chicago Mix, a sweet and salty combination of maple bourbon and cheese; and maple bourbon pecan. Specialty flavors made in limited batches include vegan lemon pepper, chili lime margarita and chipotle cheddar, with a smoky heat that comes through.

Many of their flavor combinations are inspired by customer requests, and Taylor also considers bold flavor profiles that she and her team like. They also focus on infusions and recently introduced a small batch of rosemary honey popcorn. Lush also takes custom orders for events. Taylor said they’ve successfully created root beer-flavored popcorn, complete with the fizzle of root beer.

“Some custom flavors are tough and we can’t get them all, but when we do, they’re really good,” she said.

The popcorn is made with non-GMO corn

COOKBOOK AUTHORS POUR ON THE MAPLE SYRUP

M

::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

aple syrup is one of the delights of living in the Upper Midwest—a sign of spring when the sap is ready to flow and great for pouring over pancakes any time of year. But in Sweet Nature: A Cook’s Guide to Using Honey and Maple Syrup, Beth Dooley and Mette Nielsen find new uses for the sticky stuff. Two tablespoons of syrup are included in their recipe for wild rice and cranberry pilaf, a hearty vegetarian dish needing no more than 20 minutes to prepare.

Maple syrup is essential to their recipe for pickled green cabbage with sweet peppers and apple, a stick-to-the-ribs sidebar to any meat entree.

The many uses for honey are less surprising but no less tasty. The authors add that both honey and maple syrup are excellent substitutes for sugar.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

sourced directly from a local farm. Lush uses real butter and no high-fructose corn syrup.

“I’m a junk food baby, but a health-conscious junk food baby,” Taylor laughed. “We try to stick to pure ingredients.”

Taylor said it’s been amazing to have a presence in Sherman Phoenix. She met Maanaan and JoAnne Sabir, co-developers of Sherman Phoenix, through their business, The Juice Kitchen. Taylor was a regular customer and sold her vegan maple bourbon popcorn there. In 2017, Maanaan mentioned to Taylor that Sherman Phoenix was in the works. Taylor had been searching for a brick-and-mortar location and thought having a presence at Sherman Phoenix would be a great opportunity. “The business owners all help each other, whether it’s something as simple as supplying an extra stick of butter or helping with inventory management. Having a community of small businesses encouraging and supporting each other has been phenomenal,” she said.

Taylor also expressed enthusiasm for the diverse patrons that bring positive energy to Sherman Phoenix. People have come from as far as Oconomowoc and Menomonee Falls to express support. Taylor plans to do farmers’ markets this summer. Lush just landed their first wholesale account with Ray’s Liquor in Wauwatosa; their chipotle cheddar is on the shelves now.

For more information, visit lushpopcorn.com.

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All shows start at 8 pm unless otherwise indicated Tickets available at Shank Hall Box Office, 866-468-3401, or at ticketweb.com

Fri 4/26

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Mary Fahl

Tallan Noble Latz $12 adv / $15 DR

FORMER LEAD SINGER OF OCTOBER PROJECT

$25

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Nekromantix RHETORIC VENDETTA

$20

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5/4 Terry McBride 5/8 Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra 5/9 Session Americana 5/10 Sleepersound, Nastos, Spirits Having Fun 5/11 Plasticland 5/12 Steve Hofstetter 5/17 Jared James Nichols 5/18 The Fainting Room, The Watchbirds, The Devil In The Outhouse A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 15

::A&E

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

Cast of ‘Come From Away’

Humanity-Over-Hatred Message Highly Relevant in ‘Come From Away’ ::BY JOHN JAHN

ome From Away, a musical with book, music and lyrics by Canadian husband-and-wife team David Hein and Irene Sankoff, is set in the week following the terrorist attacks upon the U.S. that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. As such, it tells the true story of what happened when 38 passenger jets were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland (and along the Labrador coast of Canada), when all air traffic over the U.S. was unprecedentedly grounded.

Come From Away’s characters are not only based on but, in most cases, share the names of, actual Gander residents—as well as some of the 7,000 stranded travelers they took in. It has been received by audiences and critics alike as a cathartic reminder of the ability of human kindness to triumph over human hatred. It was first produced in Ontario in 2013; it went on to have record-breaking runs in several U.S. states and has been in more-or-less constant production somewhere in North America for the past five years. In fact, in October 2018, Come From Away became the longest-running Canadian musical in Broadway history.

At the 71st Tony Awards, it was nominated for seven statuettes, including ones for Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical; it won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical for Christopher Ashley. “I was living in Downtown New York City during 9/11,” Ashley says, “and to this day, I have a tempest of unresolved feelings about the attack on our country. What a gift, therefore, to work on a piece that tells the story of generosity and kindness in response to those terrible events.”

“When we traveled to Newfoundland in September 2011, we had no idea that our journey would bring us to Broadway,” comments Sankoff and Hein. “We spent a month in Gander and the surrounding communities meeting with the locals, flight crews, pilots and returning ‘come from aways’ who gathered to celebrate the hope that emerged from tragedy.” The phrase “come from away” is a Newfoundland term for a visitor from beyond the island.

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“We didn’t know what we were looking for, but thankfully the people of Newfoundland are incredible storytellers,” they continue. “As we heard numerous tales of ordinary people and extraordinary generosity, it became clear that during the week of 9/11—for the 7,000 stranded passengers and the locals—the island was a safe harbor in a world thrown into chaos. Through this journey, we’ve learned it’s important to tell stories about welcoming strangers and stories of kindness. It’s important to honor what was lost and commemorate what was found.”

There may be something of a knee-jerk negative reaction among would-be theatergoers to a piece of musical theatre dealing with the worst single day in American history. How do you even begin to interest people in that? Who wants to relive a nightmare? As director Ashley explains, however, Come From Away audience members need not fear a tactless, tasteless exploitation of a massive human tragedy.

“The show is a ‘9/12’ story,” Ashley explains. “Taking place more than 1,000 miles from New York City, this is the story of a week in the life of both Newfoundlanders and [stranded] travelers. Overcoming differences of culture, language and religion, the people of Gander and surrounding towns provided an inspirational example of how important compassion and kindness are at moments of crisis. I believe that this idea remains as necessary today as it was 18 years ago.”

Celebrating the Best of the Human Spirit

As for the show’s music, Sankoff and Hein’s score contains nearly two dozen numbers variously sung by individual cast members, ensembles or the entire company. Its overall style contains elements of rock, folk and Irish strains—much of it evocative of the musical life of the people of Canada’s Atlantic coast. “The music of Come From Away is inspired by the sounds you would hear emanating from a bar in Newfoundland,” Ashley says. “Pipes and fiddles fill the air, and the entire score is driven by the heartbeat of the bodhrán”—the latter an Irish frame drum. (After watching CNN for a few hours, I went for a long walk along the lakefront Come that afternoon. Many Americans From Away today certainly feel something Uihlein Hall rather the same regarding the constant foulness emanating from the Marcus Center White House.) for the “Musical theatre continues to Performing Arts evolve. Recent shows like HamilMay 7-12 ton, Fun Home and The Band’s Visit have all boldly tackled current political subjects,” Ashley says.

Come From Away dramatizes many of the personal obstacles the characters underwent. One woman waits for news of her firefighter son; a passenger named Ali undergoes suspicion from the other passengers and the authorities. Relationships come apart while others are forged. But ultimately, our show celebrates the best of the human spirit. The people of Newfoundland are spectacularly hospitable and also self-effacing.

The most commonly heard refrain while we were researching this show was ‘No, buddy, you would have done the same.’

Imagine a world where that was true.”

Come From Away runs May 7-12 at Uihlein Hall of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.

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::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE

OK Go PHOTO BY NIKOLAY IVANOV

SATURDAY, APRIL 27 OK Go @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.

For the Los-Angeles-by-way-of-Chicago alternative pop band OK Go, music has always been a visual medium. The band owes much of its notoriety to clever, viral videos, particularly their breakout 2007 video for “Here It Goes Again,” which featured the dapper band hopping across treadmills in an elaborate, choreographed dance. They went to even greater extremes for their 2016 single, “Upside Down & Inside Out,” filming its video in zero gravity. The band will pay homage to those videos at this show, where they’ll perform 20 songs in sync with their high-concept visual accompaniments, breaking for question and answer sessions with the crowd.

Lex Allen w/ Immortal Girlfriend and DJ DRiPSweat @ The Cooperage, 8 p.m.

Mary Fahl

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

Butter-voiced Milwaukee singer Lex Allen refused to be boxed in on his 2018 album Table 7: Sinners & Saints. Expanding on the singer’s supple R&B, the record touched on triumphant pop (“Never Look Back”), heartbreaking ballads (“Mama’s Boy”) and audacious dance (“Struck Gold,” a pansexual club anthem for the ages). Just a week after winning a Wisconsin Area Music Industry’s top award for Artist of the Year, Allen will release his follow-up EP I.D.E.N.T.I.T.Y at this show, where he’ll be joined by the electronic-pop duo Immortal Girlfriend and DJ DRiPSweat.

Mary Fahl @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

Mary Fahl is best remembered as the singer of the classical-inspired pop-rock band October Project, who toured with acts like Sarah McLachlan and Crash Test Dummies in the ’90s, but since leaving that band in 1996, she’s released a variety of ambitious solo projects. Among them are a 2011 reinterpretation of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon called From the Dark Side of the Moon, her 2014 live album Mary Fahl Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House and collaborations with composer Darryl Kubian. A cult favorite in certain goth circles, she also wrote music for the audiobook version of Anne Rice’s 2013 novel The Wolves of Midwinter.

Billy Joel @ Miller Park, 8 p.m.

Piano-rock legend Billy Joel will turn 70 next month, but he’s still achieving career firsts. This week, he’ll play Miller Park for the first time, at a concert that’s being billed as his only Midwest show of 2019. Touring is the “We Didn’t Start the Fire” singer’s main gig these days. Joel hasn’t released an album on new material since his 2001 classical album Fantasies & Delusions, and before that his final pop album was 1993’s River of Dreams. At this point, it seems likely that he may never record another new album, but thankfully he has plenty of old hits he can fall back on at this show.

Jeezy w/ Sada Baby and Friends @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.

Rapping like he’s too damn busy slinging product to pop a throat lozenge, Jeezy became one of the first true stars of trap music thanks to his outsized personality and ear for vicious beats. Though he’s sometimes stumbled in his efforts to stay with the times, the Atlanta rapper has been remarkably consistent in the studio, as his solid 2017 album Pressure attests, and his voice remains as thundering as ever. Jeezy has announced that he plans to release the latest (and purportedly final) installment in his popular Thug Motivation series, Thug Motivation 104: Trust Ya Process, later this year. On this bill, he’ll be joined by rising Detroit star Sada Baby.

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SUNDAY, APRIL 28 Foals w/ Preoccupations and OMNI @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

The mathy, unorthodoxly poppy British rock band Foals received the red-carpet treatment from the British music press before they released their 2008 debut album Antidotes, but in the years since they’ve proven the hype was justified. The band’s 2010 sophomore album Total Life Forever built on the syncopated, half-danceable post-punk of their debut with moodier atmospherics and sharper songs that unfolded at a deliberate pace, and their even bigger subsequent albums, including this year’s two-part record Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, have been every bit as exciting and brainy. They’re joined on this bill by the nervy Canadian post-punk quartet Preoccupations (the band formerly known as Viet Cong, until they changed the name in 2016 after complaints that it was offensive).

Foals PHOTO BY ALEXKNOWLES SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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

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CAMBRIDGE • LAKE MILLS • JOHNSON CREEK

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MAY 4 & MAY 5 10 AM–5 PM

Our twelve studios and galleries in South Central Wisconsin will be open with our newest pots on display plus the work of eighteen guest potters that have been specially invited to show with us this year.

Yard signs will be posted May 4 & 5.

Look for this sign indicating tour locations.

Lee DeWyze

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 Lee DeWyze w/ Elizabeth and the Catapult @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

By the time Lee DeWyze won “American Idol” in 2010, the show was no longer the phenomenon it had been several years prior. Quietly triumphing over better-known favorite Crystal Bowersox in Simon Cowell’s final season of the reality contest, the former paint salesman went on to release a collection of Jason Mraz-styled folk-pop titled Live It Up, which sold poorer than any previous debut from an “Idol” winner—although, in hindsight, nine years later, it did numbers that just about any current “Idol” contestant could only dream of today. Despite that modest start to his post-“Idol” career, DeWyze has been able to record and tour consistently in the decade since, and last year he released his most recent album, Paranoia.

Jane’s Walk Ballroom Block Party @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 5:30 p.m.

Milwaukee is a much larger city than most realize, but there’s a natural tendency for residents to stay confined to the areas and neighborhoods they know. Now in its fourth year, Jane’s Walk MKE is trying to change that by gathering groups of people to explore the city together on a series of more than two dozen community-led neighborhood walks, tours and bike rides throughout the month of May. Highlights include walks down Villard Avenue, Jones Island, Sherman Park, Lincoln Park, Lindsay Heights and the 30th Street Industrial Corridor. The month will kick off with this Ballroom Block Party at Turner Hall Ballroom from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., featuring art, music, Milwaukee trivia, food and drink, photo opportunities and displays from neighborhood organizations. For more information, visit JanesWalkMKE.org.

Celebration of Bob Mueller’s Life @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 2 p.m.

Milwaukee’s blues scene lost a lifer this spring. Drummer Bob Mueller spent more than 50 years backing up Milwaukee combos ranging from Bill Camplin’s Woodbine to Sigmund Snopek’s band Itch to acts like The Rolling Cohens, Raw Rockers, Leroy Airmaster, Short Stuff and Billy Flynn. Friends and bandmates are invited to this free event to remember Mueller the way he would have enjoyed most: with music. Linneman’s stage has drums, a bass amp and two guitar amps; guests are welcome to sit in and jam along with some of Mueller’s favorite songs.

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A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 19

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

THEATRE

Tinker Bell “In 2010, First Stage premiered Doug Rand’s Peter Pan and Wendy—a production not without risk. We took inspiration from Japanese theater techniques to lift our actors and create not just the illusion of flight but [of] a magical life to the entire show, and we’re so gratified when our audiences embraced our efforts,” says Tinker Bell’s director-artistic director Jeff Frank. “Taking this leap launched a journey into the world of physical theater that continues to this day. Now, nine years later, Tinker Bell has provided us an opportunity to put all of our skills together to illuminate Tink’s take on this classic story with puppetry, koken work and transformative set elements.”

Written by playwright Patrick Flynn and based on the works of Sir J.M. Barrie, this family friendly adventure brings to the stage characters audiences know and love: Peter Pan, Wendy the Lost Boys and Captain Hook. In this play’s case, however, we see things from the unique perspective of the feisty fairy, Tinker Bell. First Stage’s production includes more than a dozen puppets, original music and a large cast of adult and child performers.

(John Jahn) April 26-June 2 at the Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org/show/tinker-bell.

The Fabulous Lipitones When the fourth member of a vocal quartet called The Fabulous Lipitones dies in mid-song while belting out a B-flat with gusto, the remaining three must scramble to find a replacement in time for the national competition. When they hear the angelic voice of “Bob” over the phone, they’re all ears. But when they meet him, he’s not quite who they expected. What follows in John Markus and Mark St. Germain’s musical is a humorous take on tolerance and preconceived notions.

In Tandem’s cast for The Fabulous Lipitones—all with several previous acting roles with many theater companies—includes Ethan Brittingham (Bob), Steve Koehler (Phil), Nathan Marinan (Howard) and Rick Pendzich (Wally). The production will be directed by In Tandem’s producing director, Jane Flieller. (John Jahn) April 26-May 19 at the Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St. For tickets, call 414-271-1371 or visit intandemtheatre.org.

DANCE

Springdances 2019: “Landing Sites” This year’s UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts spring dance concert is landing in a new site: the Jan Serr Studio of the university’s Kenilworth Square East with its panoramic sixth-floor views of the city. The concert includes world premieres by faculty members Daniel Burkholder, Maria Gillespie, Mair Culbreth, Gina Laurenzi (Danceworks Performance Company) and guest artist Melanie George (Jazz is…Dance Company) in collaboration with composers Barry Paul Clark and Devin Drobka and visual artist/set designer Nicole Bauguss. This is an altogether remarkable group of creative artists, each an experimenter in their discipline. Each dance is also a collaboration with its student performers, “the next generation of artists-activists,” as the dance department’s announcement proudly describes them.

The site is part inspiration for Gillespie, Culbreth and Bauguss. According to Gillespie, her Wild Gods is “a dance theater piece based on mythologies and magical realism that takes place in an imaginary future where the lost take on other identities to question what is real versus what is true.” Culbreth teamed with Bauguss, whose eco-conscious art is focused on issues of sustainability, to create “an installation that allows the dancers to mobilize, climb and orient themselves in the space in powerful ways.” (John Schneider) At 7:30 p.m. April 25-28 at Kenilworth Square East, sixth floor, 2155 N. Prospect Ave. For tickets, call 414-229-4308 or visit uwm.edu/arts/tickets.

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COURTESY OF OFF THE WALL

A&E::INREVIEW

Milwaukee Rep’s ‘Two Trains Running’ Portrays Working Class Dignity ::BY BLAINE SCHULTZ

A

Off the Wall’s ‘Call Me Ishmael’

‘Call me Ishmael’ an Unusual Retelling of ‘Moby Dick’ ::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

“C

Pittsburgh diner is caught in the sights of the city’s urban renewal wrecking ball. August Wilson’s Two Trains Running weaves the stories of seven characters’ dreams and challenges via their daily interactions at the diner. Late ’60s soul and R&B music lend the piece authenticity.

Memphis (Raymond Anthony Thomas) owns the diner and fears the city will offer him a price lower than what his place is worth. Having escaped the South, his tenacious sense of pride in his restaurant still gleams even as he recounts how changing times have left his business a shadow of what it once was. His lone employee, Risa (Malkia Stampley), waits tables, cooks and shops for groceries while fending off the playful flirtations of regular customers. She is guarded and never offers her coffee-drinking customers sugar—until they ask.

The entire story pivots on the compassion she offers Hambone, the mentally unstable man who was once offered (and never received) a ham to paint a neighborhood store owner’s fence. Each time he bursts into a scene, his train of thought never veers from obsessing about the ham. Frank Britton’s portrayal of the bearded, stocking-capped man

engrossed in his own world is a powerful performance. Even sitting at a table, mumbling to himself, he is a non-stop dynamo barely containing his frustrated rage.

To varying degrees, each character’s determination and willingness to take a chance is addressed. West (Doug Brown, whose performance recalls the subtlety of Edward G. Robinson) as the financially successful funeral home owner from across the street is willing to offer Memphis a conservative price on the diner.

The bookie who runs a numbers game from the diner’s pay phone offers another chance every day, for a price. The perspicacious regular who occupies the corner booth plays dominoes and advises everyone to cast their fate to the local fortune teller.

Yet, the biggest winner of all may be Sterling (Chiké Johnson). Recently out of jail, his spirit never allows him to quit looking for opportunities for work, or inspiration at a Malcolm X rally. His pursuit of Risa ultimately offers hope for a future. Directed by Timothy Douglas, The Rep’s Two Trains Running is in engrossing slice-of-life drama.

Through May 12 at Quadracci Powerhouse, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, visit milwaukeerep. com or call 414-224-9490.

all me Ishmael” is the renowned first sentence of Moby Dick, although the narrator, Ishmael, often disappears behind the story he tells. Off the Wall Theatre’s Dale Gutzman put him back in the center of the stage in his retelling of Herman Melville’s story. While remaining faithful to the book, Call me Ishmael highlights the homoerotic aspects of it, such as the bond and the “marriage” uniting Ishmael and his companion, Queequeg, a Pacific Islander.

Jake Russell as Ishmael is the perfect image of wide-eyed innocence, crashing against Ahab’s (James Strange) single-minded obsession for the white whale, the mythical beast Moby Dick. To accompany him on his trip aboard the Pequod, Ahab’s whaling ship, is Queequeg, played here by Nathan Danzer. A “savage” who chose to travel the world, Queequeg exudes strength and confidence as he spends the play essentially naked; he operates outside of all norms, be they social, sexual, moral or even linguistic. Queequeg barely speaks English, but his tender affection for Ishmael carries the young man away like the tide, plunging him into this new world aboard a ship.

The whole production is deeply melancholic. The stage is constantly shrouded in darkness; clever use of lights directs the viewers’ attention to a character or a detail, then bathed in an orange glow. The ship is brought to life with very little: a few boxes, barrels, ropes and drapes, constantly moving to transport the story to different locations, while lighting makes the set appear otherworldly. Original music creates a soundscape perfectly fitting the story.

“This is probably one of the most unusual productions you are going to see,” Gutzman promised. By digging into Moby Dick’s never-ending stream of meaning and symbolism, it found a thread to follow, a story to tell to lead audiences through Melville’s narrative in a captivating manner. Gutzman kept his promise.

Through April 28 at Off the Wall Theatre, 127 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 262-509-0945 or visit offthewallmke.com.

Milwaukee Rep’s ‘Two Trains Running’ PHOTO BY MIKKI SCHAFFNER 22 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

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A&E::VISUALART

‘Handmade for Home’ Exhibit Reveals Wisconsin’s Legacy in Craft and Design

A

ccessibility and contemporary art are terms rarely uttered in the same sentence anymore. It’s a shame, but many approach contemporary museum shows in 2019 like they would a plate of vegetables offering sustenance rather than satisfaction. However, an ambitious exhibition titled “Handmade for Home: The Craft of Contemporary Design” at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) through May 19 offers both in an extraordinary display of handmade objects from artisanal shower curtains to flatware.

A home is a very different thing than a house, defined not by its physical characteristics but by how it spins inanimate living material into the gold of personal place and history. One lives inside a house; one inhabits a home. This material-immaterial schism raises the bar for the curators of “Handmade for Home,” who bring a diverse bag of works by 29 artists into a single location, betting that the show’s experiential whole would exceed the sum of its physical parts.

Graeme Reid and Laurie Winters have done their curatorial homework, creating niches, platforms, vignettes and subtle thematic arrangements that bathe the show in a unifying atmosphere of domesticity.

One of the most satisfying arrangements in the exhibition unfolds appropriately in front of a fireplace at the east end of the Hyde Gallery. In front of a wall of gray and green vegetal-patterned wallpaper lies a handmade rug of interconnected felt lake stones by Emily Graf and a sinuous, wrought iron fireplace screen by Michael Route. You can almost feel the heat and hear the crackle. The elements evoke a warm and cozy den-like setting that also showcases

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::BY SHANE MCADAMS

several extraordinary examples of handmade furniture. The pieces of furniture are thematically organized by their aim to modify and embellish existing forms.

Reid Eric Anderson’s Torus Chair parodies the sleek linearity of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Barrel Chair, pinching his version so the risers are bent into a horizontal ring of exquisitely crafted semi-circles. It’s cheeky, clever and still strikingly handsome. Maggie Jo Sanderson offers a skewed contemporary take on the traditional mid-century school desk. Her wonderful interpretation of the old standard is designed for today’s electrified students, with spaces for cords and digital devices. In the absence of the technology for which it’s designed, one sees only a deceptively spare object that somehow merges 19th-century utility, mid-century modularity and contemporary ergonomics in a splendid piece of handmade walnut furniture. Would it be impertinent to hope that a MacBook Pro never graces its surface?

The aforementioned wallpaper—designed by the studio of Michael and Elizabeth Rees and produced under the studio name “Chasing Paper”—does a lot of the subtlest and yet most significant work in “Handmade for Home.” Their contribution is by nature in the background; because it is the background. And kind of like a good party planner, the less one notices their contribution, the better they’re doing.

Chasing Paper’s gunmetal blue wallpaper provides an alluring backdrop for a table and chairs from La Lune, the furniture studio of Cathy and Mario Costantini that combines finished elegance and kitschy woodsiness in a truly Wisconsin kind of way. The table and four chairs at MOWA feature supporting sections of raw willow along with finished poplar and upholstery. The setup on its shapely raised platform against the patterned backdrop might compel a group to

grab a seat and make a night of their day at the museum.

We rarely have the opportunity to view something in a museum as mundane as bathroom accessories.

Milwaukeeans Reggie Baylor and Kelly Frederick Mizer contribute, among other things, hand-designed shower curtains. The normally intimate waterproof screens have never been so exposed as they are in the long corridor gallery along the west windows. The contextual disruption sheds light on them as designed objects, where one might not otherwise notice.

Baylor’s are especially compelling because of how he merges charged personal subject matter, decorative pattern and the functional object. Known to many as a painter of canvases, he employs images of watermelons and basketballs in these designs with a cartoon-like graphic style. Mizer’s patterned curtains are derived from her own drawings of animals and abstract shapes and are equally unexpected as content for patterned shower curtains.

There are, finally, just too many wonderful touches and fine original works in this show to mention here, including John Holzwart’s brooms, Brandon and Dave Jacoby’s inlaid pool cues and Dona Look’s baskets. What must be mentioned, though, is how this show captures a very particular love of craft, labor, detail and appreciation for natural material as it intersects with domestic purpose and function. This productive ethic went into the cabins and crude houses built by settlers in Wisconsin centuries ago and laid the foundations for all its future residences. “Handmade for Home” represents that history through the rich tradition of handmade objects that transformed so many of those Wisconsin houses into Wisconsin homes.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A&E::VISUALART

OPENINGS:

& &SJF 4U

Gallery Night and Day April 26 and 27 various locations

Now in its 31st year, Gallery Night and Day is a two-day premier art event taking place in the numerous art galleries, private companies and public spaces that grace several Milwaukee neighborhoods. Such notable venues as the David Barnett Gallery, Pfister Hotel, Frank Juarez Gallery, MIAD, The Alice Wilds, Harley-Davison Museum, N Studios, The Warehouse and many more will be open and ready to show you some of the finest art works the city has to offer. Gallery Night and Day is for all ages and from the art-scene novice to the experienced art connoisseur. All told, 37 Milwaukee locations are participating in 2019’s event. For more information, visit historicthirdward.org.

“Of the Between�

April 26-May 18 Kenilworth Square East Gallery 2155 N. Prospect Ave. A stunning spring tradition of the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts returns to Kenilworth Square East Gallery this month as several Department of Art and Design MFA candidates celebrate the conclusion of three years of artistic exploration. “Of the Between� is the title of UWM’s 2019 Spring MFA Exhibition. It features artworks by Jessica Holz, Katie Lemieux, Madeline Martin and Adam Stoner. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

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WaterMarks Walk

Saturday, April 27, 2 p.m.

Kaszubes Park, Jones Island Join artist Alexis Rockman and Dan Adams, planning director at Harbor District, Inc., for an informal walk for community members around portions of Milwaukee’s Harbor District. This place-based experience is part of WaterMarks—a citywide public art project developed by artist Mary Miss inviting citizens of Milwaukee to explore and understand the water systems supporting their lives. The walk begins in Kaszubes Park on Jones Island (which can be accessed by Carferry or Lincoln Memorial drives on the south end of the peninsula). For more information, send an email to haggertym@marquette. edu or call 414-288-7290.

“America’s Favor/Guests Who Came to Dinner (and Stayed!)�

April 28-July 28 Lynden Sculpture Garden 2145 W. Brown Deer Road

“America�—from its origins to present-day news reports of divisiveness—is a recurrent theme in Evelyn Patricia Terry’s work. Over the course of more than 50 years, Terry has made several bodies of work that address the “conundrum of coexistence that repeatedly occupies the news, my thoughts and many conversations.� In “America’s Favor/ Guests Who Came to Dinner (and Stayed!)�—the most recent in a series of exhibitions on the theme—she brings together different bodies of work: an iconic table installation, artist books and mixed-media works that layer drawings and other forms of mark-making on sewn rag paper pieces. For more information, call 414-446-8794 or visit lyndensculpturegarden.org.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 25

A&E::FILM

‘Penguins’ is Corny, Educational and Fun ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

‘Penguins’

26 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

ust looking at them can bring on a smile.

Penguins are comically serious looking creatures whose black and white plumage suggests a night at the opera from the last century. They waddle along in their bobbleheaded way, flapping their stubby wings like a pair of arms in motion.

The endearing creatures are a natural subject for Disneynature, the conservation-minded documentary series from the studio whose fortunes were built on a lovable mouse.

Penguins is directed by nature-show veterans Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson. The screenplay takes a wellworn path by following one representative of a species, endowing him with a name and a human personality.

Penguins’ star is an Adelie penguin called Steve. He’s five years old (roughly 18 in people years) and as hot-to-trot

as a human teenager. The movie is about Steve’s coming of age, his first time on the spring mating migration that draws uncounted numbers of penguins to Antarctica. For older penguins, it’s an annual opportunity to reconnect with their mates. For newbies like Steve, it starts as an outdoor singles bar on ice and ends in creating a family.

The question hangs over the opening scenes: Will Steve encounter the female Adelie of his dreams?

The voiceover narration is corny, especially when giving speech to our winged protagonist. “Hi, Penguins my name is Steve,” he’s made to say, nervously, when an attractive Directed by female penguin passes by. But in Alastair trying to make education fun, the Fothergill cringe-worthy folksiness opens a and window onto a particular species and their habits. Who knew that Jeff Wilson penguins build nests with little Rated G stones to elevate their eggs above ground level? Or that while clumsy on land, in water they dart like fish and leap like dolphins? Or that penguins battle each other—a knife-fight on the sharp edges of their beaks— over nesting sites and even nesting stones. It’s survival of the vicious.

As with other movies of its ilk, Penguins is a feat of photography, not only for the close-ups of its subjects (how do they avoid scaring the animals?) but for the panorama of the natural settings. The Antarctic of Penguins is beautiful and vast, an endless white horizon capped by the bright blue dome of an infinite sky.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

[ FILM CLIPS ] Avengers: Endgame PG-13

n Scream and Scream Again

Picking up where Avengers: Infinity War left off, the surviving Avengers seek a way to restore the universe, after it was partially destroyed by the villainous Thanos (voice and motion capture of Josh Brolin). The Quantum Realm, where time is irrelevant, will come into play, meaning that at least some of the Avengers, killed in the preceding chapter, will reappear. Evans and Hemsworth each earned $15 million for this film, while Robert Downey Jr. has stated he will continue to play Iron Man, though his contractual obligation to do so ended with this film. Anticipation reached unprecedented heights for the final chapter of the 22-film series. (Lisa Miller)

Italian Film Festival Italy has been a hub for film culture and cinematic innovation since the silent age. This year’s Italian Film Festival features seven recent films from that country, none of them previously seen on big screens in Milwaukee. They include comedies about relationships and cooking, dramas about art and missing children, a short film program and a documentary on the environmental damage done to a military firing range. (David Luhrssen) April 26-28, UW-Milwaukee Union Cinema.

Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival For the fifth year, the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival brings films with an Islamic perspective to a big screen in our city. This year’s films include Midnight Traveler, a documentary about an Afghan filmmaker marked for death by the Taliban; Same God, about evangelical Christian Islamophobia; This is Home, on Syrian refugees arriving in the U.S.; and Soufra, about a refugee in Beirut who becomes a successful entrepreneur. The necessity for MMFF’s messages has only grown during the past five years. (David Luhrssen) April 25-28, Oriental Theatre.

[ HOME MOVIES / NOW STREAMING ] Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing—a triple threat for Gothic horror?

Not exactly. This 1970 production tosses them into a police investigation of a serial killer, foreign intrigue, a car chase involving a vampire, softcore violence porn and a plot to genetically engineer a master race. It also has cool club scenes featuring British band Amen Corner. Scream and Scream Again’s refusal to stick with any one genre raises it up a notch.

n At the Drive-In

In rural Pennsylvania, the Mahoning Drive-In became a thumb in Hollywood’s eye with its single screen, 35mm format. Run by a Boomer and a pair of Millennials, the drive-in has become a mecca for cinema buffs and an example of how a contemporary digital strategy (social networking) can be used to support an old medium. The awardwinning documentary testifies to the enduring love for tactile experience (celluloid) in the face of an all-too virtual reality.

n “Escape at Dannemora”

In 2015, two convicted killers escaped from a New York penitentiary, aided by a prison employee with whom they were having sex. The story and its characters are given room to develop in this Showtime series. Effectively dramatized under director Ben Stiller, “Escape” stars Patricia Arquette as the prison employee, a smallminded small-towner whose relations with the inmates make her feel as if someone cares. Dead-eyed Benicio del Toro and gentle Paul Dano play the prisoners.

n Cold Sweat

The first glimpse of violence in Cold Sweat (1970) is an old western flickering on TV—perhaps a comment on the staged mayhem to follow. Cold Sweat stars preDeath Wish Charles Bronson as an American living in southern France until his past catches up with him. Several scenes are cleverly shot, but standouts include Liv Ullman as Bronson’s long-suffering wife and James Mason as an American sociopath with a Southern accent clad in yachting togs.

—David Luhrssen

INVEST IN INSPIRATION When you donate to the United Performing Arts Fund, you support more than a show. Your gift is an investment in our local community, helping to enrich our culture, the economy and arts education for the children in our area.

Let that be your cue to act.

DONATE TODAY AT UPAF.ORG/DONATE. Media Support Provided by Milwaukee Ballet, The Nutcracker, 2017, Marize Fumero, Photo by Mark Frohna; First Stage, The Wiz, DiMonte Henning, Darrington Clark and Reese Parish, Photo by Paul Ruffolo; Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Photo by Ron Oshima SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 27

A&E::BOOKS

BOOK|REVIEW

The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt (PANTHEON),

BY ANDREA WULF Alexander von Humboldt was once as famous as Charles Darwin—a street and a park were named for him in Milwaukee. But the German explorer, scientist and pioneer environmentalist was largely forgotten until Andrea Wulf’s award-winning 2015 biography, The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World. Wulf returns with The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, a graphic narrative that follows him on his 1799 trek through South America. The coffee table-size book’s illustrator, Lillian Melcher, composed the lavish-looking pages with snippets of Humboldt’s notebooks and drawings, both painterly and cartoon-derived. Humboldt sketched the landscape, discovered fossils, drew maps and came to a deeper awareness of humanity’s relationship with nature. It’s an illuminating story told in a beautiful format. (David Luhrssen)

The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel: John Williams, Stoner, and the Writing Life

(UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS),

BY CHARLES J. SHIELDS

If the Coen brothers made a film about the chain-smoking, booze-sodden, mistress-hopping subculture of post-World War II American novelists, John Williams could serve as the protagonist. Previously a biographer of Harper Lee and Kurt Vonnegut, Charles J. Shields traces Williams from the poverty he left behind through the war and the early years of university creative writing programs and conferences. In Williams’ mind, a garret in Paris was better than a classroom in Denver, but he got stuck in academia, enticed by a dependable paycheck. He constructed an identity based on Romantic notions of the artist, yet developed a diamondhard theory of writing that privileged intellect over emotion. He never wrote the Great American Novel and was forgotten until, a few years ago, Europeans turned Stoner (1965), his novel about an unhappy college professor, into a posthumous bestseller. Shields’ writing is captivating and reveals much about the wounded psyches of the GI Bill generation of American (male) authors. (David Luhrssen))

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BOOK|PREVIEW

DEFLATING THE LEGEND OF AMERICA’S GOLDEN AGE OF INDUSTRY ::BY JENNI HERRICK

I

n 1976, there were more than 1.5 million heavy industrial jobs available to workers in Chicago and northwest Indiana. Today, when we hear politicians promising to bring middle-class manufacturing jobs back to American cities, they erase the harsh realities of what now-closed factories looked like in the United States only a few decades ago. Honestly, manufacturing work was dirty, dangerous and destructive to the environment. Racism, low pay and deplorable working conditions were the norm at most American factories long before deindustrialization reached its current levels.

David Ranney An eye-opening and provocative new book by labor activist and professor emeritus David Ranney, Living and Dying on the Factory Floor: From the Outside In and the Inside Out, takes readers to Chicago as the author recounts his own experiences working in factories and organizing for better working conditions. Between 1976 and 1982, Ranney held jobs at seven manufacturing plants in the heavily industrialized area in the heart of Chicago’s South Side. He recounts sordid tales of illegal immigration raids, supervisor abuses, serious injuries and high tensions over race and class. During his year-and-ahalf stint at the Chicago Shortening plant, Ranney found himself in the center of a wildcat strike, a work stoppage so named because it occurs in violation of a no-strike clause. The personal recollections in Living and Dying on the Factory Floor are passionate depictions of social struggle and outline tangible ways that activists of today can mobilize for a more just society.

Ranney left a faculty position in urban planning at the University of Iowa in 1973 to pursue socialist labor organizing. He later returned to academia at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He will speak at Boswell Book Co. at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 25.

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::OFFTHECUFF CARROLL STUDIOS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

‘Seeds of Possibility’ in Milwaukee Off the Cuff with the Urban League’s Eve Hall ::BY BLAINE SCHULTZ

I

n celebration of February’s Black History Month, Milwaukee Urban League’s president, Eve Hall, was selected by U.S. Bank as recipient of the Seeds of Possibility honor.

U.S. Bank is one of the League’s partners in the areas of financial literacy and workforce.

Off the Cuff spoke with Hall spoke about the partnership.

Dr. Eve Hall

Our board is primarily a corporate board, so we have companies such as U.S. Bank and other major corporations who really believe in what we are doing and believe in being a part of making a difference in this community though the work of the Urban League. U.S. Bank has been very vocal and public about their commitment to women, people of color and entrepreneurs in seeing how they can move the needle in partnership with organizations like ours.

And the education component comes into play with Milwaukee Urban League’s partnerships with North Division High School and Oliver Wendell Holmes School?

At Oliver Wendell Holmes, we’ve been able to support the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs

How is the Milwaukee Urban League an agent for change?

On a regular basis, we work with individuals looking for work—from GED to Ph.D., to individuals who have been downsized or whose program has ended, to professionals looking to transition into another career, to those who have had interactions with the law, child support or consistencies in unemployment. We’ve had success stories of helping people get back on their feet, become more stable in work and finances, to helping professionals connect to other opportunities.

As an Urban League, we have our overarching mission of the three E’s but also have two auxiliaries: our Young Professionals and our Guild. Our Young Professionals are under 40 years old and our Guild is over 40 years old.

These are primarily African American professionals who are volunteers who provide support to the mission of our organization by volunteering to some of our programs doing outreach in the community. They are basically representing what the Urban League means.

We are trying to better utilize the human assets that are in this city.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

How does economic vibrancy fit into the Urban League’s mission statement?

We offer financial literacy assistance. As individuals are getting back on their feet, we provide support in helping them set up checking accounts or help them plan if they want to purchase a home at some point or get out of debt. That is another way we help people who come through our door to help them become financially stable.

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What is the Milwaukee Urban League’s empowerment focus?

The Milwaukee Urban League locally focuses on the three E’s: Education, Employment and Economic Vibrancy. We are celebrating 100 years of service in this community. We were founded in 1919 to be a connector and resource center at the turn of the century when the Great Migration occurred and five-to-eight million African Americans began to move from the South. As the Urban League, we were at the forefront, basically connecting families and individuals to employment, housing, access to health, education… We were advocates and champions for the community by working with the city fathers, companies and corporations to hire and support African Americans coming into the cities across the country.

through additional materials and helping them to participate in STEM-related competitions.

Our partnership with North Division, which is through the United Way and MPS (Milwaukee Public Schools), will coordinate resources and community partners to help North Division to go to another level in terms of outcomes and opportunities for students.

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A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 29

ASK THE ANTI-AGING EXPERT

::HEARMEOUT ASK RUTHIE | UPCOMING EVENTS | PAUL MASTERSON

::ASKRUTHIE JENNIFER HIPP

::RUTHIE’SSOCIALCALENDAR

SPONSORED BY

262-696-9868 Uthologymedical.com Submit your questions at info@uthology.com

April 25—“A Night of Poetry, Storytelling & Performance” at Milwaukee LGBT Community Center (1110 N. Market St.): Local artist and activist Carmen Murguia takes center stage in this one-hour performance that celebrates life “after the closet.” Free and open to the public, this 7 p.m. show is a great way to celebrate National Poetry Month in a great (safe) space.

April 26—Fundraiser for Milwaukee LGBT Community Center at Panera Bread (600 E. Ogden Ave.): It’s easy (and delicious) to donate to our community center! Simply search “Panera Bread fundraiser for the Center” on Facebook, and print the flyer found there. Take the flyer to the Ogden Avenue Panera between 4-8 p.m. and show it to the cashier. Panera Bread will donate 20% of your order to the center. Hip, Hip, Yum! April 26—Special “Chamber on Tap” at Izzy Hops Swig & Nosh (2311 N. Murray Ave.): The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce beefs up its “On Tap” parties with this 6-10 p.m. event. Meet the gang at Izzy Hops for a few hours, then bar hop with the troupe for a mega happy hour at Landmark Lanes (2220 N. Farewell Ave.). A great way to meet new people, rub elbows with LGBTQ business owners and kick off the weekend, it’s one party you don’t want to miss.

Sweetie or Stalker?

Dear Ruthie, Every time I meet someone I hit it off with (sexually or friendly), I smother them to the point they want nothing to do with me. At the time, I don’t think my emails, phone calls and texts are being obtrusive, but they clearly are.

Once the person ghosts me or the person explains that I need to back off, I can see it. It’s just that I don’t see it at the time. How much attention or communication is too much?

Help me if you can, Annoying Andy Dear Andrew, Considering this is the 17th time you’ve messaged me, I truly understand what you’re saying. LOL! I’m kidding of course, but in all fairness, you did message me twice with this same question.

A couple of things: 1) Learn from past behavior and be a little less aggressive when forging a new relationship in the future; and 2) remember that if people are annoyed with your friendship, they’re likely not your friends. The friendship vibes you give out are the friendship vibes you’ll attract. In other words, you just haven’t found your tribe yet.

You will, sugar. Trust me.

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April 26—“Black Cat After Dark” at Black Cat Alley (in the alley at the intersection of North Ave. and Ivanhoe): Take Milwaukee’s Gallery Night to new heights when you hit up this hip new hot spot. Explore the 20-plus murals in Cat Alley’s two-block space from 6-11 p.m. while you enjoy beer, live music and free nighttime art tours. The good times roll 6-11 p.m. but see blackcatmke.com for more.... right meow!

April 27—The Big Community Garage Sale on Brady Street (various locations on Brady St.): Shop till you drop when the stores, bars and restaurants of Brady Street open their doors for some fun. Don’t miss out on nearby residents holding rummage sales, too! See bsaagaragesale.com for a list of sales during the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. shop-a-thon.

April 27—Milwaukee Organized Bears Beer Bust at Kruz (354 E. National Ave.): Whether you’re a bear or an admirer, a leather man or a leather fan, make it a Sunday Funday with this beer bust. The social group, M.O.B. (Milwaukee Organized Bears) hosts a silent auction, drink specials and more to round out the 3-7 p.m. day of crazy good times.

April 27—Lex Allen’s “Identity” EP Release Party at the Cooperage (822 S. Water St.): One of Milwaukee favorite singers celebrates his new EP with a party, performance, opening acts and more. Join the 8-11:30 p.m. event with a $15 door charge (or $10 presale ticket at eventbrite.com).

April 28—“Brunch with the Stars” at Hamburger Mary’s (730 S. Fifth St.): I’ll don my best Joan Rivers drag for this popular all-you-can-eat brunch buffet. The doors open at 11 a.m., with Milwaukee’s only regular celebrity-impersonator show at noon. See what Milwaukee’s talking about when you join Joan and her guests Cher, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and others. Call 414-488-2555 for reservations.

April 28—Valentine’s in April at Hotel Madrid (600 S. Sixth St.): Get your arts-fartsy on when Milwaukee’s Karen Valentine hosts this 2-6 p.m. bash. Free and open to the public, this awesome afternoon benefits the Valentine Fund, aiding LGBTQ arts, culture and humanities in southeastern Wisconsin. A silent art auction, live entertainment, cash bars, passed appetizers and more make this an afternoon to remember.

April 28—Drag Ball in the Beer Hall at Lakefront Brewery (1872 N. Commerce St.): Your $10 door charge gets you into the ball which includes a drag show, DJ, dancing, cash bar, full menu and more. Doors opens at 5:30 p.m. with the show-of-all-shows starting at 6:30. Proceeds go to Courage MKE. Ask Ruthie a question or share your events with her at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on Instagram @ruthiekeester and Facebook at Dear Ruthie. Don’t miss season 1 of her drag reality show on YouTube, “Camp Wannakiki!”

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::MYLGBTQPoint of View

Based on the works of Sir J. M. Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM Adapted for the stage by Patrick Flynn

Tickets starting at...

$15

Games Gay People Play ::BY PAUL MASTERSON

I

f you’re out and about in Milwaukee’s LGBTQ bar scene and hear a bang followed by a rattling cascade, it could be that someone has slapped a drag queen hard enough to snap her string of pearls. To hear it repeatedly could mean a drag brawl, or more likely, “bar dice.”

A popular Midwest tavern sport in which five dice are shaken and cast from a leather cup, bar dice should be well known to any drinking Wisconsinite, gay or otherwise. Its presence in the city’s LGBTQ establishments is as ubiquitous as one might expect.

One can play at Fluid, for example. I recall meeting a friend there one Labor Day for a quiet drink and conversation. Aside from the two of us, there was just one other gentleman who sat at the opposite end of the bar. Another patron arrived, sat a few stools away from us and with his beverage, asked for the dice.

Of the-harder-you-slam-the-cup-the-luckieryou-will-be school of the game, he proceeded to play with himself, repeatedly trying his luck and our patience until I fled to Walker’s Pint across the street for the calming ambiance of a raucous lesbian bar at happy hour.

Meanwhile at Woody’s, you can play to your heart’s content. It’s a sports bar, after all,

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

so the incessant banging blends seamlessly with the smack of air hockey and colliding billiard balls. In fact, given the din, you might find it amiss when no one is playing and pick up the cup yourself to fill the void.

At Kruz Kruzbar, they offer an elegant and dignified solution to allow play yet not startle the clientele: Ask for the dice, and you’ll receive a wooden hexagonal tray, about a foot across, lined in muffling plush green felt (to match the pool table), replete with an integrated miniature LED light standing above the surface like a street lamp. You roll the dice manually. The bartender rolls and puts the tray away.

But at This Is It!, the city’s oldest LGBTQ bar, the game is forbidden entirely. Posted on signage with other bar rules, patrons are told to go elsewhere if they can’t cope.

Then there’s the card game, Sheepshead.

Like a good segment of the population, it’s of Germanic origin. The name is a literal, albeit probably incorrect translation of Schafkopf.

Its local popularity has naturally permeated LGBTQ culture and remains an almost ritualized pastime for many—especially those who grew up in German households where the game was traditionally played. GAMMA, the state’s oldest recreational, cultural and social organization, hosts monthly Sheepshead evenings. So adamant are its players, the schedule for their monthly rotating games held at members’ homes is set a full year in advance.

PrideFest, the city’s LGBTQ summer festival, once featured a dedicated Sheepshead tent. Although it has fallen off the event’s schedule in recent years, it could very well return. That resurgence could, in part, be inspired by Woody’s newly instituted Sheepshead nights that take place every Thursday and have already attracted an ever growing following.

If you’re keen to play either, take your pick.

It’s a horse a piece.

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A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 31

::MUSIC

For more MUSIC, log onto shepherdexpress.com

AMANDA MILLS

FEATURE | ALBUM REVIEWS | CONCERT REVIEWS | LOCAL MUSIC

Zed Kenzo

ZED KENZO LEVELS UP ON HER ‘BABY SWAG’ EP ::BY NAYELI PORTILLO

ed Kenzo has been in Austin for less than 24 hours and her schedule is already completely booked up for South

by Southwest.

“It all starts tomorrow. I might be doing... five performances?” she says over the phone with a bit of uncertainty, and then laughs. This includes the showcase at Austin’s divey Barracuda featuring fellow artists and grant recipients of Milwaukee’s Backline music and mentorship program, such as Lex Allen and Crystal Knives. “I don’t think I’ve ever done this many shows back to back,” Kenzo says.

32 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

Zechariah Ruffin, aka Zed Kenzo, was born and raised in Milwaukee. She grew up in different parts of the city’s North Side—18th and Cortland, 50th and Villard, Seventh and Vienna—but references the area near 26th and Chambers streets as being a significant part of her upbringing. “That’s where my granny lived,” says Kenzo.

“She pretty much helped raise me.”

The soundtrack to her childhood consisted of R&B staples like Sade, SWV and Anita Baker, along with West Coast rappers like Tupac and Ice Cube. “There was a lot of music in the house. It was never quiet. And then with my grandma, [there was] a little Motown and soul music,” she says. Ruffin began writing songs and fantasizing about performing as early as fifth grade. “I always knew that was what I wanted to do, be an entertainer in some light,” she professes.

Around the age of 12, Ruffin began to venture outside of the familiar and became drawn to the music from bands like Nirvana and System of a Down, and later (during her high-school years) to the frenetic pace of posthardcore and bands found on the Warped Tour circuit. “I discovered rock and was like ‘Oh, this is different!’ I never listened to that in my house.”

2019 marks the much-anticipated “return” of one of Milwaukee’s most standout futuristic hip-hop artists.

Although Zed Kenzo never stopped making music and never really went away, give her name a quick Google search and you’ll find that there aren’t a lot of traces left of the music she released before the start of this year, save for the material preserved via live footage of past shows in Milwaukee and Chicago, here and there.

“As far as my old music not being up anymore—it was old,” Kenzo says. “I wanted to wipe the slate clean and come into the new year with new stuff. I had the leeway to be able to do that because I hadn’t released anything in so long. It just worked out perfectly.” Around the time Zed Kenzo was awarded the Backline grant, she had already spent some time in the studio recording a completely different project, which ended up being put aside. “A new wave kind of came over me,” she says. “I kind of just threw away all those songs I had been recording and wrote a bunch of new stuff.”

And of course, it was entirely worth the wait.

Throughout the Baby Swag EP, released this month, Zed Kenzo traverses across time and various genres effortlessly while holding onto her otherworldly sound, all in just 16 minutes. Take the EP’s first single, the highenergy rager “Type” (along with its companion video directed by Wes Tank), and songs like “Fresh” and “Small Talk,” which boast Kenzo’s signature stream of consciousness and rapid-fire lyrical wit. On the trash metal-like “Immortal” and “Machete,” we see Kenzo level up into full-on video-game villain mode with lines like “Olvidastes soy el jefe / Bitch, I got that fuego / shining from my head down to my toes / Kill it like I’m Terminator / watch me explode” before balancing it all out with the dream pop-tinged “Melancholic Shorty.”

When asked about what the future holds, she says t hat she’s not planning on slowing down anytime soon.

“I’m just trying to be consistent,” she says. “That’s kind of the whole goal right now—being consistent and putting out music that’s good and that people like. People seem to be really happy, excited, supportive and eager to hear what I have next. It just makes me want to work even more.”

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::LOCALMUSIC

Eric Andersen’s Lifetime of Stories and Songs ::BY JAMIE LEE RAKE

V

eteran folk singer Eric Andersen made for an imposing figure as he strode onstage at Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co.’s Walker’s Point location. His tall frame was clad in black, topped with a black fedora.

Armed with acoustic guitar and rack harmonica, he opened with “Everything Ain’t Been Said.”

The lowering of his vocal range over time added gravity to his song’s desolation, adding gravitas to the words that could only be hinted at when he recorded them in a higher tone on his first album 54 years ago.

However, a gracious storytelling disposition carried on throughout the set—his first concert in Milwaukee since 1975. For the rest of the night, a band comprised of background singer/violinist Scarlet Rivera (a veteran of Bob Dylan sessions) and percussionist Cheryl Prashker (of the Celtic ensemble Runa) lent an airiness to Andersen’s often weighty presence.

It may take a dark thinker to be inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent rise of neo-Nazi skinheads in Europe to write the angry, foreboding “Rain Falls Down In Amsterdam,” but there were many lighter moments. A number Andersen co-wrote with Lou Reed, “You Can’t Relive the Past,” made for one of the evening’s more sardonically humorous selections. Andersen deemed Reed as his favorite folk singer, since one of folk music’s mandates is to write about one’s geography, and the late Velvet Underground front man’s lyrics focused on his New York City demimonde.

The chorus of “Driftin’ Away,” which he composed with late Band member Rick Danko, could be heard as a gospel plea. However, Andersen’s idea of salvation seems to derive from more earthly ecstasies, such as his love for his wife, as touchingly expressed in “Sinking Deep Into You.” Andersen seemed humbled when he spoke of Leonard Cohen surprising him poolside at a Los Angeles hotel to tell him that one of his most enduring and often remade pieces, “Violets of Dawn,” inspired Cohen to take up songwriting. Again, Andersen’s aging, lowered vocal register gave his words shades of nuance absent from his original 1960’s iteration. He concluded his encore-free performance with another of his best-known songs—the welcoming “Thirsty Boots,” dedicating it to a local friend who has since passed on, Tom Petty’s Milwaukee-born Heartbreaker bassist Howie Epstein.

It was easy to hear opening act Matthew Davis as someone coming up like Andersen in his early years. Though he is scheduled to celebrate the release of his fourth CD in June, he still sounds fresh and unjaded. That’s to his credit, as is his willingness to sing something by fellow Milwaukeean Jim Liban. Ditto for his ability to fashion a more universal-sounding song out of a specific incident involving a vicious critter he encountered after a house concert. Speaking with Davis after the show, he spoke of his thrill to be opening for Andersen, but he seems to be blazing a worthwhile trail of his own as well.

Eric Andersen PHOTO BY CAROL ROTHMAN

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

SAM KIRCHOFF

::CONCERTREVIEW

Cream Vellum Present a Different Spin on Dream-Pop ::BY MICHAEL CARRIERE

Cream Vellum

I

n this day and age when bands come together, write a few songs, and then release those songs as quickly as possible via some online platform, it’s rare to discover a band that seemingly comes out of nowhere with a stable of material that sounds both remarkably fresh and fully formed.

Milwaukee-based Cream Vellum is such a band, as their debut EP reminds me that the city’s music scene can still surprise me. Venus Rx Rx, self-released by the band this March, contains six dream-pop inspired numbers that sound little like anything else coming out of Milwaukee at this moment.

Much of the band’s appeal comes from the fact that they approach their songwriting with fresh ears. “I’ll be honest with you,” explains lead songwriter Elise McArdle (who handles vocals and synthesizer), “I’m relatively new to writing original music at all. I’m learning a lot as I go.”

While such lack of experience could be paralyzing to some, for McArdle and her bandmates— guitarist/vocalist Hans Jaeger, bassist Ryan Sablay and percussionist Tyler Salzbrun—this reality has instead proven quite liberating. “I really like to be in that space where you just learned something new or had a new idea,” McArdle continues, “and you’re in the honeymoon phase about experimenting with it.”

For Cream Vellum, the result of such experimentation is a sound that draws liberally from the shoegaze and noise pop scenes of the 1980s and ’90s. But a psychedelic influence also comes to the fore at several moments throughout Venus Rx Rx; McArdle notes that Jaeger counts Pink Floyd as one of his inspirations. Most intriguing, though, is the punk-like aggressiveness that informs many of the band’s best tracks. Guitardriven EP closer “Glass on Glass,” for example, hits hard, with McArdle singing “Salt in my fucking wounds / blood in my ears / Lately my darling has gone away / And she won’t be back for years and years.”

Such emotional directness is a running theme throughout the lyrics on Venus Rx Rx. “There’s a narrative or concept for each of the songs,” McArdle explains, “but emotionally they have elements of nostalgia and loss and those two things intersecting.”

Standout track “Sports Curse,” is “about wanting someone to get better so badly that you would do anything to make it happen and you’re just trying everything you can think of, but all you can really do is be there.”

McArdle notes that the song was inspired by the feeling of falling in and out sleep while listening to Chicago White Sox baseball games in the family car during her childhood. Such specificity of memory allows McArdle to home in on those details that we tend to notice when we try to remain in control of what is probably a hopeless situation. “I’ll pay your bills,” McArdle sings on “Sports Curse,”“I’ll walk you to AA / Hold your hand in the circle, or wait outside if that’s what you’d like.”

McArdle is currently a graduate student in literature and critical theory at the University of North Dakota, which makes band practice a bit difficult. Yet, she continues to write songs for the group while in Fargo, and pledges to return to Milwaukee during breaks from school. Thankfully, Venus Rx Rx will not be the last we hear from this upand-coming band.

Cream Vellum’s Venus Rx Rx EP is streaming at creamvellum.bandcamp.com.

A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 33

MUSIC::LISTINGS

::ALBUMS Mythological Horses YYYMF!

(HOVERCRAFT RECORDS) Mythological Horses—a band that cites influences as disparate as Nirvana and The Cars— won’t necessarily win over fans of either band. But the Seattle-based alt-rock duo (vocalist/guitarist Shawn Holley and drummer Jest Commons) still deserves your attention. YYYMF is an acronym for “Yeah Yeah Yeah Motherfucker,” and it is Mythological Horses’ second full-length album. Ripe with loud guitars and rambunctious vocals, the record opens with the painfully messy “Wax Lung” before “Turn Around” reveals some of the band’s pop tendencies. The dreamy grunge of “Puget Sound Lullaby” sits awkwardly next to the Violent Femmes-style dis “Don’t Want You Back,” while “Fuck Your Drone” is a timeless, riff-heavy instrumental stoner anthem. Grunge pioneer Tad Doyle produced and engineered the 10 songs on YYYMF!. As Holley proclaims in the album’s press materials, Mythological Horses sounds like “a high school science project gone wrong, and still growing and breathing”—which is exactly what makes listening to this album so compulsive.

—Michael Popke

Etienne Charles

Carnival: The Sound of a People, Vol. 1

Like many places in the Western Hemisphere with a strong African influence, Trinidad has a vibrant and unique set of musical and performance traditions centered around carnival.

Trumpeter Etienne Charles grew up in that tradition and brings his Julliard-trained jazz sensibility to that music with Carnival: The Sound of a People. His original compositions are in the fusion vein, but draw from lively Caribbean rhythms and sonic impressions of characters taking part in carnival festivities.

Percussion is key to Charles’ sound.

—Morton Shlabotnik

Grupo Fantasma

American Music Vol. VII (Blue Corn Music)

Distinctly Latin American rock is almost as old as rock itself with Ritchie Valens pointing the way in the 1950s. The undercurrent persisted into the ’80s and ’90s with Los Lobos in the lead. This century, Austin’s Grupo Fantasma have turned the next page with their accordion-guitar-brass powered music, a heavy yet funky sound sung in English and Spanish with eclectic dynamism on every track.

—Morton Shlabotnik

34 | A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9

To list your event, go to shepherdexpress.com/events and click submit an event

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

Anodyne Coffee, The Jared Rabin Band w/Lily DeTaeye Art*Bar, Open Mic Comedy Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Song Circle w/Tricia Alexander (6:30pm) Caroline’s Jazz Club, The Group w/Eddie Butts County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/Barry Dodd Jazz Estate, David Bayles Trio Kelly’s Bleachers (Big Bend), Jeff Walski Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Feed the Dog Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, A Night of Poetry, Storytelling, Performance w/Carmen Alicia Murguia O’Donoghues Irish Pub (Elm Grove), The All-Star SUPERband (6pm) On the Bayou, Open Mic Comedy w/host The Original Darryl Hill Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Keith Pulvermacher Rounding Third Bar and Grill, World’s Funniest Free Comedy Show Sheryl’s Club 175 (Slinger), Acoustic Jam w/Milwaukee Mike & Downtown Julius The Back Room at Colectivo, Pokey LaFarge The Bay Restaurant, Nineteen Thirteen The Packing House Restaurant, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Martini Jazz Lounge Up & Under Pub, A No Vacancy Comedy Open Mic

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

Alley Cat Lounge (Five O’Clock Steakhouse), Ali & Doug Duo American Legion Post #399 (Okauchee), Our House American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Larry Lynne Band (6:30pm) Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Julie’s Piano Karaoke Art*Bar, Ian Leith Best Western Plus Milwaukee Airport Hotel & Conference Ctr., The Mixxx Vocal Band Cactus Club, Patti’s Play House Present: Patti’s 21st B-day Bash Drag Revue Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Harmony & Brad Caroline’s Jazz Club, VIVO w/Warren Wiegratz Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Long Line Riders (8pm); DJ: Fazio (10pm) Clarke Hotel (Waukesha), Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (6pm) ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

Company Brewing, Astral Hand w/Tarek Sabbar, Shogun County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Four Points By Sheraton, Elvis Fest IX Rocks The Legends Concert Golden Mast Inn, Joe Kadlec (6pm) Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Open Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & Friends Jazz Estate, Jonathan Greenstein (8pm), Late Night Session: Jon Lovas Quartet (11:30pm) Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Twisted Hook Lakefront Brewery, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Dinosaur Rocket Mamie’s, The Incorruptibles Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), The Smoking Flowers w/The Blackfoot Gypsies Miller Park, Billy Joel Miramar Theatre, RCKT PWR End Of The World Party w/Wolfbiter, Alex Keys & DJ Phox (all-ages, 9pm) Moose Lodge 49, Tomm Lehnigk Old German Beer Hall, Steve Meisner Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, Blue Ribbon Comedy Show (9pm) Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Andrew Gelles Band Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Chris Schmidt Acoustic Rave / Eagles Club, Mason Ramsey w/Avenue Beat & Nora Collins (all-ages, 8pm) Riverside Theater, Jeezy w/Sada Baby & Friends Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Discrepancies w/ARCHERS & Slowburn (ages 18-plus, 8pm) Shank Hall, Mary Fahl (former lead singer of October Project) The Back Room at Colectivo, The Dip w/Moorea Masa & The Mood The Lakeside Supper Club & Lounge (Oconomowoc), Monster Jam w/host Wapatui T

he Packing House Restaurant, Tracy Hannemann Group (6:30pm) The Underground Collaborative, My Brew Dads – A Live Album Recording w/Tyler Menz & Ryan Mason Turner Hall Ballroom, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong w/Twiddle Up & Under Pub, 829 w/Cyanide Son

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Nostalgia Anodyne Coffee, Más Soul w/Sunkin Suns & Josh Trimble Cactus Club, Tight Fright w/Saebra & Carlyle, Guerrilla Ghost & Rexxx Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Mark Dvorak w/Dave Cofell Caroline’s Jazz Club, The Paul Spencer Band w/James Sodke, Andy Spadafora, Michael Ritter & Dave “Smitty” Smith Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Zimmer Effect w/Atheists & Airplanes (8pm); DJ: Quixotic Control (10pm) Club Garibaldi, Cyanosis w/Rotting Tomb & The Unnecessary Gunpoint Lecture ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

Company Brewing, The Feel Good Cue Club of Wisconsin (Waukesha), Ten Feet Tall Denny’s Sports Den (Kenosha), Joe Kadlec Five O’Clock Steakhouse, Kirk Tatnall Four Points By Sheraton, Elvis Fest IX Rocks The Legends Concert Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Vocals & Keys Jazz Estate, MKE Jazz Vision Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Dan Schneck Trio (11:30pm) Kelly’s Bleachers (Big Bend), Katie Mack & The Moan Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Fuzee w/Bruce Dean & Then Some Kuhtz General Store (Oconomowoc), Jonny T-Bird & the MPs Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Funk Summit Bass Team w/ Conundrum Mason Street Grill, Jonathan Wade Trio (6pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), Broadzilla w/November Criminals Mezcalero Restaurant, Close Enuf Band Spring Dance Milwaukee Ale House, Mt. Olive Miramar Theatre, Heavy M Tour w/host OJ DA Comedian, co-host DRAYANOTDREA, D Rhodes, D-Money Green, Mike Aleander, Scrooge Bucks & Young Rebellious, and Aye Sanford Mo’s Irish Pub (Wauwatosa), 5 Card Studs Motor Bar & Restaurant, Bulleit Bourbon Presents BBQ & Blues (5pm) No Studios, All Hail the Queen of Soul!: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin Old German Beer Hall, Steve Meisner Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, Matt MF Tyner (2pm) Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, Blue Ribbon Comedy Show (9pm) Pabst Theater, OK Go: The Live Video Tour Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Gimme Skynyrd Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Woodland Groove (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Scooter Brown Band w/Alyssia Dominguez (9:30pm), In the Bingo Hall: Kurt Sommerfield and Star Vision Entertainment DJ & Karaoke (7:30pm) Rave / Eagles Club, Zomboy w/BTSM Black Tiger Sex Machine, Space Laces & BadKlaat (all-ages, 8pm), Whitechapel / Dying Fetus w/Revocation, Fallujah, Spite, Uncured & Buried Above Ground (all-ages, 5:30pm) Riverwest Public House, Beach Static w/Spud Bucket Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Benefit Concert for Mark Maley w/American Idiots, Sunshine Menace, Blacken The Day, Fatal Havoc & Imaginary (ages 18-plus, 7pm) Shank Hall, Tallan Noble Latz: The Castle Dogs Tallan Throwdown Smith Bros. Coffee House (Port Washington), 7000apart (12pm) The Back Room at Colectivo, Charlie Hunter & Lucy Woodward The Bay Restaurant, Anne Davis The Cheel (Thiensville), Leroy Airmaster The Coffee House, Portage Road Songwriters Guild w/Eric Baer, Jay Bullock, Chris Head, Mark Plotkin, Bob Estes, Chris Straw, and Barb & Tom Webber The Cooperage, Lex Allen w/Immortal Girlfriend and DJ DRiPSweat The Lakeside Supper Club & Lounge (Oconomowoc), AudioDrive The Packing House Restaurant, Joe Jordan & The Soul Trio (6:30pm) The Thistle & Shamrock, The Style The Underground Collaborative, My Brew Dads – A Live Album Recording w/Tyler Menz & Ryan Mason

SUNDAY, APRIL 28

Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/Julie Brandenburg Anodyne Coffee, Chain Station w/The MilBillies Cactus Club, Leggy Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Derek Pritzl & Friends (8pm); DJ: Sextor (10pm) County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (5:30pm) Gina’s Sports Dock (Pewaukee), Full Band Open Jam w/host Wapatui (6pm) J&B’s Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill, The Players Jam Jazz Estate, Cairns w/Hello Death Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Sunday Matinee: That’s What She Said & Bella Brutto (2pm) Landmark Lanes, Haunted Like Human w/Long Mama & Anson Obvious Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Celebration of Bob Mueller’s Life Miramar Theatre, MKE Music Night: Christian Porter, Hoppers Luck, Pineapple Migraine, Dogbad, Ace Parker, Jules and The Sunkin Suns (all-ages, 6:30pm) Rave / Eagles Club, Foals w/Preoccupations & Omni (all-ages, 8pm) Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic The Packing House Restaurant, Jazz Unlimited Jazz Jam: Mike Mecha Quartet with Scholarship Winners (1pm)

MONDAY, APRIL 29

Cactus Club, Urban Pioneers w/SS Web Crimson Club, Metal Mondays Jazz Estate, Acoustic Night: Joe Wray Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Poet’s Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader Anja Notanja Sieger (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 Turner Hall Ballroom, Bad Suns w/Carlie Hanson Up & Under Pub, Open Mic w/Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers

TUESDAY, APRIL 30

Cactus Club, The Brothers Footman w/One Lane Bridge & Mookie Terremoto Jazz Estate, B~Free & Quinten Farr Duo Kim’s Lakeside (Pewaukee), Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Mamie’s, Open Blues Jam w/Stokes Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Miramar Theatre, Tuesday Open Mic w/host Sandy Weisto (sign-up 7:30pm, all-ages) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White (4pm) Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Jam Session Shank Hall, Nekromantix w/Rhetoric Vendetta The Back Room at Colectivo, The Japanese House w/Art School Girlfriend Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Transfer House Band w/Dennis Fermenich Turner Hall Ballroom, Neil Hilborn

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1

Anodyne Coffee, Trapper Schoepp Cactus Club, Hear Here Presents: Vinyl Williams, Bum alum, Yum Yum Cult & DJ Hear Here Caroline’s Jazz Club, Billy Flynn Blues Trio 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, Smith & Binder Jazz Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage w/feature Pete Freeman (sign-up 7:30pm, start 8pm) Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Morton’s (Cedarburg), The Blues Disciples (6:30pm) Paulie’s Field Trip, Wednesday Night Afterparty w/Dave Wacker & guests Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White Shank Hall, Lee DeWyze w/Elizabeth and the Catapult Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk The Back Room at Colectivo, Knife Knights w/Lando Chill The Cheel (Thiensville), Spike & April Duo (6:30pm)

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A P R I L 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 | 35

SUR-REEL

THEME CROSSWORD

By James Barrick

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

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

79. Weight allowance 80. Gen. Robert — — 81. School subj.

82. Pindaric 83. Siamese 84. Part 5 of quip: 3 wds.

89. Control 91. Walter — Disney 92. Fifth canonical hour 93. A relative 94. Soap plant 95. Baton 97. Place in old Greece 100. A state: Abbr.

101. Goal post part 105. Part 6 of quip: 3 wds.

109. — — account 110. God’s — 111. Certain Arab 112. Word in a recipe 113. Waller or Domino 114. Outshine 115. Chair part 116. Panna — 117. End of the quip DOWN 1. Stew meat 2. Succulent plant 3. Person 4. “— Night” 5. Name on a bank draft 6. Starts talking 7. Center 8. Sailor 9. Kind of resort 10. Antlered animal: 2 wds.

11. Eagles 12. — morgana 13. Toymaker’s helper 14. Holding sway 15. OU’s city 16. Cut of meat 17. Attention

18. Marine plant 25. Word akin to “Roger” 26. Declination 28. Small fries 32. Flowers, for short 33. Succor 34. Exclusively 35. Crowd on the move 36. Eyelashes 37. Fragrant oil: Var. 38. Keen 39. Deflects (with “off”) 40. — cuisine 41. Landholder 42. Storied acts 44. Like land for crops 45. Porch 50. Hinge joint, technically 51. Sofa 53. Stylish 54. Feature on a map 55. Try 56. Dal — (musical direction) 58. That is: Lat. 59. Switch 60. Cry tearfully 62. Legalese term 63. Leave 64. Ran in neutral 65. Flavor

66. Keep away from 67. Kraters 70. Industrial center in Germany 71. Nouveau — 72. Moles 74. Peculiarity 75. Bristly appendages 76. Pub pints 79. Death, in Greek myth 83. Veracity 84. Unwanted mark 85. Ism 86. Good — canceled 87. Public houses 88. Dozes: 2 wds.

90. Sitting duck 94. Hippodrome 95. Take forcibly 96. Trunk artery 97. Strikebreaker 98. Tempo 99. Unseen emanation 100. Track for racing 101. Confab 102. — B’rith 103. Insects 104. — Hashanah 106. Monarch: Abbr.

107. Monster 108. Moreover

4/18 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 24 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

City of churches Solution: 24 Letters

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

ACROSS 1. Start of a quip by Stephen Wright 5. Stakes 10. Direct 15. Patricia — Hitchcock 19. Down, on shipboard 20. Vertical, said of oars 21. Pope’s vestment 22. Slave 23. Grimace 24. Part 2 of quip: 4 wds.

27. Canvas shelter: 2 wds.

29. Inkling 30. Actress — Jackson 31. Rivals 32. Winds 34. Before very long 35. Francis — Key Fitzgerald 38. Cooper of rock 39. Careless 43. Part 3 of quip: 2 wds.

46. Timbre 47. Shock and — 48. Hgt. 49. Police action 50. Group of workers 51. Kind of buggy 52. Estuary 53. Rubs, in a way 54. Martin or McQueen 56. Located 57. Percussion instrument 59. Tableau 60. Cuts 61. Part 4 of quip: 5 wds.

65. Unsparing 68. Raise high 69. Expense report items 73. Stop!, at sea 74. Nonsense 75. Discharge of weapons 77. Just a taste 78. Beyond

Solution to last week’s puzzle

Belair Beulah Park Cafes Calm Chidda Cinemas Cosy Direk Downs East Eden Hills Enfield Exeter Firle

Fun Gawler Glynde Grange Gulfview Heights Hackney Hove Keswick Kudla Marion Mitcham Moana Newton

Osborne Ottoway Panorama Seacliff Skye Sturt Taperoo Tennyson Unley Vista Walks West

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4/18 Solution: Rich in mineral deposits SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Solution: Sailing on the Torrens River

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

Date: 4/25/19

::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Whether or not you believe in magic, magic believes in you right now. Will you take advantage of the fancy gifts it has to offer? I guess it’s possible that you’re not interested in seeing deeper into the secret hearts of those you care for. Maybe you’ll go “ho-hum” when shown how to recognize a half-hidden opportunity that could bring vitalizing changes. And you may think it’s not very practical to romance the fire and the water at the same time. But if you’re interested, all that good stuff will be available for you.

P.S. To maximize the effects of the magic, believe in it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In 1815, the most ferocious volcanic eruption in human history exploded from Mount Tambora in what’s now known as Indonesia. It flung gas and ash all over the planet, causing weird weather for three years.

Sunlight dimmed, temperatures plummeted, skies were tumultuous and intense storms proliferated. Yet, these conditions ignited the imagination of author Mary Shelley, inspiring her to write what was to become her most notable work, Frankenstein. I suspect that you, too, will ultimately generate at least one productive marvel in response to the unusual events of the coming weeks.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): For more than 40 years, Cancerian musician Carlos Santana has made music that blends rock ‘n’ roll with Latin and African rhythms. In the early years, his creations sold well, but by the mid-1980s his commercial success declined. For a decade, he floundered. His fortunes began to improve after a spectacular meditation session. Santana says he was contacted by the archangel Metatron, who told him how to generate material for a new album. The result was Supernatural, which sold 30 million copies and won nine Grammy Awards. I mention this, Cancerian, because I suspect that you could soon experience a more modest but still rousing variation of Santana’s visitation. Are you interested? If so, the next seven weeks will be a good time to seek it out—and be very receptive to its possibility.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Expergefactor” is an old English word that has fallen out of use.

In its original sense, it meant something that wakes you up, like an alarm clock or thunderstorm or your partner’s snoring. But I want to revive “expergefactor” and expand its meaning. In its new version, it will refer to an exciting possibility, or beloved goal that consistently motivates you to spring out of bed in the morning and get your day started. Your expergefactor could be an adventure you’re planning, or a masterpiece you’re working on or a relationship that fills you with curiosity and enchantment. In my astrological opinion, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to identify and fine-tune an expergefactor that will serve you well for a long time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): We live in a cultural moment when satire, sarcasm, cynicism, and irony are prized as supreme emblems of intelligence. If you say that you value sincerity and earnestness, you risk being considered naive and unsophisticated. Nevertheless, the current astrological omens suggest that you will generate good fortune for yourself in the coming weeks by making liberal use of sincerity and earnestness. So please try not to fall into the easy trap of relying on satire, sarcasm, cynicism and irony to express yourself. As much as is practical, be kindly frank and compassionately truthful and empathetically genuine. (P.S. It’s a strategy that will serve your selfish aims quite well.)

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Most people don’t find their creativity,” mourned Libran author Truman Capote. “There are more unsung geniuses that don’t even know they have great talent.”

If that describes you even a little bit, I’m happy to let you know that you’re close to stumbling upon events and insights that could change that. If you respond to the prompts of these unexpected openings, you will rouse a partially dormant aspect of your genius as well as a half-inert stash of creativity and a semi-latent cache of imaginativity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do you know the word “sfumato”? Its literal meaning in Italian is “smoked.” When used to describe a painting, it refers to blurred borders between objects or fuzzy transitions between areas of different

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colors. All the forms are soft and hazy. I bring this to your attention because I suspect the coming weeks will be a sfumato-like time for you. You may find it a challenge to make precise distinctions. Future and past may overlap, as well as beginnings and endings.

That doesn’t have to be a problem as long as you’re willing to go with the amorphous flow. In fact, it could even be pleasurable and useful. You might be able to connect with influences from which you’ve previously been shut off. You could blend your energies together better with people who’ve been unavailable.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “You have a right to experiment with your life,” declared author Anaïs Nin. I agree. You don’t necessarily have to be what you started out to be. You can change your mind about goals that you may at one time have thought were permanent. I suspect you could be at one of these pivot points right now, Sagittarius. Are there any experiments you’d like to try? If so, keep in mind this further counsel from Nin. It’s possible “you will make mistakes. And they are right, too.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You have one main task to accomplish in the coming weeks, Capricorn. It’ll be simple and natural, if you devote yourself to it wholeheartedly. The only way it could possibly become complicated and challenging is if you allow your focus to be diffused by less important matters. Ready for your assignment? It’s articulated in this poem by Rupi Kaur: “bloom beautifully / dangerously / loudly / bloom softly / however you need / just bloom.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When the forces of the Roman empire occupied the British Isles from the years 43 to 410, they built 2,000 miles of roads. Their methods were sophisticated. That’s why few new roads were built in England until the 18th century, and many of the same paths are still visible and available today. In this spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I recommend that you make good use of an old system or network in the coming weeks. This is one time when the past has blessings to offer the future.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “I’m not enigmatic and intriguing enough,” writes a Piscean blogger named RiddleMaster. “I really must work harder. Maybe I’ll start wearing anklelength black leather coats, billowing silk scarves imprinted with alchemical symbols, and wide-brimmed hats. I’ll listen to Cambodian folk songs and read rare books in ancient Sanskrit. When someone dares to speak to me, I’ll utter cryptic declarations like, ‘The prophecies will be fulfilled soon enough.’” I understand RiddleMaster’s feelings. You Pisceans need mystery almost as much as you need food. But I believe you should set aside that drive for a few weeks. The time has come for you to show the world who you are with crisp candor.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the U.S., the day after Thanksgiving typically features a spectacular shopping orgy. On “Black Friday,” stores sell their products at steep discounts and consumers spend their money extravagantly. But the creators of the game Cards Against Humanity have consistently satirized the tradition. In 2013, for example, they staged a Black Friday “anti-sale,” for which they raised their prices. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to try something similar. Is it possible you’re undercharging for your products and services and skills? If so, consider asking for more. Reassess your true worth and seek appropriate rewards.

Homework: Compose an exciting prayer in which you ask for something you’re not “supposed” to. 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

Wisconsin Walmart Weirdness

A

t around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, things got interesting at an Eau Claire, Wis., Walmart.

Lisa Smith, 46, entered the store with her unleashed dog, Bo, and the dog distracted shoppers and store staff, Smith pulled apart store displays, putting them in her cart. After being asked by workers to leave the store, she went out to the parking lot and started making karate moves. Bo, meanwhile, bit into a box of Jiffy Cornbread Muffin Mix and attempted to leave the store. Also, Smith’s son, Benny Vann, 25, had made his way to the back of the store, where he completely undressed, exposing himself to shoppers and grabbing clothes from store racks before attempting to run over police officers with his store-provided mobility scooter. WHO-TV reported Smith was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and misdemeanor bail jumping; Vann racked up charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, disorderly conduct and retail theft; Bo, police said, received only a verbal warning for his theft of the muffin mix.

Bomb Threats 101 When the Wilkinson School in El Granada, Calif., received a bomb threat on the morning of Thursday, April 11, it didn’t take long for administrators to empty the building of staff and students. But law officers searching the grounds found nothing, because the threatening phone call actually came from 2,100 miles away—in Woodville, Miss. That’s where a 15-year-old student intended to threaten her own Wilkinson (County) High School to get the day off from school, reported The San Jose Mercury News, but apparently didn’t doublecheck her Google search before dialing.

A Fishy Fox A concerned animal lover in Devon, England, contacted authorities on Monday, April 8, to report that a fox she had been watching hadn’t moved for several days, reported Fox News. In response, Ellie Burt, an officer with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals, suggested trying the “broom test,” which didn’t make the fox stir, but Burt

was told it “tracked them with its eyes and seemed to be breathing well.” When Burt arrived on the scene, she quickly diagnosed the problem: The fox was a fake, “stuffed by a taxidermist. He’d clearly been placed under a bush outside of the houses as a prank,” Burt said. “Someone had been moving it around the neighborhood.” Burt discarded the fox “to avoid any further calls.”

Walmart Again Crossville, Tenn., police officers pulled over Sally Selby, 45, at 5 a.m. on Friday, April 5, as she puttered along Highway 127 driving a Walmart mobility scooter. She was on her way to the Waffle House, she said, to buy a cup of coffee. WTVF reported that Selby initially told officers she had built the scooter, but Walmart confirmed it was one of theirs and had surveillance video of Selby driving the scooter out of the store to back up their story. She was arrested for theft.

No Porn for You! An unnamed 40-year-old man in Muncie, Ind., is suing his parents for trashing his collection of porn videos and magazines, which he estimates was worth $29,000. According to the Associated Press, the man had been living with his parents for 10 months following a divorce, and after he bought a new house, his parents delivered his possessions—sans 12 boxes of pornography. His parents admitted dumping the collection; in an email quoted by the lawsuit, the father told his son, “I did you a big favor by getting rid of all that stuff.” The son is seeking $87,000 in damages.

What a Pain in the Neck!

Paramedic Natalie Kuniciki, 23, was lying in bed watching a movie in her London flat when she stretched her neck and heard a loud crack. Thinking nothing of it, she went to sleep, but soon reawakened to realize she couldn’t move her left leg. “I got up and tried to walk to the bathroom, and I was swaying everywhere. I looked down and realized I wasn’t moving my left leg at all, then I fell to the floor,” Kuniciki told The Sun. She called an ambulance, and a CT scan confirmed that she’d had a stroke. When her neck cracked, it had caused her vertebral artery to burst, sending a clot to her brain and triggering the stroke. Kuniciki spent a month in the hospital while she regained mobility on her left side.

Doctors hope she can return to work in six to 12 months. © ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

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::ARTFORART’SSAKE

Summertime Heebie-Jeebies ::BY ART KUMBALEK

I

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So listen, last Sunday, the Easter, I was called to make one of my rare appearances west of the Milwaukee River, nearly 25 miles or so west of said river, to be sort of exact. I left near-the-lake Downtown where it was a crisp and comfortable 50-plus degrees, and got out of a car at my distant Southwest Side destination where it was close to 80-focking-degrees but it only felt like about 180. I thought I was going to have the heat stroke and be dead and buried by May Day, which reminds me of a little story: So this funeral service is being held for a woman who’s just passed away. At the end of the service, the pallbearers are carrying the casket out when they accidentally bump into a wall and jar the casket. They hear a faint moan, so they open the casket and wouldn’t you know, the woman is alive. And not just barely alive, but she lives for another 10 years, and then dies. So, a ceremony is held and at the end of it, the pallbearers are again carrying out the casket. As they carry the casket towards the door, the husband cries out, “Fellas!

Watch that wall!” Ba-ding!

Anyways, I want to go on record as the first Badgerlander this year to say, “Focking fall can’t come soon enough.” What we got up ahead is nothing but heat, noise, bugs, heat, a couple, three metric tons of seagull crap delivered downward indiscriminately daily, and more heat. April’s not even over and already I got the

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summertime heebie-jeebies, thanks for nothing, what the fock.

Well, at least the Lenten season is over and I can stop worrying about what to give up for it. I noticed the other day that a lot of my fellow countrymen have given up reason and rational thought and gosh darn if it doesn’t seem permanent year-round, not just seasonal.

I gandered some kind of Associated Press-GfK poll that found 51% of Americans got some serious doubts about the reality of this Big Bang notion, and that about 4 in 10 cry “baloney” when they hear about evolution

or that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old instead of 7,000 like they were taught over by the Church of Science is for Sinners.

These are the nutsticks that most likely don’t believe our modern birds are descended from the dinosaurs, but they ought to get down on their knees and praise evolution for making them get a little smaller, ain’a? ’Cause how’d you like to have to clean your windshield after a flying bronto-focking-saurus just dropped a load on it?

Cripes, and when you consider the sheer poundage of that deuce-dookie descending from a couple hundred

feet up in the sky, would you even have a windshield after that hit?

I’m sure they seriously doubt that many a modern man sporting the Homo sapien label carries some Neanderthal DNA in his genome blood—some more than others, like those crackpot backwoods Dairyland Republicans who periodically want to secede from the Union, maybe join Canada and get jobs in the thriving Canadian auto industry, ain’a? And don’t forget that according to archaeologists, for millions of years they say the Neanderthal man was not fully erect, which is pretty easy to understand ’cause you ever see any photos of the Neanderthal women? Oy vey! Ba-ding!

Science can teach us that nothing really is, or was, as it seems to be right here, right now, that the space between appearance and reality can be vast. Example: The Wizard of Oz. At the end, you find out the cowardly lion isn’t really a cowardly lion, the scarecrow isn’t really a scarecrow, and the tin woodsman isn’t really a tin woodsman―and really, what the fock is a tin woodsman anyways? No sir, I believe research would reveal that these clowns are actually just three itinerant farmhands hiding out in focking Kansas and that each one of them could have a police record yea long.

Another favorite example of mine: Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter—or so everyone would think.

But in reality he was a guy with superhuman strength who could fly and who came from a whole ’nother planet, but no one knew the two were one because of Clark’s clever disguise of a pair of eyeglasses and a sunny disposition? What the fock.

So… cripes, my train of thought has become casualty to my Easter heat stroke; so I’m figuring the best I can do is to perform the post-Easter miracle of turning dollars into bourbon and gird my liver for my least favorite season of the year, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

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