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::NEWS&VIEWS FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | ISSUE OF THE WEEK
Unstable Security: Modified Lockdown and the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility ::BY BEN TURK
n a chilly evening last November, Downtown Milwaukee was host to a small but defiant protest. This demonstration went unnoticed by almost all residents, even though the protesters were teargassed, restrained, deprived of most of their property and locked in a solitary confinement cell for three months. There were no trials, indictments, criminal charges or legal representation. No media covered the event, and very few people even knew it had happened at all. How can this be? This protest has been nearly invisible until now because it occurred on the seventh floor of the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF). It was built in 2001 to accommodate the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) practice of incarcerating people for community supervision holds, sanctions and “alternative to incarceration” treatment. Its cells were originally designed to hold one person 20 or more hours a day, but community corrections officers have consistenly increased the number of people sent there and the length of holds and sanctions. For the last few years, therefore, MSDF’s cells often hold three people in a space not much larger than a walk-in closet. Last August, MSDF began operating on “modified lockdown” status over the weekends and around holidays, citing staff shortages. This means those two or three people per cell began spending weekends held together for some 23 hours at a time (their single hour out of their tiny cell spent in a windowless, multi-purpose dayroom). Modified lockdown allows a single correctional officer (CO) to monitor each pod, while a sergeant—often called a “white shirt”—roves from pod to pod, providing back-up for the one hour people are let out of their cells. On the evening of Sunday, Nov. 25, the white shirts were running behind, and by the time they got to 7a, they were 15 minutes late. When finally released, the captives likely hustled to the dayroom to use the phones or showers or just to get a little time away from the people they’d been holed up with all weekend. Only 45 minutes later, they were ordered back to their cells. Even though dayroom started late, staff was determined to make it end on time, shorting people a full quarter of their scant time out of their cells. But that November evening, at least two prisoners had other ideas. The CLOSEmsdf campaign received a letter from one of these prisoners (who we refer to as Sam), who told them what transpired.
Mistreated, Lied To, Brushed Off
“We are tired of being mistreated, lied to,” Sam says he explained to Shift Captain Morris. “We are tired of the DOC taking the little we have and never giving it back. We are tired of being treated as less than human.” One other prisoner and he refused to comply with the order to return to their cells. Then they used sheets to tie the doors shut and exercise equipment to barricade it. “We are tired of [being] brushed off every time we address the warden, unit manager or social worker, as well as captains, sergeants or other correctional officers,” Sam explains in his letter. “They always pass the buck down the line to the next person until
4 | JUNE 13, 2019
you just give up trying to get an answer.” Captain Morris was the main officer responding to the protest, and rather than summoning the warden or addressing Sam’s issues, he filled the room with pepper spray and convinced the men to surrender. The entire incident took less than half an hour, but the whole facility was put on lockdown in response, and word spread—eventually reaching CLOSEmsdf organizers—who called officials to learn what had happened. It took months of open records requests and letter writing to get in touch with Sam. During those months, modified lockdown continued and led to additional severe consequences. On Sunday, March 17, it proved fatal. That was the day Bill Leary died.
According to his cellmate, he’d been complaining of stomach pains for days. The pain was severe enough that even the cellmate wrote a letter out to family, seeking help on Leary’s behalf. On that Sunday, he had to half-carry Leary back to his bunk from the dayroom because he was so ill. He says a nurse finally came but moved on after a brief check-up. Fifteen minutes later, while his cellmate pounded on the door and shouted for help, Bill succumbed to internal bleeding. Medical examiners found a note he’d attached to his clothes, it read: Tell Chad [Leary’s probation agent] that I’m bleeding inside really badly and that HSU [Health Services Unit] is doing nothing for me. They won’t even see me, and I was already in the hospital for four days for this [expletive], and when I stand up I get dissy [sic]. MSDF is not the only facility the DOC operates on modified lockdown status. Anti-prison organizers report getting letters from Taycheedah, Oshkosh, Columbia, Green Bay and other state correctional facilities complaining that the facilities are on modified lockdown at least part time. Rules changes and increased cell time are destabilizing and traumatic for people incarcerated in these facilities, and it has been met with some resistance. One prisoner at Columbia Correctional Institution, recently released after 17 months in solitary confinement, wrote a letter to Forum for Understanding Prisons (FFUP)—a prison research and prisoner advocacy non-profit organization—that under modified lockdown, “general population is similar to segregation, because we’re locked in our cells a majority of the time.” The DOC also requires staff to work mandatory overtime, often without notice. According to Sam’s letter, “Officers aren’t showing up for work because they are overworked, and MSDF is understaffed. Officers are working double shifts.” Last year, the DOC spent $50 million on overtime, and some COs worked up to 95 hours a week. The government’s response to this staffing crisis has been to try to hire more correctional officers. In an interview with Wisconsin Eye on Monday, March 4, DOC Secretary Kevin Carr said that one in 10 jobs at the DOC are vacant and pay raises are needed to attract more guards. Gov. Tony Evers complied with his wishes, writing raises for COs into his proposed state budget. However, an open records request filed by FFUP August 2018 calls this response into question. According to the data the DOC released, the number of guards (both in total and per prisoner) has actually increased over the last five years. Meanwhile, non-correctional staff (psychologists, social workers, administrators… the people who might handle complaints or resolve issues) declined by nearly one half during the same period. Sam’s letter reflects the lack of responsive staff. “We locked down the recreation room only to get the attention of the warden as well as the other staff to look into the matters that I tried many times to address through request forms as well as ICE [Inmate Complaint Examiner].” Hiring more COs is unlikely to prevent deaths like Bill Leary’s. Guards
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After Flint, Milwaukee Moves to Test the Water
KIDS AT CENTER OF NEW DOOR-TO-DOOR INITIATIVE do not administer medical care or respond to health crises; their role in the prison is to turn keys and issue conduct reports, and that’s what happened to all the incarcerated people mentioned in this story. Sam and his protest ally were written up and sent to disciplinary segregation for 120 days, despite the DOC publicly announcing a 90-day limit on solitary confinement four years ago. Under something termed “Administrative Control” status, Wisconsin prisoners can be held in solitary confinement indefinitely. Leary’s surviving cellmates were also sent to “the hole,” as prisoner’s commonly refer to segregation. Friends outside of prison say they were given a choice: stay in the cell and sleep a few feet from where they had just witnessed Leary’s needless, violent death or go to solitary. They chose the latter. This lack of compassion by COs may be feeding the DOC’s staffing crisis. According to the open records request, the DOC terminated almost as many COs as they hired, with more than half of them quitting. Peg Swan, founder of FFUP, says that, over the years, she’s heard from prison staff and former staff that they’ve witnessed or are required to participate in horrible things, but they won’t share their experiences publicly for fear of retaliation. Meanwhile, high turnover rates can aggravate humanitarian problems in the prisons. The more callous and desensitized COs are most likely to stay on the job, training and acculturating new hires. Over time, high turnover has degraded the DOC’s institutional culture and conditions of confinement, especially in segregation and mental health observation units. According to another open records release, suicide rates among people held by the DOC spiked from one or two per year to 12 a year in 2016; it has remained at an elevated level ever since (eight in 2017; six in 2018). FFUP says they’ve received many letters describing guard harassment, abuse and even assistance leading to these suicides. If the new administration’s only solution is hiring more staff to replace the many they lose and hold more people on modified lockdown and solitary confinement longer, they’ll see these trends continue or worsen. Their other option is to reduce the prison population. In January, Columbia University’s Justice Lab released a report finding that Wisconsin’s community supervision policies are contributing to our rising incarceration rate, while many states have reformed such policies leading to significant reductions of mass incarceration and associated costs. The Justice Lab’s recommendations would depopulate and close MSDF and significantly reduce crowding system-wide, eliminating the need to lockdown whole facilities and overwork prison employees. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n
SHEPHERD EXPRESS
::BY MARY SUSSMAN
L
ast summer, the City of Milwaukee approved $300,000 to provide home visits, lead testing, water filters and other services to residents in neighborhoods with the highest numbers of lead-poisoned children. This came on the heels of a 2018 report which found staffing shortages, inadequate training, high turnover and poor coordination led to the failure of the Milwaukee Health Department to follow up with thousands of families with lead-poisoned children. Children under the age of 5 are most vulnerable to lead poisoning. This can cause permanent neurological damage leading to learning disabilities and behavior problems. Testing can lead to prompt medical and environmental intervention, which can reduce toxic blood levels in children.
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The city chose Aldermanic District 15, on Milwaukee’s North Side, and Aldermanic District 12 on the South Side for the initiative. The Social Development Commission (1730 W. North Ave.) and the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers (1032 S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive), each received $150,000 to implement the pilot programs to do outreach in districts where lead poisoning is most prevalent. The initiatives have just recently gotten underway. While testing for lead poisoning has increased and the number of cases of lead poisoning among children under 6 have decreased dramatically between 1999 and 2016, health experts nonetheless agree that much more testing and education needs to be done. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that while only 21% of the children Water continued on page 6 >
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NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE
tested for lead in Wisconsin are African American, they have the highest rate of lead poisoning, accounting for 50% of all lead-poisoned children in Wisconsin. George Hinton, CEO of the Social Development Commission (SDC), realizes there are barriers to reaching out to everyone in the community. “There are a lot of people who don’t want people in their house,” he says. “So we’re hoping as word of mouth gets out, it will be a little easier for us to get in the door.” And yet, the SDC, which has worked on the North Side for 55 years, is a well-known and respected stakeholder in the community. One goal for the Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is that all city of Milwaukee children get tested for lead, says Jean Schultz, the department’s environmental health services manager. MHD recommends children receive three blood tests by the age of 3. In 2018, 26,633 children received blood lead tests, totaling 35,824 total tests, according to MHD data. Of the children tested, 4.1% had levels ≥ 5 mcg/dL through venous testing. (The current standard for lead poisoning is a blood level greater than 5 mcg/dL.) In 2016, 65% of children in Milwaukee from 12 to 35 months old were tested, declining from 71% in 2011. Marjorie Coons, program manager of the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), says there is a need to improve blood lead testing of young children statewide. In 2016, only 32% of children enrolled in Medicaid, who are at the greatest risk of lead poisoning, had been tested at their most vulnerable ages of 1 and 2. “Working with Medicaid providers to improve these percentages gives us the opportunity to identify more children who are lead poisoned so that public health interventions can be provided to eliminate their lead exposure,” Coons says.
‘Lead Poisoning is 100% Preventable’
In the wake of the Flint, Mich., water crisis, lead poisoning received renewed attention. However, it caused many people to believe that water is the only source of lead poisoning. Schultz cautions that lead contamination can come from other sources, such as paint and soil. “The goal should be to discuss the hazards equally,” she says. “There is no safe level of lead in soil, paint or water for children. Families need to be aware of their built environment, how that can impact their health and what resources are available for them. Lead poisoning is 100% preventable. Keeping painted surfaces intact, installing water filters, covering bare soil with gravel or mulch and getting kids tested can reduce the risk of lead poisoning.” Schultz says mixed messages in our community are making it difficult for MHD to get access inside these homes to address multiple lead hazards. “Some families think the source of lead poisoning is the water alone and will not let the Milwaukee Health Department also address the chipping and peeling paint that can be observed on the outside of their home,” she says. “A consistent message is needed to increase awareness and trust in the community.” 6 | JUNE 13, 2019
COURTESY OF MILWAUKEE HEALTH DEPARTMENT
> Water continued from page 5
Schultz says a 2017 Environmental Protection Agency study that quantified and compared contributions of lead from air, soil, dust, water and food to children’s blood lead levels found that children living in older homes with lead-based paint hazards by far have the most exposure to lead. For 1 to 6-year-olds in the top 90-100 percentile, more than 70% of the lead in their blood was from soil and dust, lead from food was 20% and from drinking water, it was 10%. For infants, soil and dust contribute to 50% of the lead in their blood, while 40% was from water and 10% from food. The Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers’ clinic has been testing for lead and doing community outreach for 20 years. When the clinic identifies a child with elevated blood levels of lead, a lead outreach worker will go to the home and talk to the family about lead poisoning. Sixteenth Street’s outreach team uses a multi-faceted approach when assessing lead hazards in the home. “We have never really isolated any of the variables,” says Jamie Ferschinger, director of environmental health at Sixteenth Street. “We don’t say it’s only paint or it’s only water or it’s only pottery or it’s only soil, because we can’t. We say it’s all of them. We go into the home and help the family identify the hazards, not making any judgments of one over the other, but saying, here are reasons we think these hazards are contributing to an elevated blood level and then give them the opportunity to make some changes. This has been a really effective way to do it.” “Childhood lead poisoning can be eliminated
but doing that requires that the routes of exposure be eliminated,” says Coons. “Eliminating lead poisoning means keeping children from becoming lead poisoned in the first place. Since the major route of exposure to children is from lead paint dust found in their own homes, the best way to eliminate childhood lead poisoning is to fix the older housing units that have lead hazards.”
Moving Forward After Setbacks The “stop-work order” issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after the 2018 resignation of MHD commissioner Bevan Baker, who failed to notify 3,000 families that their children had been poisoned by lead, has temporarily shut down the city’s primary prevention program for lead abatement, which previously provided funding for residents for new windows and other projects to proactively prevent lead exposure. Now, MHD is “focusing on remediation for homes with children with elevated blood levels who test above 20 mcg/dL or have two tests above 15 mcg/dL within 90 days elevated blood,” Schultz says. She adds the city hopes to get the primary prevention funding from HUD restored soon. MHD is still recovering from its earlier mistakes. For one, it is moving forward with two neighborhood initiatives on the North and South sides designed to reach many more residents living in areas with the reported densest concentration of lead poisoning. Despite the recent setbacks for Milwaukee, Roy Irving, hazard assessment section chief of Wisconsin DHS, says progress in solving the lead
problem is being made statewide. “Public health interventions focused on lead-based paint have been considerably successful in reducing blood lead levels in children,” he says. Although lead in water is another challenge for Milwaukee, as well as many other cities in Wisconsin and across the U.S., Irving notes positive developments in the state to reduce lead in drinking water. “These include stronger collaborations between drinking water systems and public health agencies in building public awareness and coordinating on investigations of lead-poisoned children, programs and policies that assist municipalities with removing lead service lines from their systems and efforts in some communities to understand and address the occurrence of lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.” The cost of replacing the almost 80,000 lead laterals in the city of Milwaukee is estimated to be around $750 million. Milwaukee Water Works is replacing a small fraction year-by-year as funding permits. “The science is still evolving on understanding the occurrence of lead in water and what it means for childhood exposures,” Irving continues. “Because lead was commonly used in household plumbing and water systems, replacing leadcontaining service lines and household plumbing components presents a significant logistical and economic challenge to communities. Despite this, many state and local agencies in Wisconsin are taking meaningful steps to address this issue.” Despite the ubiquity of lead in our environment, health experts agree that lead poisoning is 100% preventable. Coons says that using the following three-pronged approach would help achieve that goal: Remove lead paint hazards in old housing before children become exposed. Educate families and property owners about lead hazards in the environment and ways to correct the hazards to protect children. Make sure children who are at risk for lead exposure are tested, so if they’ve been exposed to lead, interventions to eliminate their exposure may be provided. The new door-to-door lead outreach initiative aims to increase testing among children under 6 and to provide interim controls to residents in neighborhoods that have high-density lead poisonings.
Saving Our Children
“Our main objective is to protect our children,” says the SDC’s Hinton. “We talk a lot about the success of our children in school. Some of the things we’ve been able to correlate with lead poisoning are incarceration issues and bad performance in school. When you talk about root-cause issues, this is a root-cause issue. We have to do something about it. No child should ever be exposed to lead.” Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget includes $54 million for lead abatement and intervention programs for children who have been poisoned. For further information about the Lead Outreach Program in Milwaukee, contact the Social Development Commission at 414-906-2700 (Aldermanic District 15) or Jamie Ferschinger at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers 414897-5598 (Aldermanic District 12). Comment at shepherdexpress.com. SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( JUNE 13 - JUNE 19, 2019 ) The Shepherd Express serves as a clearinghouse for all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Donald Trump regime, as well as other activities that seek to thwart social justice. To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@ shepex.com.
Thursday, June 13
Cuban Caravan @ Central United Methodist Church (633 N. 25th St.), 6 p.m.
birthday. Impeachment would be the perfect gift to our country. Join Indivisible Tosa and Indivisible Madison to celebrate. No gifts required.
Saturday, June 15
Peace Action of Wisconsin: Stand for Peace @ the corner of Highway 100 and Bluemound Road, noon-1 p.m.
Monday, June 17
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 after the protest.
Welcome Father Luis Barrios of Pastors for Peace (PFP) with a potluck dinner. Barrios, a native of Puerto Rico, is a pastor in New York City and a former prisoner of conscience for challenging the U.S. Army’s School of the Americas, which has trained military torturers throughout Latin America. President Donald Trump and National Security Advisor John Bolton recently announced an attempt to further tighten U.S. restrictions on the right of our people to travel to Cuba. Trump also authorized lawsuits in U.S. courts (that no American president had ever allowed) against American and other companies doing business in Cuba. The event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba, Peace Action Wisconsin and End the Wars Coalition MKE. The program includes a potluck dinner. Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is among the speakers.
With Donald Trump and Republican attacks on health care, immigrants, the environment and more, we need progressive laughs now more than ever. Laughing Liberally Milwaukee is hosted by comedian, cartoonist and progressive talk radio host Matthew Filipowicz. Filipowicz’s work has been featured on CNN, NPR, PBS, HBO, BBC, Ain’t It Cool News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Nation and countless sites in the progressive blogosphere, including Salon, Daily Kos and HuffPost. Comedians on the June 15 bill include Ton Johnson, Dana Ehrmann, Josh Fred, Ryan Mason, Kristin Lytie and sketch comedy group The Accountants of Homeland Security.
Friday, June 14
Sunday, June 16
President Donald Trump Impeachment Birthday Party @ Pere Marquette Park (900 N. Plankinton Ave.), 6 p.m.
Friday, June 14, (ironically Flag Day) is Donald Trump’s 73rd
man. Join Milwaukee DSA as we meet Grossman and discuss his latest book, A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee. Grossman will share his unique experiences and insights from the U.S. and East Germany during the Cold War.
Laughing Liberally Milwaukee @ ComedySportz Milwaukee (420 S. First St.), 8 p.m.
Social Hour w/ Victor Grossman @ Peace Action Wisconsin (1001 E. Keefe Ave.), 5 p.m.
Joining this Democratic Socialists of America MKE event is a very special guest from Berlin, Germany, Victor Gross-
Medicaid Expansion—Phone and Postcard @ Grassroots Northshore (5600 W. Brown Deer Road), 10:30 a.m.
Support the Medicaid expansion and the Fair Maps proposal by phoning and writing your legislators. Stop by Grassroots’ office to make calls to your state senators and Assembly representatives to support the Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin. Fill out postcards to each of your representatives to ask them to support non-partisan redistricting.
Wednesday, June 19
Juneteenth Day Festival 2019 @ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between Center and BurleighStreets, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. The event, dating back to 1865, began when Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were now free. Milwaukee’s Juneteenth Day event is organized by the Northcott Neighborhood House. The festival features musical performances and food vendors, along with community organizations sharing helpful resources for residents of all ages. 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.
NEWS&VIEWS::POLL
You Think Congress Should Start the Impeachment Process
Last week, we asked you if—given Robert Mueller’s report and public statements about Donald Trump’s potentially criminal conduct—the U.S. Congress should begin impeachment procedures against the president. You said: Yes: 61% No: 39%
What Do You Say?
Fifty years after the Stonewall Riots in New York City, there has been a great deal of progress for members of the LGBTQ community in the U.S. However, do you think the legal rights and social acceptance of our LGBTQ citizens have undergone some setbacks in the past few years? Yes No Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue. 8 | JUNE 13, 2019
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NEWS&VIEWS::TAKINGLIBERTIES
We Energies’ Punishment for Helping to Save the World ::BY JOEL MCNALLY
W
hen we were growing up, mom constantly harassed us kids to turn off lights whenever we left a room because we weren’t made of money. She never imagined we would ever live in an upside-down world where the electric company would try to charge us more if we used less electricity. Of course, there were lots of things none of us could ever imagine back then, including living in a world when there would be even more important reasons to use less electricity than to lower light bills. Namely, to save the entire planet from being destroyed by wildfires, floods, tornados, hurricanes, droughts and other catastrophic weather extremes caused by global warming. We Energies (WEC Energy Group, Inc.), Wisconsin’s largest public utility, was embarrassingly late in joining the fight to preserve the only planet we’ve got, but at least it’s finally stopped expanding the dirty, coal-fired energy it produces in Oak Creek and, last year, shut down its 38-year-old coal-burning plant in Pleasant Prairie. It’s now increasing the use of solar, wind and natural gas, claiming it will cut global-warming carbon emissions from 2005 to 2023 by 40% and by 80% by 2050. The public relations campaign makes it sound like a company belatedly trying to do the right thing. So why does We Energies want to punish ordinary citizens for helping such a noble company save the world by installing their own solar panels producing clean, renewable energy while saving money on their energy bills? That sounds more like We Energies just wants to raise prices on mom for using less electricity.
Hefty Price Increase We Energies is asking the state Public Service Commission (PSC) to allow it to add a hefty surcharge that would wipe out nearly 25% of the financial savings for those installing solar panels on homes or businesses. That’s right. An energy company moving aggressively into renewable energy to cut its costs will charge more to any customers trying to do the same thing. Customers who don’t need as much energy will pay higher prices for less. Customers forced to pay for the right to produce their own energy not only 10 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
pay more to use less energy, but they reduce company costs further by eliminating the need for We Energies to build more capacity to produce more energy. If you got lost in all those nonsensical sentences, you’re reading them right. It’s all part of a radical shift in energy pricing in 2014 when Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s PSC began raising the fixed price all customers were required to pay every month instead of charging strictly based on the amount of energy customers actually use. As a result, the fixed monthly price in Wisconsin has nearly doubled since 2014 to $17.60 compared to the national median of $9.50. Users of enormous amounts of energy get bargain-basement rates, while low-use customers like mom grossly overpay. Higher monthly fixed fees actually discourage energy conservation. Now, We Energies wants to further discourage customers from improving the health of the planet by penalizing them with a surcharge. Unfortunately, we don’t have to guess whether the PSC will go along with such a nefarious scheme. It already did in 2014 at the same time it began raising fixed monthly prices. A Dane County judge struck down the surcharge a year later citing insufficient evidence of need from the utility. Democrat Tony Evers is the governor now, but he was prevented from appointing a new Democratic majority on the PSC by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on the legal theory that a rightwing Supreme Court will allow lame-duck Republican legislators to take any unethical actions they want to eliminate the appointment powers of a newly elected Democratic governor.
What About Renewable Energy? Wisconsin hasn’t actually raised renewable energy standards since Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s first term after a bipartisan climate change task force produced legislation setting a goal of 10% renewable energy production by 2015. By Doyle’s second term—when he proposed increasing the goal to 25% renewable energy by 2025—know-nothing Republican climate change deniers refused. Today, 10 states and the District of Columbia have adopted far more ambitious future goals of 50% or more of their power to be supplied by renewable energy, including goals of 100% in California, Hawaii and Washington, D.C. With a United Nations’ panel of scientists warning the world has little more than a decade to get serious about radically cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming, my mom was ahead of her time in nagging us to turn off the lights we weren’t using. She also was suspicious about how Republicans always seemed to care more about big business than about all the little guys like us. But she would still be shocked to imagine Republicans would ever allow the electric company to charge us more for using less electricity to punish us for helping to save the world. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n SHEPHERD EXPRESS
ERIN BLOODGOOD
NEWS&VIEWS::HEROOFTHEWEEK
Venice Williams
Venice Williams Cultivates Food and Community in Alice’s Garden ::BY ERIN BLOODGOOD
A
ware of the significance a bridge has in connecting two places, crossing bridges is an integral part of Venice Williams’ identity. Originally from Pittsburgh, the city of bridges, she grew up walking across them to get everywhere. Years later, Williams describes herself as a bridge between communities. She has made it her life’s work to connect different groups of people, helping them “bridge their uniqueness,” she says. Today she runs Alice’s Garden, an intersection of the many neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Williams began her community work through the Lutheran Church, always using her love of food and gardening as a way to bring people together. From a young age, she learned to grow plants in her family garden. Her father was a chef, her mother a grocer. She learned the importance of cultivating her own food and having a connection to the soil. As an adult, she works to teach others that same value. Expecting to stay for only two years, Williams moved to Milwaukee in 1989 to pursue her ministry work. She found it hard to leave the city after quickly building relationships with the people she worked with. Still in Milwaukee 13 years later, she found her way to Alice’s Garden, a community garden since the early ’70s. Located on 21st Street and Garfield Avenue, the garden presented the perfect opportunity for Williams to marry her passion for food and building community relationships. Alice’s Garden is now part of her ministry called The Table. Even as the executive director of the garden, she still calls herself the “the weed puller.” Alice’s Garden has become a center point in the community. It is a place where people of different cultures and ethnicities intersect to celebrate their similarities through food. “Everyone wants to come to this piece of land to cultivate food, but you’re cultivating community just as much,” explains Williams. There was a point when you could tell the ethnicity of a gardener based on the crops they grew. Now the garden plots are diverse like the gardeners cultivating them. With a multitude of programs focused on food and spending time outdoors, Williams has helped people share their traditions and cultures. The garden comes alive with programs and events during the growing season. Events like yoga classes, meditation walks, group book readings and drum circles all take place in the garden with “the sky as the ceiling,” says Williams. “We create a stronger bond with each other and with the land when we are in the open air,” she explains. Williams believes “authentic development comes from within a community,” meaning the garden structures its programming based on what the local neighborhoods say they need. Cultivating change is a group effort, requiring help from community members and partnering organizations. Everyone involved with the garden has redefined what a community garden can be, bridging the diverse parts of a segregated city. Learn more at facebook.com/alicesgarden. For more of Erin Bloodgood’s work, visit bloodgoodfoto.com. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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::OUTOFMYMIND
The Many Ways of Being ‘Holier-Than-Thou’ ::BY PHILIP CHARD
I
f your personality leans toward humility and a “live and let live” attitude, you may find one type of human particularly disappointing, if not insufferable. Holier-than-thou types. This proved true with Marie’s co-workers and even some members of her family. This prim, proper 40-something professional came across as self-righteous and highly critical of others. So, when she and her husband sought couples counseling, this issue was front and center. “My wife has many fine qualities, but humility is not among them,” he told me. “She acts like she’s morally superior to others.” “I do not feel morally superior,” she shot back. “I just don’t have a very high opinion of people in general.” While financially successful in her career, Marie’s penchant for judging and criticizing others was decidedly off-putting at work. Her colleagues did their best to avoid interacting with her, fearing they would elicit a preachy response. After deciding to resign following one too many of these “I know better” episodes, an important contributor on Marie’s work team confronted her head-on. “She told me I was arrogant,” Marie admitted. “But, the fact is, most of my co-workers lack my years of experience; when I become critical, I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I’m just trying to help the organization succeed.” I found one of Marie’s comments very revealing (“I don’t have a high opinion of people in general”). This phrase points to the underlying mindset of many sanctimonious souls and is central to understanding their perspective. The common assumption is that folks like Marie feel morally superior to others, that they delude themselves into believing their ethical values and standards of behavior rise well above the madding crowd. However, in a variation on the glass-half-empty metaphor, they actually see themselves as “less evil” than others rather than more saintly and irreproachable. At first glance, this seems like a semantic sleight of mind, but the distinction is important. When you set a low bar for others, it’s easier to rise above it. “So, you don’t see yourself as a superior human being,” I suggested. “Rather, you feel all people are flawed, including you, but that your imperfections are below the collective average.” She agreed. When it came to human frailties and failings, in her own mind, Marie was not saintly so much as she was less hobbled than others. Why? Because of one central distinction—intentions. In evaluating others, folks with her mindset rely heavily on an “inside perspective,” meaning they judge themselves by assigning positive or constructive motives to their behavior (“I’m just trying to help the organization succeed”). However, they don’t extend the same positive intent to those around them. In evaluating others, they adopt an “outside perspective,” one based solely on observing another person’s actions without any corresponding effort to understand the motives behind them. So, if a colleague made a mistake, Marie focused entirely on the miscue without considering that individual’s intentions. Consequently, one antidote for self-righteousness involves expanding one’s awareness of what drives the actions of others. Not always, but often, when folks like Marie make respectful inquiries in this regard, they discover similarities between their motives and intentions and those of the people they criticize. There are plenty of instances where one means well but ends up not behaving well. Good intentions don’t excuse bad behavior, but they do cast it in a different light—one that folks like Marie need to recognize if they want to stop coming across as holier-thanthou. “If you understood your colleagues’ motives, you might have a more favorable and less critical view of their actions,” I told her. Unless proven otherwise, the mantra here is, “assume good intentions.” More often than not, you’ll find them. For more, visit philipchard.com.
“SO, YOU DON’T SEE YOURSELF AS A SUPERIOR HUMAN BEING,” I SUGGESTED. “RATHER, YOU FEEL ALL PEOPLE ARE FLAWED, INCLUDING YOU, BUT THAT YOUR IMPERFECTIONS ARE BELOW THE COLLECTIVE AVERAGE.” 12 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
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®
::CANNABISCONNECTION THE GO-TO SITE FOR EVERYTHING CANNABIS IN WISCONSIN
We will keep you informed each week about the growing availability of legal cannabis products in Milwaukee and what’s happening at the state level with respect to Wisconsin’s movement towards legalization, what’s happening in other states and in the rest of the world.
Laughing Grass Hemp Keeps Growing
M
::BY SHEILA JULSON
atthew Wetzel, owner of Laughing Grass Hemp cannabidiol (CBD) dispensary, has seen many changes since he opened one of the first CBD dispensaries in the Milwaukee area. In less than a year, Milwaukee County experienced a CBD store boom, and Wetzel recalls how many current CBD entrepreneurs had visited his store in West Allis before beginning their path to cannabis entrepreneurship. “I remember their faces from September, during the first couple of days we were open,” he recalls. “I’ve traveled to a lot of their stores, and it is rewarding to see what they’ve learned from us. We gave to Wisconsin a very unique dispensary, and others have put their little twists on it.” Wetzel opened a second Laughing Grass location inside the Miramar Theatre on April 20—4/20 Day, during which annual cannabis-oriented celebrations take place. There’s retail space downstairs and a 1,200 square-foot membership-only, V.I.P. hookah lounge upstairs. “We use a non-tobacco, non-nicotine shisha, which is a tobacco blend that’s put into a hookah, and combined with Laughing Grass’ own CBD kief, a CBD hash,” Wetzel explains. Membership is limited at this time, but Wetzel is planning to expand, possibly with a CBD pedal-tavern. Meanwhile at the West Allis location, business is brisk, and Wetzel’s adding new products. In addition to CBD oils, edibles, flowers, pre-rolls, coffee, topicals and pain balms, he now carries CBD bath bombs in citric, basil or lavender scents, made with essential oils, and he’s recently added hemp honey and tea. CBD kombucha on tap is coming soon. Wetzel also has a processors license and contracts with a hemp farmer in Port Washington to make Laughing Grass label CBD products. Laughing Grass also has its own unique glass tubes for their hemp joints that are engraved with the company’s “LGH” initials. Wetzel says that measure, along with special cards the store issues to customers, can help the West Allis Police Department distinguish CBD joints from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) marijuana joints. He’s remodeling the West Allis location to add a Wi-Fi lounge, and his staff has certification from THC University in Colorado to thoroughly answer questions and help with products.
Cannabis ‘refugees’
In 2014, Wetzel’s son had experienced severe seizures. After learning how other families with children suffering from the same type of seizures found relief through CBD, Wetzel moved his family to Colorado, where he says they were “cannabis refugees.” He began giving CBD to his son, which he credits with stopping the seizures. “He’s now a healthy boy and just had his eighth birthday,” Wetzel says. “He has not had a seizure since we left Colorado.” Wetzel advocates for advancing cannabis legislation in Wisconsin and is working with others in the hemp industry to form the Wisconsin Hemp Alliance. The group will push for regulation of CBD products. “Right now, CBD is not regulated, and we don’t want this to be a race to the bottom because there will be people creating products with no CBD in them, and that doesn’t look good on the industry.” Wetzel is confident that Wisconsin is close to full cannabis legalization, and stigma surrounding the plant is slowly drifting away. He’s been working with attorney Matt Flynn, and with Eric Marsch of Southeastern Wisconsin NORML, to advance medical, industrial and recreational legalization of marijuana. “We can grow more cannabis than Colorado—if we do it right,” Wetzel enthuses. He’s also active in the West Allis community and participated in events such as the recent West Allis A La Carte. For more information, visit facebook.com/laughgrass1. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n
14 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
Recreational Marijuana Legalized in Illinois, Benefitting Many ::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ
O
n Friday, May 31, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize marijuana for recreational use, beating New Jersey and New York to the punch. This new development makes Wisconsin the only state where cannabis is strictly banned, sandwiched between Michigan and Illinois where it is legal and Minnesota where it is decriminalized. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as newly elected Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had made marijuana legalization a priority of his campaign. “The path forward for Illinois is clear: We need to legalize marijuana,” Pritzker wrote in his political program. “As governor, I am ready to stand with leaders, communities and families across our state to legalize marijuana and move our state forward.” Promise kept, with brio. What does come as a surprise, however, is the way the bill passed. Illinois is the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana through legislation; the previous 10 states legalized it through voter initiatives. Just hours before the end of the legislative session, the “Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act” was approved by the state House of Representatives by a 66-47 vote. It creates a legal, taxed and regulated cannabis sales system. Under the new law, adults 21 and older will be able to possess up to 30 grams of canna-
bis (less for non-residents) or five grams of cannabis concentrate. Additionally, medical marijuana patients will be able to grow up to five cannabis plants at home legally, and businesses and “home growers” will be able to apply for growing licenses.
Supporting Disadvantaged Communities
Most importantly, the bill is geared towards social justice, including a sweeping judicial reform aiming to fix some of the damages caused by the so-called “War on Drugs.” Illinois residents convicted for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana will be automatically pardoned by the governor; anyone convicted of possession of less than 500 grams will be able to petition to have his or her record expunged. An estimated 770,000 people will benefit from this measure. Part of the tax revenues from marijuana sales will go to supporting communities that have been negatively impacted by cannabis prohibition. The bill recognizes that some areas—especially predominantly African American neighborhoods—have been “disproportionately impacted.” As such, it includes the creation of a “Restore, Reinvest and Renew Program,” which is meant to revitalize disadvantaged communities, improve economic development, help reduce violence and provide legal aid to people who suffered from the War on Drugs. A Cannabis Business Development Fund will provide financial resources for people starting or operating cannabis businesses. The people most affected by cannabis laws will become “social equity applicants” and be granted support if they choose to start cannabis businesses. This is a way to give street dealers a fighting chance in the legal marijuana market that is about to be created. The bill has been sent to Gov. Pritzker to be signed, which is a mere formality as he’s already sworn to sign it into law. Recreational cannabis is expected to become legal—and sold in existing medical marijuana dispensaries—starting Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n
ADDITIONALLY, MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS WILL BE ABLE TO GROW UP TO FIVE CANNABIS PLANTS AT HOME LEGALLY, AND BUSINESSES AND “HOME GROWERS” WILL BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR GROWING LICENSES. SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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::DININGOUT COURTESY OF STAND EAT DRINK
FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK
Don’s Diner
Diner Comforts at Don’s
is the sweet bananarama ($13) version. It’s got peanut butter in the mix and is topped with sliced bananas bruléed with crunchy caramelized sugar. Though the dinner entrée menu is small, it runs the gamut from giardiniera grilled cheese ($9) with four cheeses, pickled giardiniera and spinach, to a roasted chicken pot pie ($13) topped with a puff pastry lid. There are a few retro options too, like a beautifully plated chicken picatta ($16) with plenty of briny capers over roasted potatoes, spinach and mushrooms, and teriyaki steak tips over garlic butter ::BY LACEY MUSZYNSKI mashed potatoes ($19). As I was walking out of the restaurant, I spotted the shrimp and grits ($18) at another table and got a serious case of FOMO from the pile of hat makes a restaurant a diner? The defihuge New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp on a bed of soft grits and swiss chard. nition seems to be expanding, and places Next time. that happen to have counter seating, foThere are a couple burgers too, because what’s a diner without them? The Don’s cus on breakfast or serve lots of pie often burger ($16) includes a hefty beef patty, sharp cheddar, charred onion and an call themselves diners. The one thread that onion ring on a fluffy brioche bun. What’s unique is that it’s surrounded by a pool I do notice across all diners, modern or estabof dark, beefy demi-glace, making it extra rich but a mess to pick up. The Naughty lished, is comfort. They all want customers to Angel burger ($10-$14) is more classic diner style, with smashed beef patties stay for a while, make friends, linger over coffee (choose one to three) and sautéed onions that meld into the American cheese and and feel comfortable and welcome enough that light smear of creamy Thousand Island-like sauce. Two slices of roma tomato were those social aspects are completely natural. perfectly ripe even though they’re not in season. Don’s Diner & Cocktails, a new diner in an old buildDo not skip dessert here, even if you’re getting breakfast. Those cakes on the bar ing, nails the comfortable atmosphere. It’s bustling are magnificent and change regularly, as do a few cheesecake and pie selections. A with a lot of energy in a narrow space, but you never feel berries and cream cake ($6) slice bursts with a just-sweet-enough mix of strawberrushed or in the way. The counter is really just a bar, but ries, blueberries and blackberries, its juices soaking into the soft vanilla sponge. glass pedestal cake stands hold court to show off towerThere’s also an emphasis on milkshakes here, in both classic and boozy versions. ing 3-layer cakes, landing us squarely back in diner territory. The Wisco old fashioned shake ($9) is a great new way to enjoy the staple cocktail, The menu isn’t as large as most diners’, but the focus is on breakfast, which is and bitters play well with the vanilla ice cream. Get an Oreo cake shake ($12) made served all day. Pancakes are made with a buttermilk and Sprite batter and have a with rum and topped with an entire slice of cheesecake, or a donut-topped coffee sturdy texture with a little crisp around the edges. Piggies in blankets ($15) incorversion called the weekender ($12). porate chopped bacon into the batter for little bursts of porky goodAt the back of the restaurant is a separate, small bar called the ness and come topped with copious candied pecans, crisp oatmeal Naughty Angel. It’s pure Up North, complete with wood paneling streusel and bourbon whipped cream. Blu blu lemon pancakes Don’s Diner everywhere, rust colored vinyl bar stools, and a window unit air ($13) are made with trendy fermented blueberries, lemon syrup and & Cocktails conditioner. It’s quaint in its shabbiness and a great place to order whipped mascarpone. 1100 S. First St. the giant Old Fashioned served in a crockpot ($30) or a few of the French toast is baked in a casserole dish like bread pudding, mak414-808-0805 10-cent martinis during lunch on weekdays. It adds a whole other ing it even more of a comfort food. There’s a mostly savory version level of comfort and familiarity to the restaurant, helping to tick off donsmke.com called the north woods ($13) made with breakfast sausage, leeks, the boxes that earn Don’s its diner moniker. $$ • FB caramelized onions and a maple cream sauce, but the show-stopper
16 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
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JUNE 15, 2019
GlENdaLE, Wi | BAyShoRE toWn CEnTer
::SHORTORDER
Asian Fusion a Must for Anyone Curious about Authentic Chinese Dishes ::BY ERIN BRODERICK
Asian Fusion (1609 E. North Ave.) looks like a Chinese take-out joint but serves some of the most authentic Asian food in Milwaukee. Perusing the menu is a bit overwhelming—there’s a lot to choose from. Fortunately, it’s broken down by selection (protein, soups, noodles, rice, signature dish, clay pot, etc.). Our server gives a brief rundown and encouragement to try “weird” things but adds if we’re not in the mood to experiment, the chicken section has all the favorite basics (Kung Pao, Orange, General Tso’s). We settle on a few appetizers: Kou Shui Chicken ($6.95) and Sesame Noodles ($5.95), both of them served cold. The chicken is served skin-on with peanuts, sesame seeds, scallions, cilantro and chili oil. Not the most appetizing presentation, but very flavorful. The sesame noodles were less successful. After a brief wait, our main courses arrive, Spicy Fish Soup ($18.95) and Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce ($14.95). The entrées are generous and could easily be split three ways. The fish soup is as bright as a sunflower in bloom. The rich, salty bone marrow broth hides chunks of sole and pickled radishes. The soup’s spice comes from the Szechuan peppercorns that float about and pack a real punch. The pork dish consists of shredded pork loin, wood ear mushrooms and bell peppers tossed in a traditional ginger garlic sauce, with spicy chili oil and soy—a rich and tasty dish. Asian Fusion offers a variety of non-alcoholic options: Bubble Tea, Smoothies and Fruit Iced Tea (all $4.55). As far as alcohol goes, there are only a few beer options available including Tsingtao ($5), a great Chinese lager.
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G
reece is known for rich and diverse culinary traditions, inďŹ&#x201A;uenced from both the East and West. The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church invites everyone to experience a weekend of Greek cuisine, along with the lively arts and cultural traditions of the Mediterranean country, at Greek Fest, June 21-23 at State Fair Park; the festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free, parking is $5.
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The Shepherd Express is a great place to work and has been recognized by The Business Journal as one of Milwaukeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top Workplaces. To apply for the position, contact Blaine at 414-292-3813 or blaine@shepex.com
Attendees can try authentic Greek food such as saganaki (ďŹ&#x201A;aming cheese), special drinks such as ouzo lemonade, classic gyros, Greek pastries, honey puffs, lamb and spit-roasted chicken. The event also features a drive-thru for whole Greek chickens. The drive-thru is open Friday 3-7 p.m., Saturday noon-7 p.m. and Sunday noon-4 p.m. during the festival. There will also be Greek dancing and performances by local bands including 4 on the Floor (Friday), Liam Ford Band (Saturday afternoon) and Vintage Groove (Saturday night and Sunday afternoon). There will also be a midway, a Greek marketplace where uniquely Greek items, including beautiful Orthodox icons and other items, can be purchased, as well as a booth featuring information on Greek Orthodox traditions. Greg Papachristou, one of the festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organizers, says itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the food and Greek traditions that make Greek Fest unique in Milwaukee. The festival began as an annual picnic for parishioners at Croatian Park. When the church relocated to its current location on 92nd and Congress, the then-Parish Council President Nick Kanavas had the idea to turn the family picnic into a fundraiser for the church. Kanavas and his wife, Min, were the original chairpersons of the festival. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The festival grew in popularity and, in the mid-2000s, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church made the difďŹ cult decision to move the festival away from the church grounds to State Fair Park,â&#x20AC;? says Papachristou. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was mostly due to outgrowing the church grounds and the opportunity to expand the festival further.â&#x20AC;? All proceeds from Greek Fest directly beneďŹ t the Annunciation church and assists in funding its ministries, youth programming and community outreach. It also supports general operations and maintenance of the famous church, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956. It was one of his last projects, but he died before church construction was completed in 1961. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a fundraiser and a chance for the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church community of Milwaukee to put our best hospitality on display for all,â&#x20AC;? Papachristou concludes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We serve our festival-goers as if they were guest in the kitchens of our own homes. We hope everyone comes out to the festival this year and joins us in being Greek for a day.â&#x20AC;? For more information, visit annunciationwi.org. SHEPHERD EXPRESS
friday june 14th 4-8pm
catalano square Food Trucks & Carts Music from Wire & Nail
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ing spo er n tn
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pa r
Beer from Lakefront Brewery
J U N E 13 , 2 0 1 9 | 19
20 | J U N E 13 , 2 0 1 9
SHEPHERD EXPRESS
::A&E
Brought to you by The Milwaukee Art Museum
FEATURE | FILM | THEATRE | ART | BOOKS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | DANCE
SHAKESPEARE (AND MUCH MORE) IN WISCONSIN’S GREAT OUTDOORS THIS SUMMER ::BY JOHN JAHN
is plays have been performed throughout the centuries in many languages and on every continent. Festivals featuring the works of William Shakespeare take to stages around the world every year—performed by major theater companies and small community theaters alike—all honoring, arguably, the greatest playwright in the English language. Although the world has changed substantially since Shakespeare’s time, human nature surely hasn’t. Happiness, sadness, love, lust, greed, hate, ambition—all our emotions are at the heart of every Shakespeare play; that, plus his splendid way with words, has kept The Bard’s works universally, timelessly, relevant. Whether produced under the stars, along the shore or in a park, Shakespeare is performed outdoors every summer. The idea would have seemed utterly de rigueur to Shakespeare, it should be noted; his plays were staged in large, open-air playhouses like The Globe, as well as many outdoor settings, whenever his company was on tour. Indeed, many theater companies throughout Wisconsin offer summer seasons of Shakespeare’s works, but there are several other options, too. Modern plays, plays by local playwrights and classics by George Bernard Shaw, Tennessee Williams, Agatha Christie and many others appear on Wisconsin stages this summer. What follows is your guide to some of the highlights of 2019’s summer theater season throughout our state.
American Players Theatre
Peninsula Players Theater
Situated on 110 acres of hilly woods and meadows, APT has two theaters: a 1,089-seat outdoor amphitheater and 201-seat indoor theater. From June through November, they produce several plays in rotating repertory. Here, Shakespeare’s epically tragic Macbeth runs June 21-Oct. 4. Macbeth, being presented at APT for the first time in nearly two decades, is a tale of friendship betrayed and of a great love utterly wasted.
Peninsula Players Theatre—which started presenting plays with “two planks and a passion” in 1935—is the country’s oldest resident summer theater company. Their four-play season opens with the world premiere of the comedy A Trick of the Light by Peter Moore, which runs June 18-July 7. A middle-aged, married man’s sudden ability to vanish completely—that is, from everyone’s site except for that of his wife—is at the core of the plot. “Playing fast and loose with time, place and imagination [the play] hilariously explores the ordinariness of the extraordinary and exactly what constitutes a life well lived,” the company explains.
5950 Golf Course Road, Spring Green, Sauk County americanplayers.org (608-588-2361)
Door Shakespeare
8093 State Highway 57, Baileys Harbor, Door County doorshakespeare.com (920-839-1500)
Summerstage of Delafield
W329 N846 County Highway C, Kettle Moraine State Park summerstageofdelafield.org (262-337-1560)
“As a member of the audience, you are up close and personal to the action. As dusk falls over the course of the evening, you may take on the role of a confidante or a voyeur. By the end of the evening, when the stars are out and the actors take their final bow, you will feel as though you have come to know this talented ensemble of players,” Door Shakespeare intriguingly puts. Their summer season features two of Shakespeare’s finest works, the historic drama Henry V (June 19-Aug. 24) and comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor (June 19-Aug. 24) in the garden at Björklunden.
Nestled in the scenic park’s Lapham Peak Unit, Summerstage’s rustic outdoor theater presents plays, concerts, magic shows and more in a very relaxed setting. This year, Summerstage presents one of Shakespeare’s most beloved (and bewildering) comedies. It’s a funny, celebratory embrace of the craziness that is love titled Twelfth Night, in which delightful little deceptions and mistaken identities fairly abound. The play runs June 13-29.
Northern Sky Theater
Third Avenue Playhouse
Northern Sky Theater is where, as they describe it, “the smiling and laughing is just infused in the place and the people, no matter what the weather.” They have a three-play summer season, opening with the world premiere of Corrie Beul Kovacs and Stephen Kovacs’ We Like It Where?, running June 12Aug. 24. Its plot is inspired by a true story about Winneconne—a “mouse that roared” situation erupting when this tiny Wisconsin town was inadvertently left off a new state map.
Third Avenue Playhouse (TAP) is Door County’s newest professional theater company (founded in 2000); its lovely 84-seat Studio Theatre is but seven years old. TAP is also the county’s only year-round theater, offering, as they say, “intimate plays in an intimate setting.” TAP’s two-play summer season opens with Marie Kohler’s The Dig (June 27-July 20). In this compelling drama, a young girl becomes separated from her older brother when he sets off on an archeological dig in Lebanon. But there he suffers from a psychological breakdown that changes him forever. Spanning some three decades from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘90s, The Dig dramatizes a belated sense of loss—and acceptance.
Peninsula State Park Amphitheater 10169 Shore Rd., Fish Creek, Door County northernskytheater.com (920-854-6117)
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4351 Peninsula Players Rd., Fish Creek, Door County peninsulaplayers.com (920-868-3287)
239 N. 3rd Ave., Sturgeon Bay, Door County thirdavenueplayhouse.com (920-743-1760)
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::PERFORMINGARTSWEEK For More to Do, visit shepherdexpress.com
THEATRE
CLASSICALMUSIC
I’m a Father “Virtuosi of Piano Dance” Under Construction and PianoArts culminates its 20th-anniat the Milwaukee Art Museum
JUNE 21-23
Join us lakeside and enjoy one of the country’s top art festivals. Artists from across the nation will showcase work inside the Museum’s spectacular building and outdoors in a state of the art clear span tent. Art lovers will also take in all the family fun, music, food, and more!
JOIN US!
MAM.ORG/LFOA 22 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
The new multi-media performance of I’m a Father Under Construction, directed by Kirk Thomsen, explores a complex issue from the perspective of the LGBTQ community. The unscripted show features live music, dance, theatre and visual art. “Even in their absence, we all feel the impact of our fathers. Sometimes, we have to search outside of our own family to find the mentorship and guidance we need from a father figure. Separation, trauma, the passage into adulthood and especially parenting can make us reflect on the expectations we have of the person we call father,” according to 53212 Presents. I’m a Father Under Construction will be the first production by 53212 Presents—a new nonprofit group with a mission of providing affordable rehearsal space and production support for artists of all disciplines whose home addresses, primarily, conclude with the 53212 zip code. As a life-long denizen thereof, I can personally attest to my zip code’s embrace of Milwaukeeans from all walks of life. (John Jahn) June 13-29 in the Grapefruit Studio at Company Brewing, 735 E. Center St. For tickets, visit 53212presents.brownpapertickets.com. For more information about 53212 Presents, visit 53212presents.org.
Romeo and Juliet
For the past four summers, Summit Players Theatre has presented beautifully edited, creatively staged, exuberantly acted, accessible, free, family friendly versions of several of William Shakespeare’s greatest comedies on tour through the Wisconsin State Park system. This summer, the company will bring the same approach to one of Shakespeare’s most popular, best-loved tragedies. If the performances of past summers are any indication, the young company and their excellent director, Maureen Kilmurry, will uncover all the humanity and, yes, humor in Romeo and Juliet and heighten it through generous acting, clever role switches and engaging effects and designs. There’s a first-look pre-tour performance on Friday, June 14, at 7 p.m. on the lawn outside Marquette University’s Helfaer Theater (1304 W. Clybourn St.) The tour includes three additional Milwaukee stops: Friday, June 21, at Havenwoods State Forest; Friday, July 19, at Three Bridges Park; and finally at Havenwoods again on Sunday, July 28, all starting at 7 p.m. In all, 18 shows are planned across the state—most including a pre-show children’s acting and Shakespeare workshop starting at 5:30 p.m. For a list of parks and times, visit summitplayerstheatre. com. (John Schneider)
versary festival with artistic partners who bring musical versatility and new insights into the performance of classical music gems. Performing symphonic works on piano, as well as piano works with dancers, the Varshavski-Shapiro Duo, Aleksandra Kasman, Christopher Taylor (pianists) and choreographer Timothy O’Donnell will bring new vision to great works by Igor Stravinsky, Frédéric Chopin and Ludwig van Beethoven. Piano transcriptions of symphonic works are fairly common; having such choreographed for dancers is not, surely making this concert most intriguing. PianoArts’ festival takes place June 14-16, including more than 20 singers, actors, instrumentalists and dancers. Prior to the concerts, celebrated master teachers present workshops and lectures, bringing further insight into the programs. Concerts and lectures (June 14 and 15) take place in the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 1584 N. Prospect Ave., and on Sunday, June 16, in the Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets and more information, call 414-273-7206 or visit pianoarts.org. (John Jahn)
DANCE
Global Water Dance
Saturday, June 15, at Reservoir Park (810 E. North Ave.), Milwaukee will join 170 sites around the globe to dance for safe water for everyone, everywhere. DanceCircus Dance Company presents the event in partnership with Global Water Dances—an international organization of dance artists formed in England at a 2008 conference on Dance and the Environment. The aim is to inspire international action on water issues “through the universal language of dance.” Each participating company will present a four-part performance. The first two parts— a ceremonial opening followed by an original dance that focuses on specific local water issues—will be created locally. In this case, DanceCircus founder-choreographer Betty Salamun, her dancers and musicians will present one of this activist company’s signature “Splash Dances.” This 15-minute section starts at 2:45 p.m. Then at 3 p.m. our time, performers globally will execute the same dance to the same accompaniment, uniting communities worldwide through movement and music. As a finale, audiences everywhere will join their local performers in a simple movement sequence that Salamun will teach on-site before the show from 1:302:30 p.m. (John Schneider) SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Cocktail Trail CRAFT COCKTAIL COUPON BOOK
Featuring discounts at more than 20 Milwaukee bars and restaurants, Cocktail Trail offers coupons for free or buy-one-get-one drinks at participating establishments until May 2020.
Twisted Path Distillery Lost Whale Boone & Crockett Café Corozón Kegel's Inn
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Milwaukee Sail Loft ABV Social Branded Kindred on KK TAYLORS
Cocktail Trail booklets are available for purchase for $25 online at shepstore.com and at MKE Home, Sparrow Collective, and Beard MKE.
Ale Asylum Riverhouse Black Sheep Rumpus Room Hi Hat Lounge Casablanca
Central Standard Craft Distillery The Original The Diplomat The Wicked Hop
Club Charlies Goodkind Bittercube Crimson Club Fuel Café
J U N E 13 , 2 0 1 9 | 23
A&E::INREVIEW
THE RACINE ZOO PRESENTS:
Cartoonish Characters and Zany Comedy in ‘Not Dead Yet’ ::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ
I
SATURDAY,
JUNE
29 2019 6PM – 9PM
RACINE
ZOO
Sample classic Wisconsin food and beverages! Plus, explore the Zoo! Must by 21 years or older to attend.
2131 N. Main St. Racine, WI 53402 262.636.9189 www.racinezoo.org 24 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
Sunset Playhouse’s ‘Leading Ladies’
SUNSET PLAYHOUSE’S COMEDY OF LOVE, DISHONESTY AND ‘LEADING LADIES’ ::BY RUSS BICKERSTAFF
K
en Ludwig’s retro-farce Leading Ladies brings a light comedy to the stage of Sunset Playhouse. Mike Owens and Brandon C. Haut play a couple of struggling British actors on tour in the U.S. in 1958. Slipping into desperation from the emptiness in their wallets, the two actors are forced to impersonate a couple of women in hopes of collecting a substantial inheritance. Owens summons serious passion as Leo, a man forced to become a woman as he is falling for a woman who doesn’t realize that she is falling for him. Stephanie Pluta has a wistful charm as Meg, an heiress who stands to inherit a fortune along with her two cousins. The actors’ schemes to make off with some of her money stumble as they discover that she has a deep love for the theater. Haut is appealingly stern as Jack. The more reluctant of the two actors, Jack finds inspiration in the arms of a college girl named Audrey who the two men meet on a train. Sarah Briana Monahan is delightfully playful as Audrey. Monahan’s enjoyable comic grace is first seen when she glides around the stage in roller skates. Director Michael Pocaro has a firm grasp of what makes a farce work. The pacing begins slow and gradually increases as the plot launches into greater and greater complexity with a large ensemble of small-town characters. The comedy lightly dances through the importance of love and honesty in a story that isn’t weighted down with heavy satire that could have easily accompanied a story about lies and attempted larceny. It’s a fun couple of hours at the theater. Through June 23 in Sunset Playhouse’s Furlan Auditorium, 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For tickets, visit sunsetplayhouse.com or call 262-782-4430.
t takes talent to fake incompetence as the Milwaukee Entertainment Group proves with their newest play, Not Dead Yet. The company promises to showcase “the disastrously unsuccessful efforts of a buffoonish, egocentric director to stage a murder-mystery play at the Brumder Mansion,” and it keeps its promise with brio by this wacky comedy. The show starts unexpectedly in the lobby, pulling the audience into what could be a thrilling murder-mystery, but the comedic aspect quickly undermines any horrific tones, starting with the absurd names of the characters. Meet Adolf Ebola (Zach Sharrock), who can’t figure out why he always plays Nazis; Bernice Is-not-my-name (Amber Regan), whose name causes as many absurd misunderstandings as you might expect; the ditzy Susie Ditz (Brittany Curran); and E. Orr Block (Chis Goode), the subservient, boot-licking assistant to Cameron James Pinehurst III (Dennis Lewis). To complete the cast, Cara Johnston plays the cat woman Ginger Catz, the threat looming over the group. An honorable mention goes to Babyface, the world’s richest baby, whose fortune is entirely self-made (he got his first million by the first trimester!). Although the characters keep dropping dead, there is no real mystery or tension, just laughter. You shouldn’t watch Not Dead Yet for the plot—in fact, you can distinctly hear it shatter in the last act—but for the entertainment provided by its colorful, unbelievably cartoonish characters. Bernice, for instance, is a constant source of hilarity due to her uninterrupted drinking throughout the entire show; she pulls a surprising amount of wine glasses, vodka bottles and margaritas out of her bag of neverending alcohol. All the humor is similarly nonsensical, and it often breaks the fourth wall, but top-notch acting keeps the production together. The result is lively and engaging, although it is not very refined. The script is an original work by playwright Andrew Peterson. It makes the Brumder Mansion not only the setting of the play but also its own character. The show was specifically built around the Victorian building, and as the mansion is supposedly haunted, ghosts do end up on stage. Through June 22 at the Brumder Mansion, 3046 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets and more information, visit milwaukeeentertainmentgroup.com. SHEPHERD EXPRESS
A&E::VISUALART
#*( 501 $)"("-- 4)&#"/(
SPONSORED BY
FUN FOR THE
OPENINGS:
ENTIRE FAMILY!
Circus treats, juggling lessons, hula hooping, circus-inspired dance, balloon twisting, cirus makeup and a make-your-own-circus print workshop! Â
+VOF UP QN
Under the Big Top next to the Jewish Museum Milwaukee Â
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nares: Movesâ&#x20AC;?
June 14-Oct. 6 Milwaukee Art Museum â&#x20AC;˘ 700 N. Art Museum Drive The Milwaukee Art Museum presents the first retrospective for New Yorkbased artist James Nares, titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nares: Moves.â&#x20AC;? This exhibit will explore the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s films as central to his artistic practice. It will highlight Naresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; significance to contemporary art through his photographs, drawings, paintings and sculptures. Nares dedicated his 50-year-long career to focusing attention on motion by variously creating, capturing and manipulating, as he once described it, â&#x20AC;&#x153;things in motion, motion in things.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;James Nares is a prolific, perpetual creator. I first worked with the artist when I was at the Museum of Contemporary Art-Jacksonville and decided then that I wanted to explore the full breadth of his work and share it with a broader national audience,â&#x20AC;? says exhibition curator Marcelle Polednik. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nares is not constrained by any one medium. A central figure of punk rock and New Wave cinema in New York in the â&#x20AC;&#x2122;70s, he has remained curious and innovative as his work has broadened and matured. His influence on the artists and art of New York is indelible; placing his work in the canon of art history allows us to more fully understand the development and nature of contemporary art.â&#x20AC;? For more information, visit mam.org.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Temari: Decorative Japanese Thread Ballsâ&#x20AC;?
Event Sponsors: Brico Fund â&#x20AC;˘ Young Leadership Division of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation
Chagallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Le Cirque is organized by the Rahr-West Art Museum, City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Portfolio Image detail: M-512 Š 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.
Major Sponsors: Brico Fund â&#x20AC;˘ Greater Milwaukee Foundation - The Robert L. & Dolores Schlossmann Fund â&#x20AC;˘ Anonymous Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation â&#x20AC;˘ Kohl Philanthropies â&#x20AC;˘ Milwaukee Arts Board
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The Go-to Site for Everything Cannabis
Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Lynden Sculpture Garden â&#x20AC;˘ 2145 W. Brown Deer Road
The practice of making temari originated in China and made its way to Japan, where it is said that Japanese noblewomen, confined within castle walls during times of war in the feudal period, made the decorative balls for their children. Temari are now made by mothers and grandmothers for a new child on New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. In Edie Whittenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshop, participants will spend the day learning to make one of these beautiful thread jewels as a gift or decoration. Starting with a Styrofoam core, they will focus on the different stages of creating a simple 10-division/five-petal designâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from padding the ball, to covering it with a thread wrap, to finishing it using a Kiku herringbone stitch. For more information and to register, call 414-446-8794 or visit lyndensculpturegarden.org.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bonsai for Beginnersâ&#x20AC;?
Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Lynden Sculpture Garden â&#x20AC;˘ 2145 W. Brown Deer Road â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bonsai for Beginnersâ&#x20AC;? is a workshop with the Milwaukee Bonsai Society. Bonsai, incidentally, is living sculpture; unlike traditional sculpture, it changes from day to day, season to season and year to year. Because it is never â&#x20AC;&#x153;finished,â&#x20AC;? it celebrates all of nature: its cycles, harshness, resilience and balance. Bonsai is for people who enjoy art, nature, trees, gardening and sculpture, combining the principles of design with the science of horticulture. Participants in this workshop will create a bonsai from a dwarf schefflera (an indoor plant). In the class, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll design their bonsai and transplant it into a ceramic container. This is a hands-on class in which participants learn the basic principles and techniques of bonsai design and how to work in harmony with nature. The goal? Return home with the bonsai you created in the class and a new appreciation for the world of trees! For more information and to register, call 414-446-8794 or visit lyndensculpturegarden.org.
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Make. Mingle. Monet. Inspiration this way. Thousands of works of art and endless inspirationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all on Milwaukeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lakefront.
mam.org/visit J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | 25
A&E::FILM
[ FILM CLIPS ] Late Night R Television’s only female, late-night talk-show host, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), tries to repair her woman-hating reputation by adding Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) to her allmale writer’s room. Then, Katherine learns her ratings are in the dumps, and cancellation of her show looms. Determined to save her job, Katherine taps into Molly’s fearless naiveté to reinvent her comedic style. Following Late Night’s debut at Sundance, Amazon Studios paid a record $13 million for U.S. distribution rights. Kaling penned the script, hoping Thompson would play Katherine; Thompson aces it! (Lisa Miller)
Men in Black: International PG-13 Working out of the Men in Black London office, agents M (Tessa Thompson) and H (Chris Hemsworth) take orders from Agent O (Emma Thompson) and advice from veteran Agent T (Liam Nee‘The Dead Don’t Die’
‘The Dead Don’t Die’ in Jim Jarmusch’s Zombie Comedy
sources—but the secretary of energy denounces alarmists and “so-called scientists” who want to take away jobs from “our great country.” “Shouldn’t it be getting dark out?” asks the waitress at Centerville’s diner, a lunch counter perfectly preserved circa 1959. She is as clueless as most everyone else in Centerville (and our great country). Something weird is going on; the TV is a background drone of catastrophe after catastrophe and everyone but Hermit Bob is numb, oblivious to the significance. Farmer Frank (Steve Buscemi), at the far side of clueless, drinks coffee at the diner next to Hank (Danny Glover). Frank wears a red hat with the motto, KEEP AMERICA WHITE AGAIN. The wording is as subliterate as a White House tweet ::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN and likewise loudly shouts its meaning. And then, a hand (it’s Iggy Pop!) reaches riter-director Jim Jar- up through the soil in the cemetery and a body musch works on paral- clambers from out of the grave. The zombies are lel tracks with The Dead here, pale-faced, dirt-splattered and moronically Don’t Die: On one side, stumbling around consuming everyone in their it’s a fond genre spoof of way. They gorge themselves on human flesh but zombie movies, while on the other, it’s a sat- are also obsessed with whatever preoccupied ire of a society staggering dumb and blind them in life, whether coffee, candy or oxycontin. into the abyss. And yes, say it again: “This isn’t going to The Dead Donʼt Die unfolds in the small town end well.” of Centerville, “A Real Nice Place” its welcome Jarmusch’s affectionate sense of humor keeps sign proclaims. The leading characters are intro- The Dead Donʼt Die from turning grim, and his duced at the onset. Police Chief Cliff Robertson warm, amused interest in people sweetens the (Bill Murray) is a reasonable-minded lawman dark theme of a hopeless future. Even when the tiredly shuffling toward retirement. Officer Ron- authorities, led by Robertson and Peterson, acnie Peterson (Adam Driver) is a little itchier on cept that it’s impossible to avoid the reality of the trigger when they encounter Hermit Bob unprecedented events, they have no solution. (Tom Waits) in the woods. Trudging under the The most able person in town is the most eccenweight of a massive gray beard tric, a mysterious newcomer, the and head of hair, Bob appears cramortician Zelda Winston (Tilda zy but perhaps is the sanest person The Dead Swinton), who worships Budin town. At least, he can see where dha and wields a samurai sword. Don’t Die society is headed and makes it The only way to “kill” a zombie Bill Murray clear in his gravel-voiced disgust (they’re already dead!) is to sever Adam Driver that he wants no part in it. their heads. Suffice it to add, Cen“Something weird is going terville’s problems aren’t isolated Directed by on,” Peterson says. He adds, in but part of a worldwide calamity. Jim Jarmusch a Cassandra-like line he repeats The Dead Donʼt Die displays Rated R throughout the film, “This isn’t its idiosyncrasies and social comgoing to end well.” mentary without the benefit of The weirdness is everywhere. subtlety while deploying irony and Watches stop, cellphones lose their signal, the zaniness to overcome the challenge facing any police call radio turns to fuzz, TV broadcasts cut zombie movie: those grunting morons of rotting in and out—and above all, the sun isn’t rising or flesh are kinda dull, one-dimensional. But then, setting at the right times. Some say it’s the result so are many of the living inhabitants of Centerof “polar fracking”—the Earth has been yanked ville as they mindlessly echo each other and the off its axis by careless exploitation of natural re- media around them.
W
26 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
son). To keep humanity safe from the extraterrestrials who make themselves at home here, the agents quietly manage both the small and cute along with the large and awkward. Then, Earth is attacked by shape-shifters known as the Hive. Sounds like one or more good guys get impersonated, as coworkers struggle to figure out who is who. Hemsworth and Thompson are likable, but can you see them summoning pitch-perfect snarkiness? Me neither. (L.M.)
Shaft R If you wonder why Shaft needs more sequels, perhaps it’s to bring back Richard Roundtree (age 76) in the titular role. Here he helps his nephew, Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson), and greatnephew, Shaft Jr. (Jessie T. Usher), solve a homicide that’s gotten personal. The script lands few comedic punches. It also received $15 million from Netflix, which bought the right to air Shaft a mere two weeks after its theatrical release. (L.M.)
[ HOME MOVIES / NOW STREAMING ] n Iceman
Set in the Alpine foothills 6,000 years ago, Iceman (2019) imagines Neolithic life with plausibility. The people live in wooden hovels; they milk goats, hunt and gather, weave and worship. It’s not a bucolic utopia. German director Felix Randau crafts a story of mass murder and vengeance. The stone-age folk speak an unknown language and there are no subtitles. The film is interesting for visually showing, not verbally telling, everything the audience needs to know.
n White Chamber
The key scenes in White Chamber resemble a theater set—a person trapped inside a translucent cube held inside a metal framework. It’s a punishment chamber of many facets, a science lab, a place of dialogue and encounter between torturer and tortured. Set in a near future British civil war, White Chamber (2019) is a provocative examination of repression, rebellion, terrorism, disorder—the ways that violence breeds vengeance and right and wrong can easily be suspended.
n Money for Nothing
John Cusack plays a semi-employed longshoreman molested by Lady Luck. When $1.2 million in hundred-dollar bills falls off the back of an armored truck, Joe (Cusack) is the guy who stumbles onto the money bags. So now what: Return the money? Invest it legitimately? Give it to Mob money-launderers? The mood is light and the 1993 dialogue remains amusing. Check out young Benicio Del Toro as a mobster and James Gandolfini as an honest man.
n “Bonanza: The Official Ninth Season, Volumes One & Two”
“Bonanza” (1959-1973) coincided with the final florescence of the western as a staple in America’s cultural diet. As seen in these 34 episodes collected on a pair of DVD sets, “Bonanza” was state of the art for ’60s TV westerns. It boasted likeable, well-rounded regular characters, led by the stern but fair patriarch of the Ponderosa Ranch. Life was hard. Smirking psychotic killers in cowboy hats stalked the range where cattle were driven under purple mountains. —David Luhrssen SHEPHERD EXPRESS
::OFFTHECUFF
::BOOKS
::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN
T
he body count mounts as the dead drift to shore. In Jeffrey Perso’s novel Water Bodies, the Mississippi River is a highway of doom and the city identified only as “L” is a charnel house. The landscape is fetid with greasy bridges, carrion birds feeding on roadkill and decay. The people are as squalid as the town they inhabit. The darkness is so unrelenting that one expects to find ghouls—maybe even the tentacles of Cthulhu rising from the rank waters. But in the end, the monsters are man-made. “It’s genre bending,” Perso says. “My publisher”—Texas small press Black Rose Writing—“decided to put it in the mystery-thriller genre. I think of it as literary fiction embedded in satire and mystery.” The Milwaukee author set Water Bodies in a reimagined version of his birthplace, La Crosse, Wis. “I’m more interested in the emotional and psychological landscape. But the locality gives it specificity as a springboard into larger themes of human folly and hubris,” he says. Some of Water Bodies is directly drawn from real life. The idiot Sheriff Bubbow is based on Milwaukee’s David Clarke and the string of deaths along the river is inspired by rumors swirling around real events in Wisconsin a few years ago. “People have always been drowning in rivers,” Perso says. “But the response [in old media and social media] got me thinking that today, nothing can be what it is. Everything’s got to be nefarious—there has to be a criminal conspiracy, stalkers behind everything. It was ripe for satire.” The people of L are fearful and alone, clutching at guns for security and conspiracy theories for answers. The satire is folded into an almost gothic sequence of images conjuring an unhealthy terrain of human misdeeds. One expects the streets of L to converge on the House of Usher. “We’re living in a real horror show with humanity’s mistreatment of the Earth,” Perso says. Perso will discuss Water Bodies at 7 p.m. Friday, June 14, at Woodland Pattern Book Center, 720 E. Locust St.; and 6 p.m. Friday, June 21, at Voyageur Book Shop, 2212 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Helping Adults to Read
OFF THE CUFF WITH RACINE LITERACY COUNCIL’S STEVEN MUSSENDEN::BY JENNY MAURER
T
he global adult literacy rate has improved over the past 50 years from about 50% to 86%. Still, according to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2016, more than 30 million adults could not read. One organization helping reduce this number is the Racine Literacy Council (RLC). Beyond its mission of teaching adults to read, the non-profit organization has expanded by offering computer classes, financial management courses and driver’s education. Steven Mussenden, executive director since 2015, discusses how he arrived at RLC, its mission and what he would like to achieve in the years ahead.
What brought you to the Racine Literacy Council? I started working at nonprofits right around 2006. I worked with the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, started on their board and made my way to president of the organization. I worked with a lot of business owners in Milwaukee. One of the things that was a reoccurring issue was the lack of education. Some entrepreneurs may have had a great product or great service, but they didn’t have the education background that they needed to make their businesses successful. I figured if I’m going to work with entrepreneurs, why not start working with them from the beginning stages and that’s the education component. What accomplishment by the Racine Literacy Council are you the proudest of in the time you’ve been here? The implementation of our most recent program, the high school equivalency diploma (HSED) program. This May 22, eight people graduated with their high school equivalency diploma. Of the eight students graduating, six of them have already indicated that they will be seeking post-secondary education. I am really excited and looking forward to expanding this program into the next semester. How does the RLC work with other organizations? Currently, we are trying to get an inmate program. A lot of times, there’s a high rate of recidivism because they [former prisoners] either don’t have an education or don’t have a job. The Racine Literacy Council can step in and provide literacy services prior to them leaving. The hope is that, once they come out, they become students here. That pushes them forward and gives them a positive outlook on things as opposed to thinking they have to do what they did previously to make ends meet.
How can people become involved with helping the literacy council? We are always in need of volunteers. Right now, we are trying to work with the Racine Unified School District. I’m from Kenosha and in Kenosha, they [the school districts] have mandatory community engagement for the students. They must complete a certain number of hours of community service. I’d like to incorporate that, so students can get an idea of what they want to navigate towards. This gives them the idea of what a work environment looks like. For the adults, all we want is two hours a week. It’s difficult because we are so reliant on having volunteers or tutors come in that it can determine how many students we take in. If we have a flush of tutors, we can probably get up to 300 students a year.
DAVE ZYLSTRA
Milwaukee Novelist Pens a Dark Satire of a Midwest Town
CARROLL STUDIOS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
BOOK|PREVIEW
Is there anything else you would like to add? One of the things I am going to start focusing on in the fiscal year of 2019 to 2020 is really taking a grassroots approach of getting into the community. I had an experience where I was out in the community taking care of business for the office and I ran across two people literally around the corner. They didn’t know about the Literacy Council. I thought it was amazing that they lived around the corner while we’ve been here for 15 to 20 years. I mentioned it to them, an older lady and a younger gentleman, and she said, “my grandson wants to take his Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) written test.” Two days later, a man comes in asking for CDL training and tells us his grandmother told him to come here. That was just an interaction with the community, walking down the street. You need to get out and start talking to the people and I think that’s the next thing I’m going to try to accomplish. Steven Mussenden
SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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Kids These Days! Dear Ruthie, What’s up with kids these days? They’re dicks. Everyone agrees that millennials are just awful, self-centered, righteous pricks. What can we do to live and work with them?
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Sincerely, Fed-Up Fredrick
Dear Old Man, You better sit down, sweetness, because I have some news for you. Ready? Set? You’re officially old. Sorry to have to be the one to break it to you. Pretty much every generation believes the one (or two) after it are nutty, crazy kids with no respect for their elders. Millennials are just the current victim du jour of this reaction to youngins. Whether it’s “turn down that music” or “those jeans are too tight” or “cool it with the hairspray” or “kids just aren’t as respectful as we were,” there has always been a lack of understanding from one generation to the next... and I don’t predict that ending any time soon. Social media, the way we communicate and an overabundance of information has likely amplified generalizations about millennials, so let’s give them a break, shall we? After all, I’m willing to bet your parents and grandparents had quite a few misgivings about your generation as well. Now, turn down that goddamn rock ’n‘ roll, get some sleep
::RUTHIE’SSOCIALCALENDAR June 12—NEWaukee Night Market at West Wisconsin Avenue (between Plankinton and Vel R. Phillips Ave.): It’s back! The city’s coolest after-dark street fest opens the season with local vendors, artists and performers. Don’t miss the food trucks, family games and s’mores. Yes... I said s’mores! Relish this Cream City specialty from 5-10 p.m., and feel free to drop by newaukee.com for additional info. June 12—‘New Kids on the Block: The MixTape Tour’ at Fiserv Forum (1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave.): Rock out when your favorite performers from the ’80s and ’90s stride into Brew Town for a 7:30 p.m. concert. Enjoy NKOTB along with special guests Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Salt-N-Pepa and Naughty by Nature. Tickets start at $29 and are available through ticketmaster.com. June 13—LGBT+ Adults Game Night at Milwaukee LGBT Community Center (1110 N. Market St.): Join this adults-only sober space for mixing, mingling and mastering board games. Bring a game or partake in one of the center’s favorites during the 5-7:30 p.m. get-together. This casual night occurs the second Thursday of every month. June 13—Latinx and LGBTQ+ Support Group at Aurora Walker’s Point Clinic (130 W. Bruce St. Ste 200): Struggling with your sexual and/or ethnic identity? There’s no need to feel alone. Join this 5:30-7 p.m. support group. Hosted by the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, this new group seeks to offer healing, friendship and support. Call 414-271-2656 with questions. June 13—Wisconsin LGBT Chamber’s Pride Business Showcase at U.S. Bank (1 S. Pinckney St., Madison): Why not celebrate pride month by networking with business owners that support the state’s LGBTQ community? Hosted by the LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Out Professional Engagement Network and U.S. Bank, it’s one mixer you don’t want to miss. The 5:30-7:30 p.m. event is free and open to the public, so hit the road and head to Madison for the eye-opening showcase. June 13—Drag Roulette at Hamburger Mary’s (730 S. Fifth St.): Considered one of the best drag cabarets in town, Hamburger Mary’s steps things up with this all-new 7:30 p.m. show. Favorite local queens are put through the ringer when the audience gets involved, deciding what numbers they’ll do and mixing things up so much that the poor girls don’t know which end is up! See who comes out on top during the nutty show. (There is a $10 minimum purchase, so grab an appetizer, drinks and/or dinner with the show.) June 14—Broadway Blockbuster Singalong at Sunset Playhouse (700 Wall St., Elm Grove):“Sing out, Louise!”Whether you love a good sing-along, consider yourself a showtune queen or simply like a good old-fashioned cabaret, settle in for a great time with this offering from Sunset Playhouse. Singer Carolyn Wehner hosts the $24 night that starts at 8 p.m. Stop over at sunsetplayhouse.com for tickets. June 15—Lesbian Pop-Up Bar at This Is It! (418 E. Wells St.): Enjoy two-for-one drink specials, a DJ, dancing and lots of friendly faces when you stop by this roving party. The 7 p.m. monthly event promises to be one you add to your social calendar regularly. Come on down and check it out! June 15-16—‘On With the Show’ by Women’s Voices Milwaukee at Next Act Theatre (255 S. Water St.): One of Milwaukee’s longest-running female choral group pays homage to America’s all-time favorite movie soundtracks and Broadway hits with this concert. Featuring music from A Star is Born, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Mama Mia, The Wizard of Oz and other classics, it’s sure to strike a chord with everyone. Take in the 7:30 p.m. concert on the 15th or enjoy the 2 p.m. performance on the 16th. Nab your $18 tickets at nextact.org. June 19—LGBT Coffee Connection at Summit Credit Union (2159 Miller Park Way): The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce is serving up piping hot Joe (no... no... no... that’s not a neighbor from my trailer park!) once again. Grab a free cup from 8-9 a.m. and make a few new friends and/or business contacts. Ask Ruthie a question or share your events with her at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on Instagram @ ruthiekeester and Facebook at Dear Ruthie. Season one of her reality drag competition, “Camp Wannakiki” is currently available on YouTube. Comment at shepherdexpress.com n
and give these kids a break, would ya?
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SHEPHERD EXPRESS
::MYLGBTQPoint of View
Reviewing Pride Weekend 2019 ::BY PAUL MASTERSON
A
s we bask in the afterglow of another successful Milwaukee PrideFest with its record attendance of 45,787, a Pride Parade with a record 136 marching units, the fifth anniversary of marriage equality in Wisconsin (announced at PrideFest 2014’s opening ceremony), we should take a moment to reflect on our ever-increasing visibility as a community (and, in fact, as a nation) that these events reflect. Symbolically, more so than during any Pride Month past, our flags are everywhere. A veritable sea of flags, in fact. The Pride Parade units and viewers flew and wore anything and everything rainbow, of course, representing transgender, bi, bear, leather communities and more. Back in the winter of 2005-’06, a committee met in the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center with a mission to line South Second Street with rainbow flags along the Pride Parade route with the rainbow banners year-round. Back then, we had a passionate enthusiasm to not only spruce up the Walkers Point gayborhood but also give us visibility. As secretary, I composed the letter hand-delivered to local businesses to support the flag project. All but one (a now defunct flooring concern) embraced the idea, but that single objection was enough for the city to kill the continuous installation and reduce it to a single month. They proudly still fly each June, but now, a
dozen years later, Milwaukee has a permanent rainbow crosswalk at Cathedral Square. Also this year, for the first time and thanks to Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order, Wisconsin’s statehouse flies a rainbow flag for Pride Month (of course, as if on cue, State Assembly Republicans decried the act of inclusion, acceptance and recognition as “divisive”). Our professional sports franchises now offer rainbow pride apparel and hold Pride Night events. Beyond Milwaukee, the colors of LGBTQ pride can be seen everywhere. You can even bake a six-layer rainbow cake thanks to a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. A bisexual Sikh garnered tens of thousands of likes and shares on social media rocking a rainbow turban. And, despite an order not to fly a rainbow flag at U.S. Embassies, some resisted and raised one anyway. Meanwhile, we were joined by our politicians, including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and city, county and state leaders, as well as Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas, who all appeared at PrideFest, the Pride Parade or both. The 2019 Pride Parade’s marching contingents featured dozens upon dozens of LGBTQ organizations, bars, allied businesses, affirming religious groups, families and individuals like GAMMA president “Bim,” who appeared, as he inevitably does, arrayed in a sequined and beglittered tux and cape as his alter-ego, West Allis’ favorite son and gay icon, Liberace. The crowds, too, represented the broad diversity of the community and its allies. At times, the parade route up South Second Street was reduced to a single lane as the masses of attendees surged to cheer the marchers. Perhaps the most inspiring takeaway was a palpable sense of LGBTQ pride across the demographics of age, gender and ethnicities that both PrideFest and the Pride Parade conveyed. In today’s often discordant world, it is reassuring to see the beaming smiles celebrating a common cause. It gave me hope.
PERHAPS THE MOST INSPIRING TAKEAWAY WAS A PALPABLE SENSE OF LGBTQ PRIDE ACROSS THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF AGE, GENDER AND ETHNICITIES THAT BOTH PRIDEFEST AND THE PRIDE PARADE CONVEYED.
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SHEPHERD EXPRESS
::MUSIC MUSIC
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Pentatonix
Pentatonix Goes ‘Pops’ on Current Tour
time, the group started a YouTube channel, on which it posted videos of songs (mostly their versions of hit songs like “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye, “Gangman Style” by PSY and “We Are Young” by Fun), many of which went viral. But the big one was a medley of Daft Punk songs, which got 10 million views in the first week of its release in November 2013 and went on to top 150 million views. ::BY ALAN SCULLEY With those achievements in hand, Pentatonix landed a major label deal with RCA, releasing a steady stream of music—three EPs, two holiday albums and the 2015 cott Hoying, vocalist in the a cappella group Pentatonix, adself-titled release. mits that doing an album of current top 40 covers, such as the But by 2017, the time for a pit stop had arrived. The wear and tear from six group’s latest album, Top Pops, Vol. 1, could be seen as a step years of work prompted Kaplan to leave Pentatonix, and the group as a whole back, considering it comes after a self-titled album on which the was ready to tackle some outside musical ventures. “Basically, we had been gogroup upped the creative ante by recording only original songs. ing non-stop for six years,” Hoying says. “Then when Avi decided he needed to take time for himself and leave the group, we were like this is a good time, while “Yeah, there were a handful of fans that were, like, why would they go we search for a new bass, which we don’t want to rush. We all can become creback to just top 40 stuff?” Hoying acknowledges. But there were good reasons why doing their versions of recent pop atively refreshed and do our own things.” That’s exactly what happened. Hoying and Grassi released an EP by their side hits, even if it would be seen as being less ambitious than the Pentatogroup, Superfruit, while Maldonado did a solo EP, LOVE, and performed on Broadway nix album, was the right project at the right time for the group. For one in Kinky Boots. And while those projects were under way, Matt Sallee emerged from a thing, the group realized that taking hit songs and reinventing them as pool of 80 applicants as the choice to replace Kaplan. a cappella performances was what fans like most about Pentatonix. Not wanting a long gap between Pentatonix releases, doing an album of re“We decided we wanted to kind of go back to our roots for a seccent (or newer) top 40 covers became an idea that made practical ond,” Hoying says. “What started Pentatonix and what kind sense. “Doing an original album takes months and months. We can of blew us up was doing covers, kind of the charm of what we did. do a cover album in like about a month or less,” Hoying says. “So not Then we kind of graduated into originals, which was great. But we Pentatonix only did Top Pop bring us back to our roots, it was more time effifelt like we, in some ways, had lost that original charm of Pentatonix. cient and it was during a pretty stressful time.” Fiserv Forum So this album was a way to bring that back.” Top Pop, Vol. 1 is perhaps a bit safe, but is nonetheless entertaining, as Hoying is right on the money in pinpointing that path that made PenTuesday, the quintet deftly blends voices and vocally created beats and bass lines tatonix a platinum-selling success story. June 8, on such hits as Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” Charlie Puth’s “Attention,” PorThe Pentatonix story goes back to 2011, when high school friends 7:30 p.m. tugal, The Man’s “Feel It Still” and a medley of Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” and from Arlington, Texas—Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado and Mitch Grassi— Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” decided to audition for the NBC show “The Sing-Off.” In learning that Now on tour in support of the new album, Hoying promised a show groups needed at least five members, the trio recruited bass vocalist Avi that runs about a half-hour longer than any previous Pentatonix show, plenty of Kaplan and singer/beat boxer Kevin “K.O.” Olusola, to complete the lineup. choreography and a visual presentation suited to the amphitheaters that are hosting Pentatonix won season three of “The Sing-Off,” claiming the top prize of $200,000 the concerts, complete with huge video screens that emulate the cover of the new and a deal with Epic Records. But before Pentatonix could even release an album, album. Says Hoying, “Since these crowds are so massive and these venues are so cool, Epic dropped the group, feeling Pentatonix didn’t fit the label’s plans. we wanted our production to, like, really be big and extravagant, so everyone all the Undeterred, the group got signed by Madison Gate, a small Sony-owned label way in the back can see the screens. We wanted it to be an experience.” that mostly released soundtracks. Madison Gate released a debut EP, PTX, Volume 1, Pentatonix performs at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m. in June 2012, followed that November by a Christmas EP, PTXmas. Around the same
SHEPHERD EXPRESS
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::CONCERTREVIEW
Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore: A Hell of a Fun Time at Shank Hall ::BY ANDY TURNER
I
t took three decades of friendship before Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore realized it might be a good idea to play music together and record some songs. Fortunately for Milwaukee music fans, this longforming but riveting realization—debuting on last year’s Downey to Lubbock on Yep Roc—appeared in physical form at a packed Shank Hall on Thursday, June 6, when Alvin and Gilmore, backed by Alvin’s Guilty Ones, turned lost time into a hell of a fun time. The show began and ended with the melding of the folk standard “Down by the Riverside” into the “Downey to Lubbock” title track, which mythologies Alvin and Gilmore’s pasts over a Tarheel Slim, “Wildcat Tamer” riff. Interestingly, they used a recording of the song at the beginning and performed the song themselves to end the evening, perfectly capping a show that saw them repeatedly touching on their musical heroes and inspirations. While Alvin’s Stratocaster fireworks as always were a major source of delight, the duo’s stories and banter between songs were also engaging, including the story of how the late singer-songwriter Steve Young told both Alvin and Gilmore at different times that he had written the song “Silverlake” specifically for each man. Alvin also told how they had seen some of the same artists in the 1960s at the famed Ash Grove folk music club in Los Angeles (which Alvin has paid tribute to previously with the song and album of the same title), including Lightnin’ Hopkins, who had a similar earthshattering impact on both men. Thought of mainly as a crooner during his time as a member of the Flatlanders and in his solo work, the 74-year-old Gilmore unleashed, quite convincingly, his inner ’50s R&B whaler on songs like Hopkins’ “Buddy Brown’s Blues” and the Lloyd Price classic “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” Unexpectedly, Gilmore also served a direct role in a couple’s romance, when he announced a man’s marriage proposal to a fellow concertgoer and, apparently from the post-announcement kiss, future life partner. Ever the jokester, Alvin followed Gilmore’s real announcement with a “second announcement” that a “Jenny” wanted a divorce from a certain “Jim,” without missing a beat. In addition to songs from their album together, the men also dipped into their individual catalogs, with rousing versions of “Fourth of July,” “My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own,” and “Marie, Marie.” Gilmore’s “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown,” the second song performed, came off as a bit of a toss-off. The Guilty Ones, including drummer Lisa Pankratz, a Texan who previously pounded the beat for Ronnie “the Blond Bomber” Dawson, were superb. When Pankratz really got going, she made a fierce face that seemed to bring out her inner savage. She made quite the fiery combo with her husband, bassist Brad Fordham, and guitarist Chris Miller. Performing acoustically with a member of his band, Taylor Scott performed groove-focused, blues-and-country-influenced originals that were warmly received by the audience.
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::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE
FRIDAY, JUNE 14
Chris Haise Band Album Release w/ Zach Pietrini, Cullah and The Comrades @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., 7 p.m.
The title cut of the Chris Haise Band’s sophomore album Suburban View updates the lyrical question, “there is something going on here and you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?” No surprise, considering Haise has long studied in the halls of Bob Dylan and Randy Newman. Engage Haise in conversation and you get a young guy who is well-versed in the humanist side of current politics and admits he has more questions than answers. Which, coupled with his prodigious musical gifts, makes Haise the ideal ear on the ground.
The Earls of Leicester w/ Jerry Douglas @ Turner Hall, 7 p.m.
The Earls of Leicester began as something of a tribute to the legacy of Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Any band led by dobro master Jerry Douglas is going to be respected, and fiddler Johnny Warren plays the same violin his dad played when he was a member of the Foggy Mountain Boys. But keep an eye and ear on de-facto frontman Shawn Camp. As versatile and talented as they come, Camp is a virtuoso flatpicker who co-wrote songs with the late Guy Clark. Music fans still talk about the Milwaukee house concert he played at the Jahnke Loft Series.
King Courteen @ Colectivo at the Lake, 7 p.m.
Growing up, King Courteen’s family surrounded him with music. The songwriter nailed his craft busking and as a fixture at local open mics. A noted woodworker, he is also one of the few people you will meet who took their moniker in honor of a Milwaukee building. Colectivo at the Lake’s Friday Nite Music Series, showcasing local singer-songwriters, runs through Aug. 30.
Wobblyhead 20 Reunion Show w/ Def Harmonic, Signaldrift, Casino Versus Japan, DJs OneF, Rob Sevier and Old Man Malcolm @ Cactus Club, 9 p.m.
Rich Menning has contributed a lot to Milwaukee. Currently an MPS educator, his long-gone music store, Atomic Records, was a cultural nexus (though no one ever called it that) serving as, among other things, a source of employment for musicians, fanzine publishers and incubator for Wobblyhead, the record label started by Atomic employees Jeff Baumann, Mark Moore and Erik Kowalski. It will be interesting to hear the evolution of the sounds and music performed by these artists that began as personal projects and gained the label a well-earned following as the years went by.
SATURDAY, JUNE 15 Mary Rodgers Album Release and Bailey Dee! @ Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee’s loss was Nashville’s gain. WAMI award-winning saxophonist Mary Rodgers played with ska band The Invaders, greasy roots-rockers the Uptown Savages, Midwest Death Rattle and Dead Man’s Carnival before moving to Music City. She returns for the release of her debut album To the Ghost of Mary Rodgers...
SUNDAY JUNE, 16
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit w/ Father John Misty and special guest Jade Bird @ BMO Harris Pavilion, 6 p.m.
Jason Isbell may be one of the best songwriters of his generation whose literate, succinctly crafted songs gain depth with each listen. Likewise, his wicked guitar playing gets to the point both loudly electric and delicately fingerpicked. Father John Misty is a performance artist or pop music shape-shifter, his history pockmarked with false signals that lead to question marks, dead ends or therapy sessions. He’s been compared to John Lennon, Leonard Cohen and writer Philip Roth—all known for refracting their life in their publicly released work.
TUESDAY, JUNE 18
Chill on the Hill w/ Rose of the West and Trapper Schoepp with York Bishop @ Humboldt Park Band Chalet, 6 p.m.
Every Tuesday through August 27, the Bay View natural amphitheater is home to a wide swath of the city’s best local music. Family friendly, pet-friendly, populated with local food trucks and beer vendors, the weekly gathering has grown each year. If Trapper Schoepp were to retire tomorrow he can say this “I co-wrote a song with Bob Dylan.” Sure Dylan’s lyric sheet was from 1961, but his people gave Schoepp the green light to finish the song. Fortunately Schoepp has shown no signs of giving up music. His album Primetime Illusion was produced by Wilco’s Patrick Sansone. The lush mournfulness of Rose of the West’s music found its way to an episode of the Netflix series You. If front-woman Gina Barrington’s glass seems half-full, the songs on the band’s self-titled debut reflect experiences that get channeled into art. York Bishop opens the show. SHEPHERD EXPRESS
CLAY PATRICK MCBRIDE
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::BY ALAN SCULLEY
t has been said that people are products of where and how they grew up. Leigh Kakaty, vocalist of Pop Evil, seems to buy into that idea, saying his group’s music is very much a product of his Muskegon, Mich., hometown roots. On a musical level, that experience translates into a rock band that is anything but a one-trick pony stylistically. The ability of Pop Evil to show musical variety within their melodic hard rock-metalcore sound and a cohesive point of view lyrically has never been more apparent than on the group’s fifth album, a self-titled effort. “The big thing with Pop Evil is we’ve always been that band that had that yin and yang effect,” Kakaty said. “We never really got into music because we wanted to play one style of music all the time. We’d get bored. I think that’s a direct reflection that I don’t think fans always realize of the Midwest. It’s kind of like we’re the test market, especially Michigan, we’re the test market for a lot of things. So, we were always exposed to all kinds of different genres. Even on our local alternative rock or rock stations, it was always a bit of blend of rock, metal and alternative. So, we’re very much a product of that.” Kakaty feels Pop Evil touched on different styles within the hard rock/metal spectrum on its first four albums. But the selftitled album (2018) is the best representation of the band’s music, particularly when it comes to finding a heavier and harder edge to the Pop Evil sound. Working for the first time with a writing and recording schedule that didn’t rush the process, the group members— Kakaty, rhythm guitarist Dave Grahs, lead guitarist Nick Fuelling, bassist Matt DiRito and drummer Hayley Cramer—had enough time to explore the different directions that they could take the songs both musically and lyrically.
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One foray involved Kakaty, the band’s main songwriter, getting together with a couple of musical friends, whose backgrounds were more in heavy metal, to help him explore how writing songs in different keys might open doors to a fresh sound. He hit pay dirt early on with “Waking Lions,” which combines crunching guitars with melodic vocals sung by Kakaty in lower register. “Once I wrote ‘Waking Lions,’ it rejuvenated me all over again. I was like ‘Wow, this is finally the heavy with the melody that we always wanted,’” he explains. That song set a tone for the rest of the album, which Kakaty feels is the band’s most fully realized effort. It’s the heaviest of the group’s albums, thanks to songs like “Art of War” and “Colors Bleed” boasting pile-driving beats and razor-edged guitars. But there are also slightly lighter rockers that balance pop hooks with heft (the mainstream rock hit “Be Legendary”), a lighter ballad (“Rewind”) and even a particularly ambitious multifaceted track, “Nothing But Thieves,” which moves from ambient tones to industrial rock to metal-ish rock, topped off with a melodic chorus that verges on pop. The musical range helps the Pop Evil album provide the kind of rich listening experience that the band intended. “We try to spend a lot of time making sure we can give you an album where you can literally listen to ‘Waking Lions’ number one, listen all the way through to track 11, ‘Rewind,’ and want to start it over and listen again,” Kakaty said. “We have thought about that from the beginning, but hopefully we’re now able to steer it a little more Pop Evil directly and in that way, we can really identify WIIL Rock ourselves with our fan base to know that when Summer they think about Pop Evil, there’s going to be Kick-Off a little bit of mystery where they ask ‘I wonder Saturday, what they put together on this album?’” June 15, The next mystery from Pop Evil won’t be answered until the band releases album number 7:30 p.m. six. That’s probably a year or so down the road. For now, their efforts are focused on touring and continuing to get the word out on the Pop Evil album. “We’ve got a great stage show. The production is awesome,” Kakaty said. “Obviously, every band with a new album wants to play all the new stuff, of course. But we want to be responsive, too, because fans don’t want to be bombarded with all new songs. They want to hear old ones that they’re familiar with. Just kind of finding that blend has been a bit of a challenge, and finding ourselves with that new music on stage has been a bit of a challenge. But that’s what makes it fun.” Pop Evil, Otherwise and Cold Kingdom perform at the WIIL Rock Summer Kick-Off, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, at 14001 Washington Ave., Sturtevant.
Mamie’s 3300 W. NATIONAL AVE. (414) 643-1673
Corn and Brat Roast Celebrating Silver City Neighbors
Sat. June 15 | Noon-8pm Music by
Michael Charles Band Noon - 4pm
Kenny J and The Shadows 4pm - 8pm
Enjoy Brats and Corn! Silver City is the area between 27th St. and Miller Park Way, named for the workers in the Menomonee Valley who spent their money on National Ave. Legend has it that a traveler stopped in one of the taverns, saw all the silver dollars on the bar and exclaimed, “This must be Silver City!”
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J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | 33
MUSIC::LISTINGS To list your event, go to shepherdexpress.com/events and click submit an event
THURSDAY, JUNE 13
Art*Bar, Open Mic Comedy Cactus Club, Mutts (10-Year Anniversary Tour) w/Mouse Corn, Christopher Gold & the New Old Things & Bootleg Bessie Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), The New Pioneers Caroline’s Jazz Club, Scott Napoli Jazz Quartet Cathedral Square Park, Jazz in the Park: Bonifas Electric Band (6pm) Colectivo Coffee (Lakefront), Florentine Opera Company Brewing, A Roy Hargrove Tribute County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/Barry Dodd Jackalope Lounj, Big Beat MKE 2019: J-Lamo and CMoneywave Jazz Estate, The Anne Davis Jazz Quartet Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Riverwest Food Pantry w/N. Regent, Rich Travis & Anja Freigang Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) Matty’s Bar & Grille (New Berlin), Smokin’ Live & Local: Joe Richter (5pm) McAuliffe’s On The Square, Open Mic Night Mezcalero Restaurant, Open Jam w/host Abracadabra Jam Band Miramar Theatre, Mastadon Wolfbiter w/Syborg & Krug The Wizard (all-ages, 9pm) 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: Kevin Kennedy is Special K Rounding Third Bar and Grill, World’s Funniest Free Comedy Show Shank Hall, Local H w/In The Whale The Back Room at Colectivo, Mattiel w/Moonwalks The Packing House Restaurant, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Latin Sessions: Carlos Adames Up & Under Pub, A No Vacancy Comedy Open Mic Vretenar Memorial Park (St. Francis), The Sensations
FRIDAY, JUNE 14
Alley Cat Lounge (Five O’Clock Steakhouse), Ali & Doug Duo Ally’s Bistro (Menomonee Falls), VIVO w/Warren Wiegratz American Legion Post #399 (Okauchee), The Hit Men American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Close Enuf Band (6:30pm) American Legion Post #69 (Mayville), The Ricochettes Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Julie’s Piano Karaoke Anodyne Coffee, Chris Haise Band record release w/Zach Pietrini & Cullah and The Comrades Art*Bar, Trae Sheehan Cactus Club, Wobblyhead 20 Reunion Show: Def Harmonic, Casino Versus Japan, Signaldrift & DJs: One F, Old Man Malcolm & Rob Sevier Caroline’s Jazz Club, The Paul Spencer Band w/James Sodke, Cody Longreen, Michael Ritter & Jonathan Greenstein Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Scrimshaw w/Jon Burks Band (8pm); DJ: The Nile (10pm)
Clarke Hotel (Waukesha), Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (6pm) Colectivo Coffee (Lakefront), Friday Nite Music Series ComedySportz Milwaukee, Never Have I Ever: An Improvised Show County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Dandy - Midventurous Modern, A Dandy Comedy Show Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & the Liquor Salesmen Jazz Estate, Scott Currier Quartet Lakefront Brewery, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Mamie’s, The Incorruptibles Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) Mezcalero Restaurant, Drive With Horns Mia’s (Waukesha), The B Side Band Milwaukee Boat Line Dock, Boat Cruise: Tangled Lines Pabst Theater, Middleditch & Schwartz Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Geoff Landon & Friends Riverside Theater, David Gray w/Gaby Moreno Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Meytal w/Mixed Company (ages 18-plus, 8pm) Shank Hall, Thank You Scientist w/Bent Knee SoLu Winery (Cascade), Kyle Feerick Duo (5:30pm) The Baaree (Thiensville), Friday Night Live w/Hungry Williams (6pm) The Back Room at Colectivo, TV Girl w/Negative Gemini The Packing House Restaurant, The Barbara Stephan Group (6:30pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, The Earls of Leicester w/Jerry Douglas Up & Under Pub, Brendan Demet Band Washington Park (Manitowoc), Metro Jam Walker’s Point Music Hall, Dan Whitaker & The Shinebenders w/The Cow Ponies
SATURDAY, JUNE 15
American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), The Falcons Art*Bar, Mas Soul Cactus Club, Ono w/Credentials Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Mare Edstrom & Kenn Fox Caroline’s Jazz Club, The Paul Spencer Band w/Adekola Adedapo, James Sodke, Aaron Gardner, Michael Ritter & Victor Campbell Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Bagsong w/Andy Positive (8pm); DJ: Ryan Fox (10pm) Club Garibaldi, Black Magic Flower Power ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee! Crush Wine Bar (Waukesha), Dave Miller Trio w/Mike Cascio & Hal Miller Five O’Clock Steakhouse, Kirk Tatnall Fox Point Farmers’ Market, Doc Green (10am) Jazz Estate, Paul Bedal Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Devin Drobka Trio (11:30pm) Juneau Park, June at Juneau (3pm) Main Hub (Racine), Johnny Cash Tribute Mamie’s, Michael Charles Band (12pm), Kenny J. & The Shadows (4pm) Mason Street Grill, Jonathan Wade Trio (6pm) Miramar Theatre, Lucii - Fam Appreciation Show w/Brightside (all-ages, 9pm)
Biggest e Party of th Summer! Camp on-site with hundreds of others on an island on the Mississippi River!
No Studios, Hip-Hop Rooftop w/ill Tek, Marty., DJ Loop, BBoy Schells & Browns Crew (4pm) Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, Mary Rodgers w/ Bailey Dee Pizzeria Piccola, Texas Dave Trio (6pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Bourbon House Rave / Eagles Club, Set It Off Emarosa w/Broadside & Lizzy Farrall (all-ages, 6:30pm) Riverside Theater, Game Grumps Live! The Final Party Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Janet Evra Quartet Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), WIIL Rock Summer Kick-Off w/Pop Evil, Otherwise & Cold Kingdom (ages 18-plus, 7:30pm) Shank Hall, Who’s Who w/Jailbreak Stolley’s Hogg Alley (Oconomowoc), Gin Mill Dogs Summerfest Grounds, Polish Fest: Rebecca and the Grey Notes (4pm) The Cheel (Thiensville), E is for EPIC The Packing House Restaurant, Lem Banks & Top Shelf (6:30pm) The Rock Sports Complex, In the Umbrella Bar: King Solomon (6:30pm) Up & Under Pub, Honey on the Biscuit Washington Park (Manitowoc), Metro Jam
SUNDAY, JUNE 16
Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/Julie Brandenburg BMO Harris Pavilion, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit & Father John Misty w/Jade Bird Bremen Cafe, Microcosms w/Scuttlebuggs & Pzüdopoof Cactus Club, Son Step w/CRLSS & HiYAN Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Ben Harold w/Zach Pietrini (8pm); DJ: John Riepenhoff & Sara Caron (10pm) County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (5:30pm) Frank’s Power Plant, St. Patti’s Fathers Day Polka Party w/The Andrew Apricot Accordion Orchestra (12pm) J&B’s Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill, The Players Jam Jazz Estate, Sunday Special Funk Night w/Angie Swan Lakefront Brewery, Keg Stand Up: 3rd Anniversary Show Matty’s Bar & Grille (New Berlin), Summer Concert w/ Mathew Haeffel (3pm) Miramar Theatre, Indie Night: Valerie Lighthart, Armon Hassan, Luxi & Constantine (all-ages, 6:30pm) Pabst Theater, Dio Returns w/Love/Hate Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Pot-Luck w/ Tony Jensen & Sonic Harvest (4pm) Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic Sugar Maple, The Plum Creek String Band w/Craig Siemsen, Dave Fox & Brett Kemnitz (2pm) Summerfest Grounds, Polish Fest Miller Stage: Larry Lynne Revue (5pm) The Baaree (Thiensville), Sunday Funday w/Sugar Blue (4pm) The Roadhouse (Dundee), Jonny T-Bird & the MPs (4pm) Timmer’s Resort (West Bend), Acoustic Blu Duo (4pm)
MONDAY, JUNE 17
Jazz Estate, Latin Jam Session w/Cecilio Negrón Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Poet’s Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader Nick Ramsey (sign-up 7:30pm, 8-11pm)
Mason Street Grill, Joel Burt Duo (5:30pm) Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Open Jam w/hosts Josh Becker, Annie Buege, Ally Hart or Marr’lo Parada The Crimson Club, Metal Mondays Up & Under Pub, Open Mic w/Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers
TUESDAY, JUNE 18
Brewtown Eatery, Blues & Jazz Jam w/Jeff Stoll & David “Harmonica” Miller (6pm) Chill On the Hill (Humboldt Park), Rose of the West w/Trapper Schoepp & York Bishop (6pm) Company Brewing, Wilder Maker w/Devil Met Contention & Brave You Cudahy Family Library, Banana Wind in Concert: A Jimmy Buffett Tribute (6:30pm) Jazz Estate, Blues Night Misha Siegfried Kim’s Lakeside (Pewaukee), Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, MADACC fundraiser w/ One Lane Bridge Mamie’s, Open Blues Jam w/Marvelous Mack Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), The Parkside Reunion Big Band Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White (4pm) Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Jam Session Shank Hall, Bob Schneider w/Carolina Story The Baaree (Thiensville), String Along Band (6pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Transfer House Band w/Dennis Fermenich
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19
Bud Pavilion - Wisconsin State Fair Park, Wednesday Night Live: Bella Cain (6pm) Cactus Club, Fog Lake w/Friendship, 1996 & So Zuppy Caroline’s Jazz Club, Ryan Meisel Quartet Deer District, Beer Garden: Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (5pm) Hudson Business Lounge and Cafe, Jazz at Noon: Don Linke and Friends Iron Mike’s (Franklin), B Lee Nelson & KZ Acoustic Jam Jazz Estate, Evan Paydon Group Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage w/feature Brad Mier (sign-up 7:30pm, start 8pm) Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), American Opera w/Sarah Burton Oak Creek Community Center, Oak Creek Center Summer Concerts: The Crisis w/UW Marching Band Echoes of Camp Randall (6:30pm) Paulie’s Field Trip, Wednesday Night Afterparty w/Dave Wacker & guests Peanut Butter & Jelly Deli, Acoustic Jam Session Open Mic w/ host Ania Dankow Pere Marquette Park, River Rhythms: Shonn Hinton (6:30pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White Richard E. Maslowski Glendale Community Park, Music in the Glen Summer Concert Series: Ladies Must Swing Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk The Cheel (Thiensville), Jon Lovas Jazz Trio (6:30pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Carmen Nickerson & Kostia Efimov (6pm)
BLUES FEST 2 2 N D A N N U A L P R A I R I E D O G
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN
Anthony Gomes
Eliza Neals
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Sarah Grace
(2018 The Voice)
2 STAGES 12 BANDS FRIDAY & SATURDAY
JULY 26 & 27 Toronzo Cannon
Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Order Online - Tickets & Camping www.prairiedogblues.com or 608-326-0085 (Phone Lines Open June 1)
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR A CHANCE TO WIN TICKETS • Short walk or stumble to your campsite or to the pubs and restaurants downtown 34 | J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9
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JOBS HELP WANTED Mature woman to work Monday through Sunday mornings doing light housekeeping and assisting eldery woman, 3 hours M-F, 2 hours Sat and Sun. $15 per hour. 414-801-3299 Drivers Wanted Passenger Transportation: MKE County. AM and PM Shifts, PT/FT, $14.10/hr. Full benefit package incl. monthly bonus program. Must have clean driving record, pass criminal background and drug screening. Call 414-264-7433 x222 Your home goes here.
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SERVICES Let Ansley Appliance and A/C help! Fast friendly service, sales, and parts. Refrigerators, ranges, ovens, dishwashers, microwaves, washers & dryers. Furnace tune ups only $99.95! Call: 414-349-9090. SHEEHAN CONSTRUCTION Brick, Block, Stone, Stucco, Tuck pointing, Chimneys, Retaining Walls. Concrete Work. New and repair. Free Estimates. Accepts credit cards. Call John: 414-258-9838.
PUBLIC SALE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Pioneer Storage: 122 N. Port Washington Rd. Grafton, WI 53024 June 27th - 3:30 p.m. Bidding is on complete contents of unit. Owner: Stephen Lundeen contents: Bikes, chairs, mattresses, furniture, boxes. mystoragehome.com. Disclaimer: The Shepherd Express makes no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding any advertising. Due diligence is recommended before entering into any agreement with an advertiser. The Shepherd Express will not be held liable for any damages of any kind relating to any ad. Please check your ad the first day of publication and notify us of any changes. We are not responsible for errors in advertising after the first day. We reserve the right to edit, reject or reclassify advertisements in our sole discretion, without notice. We do not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate or intend to discriminate on any illegal basis, or are otherwise illegal. NO REFUNDS for cancellation after deadline, no copy changes except to price or telephone number.
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J U N E 13 , 2 0 1 9 | 35
SPORTSMANSHIP
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
74. Movie buff 76. Part 3 of quip: 3 wds. 79. Walked up and down, back and forth 80. Greek weight 81. — and outs 82. Coin 83. Called, in a way 84. “Kate & —” 85. Drunken ones 87. Got along 88. Invaders from Mars 89. Charged particle 90. Simple 91. Took legal action 92. Pumps 95. End of the quip: 3 wds. 102. Make holy 104. Pith helmet: Var. 105. Yep 106. Touch on 107. Grows dim 108. Genus of water birds 109. — Kett of old comics 110. Sub — 111. On the left 112. Rude looks 113. What’s done DOWN 1. Old Roman statesman 2. Old Greek contest 3. Father 4. Of barbering 5. Spine-chilling 6. — fortuitus 7. A dye 8. Conked out 9. Fighter 10. Bathe 11. Chavez or Millan 12. Risque 13. Actress Gardner et al. 14. Coco-de- —
15. Small drupe 16. Aurum 17. Took the bus 18. Ne plus ultra 26. Ryder the actress 28. Impenetrable 29. German art song 33. Steffi of tennis 34. Blackboard 35. Audio component 36. Naivete 37. Jacket 38. Dazzles 39. Kangaroo bear 40. New-age singer 41. Utterly simple 42. “Nanny” butler 43. Where Memphis is 45. Beverages 46. Curdles 49. “— la vista, baby” 50. Ached 51. Footnote abbr. 53. Bout of drinking 54. Windmill sails 58. Parties 59. Lent a hand 60. L-Q link 62. Spare 63. East Indies archipelago 64. Perfected
65. Lapwing, a bird 66. Peoples: Prefix 67. Saint- — -wort 68. Chopped 70. A purgative 71. Removes 73. Let 74. “La — aux Folles” 75. Vacationed 77. Defy 78. A noble gas 79. Fatherly (or motherly) 83. — -mutuel 84. Douglas-Home or Waugh 86. Snooze 87. Least 88. Hand tools 90. Device in a hack 91. Show scorn 92. Cicatrix 93. Bindlestiff 94. — probandi 95. Carriage 96. Saintly radiance 97. — the wiser 98. — dixit 99. Nerve network 100. Escort 101. Food fish 103. Books pro
6/6 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 19 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.
Playing tennis Solution: 19 Letters
© 2019 Australian Word Games Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.
ACROSS 1. Dramatis personae 5. A lot 10. Vamoose 15. Uttar Pradesh city 19. Exchange fee 20. Kind of grass 21. — -ho 22. Farm building 23. Rent 24. Willow rod 25. Speaker of the quip at 27-Across: 2 wds. 27. Start of a quip: 3 wds. 30. Alphabetized list 31. Trees 32. Bridge support 33. Wildebeest 34. Like a night sky 37. Bank heist 39. Lamp fuel: Var. 44. Sensational 45. Intimidated 46. Schwarzenegger role 47. Gear 48. Pilaster 49. Be undecided 50. Part 2 of quip: 2 wds. 52. Blabbermouths 54. — da gamba 55. Onomatopoeic word 56. A palindrome 57. Eskers 58. — Fe Trail 59. Surrounded by 61. One-armed bandits 63. Salt and strip 64. Follower of an Indic faith 65. A Euro predecessor 67. Cynical 68. Flightless bird 69. Bounder 72. Lab device 73. Parts
Solution to last week’s puzzle
Ace Ball Championship Chop Contenders Cup Deuce Dokic Exciting Fast Final Grass
Hard court Hoad Injury Lawn Let Line Lob Lose Love Match Mini Net
Novice Open Out Partner Philippoussis Play Racquet Rafter Rank Round Score Seed
Serve Set Slam Spin Stubbs Swat Sweat Team Tired Trophy Win Won
36 | J U N E 13 , 2 0 1 9
6/6 Solution: Back in my happy place SHEPHERD EXPRESS
Solution: Up for a game of doubles
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Date: 6/13/19
::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the 1960s, Gemini musician Brian Wilson began writing and recording bestselling songs with his band The Beach Boys. A seminal moment in his development happened while he was listening to his car radio in August 1963. A tune he had never heard before came on: “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes. Wilson was so excited he pulled over onto the shoulder of the road and stopped driving so he could devote his full attention to what he considered a shockingly beautiful work of art. “I started analyzing all the guitars, pianos, bass, drums, and percussion,” he told The New York Times. “Once I got all those learned, I knew how to produce records.” I suspect a pivotal moment like this could unfold for you in the coming weeks, Gemini. Be alert! CANCER (June 21-July 22): My dear Cancerian, your soul is so rich and complicated, so many-splendored and mysterious, so fertile and generous. I’m amazed you can hold all the poignant marvels you contain. Isn’t it sometimes a struggle for you to avoid spilling over? Like a river at high tide during heavy rains? And yet every so often there come moments when you go blank; when your dense, luxuriant wonders go missing. That’s OK! It’s all part of the Great Mystery. You need these fallow phases. And I suspect that the present time might be such a time. If so, here’s a fragment of a poem by Cecilia Woloch to temporarily use as your motto: “I have nothing to offer you now save my own wild emptiness.” LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): America’s premier eventologist is Leo-born Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith. When she was going through a hard time in 1991, she resolved to buoy her spirits by creating cheerful, splashy new holidays. Since then she has filled the calendar with more than 1,900 new occasions to celebrate. What a perfect way to express her radiant Leo energy! National Splurge Day on June 18 is one of Adrienne’s favorites: a time for revelers to be extra kind and generous to themselves. That’s a happy coincidence, because my analysis of the astrological omens suggests that this is a perfect activity for you to emphasize during the coming weeks. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.” Virgo poet Mary Oliver made that statement. It was perfectly reasonable for her, given her occupation, although a similar declaration might sound outlandish coming from a non-poet. Nonetheless, I’ll counsel you to inhabit that frame of mind at least part-time for the next two weeks. I think you’ll benefit in numerous ways from ingesting more than your minimum daily dose of beauty, wonder, enchantment and astonishment. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran philosopher Michel Foucault articulated a unique definition of “criticism.” He said that it doesn’t dish out judgments or hand down sentences. Rather, it invigorates things by encouraging them, by identifying dormant potentials and hidden beauty. Paraphrasing and quoting Foucault, I’ll tell you that this alternate type of criticism ignites useful fires and sings to the grass as it grows. It looks for the lightning of possible storms, and coaxes codes from the sea foam. I hope you’ll practice this kind of “criticism” in the coming weeks, Libra—a criticism that doesn’t squelch enthusiasm and punish mistakes, but instead champions the life spirit and helps it ripen. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Help may be hovering nearby, but in an unrecognizable guise. Rumpled but rich opportunities will appear at the peripheries, though you may not immediately recognize their value. A mess that you might prefer to avoid looking at could be harboring a very healthy kind of trouble. My advice to you, therefore, is to drop your expectations. Be receptive to possibilities that have not been on your radar. Be willing to learn lessons you have neglected or disdained in the past. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): As much as I love logic and champion rational thinking, I’m granting you a temporary exemption from their supremacy. To understand what’s transpiring in the coming weeks, and to respond with intelligence, you will have to transcend logic and
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reason. They will simply not be sufficient guides as you wrestle and dance with the Great Riddle that will be visiting. You will need to unleash the full power of your intuition. You must harness the wisdom of your body, and the information it reveals to you via physical sensations. You will benefit from remembering at least some of your nightly dreams, and inviting them to play on your consciousness throughout the day. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): For the sake of your emotional and spiritual health, you may need to temporarily withdraw or retreat from one or more of your alliances. But I recommend that you don’t do anything drastic or dramatic. Refrain from harsh words and sudden breaks. For now, seal yourself away from influences that are stirring up confusion so you can concentrate on reconnecting with your own deepest truths. Once you’ve done that for a while, you’ll be primed to find helpful clues about where to go next in managing your alliances. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’ve got a list of do’s and don’ts for you. Do play and have fun more than usual. But don’t indulge in naïve assumptions and infantile emotions that interfere with your ability to see the world as it really is. Do take aggressive action to heal any sense of abandonment you’re still carrying from the old days. But don’t poison yourself with feelings of blame toward the people who abandoned you. Do unleash wild flights of fantasy and marvelous speculations about seemingly impossible futures that maybe aren’t so impossible. But don’t get so fixated on wild fantasies and marvelous speculations that you neglect to embrace the subtle joys that are actually available to you right now. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “At times, so many memories trample my heart that it becomes impossible to know just what I’m feeling and why,” writes Piscean poet Mark Nepo. While that experience is familiar to everyone, it’s especially common for you Pisceans. That’s the bad news. But here’s the good news: in the coming weeks, your heart is unlikely to be trampled by your memories. Hence, you will have an excellent chance to know exactly what you’re feeling and why. The weight of the past will at least partially dissolve and you’ll be freer than usual to understand what’s true for you right now, without having to sort through confusing signals about who you used to be. ARIES (March 21-April 19): We may not have to travel to other planets to find alien life. Instead of launching expensive missions to other planets, we could look for exotic creatures here on earth. Astrobiologist Mary Beth Wilhelm is doing just that. Her search has taken her to Chile’s Atacama Desert, whose terrain has resemblances to Mars. She’s looking for organisms like those that might have once thrived on the Red Planet. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to use this idea as a metaphor for your own life. Consider the possibility that you’ve been looking far and wide for an answer or resource that is actually close at hand. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Philosopher Martin Buber believed that some stories have the power to heal. That’s why he said we should actively seek out stories that have the power to heal. Buber’s disabled grandfather once told Buber a story about an adored teacher who loved to dance. As the grandfather told the story, he got so excited that he rose from his chair to imitate the teacher, and suddenly began to hop and dance around in the way his teacher did. From that time on, the grandfather was cured of his disability. What I wish for you in the coming weeks is that you will find stories like that. Homework: Tell how you have sometimes been able transform liabilities into assets. Testify at freewillastrology.com.
Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 877873-4888 or 900-950-7700.
::NEWS OF THE WEIRD ::BY THE EDITORS OF ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION
What’s in a Name?
P
olice in Lincoln, Neb., responded to a call on May 21 about a domestic assault. They didn’t find the suspect, identified as Markel Towner, 26, in the residence, but someone who matched his description was sitting outside in a car. When questioned, the man said his name was DeAngelo Towns; however, that didn’t quite match with a lanyard around the man’s neck, which clearly bore the name “Markel Towner.” After some resistance, KETV reported, Towner was finally subdued and arrested on a variety of charges.
Cocoa Nuts Around 1:40 a.m. on Thursday, May 9, as an unnamed Cocoa, Fla., homeowner slept in her garage, a black Cadillac crashed into the structure, missing her by only inches, according to the 911 call. The Cadillac was stolen, it turns out, and was fleeing an Orange County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle—which was also stolen and being driven by someone impersonating a police officer. After the crash, WFTV reported, the imposter patrolman continued trying to pull over vehicles before speeding away. The patrol SUV was later abandoned behind a shopping plaza in Cocoa.
Pikachu, I Love You! The Pokémon Company has made Japanese brides’ dreams come true with its announcement that it is collaborating with a wedding planner to offer sanctioned ceremonies with its characters in attendance, dressed as a bride and groom. Yes, Pikachu will stand up with you and your betrothed (as long as you go to Japan to tie the knot), and the icing on the cake is Pokémon-themed food items and a Pikachu cake topper! Finally, UPI reports, for your scrapbook, you’ll have a marriage certificate decorated with Pokémon imagery—surely an item you’ll want to preserve in a licensed Pokémon photo frame.
Urine for a Refund An unidentified man in Tuscumbia, Ala., did what so many of us do every day: He went online to Amazon to order some household items. But when his package arrived on May 23, he was alarmed to discover a urine sample from a private citizen, not the shower curtain and rings he’d ordered. “When I reached in and pulled it out, (it was) some kind of urine specimen or something like that,” he told
WHNT. An Amazon representative said the company was “very sorry” about the mistake. The company didn’t ask him to return the mistakenly sent package.
Principal Studying Anatomy While students at Holy Family Catholic School in Port Allen, La., took a field trip to Washington, D.C., to learn about our nation’s founding and visit historic sites, their principal, Michael Comeau, had another kind of sightseeing in mind. In the pre-dawn hours of May 31, police were called to Archibald’s Gentleman’s Club in D.C. after “an intoxicated man refused to pay his bill,” according to the arrest report. The Advocate reports that officers found Comeau, 47, standing in a roadway, “refusing to move.” He was arrested for public intoxication and possession of an open container of alcohol and immediately resigned his position as principal—as well as his role as a reserve police officer at his local police department.
Not Quite All Terrain Vehicle For reasons that remain unclear, a local police officer drove a beach patrol ATV into a marsh on Tybee Island, Ga., on May 31, where it became stuck in the mud. Officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) say the officer then used a City of Tybee pickup truck to try to free the ATV, but the truck also became stuck. City workers next attempted to pull both vehicles out using two backhoes, which also succumbed to the marsh. An excavator was finally able to free one of the backhoes from the muck, but the Coastal Resources Division of the DNR reported to WSAV that it will likely take a barge and crane to extricate the other three vehicles. Tybee city officials are conducting an investigation.
Karaoke Kerfuffle Don’t mess with Texas, or with 41-year-old Doris Vallejo-Godoy of Austin, who pulled a gun on a man at La Catedral del Marisco, a Mexican restaurant, according to an arrest affidavit. The June 2 scuffle began as a disagreement about who would be up next to sing karaoke, the Statesman reported. The man told police that, as they argued, VallejoGodoy struck him, then pulled out her gun and pointed it at him. She also threatened a waitress who tried to intervene, the affidavit said. Police arrived as Vallejo-Godoy was arguing in the parking lot with her girlfriend; she was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon. © 2019 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | 37
::ARTFORART’SSAKE
Gris-gris On Your Doorstep ::BY ART KUMBALEK
I
’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? Well well, another Father’s Day right around the corner, which as tradition dictates, I must say that what with the bad rap fathers have got in the press and on the TV for far too long, I’m surprised the day is celebrated at all. Cripes, why don’t they just go ahead and change Father’s Day to Deadbeat Dad’s Day, or Workaholic Dad-You’re-Never-Around-The-Focking-House-WhenWe-Need-You Day, what the fock. (Quick sidenote: A hearty thanks to A. & J. from the Milwaukee South for their correspondence during the Art Kumbalek Spring Fund Me Drive. It’s appreciated and I plan to follow the enclosed directions, indeed.) Anyways, I was listening to Frank Sinatra’s croon Cole Porter’s great tune “So In Love” the other day, and with a little research was reminded that it’s been 21-focking-years from last month since the Chairman of the Board (Broad?) got served the pink slip from this life, so as to go serenade the lusher life we expect to enjoy in the Great Beyond. And it’s taken 21 years for me to realize that in his absence, it is now high time up to me, you betcha, to save Western culture, if not the whole goddamn civilization. I don’t want to blow my own horn, but you know I always did have an inkling, if not a hankering, it would come to this, I kid you not. And this torch that I’ve belatedly found I won’t allow to be drowned. No sir, I’ve got high hopes to caretake the torch so that it continues to burn baby, burn brightly all through these dark ages until things get modern again, when I can pass the focking flame to another smart-mouth wise-ass with a bad attitude who comes down the pike, or something like that.
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But to save Western civilization, I’m going to need some start-up scratch; which means here comes my sort-of semiannual summertime pitch so’s to address a word or two to the kids who number themselves as members of my readership family: Hey kids, summer’s just begun and I’m pretty focking certain that before you know it, you’ll be good and goddamn bored with shoplifting, stealing bikes or having your own bike stolen. So listen, it’s never too soon to think about the future and just what the fock it is you’re going to do to earn your dime. Hey, maybe you ought to think about
being a professional writer like me, and I’ll tell you why. For starters, you mostly don’t have to go anywhere to do it. You can just stay home, which is focking great ’cause with no boss around, you can have the TV on all day long if you focking feel like it and an ashtray is always at arm’s length. And it’s the kind of job where there is no limit to the number of excuses that can be used for not doing it and how do you beat that, ain’a? Hell, a lot of these writers come out with only one book every other year. That’s 730 days and the book is like 200 pages long. That means, to be a productive writer, you only have to write one focking page every 3-and-a-half days—piece of cake, what the fock. And to boot, writers write on a computer, lo, these days, so when you can’t think of what to write, you can while away the hours perusing various free porn sites and learn a thing or two that could help make your first date a rousing success. So if you think this lifestyle sounds attractive, tell your mom and pop you want to be a writer, and to send Art Kumbalek a cashier’s check for $250, and I’ll get you enrolled in the Art Kumbalek Summer School of Juvenile Writing. In the meantime, don’t forget to never dig a hole too deep that you can’t get out, and never ever mix good booze with soda. And in conclusion, it’s time for me to go and get over by the Uptowner tavern/charm school where I shall recruit mine own personal Rat Pack so as to save whatever civilization we got left; and also, speaking of anniversaries, to toast not only fathers, but also sons, with a nice bourbon or three. And so to our Mr. B: I’ll be seeing you, as the song goes, in all the familiar places that this heart of mine embraces, in every lovely summer’s day, I find you in the morning sun and when the night is new, I remember you, always, there over the rainbow, I kid you not, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.
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