JA N UARY 2 0 1 9 | volUM E 25 | ISSU E 13
ART: Best of 2018/Here, There & Everywhere for 2019 Dish: Plenty on the Menu for the New Year Film: What to see in 2019 / Spidey Gets an A+ Heartland Healing: Healing Touch HooDoo: in the Thick of the Blues MUSIC: Gazing into the Crystal Ball Theater: Curtain Set to Rise on Another Strong Season
“IT’S A
MOST
ROMANTIC STORY” THE ELIXIR OF LOVE (L’ELISIR D’AMORE) Donizetti FEBRUARY 15 & 17, 2019 | ORPHEUM THEATER
OPERAOMAHA.ORG | 402.346.7372 | TICKETOMAHA.COM | 402.345.0606
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publisher/editor....................John Heaston john@thereader.com graphic designer.......................Ken Guthrie, Sebastian Molina online editor................... Mike Newgren mike@pioneermedia.me associate publisher.............Sal S. Robles sal@pioneermedia.me
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS healing................Michael Braunstein info@heartlandhealing.com
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DISH: Plenty on the Menu for the New Year
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MUSIC: It was the Year of the Woman
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MUSIC: Gazing into the Crystal Strat for 2019
arts/visual.................Mike Krainak mixedmedia@thereader.com eat........................................... Sara Locke crumbs@thereader.com film..................................Ryan Syrek cuttingroom@thereader.com hoodoo..................... B.J. Huchtemann bjhuchtemann@gmail.com music..........................Houston Wiltsey backbeat@thereader.com over the edge...............Tim McMahan tim.mcmahan@gmail.com theater....................... Beaufield Berry coldcream@thereader.com
SALES & MARKETING ............................................Kati Falk kati@pioneermedia.me
DISTRIBUTION/DIGITAL ......................................... Clay Seaman clay@thereader.com
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ART: Best Events, Exhibits of 2018
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ART: Here, There and Everywhere for 2019
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PICKS: Cool Things To Do in January
ACCOUNT MANAGER ......................................... Tim Stokes tim@pioneermedia.me
OUR SISTER MEDIA CHANNELS
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THEATER: Curtain Set to Rise on Another Strong Season
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HOODOO: Omaha is In the Thick of the Blues
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BACKBEAT: January’s Backbeat Column
OUR DIGITAL MARKETING SERVICES
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FILM: What to See in 2019 / Spidey Gets an A+ JANUARY 2019
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CUTTING ROOM: Movie News with a Dose of Sarcasm CONTENTS
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Heartland Healing: Energy Healing: Healing Touch
Winner of 5 Tony Awards, Including Best Play
Jan. 18 – Feb. 10 Tickets on sale now! series sponsor:
producing partners:
Based on the Classic Novel
Feb. 15 – March 17 Tickets on sale now! presenting sponsor:
Heider Family Foundation
6915 CASS STREET | (402) 553-0800 | OMAHAPLAYHOUSE.COM
6915 Cass St. | (402) 553-0800 | OmahaPlayhouse.com presenting sponsor:
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JANUARY 2019
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Omaha Jobs Things are looking up for Omaha’s economy, this year’s Economic Outlook Survey says. CEOs in the Omaha area are generally optimistic about current growth and for the year ahead. Sales revenue generally increased in 2018 from 2017, and most area CEOs surveyed feel their companies are growing as fast – or faster – as comparable U.S. companies. Continued growth is expected and CEOs are optimistic about what the future holds.
How do we grow? How can you as an employer capitalize on this expected growth? The survey suggests Omaha employers are poised for success if they can anticipate barriers and overcome them. Specifically, concerns spotlighted in the survey include labor availability, labor costs, technology and the cost of benefits like health insurance. Labor Availability The Omaha unemployment rate continues to decline, which is generally good for the economy and definitely good for job seekers. But it’s not the best news for employers who seek top talent. It’s not only difficult to find the right people to fill positions, it’s taking longer to hire people, according to Forbes. So your current employees need to feel valued and appreciated. It’s far easier and less expensive to keep such workers than to find suitable replacements. If your existing employees do good work, acknowledge their efforts. Labor Costs As an employer, your first instinct may be to maximize your profits by minimizing the amounts you pay your employees. While understandable, it’s not always the best tactic, a LinkedIn essay suggests.
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It boils down to whether you really want top talent or you’re willing to hire people desperate enough to work for low wages. The results from each group will be decidedly different, as will be their impact on your business. Your employees can’t be committed and productive if they’re frantic about how to make ends meet. Or if they’re preoccupied with a search for higherpaying jobs.
The future is bright for Omaha employers, especially those who treat employees well and have the foresight to plan for obstacles their company may encounter. To operate by the seat of your pants is never a good idea. That’s particularly true when you want to run a successful business in the Omaha area. We may have a booming economy, but we’re not fail-safe
Non-Monetary Benefits If you can’t pay impressive wages, offer non-monetary benefits to keep your employees happy. Things that support a healthy work/life balance, like flexible work schedules or telecommuting, can attract and retain employees who might make better wages elsewhere. Allocate your budgetary resources carefully to assure there’s room for good employee wages. If the time comes when you need to cut corners, don’t make your employees’ wages the first place you look for cuts if you want to remain successful. Technology Issues Technology can help your business grow in a variety of ways. It can help you sustain your success. Whether you use it for time management, accounting, production or marketing via social media, even the smallest business benefits from technology, Chron says. Stay atop technology trends and updates so you and your company don’t get left behind. Or, worse yet, cause you to suffer a technological failure that interrupts or halts your daily operations. Prepare for something like a cloud outage that makes it impossible to access your files. How can you be ready if the outage lasts more than a couple minutes? A couple days? A couple of weeks? Keep your software up to date and employ competent tech people to help minimize technology issues. This aspect of your business needs constant attention because technology constantly evolves.
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OMAHA JOBS
7300 Q Street, Ralston, NE 68127
February 07, 2019 March 07, 2019 April 11, 2019
May 16, 2019 June 20, 2019 August 15, 2019 1pm-4pm
September 19, 2019 October 24, 2019 November 14, 2019
EXPECT UP TO 15 EMPLOYERS For Complete Details go to
For more info or booth rates contact: ClaySeaman@OmahaJobs.com
7300 Q Street, Ralston, NE 68127
February 07, 2019 March 07, 2019 April 11, 2019
May 16, 2019 June 20, 2019 August 15, 2019 1pm-4pm
September 19, 2019 October 24, 2019 November 14, 2019
EXPECT UP TO 15 EMPLOYERS For Complete Details go to
For more info or booth rates contact: ClaySeaman@OmahaJobs.com
Gallup, Inc. Seeks a
ANDROID APPLICATION DEVELOPER
Android Application Developer in Omaha, NE. As an Android Application Developer at Gallup, you will work on a team responsible for creating android mobile app products. You will be responsible for delivering mobile technology that enables managers to build engaging workplaces. Min. req. Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering or MIS or foreign equivalent together with 1 year of work experience as an Android Application Developer. Demonstrated ability in Java, C#, C++, HTML, CSS, XML, Android API level 8 and above, Native Android Development or Cross-Platform Android Development (with Xamarin), understanding of mobile OS platforms, design and development of data and process flow using MS-Visio, web services (SOAP or Restful), version control TFS or GIT, knowledge of application security, computer networking and cryptography, knowledge of databased using MySQL or SQLite. Experience with Android material design guidelines and Architectural Design patterns.
LEAD .NET APPLICATION DEVELOPERS
Lead .net Application Developers in Omaha, NE. You will be responsible for leading a team of .net Application Developers in the design, development and implementation of software applications, write application code in the Microsoft .net environment according to functional specifications defined, develop unit testing around said code, and participate in team meetings discussing the architecture of the system. Responsible for managing large
development tasks, disseminating to other programmers on the team, and participating in and leading code reviews. Min. req. Master’s degree in Computer Science, MIS or related or foreign equivalent and at least 1 year experience as a software/web Application Developer. Skills required in C#, ASP.NET, MVC and the .NET framework and SQL programming.
LEAD ANDROID APPLICATION DEVELOPER
Lead Android Application Developer in Omaha, NE. As Lead Android Application Developer at Gallup, you will lead a team in creating android mobile app products. You will spearhead projects and take ownership of cutting-edge development of apps and delivering mobile technology that enables managers to build engaging workplaces. Min. req. Master’s degree in computer science, software engineering or MIS or foreign equivalent together with 4 year of work experience as an Android Application Developer. Demonstrated ability in Java, C++, HTML, CSS, XML, Android API level 8 and above, Native Android Development or Cross-Platform Android Development, understanding of mobile OS platforms, design and development of data and process flow using MS-Visio, web services (SOAP or Restful), version control, CI/CD pipeline, frameworks (Rxjava, dagger, Retrofit), memory profiling and application optimizations, knowledge of application security, computer networking and cryptography, knowledge of databases using MySQL or SQLite. Experience with Android material design guidelines and Architectural Design patterns.
LEAD IOS APPLICATION DEVELOPER
of multithreading processing and Service Oriented Architecture and Unit Testing using Junit or Mockito frameworks. Skilled in AWS cloud services
Lead iOS Application Developer in Omaha, NE to lead a team of mobile application developers in the design, development and implementation of iOS mobile apps. Responsible for managing large development tasks, breaking down to smaller tasks to be disseminated to other developers. Participate and lead team meetings and lead code reviews. Min. req. Master’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, Computer Engineering, or related field or foreign equivalent together with 3 years of experience as an iOS Mobile App Developer. Use of RESTful APIs to integrate mobile applications to server side systems, cross-platform applications is needed. Basic C# development knowledge. Demonstrated knowledge of major frameworks (Cocoa Touch, Core Animation, Core Data, Core Services and/or Core OS) and Apple’s publishing process. Understanding and experience using GIT, XML, JSON, Web Services and Objective C/Swift.
LEAD JAVA DEVELOPERS
Lead Java Developers in Omaha, NE. Lead team in designing, developing, unit testing and maintaining web-based applications with a focus on Java. Work with data warehouse or analytical processing and OLTP environments. Participate in team meetings to discuss architecture of web-based applications. Min. req. Master’s degree in Computer Science, MIS, Engineering or related or foreign equivalent. Demonstrated ability in XML, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Core Java with Java web technologies, Restful API design skills, continuous integration using Maven and deployment using Jenkins. Knowledge
LEAD QUALITY ASSURANCE DEVELOPER
Lead Quality Assurance Developer in Omaha, NE to work with a Development team to convert the requirements and technical design documents into a detailed test plan and to test the development work before the functionality is released to the end user. Demonstrate ability to develop automation framework using JMeter, author functional automation using selenium webdriver (Java) and perform stress test for each major software release; execute the authored automation and manual test cases, review, diagnose bugs and formulate solutions; build automation scripts to validate the scalability of reporting system on AWS Cloud EC2 instances, RDS instances and Redis; experience with test modules related to AWS cloud assets like simple queue system (SQS), simple notification system (SNS) and storage system S3; experience working with MySQL database in AWS cloud infrastructure. Min. req. Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Engineering or related or foreign equivalent. 5 years of hands-on experience in writing test strategy, test plans, test execution and defect management. Knowledge QA concepts, software development life cycle, testing life cycle, industry-standard testing and bug tracking tools. Strong background in developing and optimizing SQL queries, functions and stored procedures. Perfect alignment to agile practices and methodologies such as Test Driven Development and Scrum. Experience with automated test tools and scripting. Experience in any of the following: Ecommerce, Cloud-based deployment and operation, service-oriented architectures (SOA), and DevOps.
Gallup is an EEO/AAP Employer Minorities/Women/Disabled/Veterans. Please apply online at: http://careers.gallup.com or mail resumes to: Lisa Kiichler, 1001 Gallup Drive, Omaha, NE 68102.
| THE READER |
JANUARY 2019
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THERE’S A LOT ON THE MENU Food Trends and Dining Predictions for 2019
EAT
BY SARA LOCKE
SARA LOCKE is the Contributing Editor for The Reader’s Food section. She is fluent in both sarcasm and pig Latin, and is definitely going to eat the contents of her to-go box in her car on her way home. Follow her restaurant reviews and weekly what-todos online at http://thereader. com/dining/crumbs . Follow @ TheReaderOmahaDish on Instagram to find out what else she’s sinking her teeth into.
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nce a year, The Reader likes to take its best guesses about upcoming food trends from what’s hot to what’s, well – done. How do you think last year’s issue held up? You can check it out at https://thereader.com/dining/food-trends-and-
predictions/. First, I think we can all agree that Omaha has steadily improved as a place to eat in the past decade. From the ingenuity of the dishes to the sustainability of the ingredients, Omaha has a mindful menu no matter what your favorite flavor. That means it’s hard to find anything within driving range that could be considered a “fail.” We can, however, predict which trends are going to stick around and which will be nothing more than a flash in the pan. For our first local stop, let’s go international.
Philippine Cuisine With several Filipino restaurants making their Omaha debuts in late 2018/early 2019, let’s take a look at the local culture, starting with the FilAm Organization of the Metro.
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EAT
For more than four decades, Fil-Am of the Metro has worked to bring a bit of the Philippines to local families. The organization hosts an annual beauty pageant, festival, and works to help families hold on to their heritage here in their new Homaha through celebrations of the traditions and cuisine of the Philippines. For a taste of the culture, try Masarap restaurant and Tayo pop-up, or hit Laura’s Famous Eggrolls at the seasonal farmers market for traditional lumpia. Sensory Exploration Before I decided to start trading words for dollars, I spent a good amount time working in and with nursing homes, and specifically the cognitively impaired. Some of my studies brought me to a research paper explaining the connection between walking barefoot in grass and mud and increased activity in previously “dead” zones in the brains of those affected by Alzheimer’s. What in the world is this paragraph doing in a dining column? Stick with me. Any time we increase our sensory experiences, it works almost as calisthenics for the brain. That leads us to sensory eating. From events
like Outlook Nebraska’s Dining in the Dark, which forces you to use your sense of smell and touch to find and experience your food, to Tayo’s zero-utensil, hands-on dining pop-ups, playing with your food is finally healthy. Tell your mom. Look for additional opportunities to experience more than just the flavor of your dishes. From magical musical pairings that ignite your amygdala, to visual art almost too pretty to eat. Almost. Expect to get all five (or six, we’re not Clair-exclusive here!) senses involved in the dining experiences. Zero Waste It’s no longer enough to ensure that your food is sustainably sourced, all the cool kids want to make sure that even the ghosts of meals past won’t haunt our precious ecosystem. From food rescues like Saving Grace and Produce From the Heart, reducing food waste became the new “locally sourced.” This year, schools, businesses, restaurants, and homeowners took it a step further with Hillside Solutions. Founded in 2015, Hillside isn’t your mama’s garbage collection agency. The company offers recycling for all manner of refuse, from glass to paper. But wait, there’s more. Hillside is home to Omaha’s only commercial composting farm. Utilizing Hillside ensures that not only are you helping to keep waste out of landfills, but that everything you discard is turned into something new, from energy to new products to nutrient rich soil. On the Way Out Rolled Ice Cream This sweet treat is as beautiful as it’s meant to be delicious but has proven to be more a feast for the eyes than the tongue. Harder to prepare, more expensive, and lacking the texture that makes ice cream a staple comfort food, this fad is being put on ice. It had all the makings of the perfect treat, and on paper (and by paper I mean Instagram) it should have been the next big thing. Countless add-ins rolled into layers of thinly spread fat and dairy? What could go wrong? But it did, and it is and it’s over now. Speaking of Instagram… It turns out you CAN oversaturate a market. Who knew? Have you noticed your favorite food blogger’s posts aren’t showing up in your timeline lately? Is your brunch group failing to post weekly photos of its mimosas and frittatas? It’s official. Every dish that exists has been photographed and hashtagged. In 2019, we’re actually eating our food while it’s hot!
Am I a bitter food photography Grinch? Absolutely not. I’m personally a fan of opening my Instagram to see what my favorite chefs are dishing up. In fact, restaurants appreciate the advertising you do by tagging them in your food stories. It’s just, well -- you can only post a picture of a kale omelet so many times before you start to bore yourself. Food photos are living in stories now, and their features on pages are growing fewer and further between. And… and that’s ok, guys. It is. The Spawn of Saccharine From the time I was able to read a food label, I knew to avoid fat. Then it wasn’t so much the fat that counted, but the calories. Just cut calories and you’ll be fine. By the time I was a teenager, we learned that it wasn’t actually the calories, but where the calories were coming from that counted. Soon, everyone cut bread. And here we have stayed for the past 15 years or so, avoiding wheat, gluten, and the general culprit boiling down to “carbs.” Keto is still the new diet king, but for those seeking a healthier life, sugar is the four-letter word du jour. While sugar substitutes have been available for generations, the health implications become clearer as time rolls on. The latest versions of low-calorie sweeteners have been easier on the waistline and on the body’s essential organs, but in 2019 we aren’t numbing our addictions. We’re overcoming them. Sorry babe. We’re giving up sugar. I mean, we’re obviously not. But we’re gonna try real hard. Willful Ignorance and Inexpensive Produce With the raids on local farms, disastrous trade policies, multiple outbreaks of E. coli due to runoff, and the countdown to irreversible damage speeding in the past year, the time for saying we just didn’t know any better is over. It’s time to educate ourselves on legislature that can provide a safe working environment for the people who grow and prepare our food. It’s time to hold the people in power accountable, using our votes and our spending power to ensure proper regulations and safeguards are in place. This year clearly demonstrated the power of the individual voice. Use yours. Thank you for letting The Reader be part of Omaha’s culture for the past 25 years. We look forward to striving to bring you the best of Omaha’s alternative news in 2019.
ART
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JANUARY 2019
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IT WAS THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN IN MUSIC, TOO A Look at the Trends, Indie Expansion and Top Concerts of 2018
BY TIM MCMAHAN
CAROLINE ROSE
CLOSENESS
MUSIC
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f asked what was the most significant thing to happen to the pop music world circa 2018, I’d have to point (once again) to the continued emergence of women artists in what has traditionally been a sausage party of an industry. For better or worse, rock ‘n’ roll historically has been a boys’ club, with “girl groups” too often treated as offshoots or novelty acts by ignorant fans who can’t get their minds around the fact that what women say in music is as relevant — or more so — than anything men say. Still, if you polled the gazillion acts currently playing, recording and touring the world, you’d find most are populated by people identifying with the male gender. That said, click on the top page of the Album of the Year website — a site that aggregates reviews from the internet — and you’ll find women slotted in eight of the top 10 spots of the highest-rated albums of the year — Janelle Monae at No. 1, followed by Mitski, Kacey Musgraves, Low (a trio that features Mimi Parker), Cardi B, Robyn, Christine and the Queens and that heartbreaker Ariana Grande (Pusha T came in at No. 6 while English punk act Idles was at No. 8).
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MUSIC
DAVID NANCE GROUP The same holds true for indie as it does for pop. In an era when gender fluidity is becoming more Over the past couple of years, important women recognized, you may ask why it matters. Maybe artists have dominated the world of college music. it doesn’t; it certainly doesn’t to me. Good music Add to the list Snail Mail, Noname, Sophie, U.S. is good music. But you’d have to have lived under Girls, Julia Holter, Soccer Mommy, Waxahatchee, a stone for the past 50 years to not recognize Natalie Prass, Neko Case, Courtney Barnett, Cat how overlooked and poorly treated women Power and supergroup boygenius, which brought have been, not only by the music industry but together a trio of indie-rock royalty: Julien Baker, the arts in general. To see women emerge as the Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. dominant voice in music is a long time coming Our very own Saddle Creek Records has and hopefully will inspire a similar movement in been riding this much-welcomed trend. The label, other fields, not least of which is politics. which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, is OK, so what about local indie music enjoying a well-deserved resurgence, thanks in happenings in 2018? It was, for the most part, a part to a fresh, new roster of artists signed over year of expansion: the past couple of years that includes the wildly — The annual Maha Music Festival celebrated popular Hop Along (fronted by Frances Quinlan), its 10-year anniversary by expanding to two days Stef Chura, Black Belt Eagle Scout (the project of — adding an evening rock show headlined by singer/songwriter Katherine Paul), (Sarah Beth) classic indie act TV on the Radio. The expansion Tomberlin and most successful of all, Big Thief, an resulted in smashing the festival’s attendance act that counts among its primary songwriters numbers by pulling in a two-day audience of just Adrianne Lenker, who has seen the rerelease of more than 14,000 — good enough to repeat the her solo debut and new album Abysskiss, both two-day format in 2019. on Saddle Creek. — One Percent Productions, the city’s Ask Saddle Creek if gender played a roll in its most important concert promotion company, signing decisions, and it would likely tell you no. announced last January that it’s partnering
with Kansas City’s Mammoth Productions to revenue is growing again, according to the has made it easier to remain sitting on the couch Maha Music Festival, Aug. 17-18 — build a new indoor/outdoor music venue on Recording Industry Association of America. And rather than going to the shows. That said, I still Day 1 was dominated by headliner TV on the South 84th Street. The La Vista City Council while streaming and digital downloads have had made it to around 50 concerts this year. Here are Radio, which performed as if it released Dear approved the measure, which, in addition to the lion’s share of that revenue, vinyl sales hit a my favorites: Science last year. Day 2 was a Weezer concert, a 5,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater, will 25-year high. Destroyer at The Waiting Room, Feb. but it was Tune Yards, Father John Misty and include a 2,400-capacity music hall. The Despite this, what in just a few short years 3 — Frontman Dan Bejar was spot on vocally but David Nance who stole the show. multi-million-dollar complex is slated to open had become one of my favorite records stores looked tired and 10 years older than me rather Black Belt Eagle Scout at Reverb in 2020. It joins both the Ralston and Baxter — Almost Music in the Blackstone District — than seven years younger, which he is. Lounge, Sept. 26 — Singer/songwriter/ arenas, which have struggled to make a profit. announced in mid-November that it’s closing its Digital Leather at The Sydney, April guitarist Katherine Paul turned up the guitar, Can the city support yet another massive doors in early 2019. In many ways, the closing 6 — Configured as a trio with Shawn Foree in stabbed the pedals and roared on songs that venue? marks the end of an era that began in the ‘90s front playing synth and bass, Greg Elsasser on would have made Neil Young proud. — On a smaller scale but no less important (to with The Antiquarium Record Store, a gathering synths and long-time Digital Leather drummer Gary Numan at The Slowdown, Sept. me, anyway), One Percent purchased The Sydney place that spawned the Omaha indie music Jeff Lambelet, if the plan was to get the crowd 27 — There were questions as to whether in Benson, taking over the small club’s operations scene. After Almost Music closes, where will the dancing, it worked; maybe the most danceable Numan was singing at all. The tale of the tape in August. The Sydney has hosted indie phenoms punks buy their records? version of DL yet. came 10 songs in when the band performed Middle Kids, though most of its bookings likely With that in mind, here are my 10 favorite Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at The “Cars,” a faithful arrangement in which Numan will not be handled by One Percent Productions. albums of 2018, in no particular order: Slowdown, May 18 — They ripped through couldn’t have been lip-synching (could he?). — Not to be outdone, the fine folks behind new stuff and old, including a tasty version of Young Jesus at O’Leavers, Oct. 28 O’Leaver’s (which includes three members of David Nance Group, Peaced and “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” that had the crowd doing — The high point was the 20-minute set closer, legendary Saddle Creek Records band Cursive) Slightly Pulverized (Trouble in Mind) some overhead clapping. “Gulf,” whose center section consisted of a free announced in May they’re taking over operations Natalie Prass, The Future and the Past La Luz at O’Leaver’s, May 28 —I jazz improvisational noise collage that bent back at Winchester Bar & Grill at 7002 Q St. One (ATO) watched from the sidelines as a band member into the opening chords. assumes the acquisition had more to do with Cursive, Vitriola (Saddle Creek) crowd-surfed to the bar, took a shot and David Nance Group at The Waiting the volleyball courts than music, because there Caroline Rose, Loner (New West) disappeared back over the crowd to the stage Room, Nov. 13 — Omaha’s most promising hasn’t been any indication they’ll book the kind J Mascis, Elastic Days (Sub Pop) — been a long time since anyone crowd-surfed band seamlessly transitioned from one song to of quality indie shows historically booked at Parquet Courts, Wide Awake! (Rough at O’Leaver’s. the next off its new album, Peaced and Slightly O’Leaver’s. Trade) Little Brazil at The Waiting Room, Pulverized, with Nance pulling off one feedback — In October, the Bemis Center for Courtney Barnett, Tell Me How You June 1 — Featuring songs off its latest album, wave and blending in a riff that crossed over into Contemporary Arts received a $500,000 grant Really Feel (Matador) Send the Wolves, Little Brazil never sounded whatever was next. Transcendent. to establish a sound art and experimental music Little Brazil, Send the Wolves (Max better, blasting out material that is as good as Protomartyr/Preoccupations at The residency program and named Omaha legacy Trax) anything Desparecidos put out in its waning Waiting Room, Dec. 7 — Protomartyr singer/songwriter Simon Joyner to lead the Preoccupations, New Material years. frontman Joe Casey did his usual awesome shtick, program that will be housed in the old Bemis (Jagjaguwar) Caroline Rose at Reverb, June 7— but Preoccupations was next level. The band Underground space. But a week or so later, The Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Rose performed with a goofy energy, backed by came out with guitars blazing before working in Bemis changed its mind and said Joyner would Sparkle Hard (Matador)Z keyboardist/guitarist and a tight rhythm section synths three songs in, transporting the club into a not be leading the project. The decision came that looked like they were having as much fun as New Wave arena. after a wave of concern was raised about Joyner, I went to fewer rock shows in 2018 than any the audience. Middle Kids at The Sydney Dec. 8 — stemming from his use of “the N-word” in a year in the past 20. It seems despite having more Closeness at Slowdown Jr., Aug. Frontwoman Hannah Joy channeled Natalie song he wrote that targeted racists and racism venues than ever, there have been fewer national 10 — The duo of Todd and Orenda Fink had Merchant while the sold-out audience crowded in America, released in 2017. A replacement for touring indie bands passing through Omaha a better flow, enhanced by two new songs that the stage and sang along to the hits, proving Joyner has yet to be named. than in recent memory. Another factor for my were dramatic and danceable, breaking up the that The Sydney could become Omaha’s next Finally, for the first time this millennium, music absence at the clubs is my increasing age, which monotony of their usual mid-tempo onslaught. important concert venue.
GARY NUMAN
LITTLE BRAZIL
MUSIC
| THE READER |
JANUARY 2019
9
GAZING INTO THE MUSICAL CRYSTAL BALL Predictions for 2019 Include Reel-to-Reel Tapes and a Movie About Omaha
BY TIM MCMAHAN
I
MUSIC
t is time once again to gaze into the crystal Fender Strat and into another dimension that will reveal to my eyes alone the happenings and occurrences that shall take place over the next calendar year in the world of popular music. In other words, it’s time for my annual music predictions. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at how I did with last year’s visions for 2018. 2018 Prediction: With all-ages venue Milk Run gone, another DIY venue will emerge to try to fill the void in booking up-and-coming touring indie artists. Reality: While there are still house shows, no one has stepped up to fill Milk Run’s shoes. 2018 Prediction: With new California offices, Saddle Creek Records can be expected to add as many as four new bands to the roster, including at least one veteran indie band looking for a new home. Reality: The Creek added Black Belt Eagle Scout, Young Jesus, Tomberlin and Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker. As for that veteran band, The Faint is back and will release its first new album in five years. 2018 Prediction: Watch as some rather big names leave NYC and LA for the cheap digs and central location only Omaha can provide. Reality: We’re still waiting.
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2018 Prediction: Those who freaked out when vinyl returned will be doubly shocked when cassette tapes begin to make a comeback this year. Reality: Cassette sales for the first half of 2018 were up 90 percent year-over-year in the UK, and we now have an annual Cassette Store Day during which you can pick up cassette copies of Nevermind, Back in Black and the Bohemian Rhapsody Soundtrack, among others. 2018 Prediction: Those who freaked out when vinyl returned will be doubly shocked when cassette tapes begin to make a comeback this year. Reality: Cassette sales for the first half of 2018 were up 90 percent year-over-year in the UK, and we now have an annual Cassette Store Day during which you can pick up cassette copies of Nevermind, Back in Black and the Bohemian Rhapsody Soundtrack, among others. 2018 Predictions: Speaking of vinyl, as albums sales begin to flatten this year, watch as prices for new vinyl finally begin to drop. Can the $9.99 album be far behind? Reality: You’ll still be hard-pressed to find new vinyl albums under $20. 2018 Prediction: Fed up with facing a crowd of people holding up smart phones during concerts, artists will implement new technology that will block smart phone cameras from operating inside venues. Reality: While this tech exists (Apple patented it years ago), artists are still using Yondr devices to lock up your cell phone during shows. 2018 Prediction: With Hi-Fi House going public last summer and Hear Nebraska merging with Lincoln’s The Bay, look for yet another musicrelated organization to emerge, this time as a nonprofit performance venue. Reality: The Bemis is establishing a new sound art and experimental music residency program that will include a recording studio and performance space, but the music will be anything but pop. 2018 Prediction: More and more bands will change their names after their first or second release, all to keep their music in front of the everfickle public always looking for the next big thing. Reality: Nope. 2018 Prediction: With the opening of the new Capitol District, we will see even more live
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MUSIC
original music somewhere downtown other than at No-Do. Reality: Well, there’s the Harney Street Tavern … 2018 Prediction: As the Maha Music Festival turns 10 this year, expect a megaspectacular headliner and the festival’s expansion to a two-day event. Reality: Maha indeed expanded to two days in 2018 with Weezer as the headliner. 2018 Prediction: You thought the deaths of Prince and Bowie were earth-shakers, but someone even bigger will be knocking on heaven’s door this year. Reality: Mr. Zimmerman is still very much with us. 2018 Predictions: Bands we’ll be talking about this time next year: LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Monsters of Folk, High Up, Little Brazil, David Nance, Low, Stephen Malkmus, Cursive, Car Seat Headrest, Whitney, Navy Gangs, Bib, Hop Along. Reality: Almost all the bands mentioned released new material in 2018. 2018 Prediction: Director Alexander Payne will be so bowled over by the area’s music scene that he not only will try to integrate Omaha music into one of his films, he’ll begin work on a movie based loosely on the Omaha music scene circa 2003. Reality: I still think it’s a helluva idea, and I know where you can find a screenwriter, Mr. Payne. So, let’s see … 6 out of 13. Eek. Let’s see if I can beat that this year? Prediction: First it was vinyl, then cassettes and now even 8-tracks. Next year crazed music aficionados will take it one step further as we see the first album released on reel-to-reel tape. Prediction: You thought having concert tickets on your iPhone was handy, watch for facial recognition tickets. By submitting your facial profile to Ticketmaster, checking in at a show will be as easy as looking into a camera. Prediction: A savvy concert promoter will organize a new Lilith Fair next year that brings together a number of important indie femaleled acts for a traveling tour. Among them indie supergroup boygenius, Saddle Creek’s Big Thief and Hop Along, Mitski, Noname, Eleanor Friedberger, Courtney Barnett and, of course, the return of Sarah McLachlan.
Prediction: Now with offices in Omaha and LA, Saddle Creek will open offices in New York City and reopen offices in the UK as the label continues to expand its new-era roster. Prediction: Speaking of Saddle Creek, with the return of The Faint to the roster, expect an even more surprising new release from another of the label’s first-generation superstars. Prediction: For years the Hi-Fi House flew under the local radar before finally going public. This year, a national publication will discover the project and bring it to the attention of a worldwide audience. Prediction: As times get tougher for musicians, watch next year as the number of GoFundMe campaigns rise, including from some very well-known artists. But they won’t be asking you to fund recording projects; they just need to pay their bills. Prediction: At least one major, respected rock artist will come out in 2019 … as a Trump supporter, and the fallout will be bad enough to make Kanye blush. Prediction: Because of the advent of streaming services, more vintage (i.e., ancient) artists will enter the Billboard Hot 100 as a new generation of listeners discovers them via television commercials or film soundtracks. Everything old is new again. Prediction: As we mourn the passing of Almost Music, a new record store will open in 2019 either downtown or in Benson, operated by another well-respected member of the local music community. The shop will feature the same high-quality curated new and used stock and will quickly become “the place” where musicians and young fans hang out. Prediction: A very famous candle in the wind will be extinguished in 2019. Prediction: Bands we’ll be talking about this time next year: Beck, Belle & Sebastian, The Faint, Algiers, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, The Smiths, The Rolling Stones, Bob Mould, Thick Paint, Ryan Adams, Bjork, M Ward, Iron & Wine and Bright Eyes. Prediction: Finally, one of Saddle Creek Records’ “new era” artists will do what no other Creek artist has been able to do: Be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Can you guess her name?
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Tacky - Formal - Bizarre - Irreverent (but not the white house kind) | THE READER |
JANUARY 2019
11
ART REFRESH
A-list takes another look at best events, exhibits in 2018 (The complete A-list review can be found at thereader.com)
BY MICHAEL J. KRAINAK
“STANDARD STATION,” 1966, 7-COLOR SCREENPRINT, 25 5/8 X 40 IN. EDITION NUMBER 11/50, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST.
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hat 2018 climaxed with so much negative political, climate and economic news clouding holiday cheer, it was a relief to witness its demise. The ubiquitous “Happy Holidays” gave way to a heartfelt “Happier New Year!” Climate change deniers sparred with scientists despite rising global temps, tides and turbulence. The stock market bounced to the beat of tariffs and the whims of tweets. And White House hirings and firings competed with indictments and the threat of impeachment. What’s a poor earthling, small investor and single voter supposed to do? You could let the pending “award season” and its myriad of celebrations that honor the popular arts cheer you up; that is, if you can stomach the inanity of the Golden Globes and Peoples’ Choice Awards that steal some of the limelight while fogging the stage. At least these escapes from reality give the creative class its due and give us a chance to look back at 2018 with something more than a jaundiced eye. Yet, patrons of the visual fine arts will find little recognition of the “best” on the national front. On the local scene, the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards bundles the visual arts along with music and theater in the Metro to give the fine arts a small place at the table. The 2018 winners will be announced Jan. 27 at the OEAA event at Slowdown. To augment this shortcoming, for more than a decade the A-list that follows has featured the most significant visual art events and exhibits of the year to provide not only deserved recognition but a bit of an archive annually where virtually none exists. As always, the A-list reflects mainly the opinion of yours truly aided and influenced by at least four other writers who include their preferences in the online version of this year-end review. Our choices are subjective, and we cannot claim to have seen all of the shows in 2018, but from a list of well more than 100 exhibits, more than 50 were nominated for recognition. That said, our reviews are based not only on considerable face time with the art, but with research and interviews with artists and curators where applicable to help gain perspective.
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“LES DEMOISELLES (THE GREAT OUTDOORS),” 2017. But before we take a gander at the 2018 A-list, let’s look at some of the more important arts events that not only shaped the past year, but may continue to have an impact on the Metro scene for some time to come: • Omaha’s own Ed Ruscha, a major contemporary American artist, donated 18 of his works to the Joslyn Art Museum along with 20 additional pieces by other significant artists from his private collection. • That donation, along with a promised gift of 50 works from the Phillip G. Schrager Collection of Contemporary Art, would make a worthy display in Joslyn’s recently announced expansion of its gallery spaces to be designed by architectural firm Snøhetta. • Metropolitan Community College added a full wing at its Elkhorn Valley campus for art classes as well as expanded gallery spaces. • The Kaneko hired a new executive director, Stephan Grot, who replaced outgoing director Chris Hochstetler, who had coordinated such outstanding multi-disciplinary exhibits as Reality, Light and Kinetic during his short tenure. •Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts also announced a major addition to its staff: Rachel Adams as chief curator and director of programs. • Darger HQ gallery, after a successful, influential presence on Vinton Street due mainly to its founder Launa Bacon, closed its doors and reopened as the aptly named non-profit Public Access Press cofounded by Erin Foley and Peter Fankhauser. For details go to publicaccesspress.org. • Omaha Creative Institute has changed its name (not necessarily for the better unless you think Amplify Arts is a better recognition ID brand than I do) but fortunately not its mission to “build a stronger Omaha through the arts.” Check out the particulars at amplifyarts.org. • Connect Gallery survived a Leavenworth Street traffic reno and parking nightmare as UNMC continued its expansion and, despite rumors, will stay open into 2019 and beyond.
• On a sadder note, the Metro marked the passing of three artists and/or supporters of the arts: the very popular artist/musician Jerry Jacoby and his opposite in personality and style, the highly regarded Lincoln Realist painter/drawer Robert Weaver; and last but not least, Howard Silberg, longtime collector/supporter of the fine arts, Omaha Symphony, Opera Omaha and UNO Friends of Art. But maybe you remember him best playing host at Modern Arts Midtown gallery openings, handing out glasses of wine and his homemade biscotti. Before we go over the A-list and its honorable mentions, a shout out to the following for adding something special to the Metro arts scene the past year: public art seldom gets the recognition it deserves, but this year Watie White, with his 100 People project along with Brent Houzenga’s own work, made a substantial contribution to Benson Out Back, an alleyway improvement project. And Nolan Tredway and Hugo Zamorano with their mural in Little Bohemia brought art to the community outside the box. Lead artist Reggie LeFlore designed a mural inspired by the three colors of the Pan African flag, reflecting the heritage and future of the North Omaha community. A collaboration between the Union for Contemporary and Omaha Small Business Network, the mural is on the north wall of Styles of Evolution building at 2522 N 24th St. Also outside the box are the infrequent, spontaneous exhibits that appear in nontraditional venues referred to as pop-ups or DIYs. Cream on Top at the Butter Factory attempted this but more successful and dedicated were artists Camille Hawbaker and Victoria Hoyt with their interactive installation, Woven: Grounding Feminist Thoughts and Practices in Omaha held at the Jess Benjamin Studio. Speaking of weaving, 2018 was a stellar year for fabric art in the Metro, a medium that some may consider only as craft, but these excellent exhibits proved otherwise: Parallel Worlds by artist Shea Wilkinson at Gallery 72; India Through Beginner’s Eyes by Michael James at MAM and Expressions in Fiber Art VI at Connect Gallery; and Mary Zicafoose: Alchemy of Color and Cloth at Buffett Cancer Center, UNMC. The return of the exemplary Portraits of Care and now Art and Medicine to the Metro by artist and PhD Mark Gilbert, who introduced this crossdisciplinary project at the Bemis Center in 2008 while a resident. The exhibit was featured in the Criss Library Osborne Family Gallery and Weber Fine Arts Gallery at UNO in August/September. A special Sustainability Award to the most inventive and alternative venue in the Metro, Project Project, founded by owners Joel Damon continued on page 14 y
“A-Z NO.2” - 64X48” - 2018.JPG BY CHRISTINA NARWICZ
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“INDIA”, SCULPTURE BY SORA KIMBERLAIN FROM HER “STONE” y continued on page 13 and Josh Powell after the Bemis Underground was lost to posterity. Project Project had another significant year in the Underground tradition with such exhibits as Larry Buller’s outré Rough Trade, highly decorative, phallic slip-cast ceramics with gay and religious iconography “that would blend in perfectly with anything in grandma’s China hutch.” And a personal favorite, Lest We Forget, by Federico Perez, which included woodcuts and mural on a variety of dark projects. The A-list for 2018 features the following exhibits that deserve Honorable Mention. In any other year perhaps, any of them may have made the top tier as such lists as these are always subjective. In no particular order then, standouts include: Matthew Sontheimer’s intriguing, ironic solo exhibit at the Union for Contemporary Art, That’s right…I still don’t have a website, offering maze-like drawings and photographs that explore how we access, process, adapt to, ignore, and otherwise live with information. Dialogical, another successful two-person exhibit at Darger HQ in its final year of operation on Vinton Street. The very minimal, conceptual Dialogical featured map imagery and language from Sophie Dvorak and once again, the very talented Sontheimer. Though somewhat less connected or curated, another pleasing two-person show emerged from Modern Arts Midtown: John & Catherine. More
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“CIRCLES ON THE MOVE” TITULAR OIL PAINTING FOR CHRISTIAN ROTHMANN’S
like two solo exhibits, it included new sculpture and paintings from two of the most creative artists to exhibit in the Metro in 2018. One of the most creative solos this year came from Christina Narwicz, whose mostly black-andwhite A-Z + Light at Anderson O’Brien stretched into “gray matters” of experimentation. Ironically, one could argue that her work including gestures and dapples of color were even more intriguing. Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, no stranger to experimentation, offered the aptly titled Hot Mess Formalism, Sheila Pepe’s site-specific examination of how the artist often plays with feminist and craft traditions to spite patriarchal notions of accepted forms of creating art. Multi-media artist Bart Vargas’ solo Amalgamations currently at the Fred Simon Gallery also ran against certain cultural expectations as his 3D clay hybrids of superhero figures satirized gender identity and popularity. Also making a point with a more socio-political edge was Medium Green, curated by Andrew Tatreau at the former Omaha Creative Institute, now Amplify Arts. Five artists and designers advocated effectively for greener, sustainable urban ecologies with their immersive installations. The Michael Phipps Gallery had several fine exhibits in 2018, including its current Love Letters, but none better than Remember When We Shared Secrets, a well-curated, two-person combined
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comfort zone featuring Holly Kranker sculptural installations and paintings by Jeff Sedrel to explore themes of contemplation and meditation. Another two-person show, Stations of Blue at Gallery 72, saw the works on paper of Thomas Prinz and Mike Nesbit that offered nothing more individually and in collaboration than a refreshingly pure, pleasing aesthetic and palette. Still another fine sample of art with its own raison d’être was seen at Modern Arts Midtown in something of a breakout exhibit for postemerging artist Brian Gennardo, whose now more polished and sophisticated expressionism was augmented with equally fine work by Paul Chestad and Brent Witters. With an entirely different vision and aesthetic, the Omaha Bug Symposium once again invaded Benson’s Petshop. More an event than an exhibit, it was organized by co-creators Dan Crane and Andy Matz to feature evenings of science lectures, live music, art and costume contests, entomophagy. A veritable macrocosm of what the Benson District and its First Fridays bring to the Metro arts table. And as a final example of Petshop’s versatility, to coincide with Benson’s newest entries in Public Art in 2018 mentioned above, the gallery coordinated Related Histories, an exhibit featuring the works of Watie White and Brent Houzenga. The next group of exhibitions either met or exceeded expectations while living up to their
show and curatorial statements. The following were the most significant exhibits written and/or seen by The Reader’s arts editor and staff: At one end of the spectrum of this year’s most significant exhibits, Home Sweet Home was an exhibition of more than 50 paintings at The Little Gallery in Benson (doing big things) by visual artist Katie B. Temple that were inspired by unoccupied homes in Omaha. Temple has gone from emerging to a current nominee for Best Visual Artist according OEAA 2018. Her latest work is a lesson in minimalist art with a maximum return and a lot of potential. Perhaps another bookend then would be Word/Play, the first major exhibition to feature internationally renowned artist Ed Ruscha in his home state of Nebraska. This retrospective exhibition brought together prints, photographs, and artist books dating from the 1960s through 2015, complemented by a selection of major paintings, several of which illustrate his motif of ambiguity. As mentioned before, textiles was a go-to medium for many artists in 2018, but the two most successful exhibits of fabric art had to be Parallel Worlds by artist Shea Wilkinson at Gallery 72 and India Through Beginner’s Eyes by Michael James at MAM. They otherwise had very little in common other than mastery of their art…and their journey.
A first-time traveler to India, James’ meticulously and historical painting techniques, all the while crafted “travelogues” were layered with patterns illustrating darkly sublime scenarios. Viewers not of location and object often overlooked in only admired the work here but carried it with the rush of everyday tourism. His palette is as them long after the opening. exotic as the places visited but nonetheless The same can be said for the two most significant contemplative and dignified. Wilkinson’s journey and pleasing painting exhibitions of 2018, both was more influenced by science fiction and the of which showed at the Garden of the Zodiac, natural world. Her works explore her curiosity and they were virtually a yin yang variation in in the mysteries that lie beyond our senses. theme and style: Circles on the Move by Berliner Comparatively speaking, her textiles appear Christian Rothmann and Joe Broghammer’s solo more three-dimensional, resembling quilting. Yet, of “animal magnetism.” Rothmann’s bold “flower in either case these two exhibits were the best power” abstraction was expansive, colorful and examples of their craft and art. dynamic. His breathtakingly beautiful titular And that leads to the next two exemplary piece a prime example of his most mature members of the A-list: best sculptural exhibits of exploration of his “energy balls” to date. 2018, and again very different examples each. In sharp contrast to Rothmann’s gestural Trajectories by Justin Beller at Anderson O’Brien work, Broghammer’s “beauty and the beast” in the Old Market was a creative stretch for the exhibit illustrated the two sides to his vision and artist as it not only featured his sculptural towers personality. Artfully rendered buffalo and owl that have achieved commercial and artistic portraiture, complete with his own personal success, but included new, more figurative iconography, graced the Zodiac, but not before paintings that reflected a more introspective and the viewer encountered his wildly enigmatic personal vision. In fact, one could argue that the signature scenarios replete with circus and 2D work was some of the finest painting on view carnival atmosphere and caricature. in 2018. Group exhibits are even more difficult to curate, Stone by Sora Kimberlain was quite simply let alone review, but the two most satisfying largeand elegantly one of the premier exhibits of scale and scope exhibits of 2018 were Gallery the year, sculptural or otherwise. Back-dropped 1516’s showing of MONA2Omaha: Nebraska at Modern Arts Midtown with 2D work by Regionalists and Kaneko’s multi-discipline Reality. Graceann Warn, Roberto Kusterle and Larry The former was a comprehensive survey of major Roots, Kimberlain’s work is her finest to date. figures with ties to the state, including Thomas The show’s title understates it well, a beautiful Hart Benton and Grant Wood displayed side by combination of color, craft, texture and nature side with impressive work from perhaps lesserembodied especially in the balance and grace known artists such as Terence Duren, Aaron of Kimberlain’s unique approach and touch with Gunn Pyle and Dale Nichols. her material. This was museum-quality work, a Reality was what its patrons have come to shame the exhibit had to come down. expect from Kaneko, a combination of art, Two-person exhibits remain popular in the science and technology augmented by audience Metro, especially when there are connections interactive events, while living up to its mission, an and interplay between the works on display. “open space for your mind;” this time challenging Artist-curator Sheila Pepe organized the most even as it dissected perceptions of what is real. intriguing and complicated example of this with The highlight of this exhibit, the most creative and her beginning.break.rapid exhibit at the Bemis provocative work, was an expanded installment/ Center. It featured the abstract wall sculpture of installation of artist Tim Guthrie’s Museum of New Yorker Kenji Fujita and abstract paintings Alternative History, which riffed mightily on its of Nebraska-born Barbara Takenaga that moved titular subject and venue of choice. and spoke to another across the gallery as each Speaking of provocative, in a culture flew in the face of traditional notions of beginning, inundated with selfies and self-indulgence, it’s middle and end. refreshing, even inspirational, for an artist to take Photography played a major role in the Metro art the themes of selfhood and identity seriously to scene again, thanks almost exclusively to exhibits in turn them into a creative, revealing exhibit. This the Garden of the Zodiac gallery. Northern Light, is exactly what artist Zoë Charlton accomplished platinum prints by Berlin artist Jens Knigge of his in her solo at the Wanda D. Ewing Gallery at travels in Iceland and Norway, and French artist Isa the Union for Contemporary Art. Aptly titled The Marcelli’s solo in the summer that featured dream- Ipseity Project, the exhibit featured drawings of like portraiture and landscape utilizing historic model “body doubles” as a means of creating a darkroom techniques were fine examples. holistic self-portrait. But the most creative and imaginative use of In retrospect then, if you missed any of the this medium was a solo exhibit by French artist above exhibits, you missed much if not all of Nicolas Dhervillers, whose haunting photo what 2018 had to offer by way of the best in montages referenced noirish cinematic imagery visual art in the Metro.
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| THE READER |
JANUARY 2019
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ART: HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE A sneak peek at museum and gallery offerings in 2019 B Y J A N E T L . FA R B E R
FROM HUMAN CONDITION! AT KANEKO: DAVID HELM, “EXHALE,” CERAMIC, METAL, LIGHTS AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA
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erforming arts organizations and concert venues are always out front with their season of offerings. Don’t miss this! Make plans now! Buy tickets while you can! Visual arts organizations don’t need to stay on quite the same schedule. While there may be advantages to attending a gallery opening, most shows are bound to run for a couple of days, weeks or even months, and open predictably on a First Friday or Second Saturday. Despite the fact that such venues have doubtless asked their artists to commit to fill a particular space by a certain date, spontaneity in sharing those details seems to be the order of the day. So it is that the preview of coming visual arts attractions is a little sketchy at this time, but there are highlights to contemplate. Joslyn Art Museum will host what promises to be the most
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FROM GARDEN OF ZODIAC: MICHAEL DRESSEL, “LOS ANGELES,” 2015, BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPH
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important offering of the season, featuring 30 Americans, an exhibition from the Rubell Family Collection from Feb. 2 to May 5. More than 60 works by prominent artists of color have been selected from the extensive contemporary art holdings of the Miami mega-collecting Rubell clan, which has a public mission to share its privately owned treasures. As the title states, the show includes works by 30 artists and spans about three decades of production. Too numerous to list here, this all-star cast includes Nina Chanel Abney, Nick Cave, Barkley Hendricks, Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and Kehinde Wiley. What makes this exhibition significant, however, is not just the convening of exquisite works by some of the world’s hottest artists or the pedigree of the collection, but the opportunity to engage with
art that “explores a broad range of sociopolitical issues, including the construction of racial, gender, and sexual identity; ongoing narratives of racial inequality in the United States; poverty; racial stereotyping; and the power of protest.” Lots of programming will accompany the Joslyn presentation, so no excuses for missing out. While enjoying the feast of contemporary art there, be sure to duck into the Riley CAP Gallery for a concurrent show of collage paintings by Fred Tomaselli. Known best for his psychedelic paintings using resin-embedded prescription meds and hemp leaves, Tomaselli will be represented by an ongoing series of works manipulating New York Times front pages in manners that range from optically vibrant to delightfully absurdist. Kaneko will be trading on social currents again with its spring semester offering of Human Condition! from Jan. 12-May 4. Though details are scarce, the show promises psychologically resonant work by well-worn favorites Misha Gordin, Viola Frey and John Buck, plus ceramic artist Sunkoo Yuh and mixed-media sculptor Ken Little. Also featured is new work by UNO prof David Helm, whose installation-based studio practice gets little viewing around town. Check out his current show at Metro’s Elkhorn campus before it closes Jan. 8. Also aiming at an expression of agency, Gallery 1516 opens an eight-woman invitational exhibition Jan. 19, coinciding with the Women’s March, and running through April 14. Established contemporary artists with Nebraska connections will show recent and new works in the media with which they are most closely associated: the late Wanda Ewing (painting and prints), Catherine Ferguson (sculpture), Sheila Hicks (fiber art), Gail Kendall (ceramics), Jacqueline Kluver (painting), Karen Kunc (printmaking), Christina Narwicz (paintings) and Mary Zicafoose (textiles). The Garden of the Zodiac Gallery brings new work to Omaha this season. First up Jan. 31 is the street photography of LA resident Michael Dressel, who sees SoCal’s denizens as so colorful that black-and-white photography is chromatic enough. Following April 4 are the surreal hybrid beings that populate the paintings of Dresdener Paul Pretzer. Bemis aficionados may recognize his name and imagery from a past residency in 2009. Other notable viewings include a show of new sculpture by UNL prof Santiago Cal; Shaped by the Other opens Jan. 25 at the Union for Contemporary Art and runs through March 2. Metro’s Elkhorn campus gallery will feature large-scale drawings, photos and video by Darger alum Jean-François Leboeuf from March 13-April 2. Veteran photographer Jim
Scholz pairs with Cortney Christensen at the Sunderland Gallery/Cathedral Arts Project, Jan. 26-Feb. 24. And speaking of veterans, Elizabeth Boutin shares paintings inspired by her experience with the effects of PTSD as a military spouse and Red Cross volunteer. They will be on view at the Fred Simon Gallery from Feb. 1-March 30. Count on Project Project to continue with its improbably fantastic series of experimental offerings. January brings Des Moines resident Rachel Buse to town with her large-scale inflatable sculptures. February will feature architectural installations from Ames’ Peter Goché. March hosts Byron Anway’s new mixedmedia paintings and found objects. April will see Sarah Kolar installing her big fiber-based pieces. Be sure to expect new things from familiar venues that are going through rebranding. Darger HQ has evolved into Public Access, shifting its focus from duo exhibitions to its long-planned publishing arm. Its gallery will remain open, but as a space for dialogue-based programs related to its print agenda. A book release is scheduled in April. The Omaha Creative Institute is now Amplify Arts, still committed to improving opportunities for artists through grants and programs. It has planned a couple of cross-pollination efforts: Invisible Synonyms, curated for Amplify by Ella Weber along with David Knox and Josh Johnson, will open at Public Access, March 8-April 19. And the Michael Phipps Gallery at the Omaha Public Library will host On Hire featuring Amplify’s 25 Artist INC program participants in a “casual” group extravaganza, Jan. 4 through the end of February. Back on Vinton Street, Gallery 72 has announced an initiative to reorganize as a nonprofit organization that will continue to support artists through exhibitions and sales but take no commissions in the process. During the next couple of months, the gallery is offering a “Farewell Series” of inventory reduction opportunities for collectors to score some of the wonderful works exhibited there in the past and help fund a new slate of offerings, with its expected emphasis on prints and fine craft. Meanwhile, Modern Arts Midtown is finetuning its schedules, opting for longer runs including more artists from its stable. Inner Worlds: Martha Horvay, Merrill Peterson, Jennifer Homan and Laura Northern is first on tap, Jan. 4-Feb. 22. New Sculpture by Chris Cassimatis with Larry Roots and Kenny Adkins follows March 1-April 26. Small artist-run spaces around town also continue to offer the new and unusual, and if you pay attention to your media feed, you’ll no doubt
FROM JOSLYN 30 AMERICANS: NINA CHANEL ABNEY, “CLASS OF 2007,” 2007, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
WANGECHI MUTU, “NON JE NE REGRETTE RIEN,” 2007, INK, ACRYLIC, GLITTER, CLOTH, PAPER COLLAGE, PLASTIC
KEHINDE WILEY, “SLEEP,” 2008, OIL ON CANVAS
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JANUARY 2019
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Tickets going fast – order today!
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January 4
Inner Worlds
Michael Phipps Gallery, Omaha Public Library www.amplifyarts.org
Modern Arts Midtown 3615 Dodge Street modernartsmidtown.com
For Modern Arts Midtown’s upcoming exhibit, viewers are asked to look within themselves and deeper into their surroundings to see what reveals itself. Inner Worlds features Jennifer Homan, Martha Horvay, Laura Nothern and Merrill Peterson, who inform us with their insights into ways the ordinary and the magical cross paths. Homan examines our agricultural landscape with a kinetic, sensory and internal atmosphere that reaches far past the natural world we reside in every day.
Horvay uses pattern to skew a sense of volume. A loose surface of paint amplifies the sharp, flat objects on the surface. Peterson offers us the surface of objects of the everyday world but heightens our experience of them using light and perspective. In his work, perception meets both reality and dreams: a little off, but mostly recognizable. Nothern nods at the past, combined with a surrealism and quirkiness that feels contemporary, capturing a mind’s-eye version of the everyday world. Inner Worlds opens January 4 with a reception from 6-8 p.m. and runs through Feb. For more information, visit modernartsmidtown.com. ~Melinda Kozel
January 4
Artist INC
‘On Hire’
Artist INC, a professional development program from creative venue Amplify Arts, brings together more than twenty emerging artists from Omaha to share skills, evaluate work and build and strengthen the peer community. This year’s eight-week program culminates in a group exhibition, On Hire, to be shown starting in January, at the Michael Phipps Gallery in the downtown branch of the Omaha Library. On Hire will examine the effects of experimentation, failure and self-reflection on creativity and production. The show promises to be a diverse, multifaceted exploration of the processes of rethinking from initial concept to media choice to final work with an emphasis on taking risks and accepting unexpected results. The Amplify Arts exhibit, with support from the Omaha Public Library, commences with an artist’s reception January 4 and runs through Feb. 25. The Michael Phipps Gallery is at 215 S. 15th Street, inside the Omaha Public Library. Further information is available at amplifyarts.org. Kent Behrens
January 5
Plack Blague
Magazine). But his rising status perhaps owes less to his music than to the visual component of his boisterous live shows, which incorporate goth-club stage lighting and gyrating movements while wearing only a leather jock strap below the waist. While that might sound off-putting — and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart — Plack Blague is a local treasure for weirdo music fans. He plays Omaha in January at Reverb Lounge.
Flint Fest
As Flint, Michigan, continues to struggle with its water crisis and steep poverty rates, Omaha musicians are banding together to raise money for the Flint Kids Fund. Spearheaded by songwriter David McInnis, the initiative will provide resources for the 66.5 percent of children in Flint who live below the poverty line and without access to lead-free water. On January 11, rapper J. Crum, electronic project Cult Play, hardcore band Jocko, hip-hop collective On 2 Galaxies and pop-punk band Motel Martyr will play a Flint Kids Fund benefit show at The Waiting Room, dubbed Flint Fest. Tickets are $7 and jump to $10 on the day of the show. Find more info at waitingroomlounge.com. ~ Sam Crisler
The Waiting Room waitingroomlounge.com
The Bay thebay.org/lincoln
If you go, be ready to party. Tickets are $5, and head over to reverblounge.com for more info. ~ Sam Crisler
Reverb Lounge reverblounge.com
January 11
What better way to ring in the new year than with an up-close-and-personal auditory assault from Nebraska’s scantily clad leather daddy — otherwise known as Plack Blague. If you’re unfamiliar, Plack Blague is the leather-masked alter ego of Raws Schlesinger, a Lincoln-based industrial-house artist who has reached local and national cult status as a queer icon (he’s been featured in Out and Revolver
with J. Crum, January 12 Cult Play, Jocko Histrionic & more EP Release Show pickS
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If you haven’t heard of Lincoln punk band Histrionic yet, well, open your ears because they’re about to be one of the most talked about bands on the Nebraska scene. While much of the DIY music scene’s punk spirit in recent years has been stripped away in favor of emo melancholy, a contingent of the scene is ready to have fun again, and Histrionic is at the forefront of it. Led by one of Nebraska’s most enigmatic vocalists, 20-year-old Aramara Quintos Tapia, the three-piece band fuses Pixies surf punk with jazzy new wave into a sound that’s thoughtful but raw enough to open up rowdy mosh pits of teens and 20-somethings. Histrionic has played locally for the better part of the past two years, but come January 12th the band will finally have the music to show for it, as it they release its debut EP (produced by Lincoln’s Jeremy Wurst) at The Bay. Jocko, Death Cow and Verse and the Vices open the show. Entry is $5 at the door. Check out Histrionic’s Facebook page for more information. ~ Sam Crisler
January 18–19
Eric Church CHI Health Center chihealthcenteromaha.com
As someone who grew up in Omaha before it became a solid live music city, I still get amazed when a big act comes to town for an evening. I was even more
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amazed when Eric Church announced he was coming for two. Church will be kicking off his Double Down Tour by playing back-to-back nights at the CHI Health Center. For this most recent run of dates, Church has decided to forego an opening act so he can play a marathon set every evening. He also promises to differentiate the sets each night to create a unique experience for fans. Look for him to break out everything from his six studio albums, including last year’s Desperate Man. ~ Houston Wiltsey
January 18 – February 10 Omaha Community Playhouse presents
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Howard and Rhonda Hawks Mainstage Theatre
Winner of five Tony Awards, including best play, and based on the best-selling mystery novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time tells the emotional story of Christopher, a 15-year-old boy with autism, who sets out to solve the mysterious death of a neighbor’s dog. As he embarks on an incredible adventure to find answers, his perceptions of trust and reality are turned upsidedown. With stunning design and innovative staging, this impactful story is a must see. Show times: Wednesday – Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. Tickets: Adults $24-$50 – Ticket prices vary by performance and seat location. Purchase tickets by phone at (402) 553-0800 or at TicketOmaha.
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Written by Mark Haddon and Simon Stephens. Directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman. Disclaimer: Contains adult language. ~ Reader staff
January 18–27 Chanticleer Community Theater presents
Little Women the Musical
Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees 2 p.m. 830 Franklin Ave., Council Bluffs theatreartsguild.com
TeenNick during the dog days of summer break with a Danimals drink in one hand and a Tamagotchi in the other. For those kids, it was no question that “Drake & Josh” was the best show on TV — after all, it won two Kids’ Choice Awards for Best TV Show over its four-year run. And the show’s theme song, titled “I Found A Way” and penned by co-star Drake Bell, has become a generational touchstone just as the “Friends” and “The Flintstones” themes did in the 20th century. Since “Drake & Josh” ended in 2007, Bell has continued with his music career, and his latest tour brings him to Lincoln this month. Tickets are $15, and more information is available at bourbontheatre. com. ~ Sam Crisler
January 24
Noname This charming musical is based on the 1869 semi-autobiographical novel by Louisa Mae Alcott. It focuses on the four March sisters – tomboy Jo, the romantic Meg, pretentious Amy and kind-hearted Beth, plus their beloved Marmee. The lovely music and vignettes in which their lives unfold provide a stellar evening at the theater. Ticket prices are: Adults $20, seniors $16, children/students $10. For more information and reservations, contact the box office at 712-3239955, email chanticleertheater@gmail. com, or purchase tickets here. ~ Reader staff
January 20
Drake Bell The Bourbon bourbontheatre.com
This one’s for the nostalgic millennials and Gen Zers who grew up watching
The Waiting Room waitingroomlounge.com
After the release of her debut mixtape Telefone in 2016, Noname, born Fatimah Warner, needed a change, so she moved to Los Angeles, had sex for the first time, and started writing what would become her second record. The resulting album, Room 25, is astounding. It truly is an album that demands repeat listens -- not because it is a difficult record, but because there is so much to untangle. Warner’s impossibly quick delivery is packed with tongue-twisters, jokes, socio-economic commentary, and her dark inner thoughts, sometimes all in the course of the same song.
Coupled with jazz-and-orchestration-heavy beats, Room 25 is one of the richest, most complex listening experiences of the year even though it clocks in at a tight 35 minutes. Expect Warner to put just as much heart, soul, and precision into her performance. She practiced her craft alongside the likes of Chance the Rapper, Saba, and Smino while performing at the YouMedia sessions in Chicago. You can look forward to something that’s part rap show, part slam-poetry session, and a completely engaging musical experience. ~ Houston Wiltsey
January 25–February 10
The Rose Theater presents the
World Premiere of
Return to Niobrara
ing in our present, and ultimately what it means to truly stand for who we are. By Mary Kathryn Nagle; commissioned by the Rose and developed at the Kennedy Center. Appropriate Ages: 8-plus. Duration: 75 Minutes Contact The Rose Box Office at (402) 345-4849 for more information, tickets, ASL and sensory friendly shows and talk back info. Tickets are $20. ~ Reader staff
January 25
fully realized with studio-quality recordings and a double EP release. The band’s release show at The Bourbon is paired with its sister band, The Ambulanters, which is also releasing its first full-length, A Man With A Gun Lives Here. Tickets for the show are $10 and can be purchased at bourbontheatre.com. ~ Sam Crisler
January 26
Santiago Cal
I Forgot To Love ‘Shaped by the Other’ My Father & The Ambulanters Album Release Show The Bourbon bourbontheatre.com
Union for Contemporary Art, 2423 N. 24th Street www.u-ca.org
Latin cultural objects, finding metaphor in everyday objects that contribute “materially and spiritually to the artist’s sense of identity.” The second body of work looks to the artist’s immediate family as “the collective self,” exploring “how we shape each other through consideration and change.” Through sculptures and drawings of his wife and child, specifically looking at that moment in time just before sleep, he examines the process of growth and personal development. The show opens with an artist reception, open to the public, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. January 26 at the Wanda Ewing Gallery at the Union of Contemporary Art, 2423 N. 24th Street. The show runs through March 2. Further information is available online at u-ca.org. ~ Kent Behrens
January 26
High on Fire The Slowdown theslowdown.com
Fridays 7 p.m. | Saturdays 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. | Sundays 2 p.m. TAG Night Out February 1 www.rosetheater.org
Steven’s great-great-grandfather, Chief Standing Bear, stood up in court 180 years ago and demanded that a federal Judge recognize Indians are “persons” under the law. Today, following an altercation in which Steven is bullied at school on account of his long hair, Steven must follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and speak out against his school’s attempt to force him to cut his hair, and ultimately, to erase his identity. Written by Mary Kathryn Nagle (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), the play invites the audience to see the past emerg-
Two years ago, Lincoln band I Forgot To Love My Father had the DIY scene wrapped around its finger. Audiences of lovestruck and heartbroken college kids took to frontman JP Davis’ confessional lyrics that placed the band squarely in the emo revival crowd, and the band’s seven-member attack and unhinged live shows featuring hordes of crowdsurfers made IFTLMF one of the hottest acts around. But with only an acoustic EP and a live radio recording to its name (on streaming services, that is), the band never quite capitalized on its reign atop the music scene. This month, the songs that initially propelled IFTLMF will finally be
The Union for Contemporary Art invites you to Shaped by the Other, a solo exhibit by artist and educator Santiago Cal. An Associate professor of art at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Cal has shown his work internationally and has been awarded residencies in Omaha, Mexico and his native Belize. Shaped by the Other presents a variety of drawing, sculpture, music, and video, examining the dynamics of identity through two specific bodies of work. The first examines the artist’s personal identity as formed through traditional
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Oakland sludge metal band High on Fire was set to co-headline a slate of shows in October with thrashers Municipal Waste until frontman Matt Pike was forced to undergo a partial toe amputation, which has to be the most metal thing ever. The amputation capped a whirlwind year for Pike, who also plays guitar in legendary stoner rock band Sleep. In 2018, that band released and toured in support of The Sciences, its first album since 1999 opus Dopesmoker, while High on Fire dropped its eighth LP, Electric Messiah, an update on the band’s trademark punk-inflected sludge. In true High on Fire fashion, songs consistently stretch past the five-minute mark,
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traversing plodding stoner rock abysses of doom and fist-pumping thrash metal rainstorms, with Pike’s exultant growl guiding the way. High on Fire rescheduled many of the Municipal Waste shows it was forced to drop and added a January Omaha stop at The Slowdown to the list. Who knows, maybe Pike will show off his half toe. Tickets are $20, and check theslowdown.com for more information. ~ Sam Crisler
January 26
CJ Mills
January 26
I and You
Jim Scholz and Cortney Christensen:
Bluebarn Theatre 10th & Pacific www.bluebarn.org
Photography Sunderland Gallery, 3900 Webster Street www.cathedralartsproject.org The natural world is the focus of an upcoming exhibit at Sunderland Gallery with a feature on photography by Jim Scholz and Cortney Christensen.
Reverb Lounge reverblounge.com
January 31 – February 24
difficult to see become grand and intriguing in his lens. Jim Scholz and Cortney Christensen: Photography opens January 26 at Sunderland Gallery in the Cathedral Cultural Center, 3900 Webster Street, and runs through February 24. For more information, visit cathedralartsproject.org, cortneychristensen.com or scholzimages. com. ~ Melinda Kozol
January 27, 7pm 13th Annual
Omaha Entertainment & Arts Awards The Slowdown www.OEA-awards.org It was around 2013 when CJ Mills started wooing Omaha audiences with her angelic croon and wistfully jazzy R&B. Before then, she was a track star at Kansas State University, but suffered a weightlifting injury and quickly gravitated to songwriting to fill the new time on her hands. Mills returned to Omaha upon graduation and cut her teeth in the house show circuit and among the bar crowds. She has the kind of effortlessly soulful voice you’d expect to hear in a dimly lit blues lounge, but it didn’t matter where she played early in her career — she fit right in, and she soon scored an opening slot at the 2016 Maha Music Festival. Whether she’s with her full band or crafting her own beats onstage with her Gretsch hollow-body and a looper pedal, Mills’ voice and its therapeutic effect alone are worth the price of admission. Now relocated to Philadelphia, Mills is back home for a night, playing Reverb Lounge with Lincoln’s Mesonjixx and Omaha rapper Kethro. Tickets are $8 at reverblounge.com. ~ Sam Crisler
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JANUARY 31st – FEBRUARY 24th, 2019
Scholz captures images from around the world and close to home, his portfolio featuring urban and rural landscapes with rich color and light. While his compositions often feature a large expanse, the intricate details pop on old buildings and in wisps of cornstalks. Christensen hones in on the details themselves, focusing on plant life. The contrasting colors of the leaves and petals begin to abstract into colorscapes. He plays with this abstraction, varying his shutter speeds and motion to offer a mimic of the natural effect of wind or rain on the object. Rounding out the work, insects become a star element. Christensen’s macro-level composition introduces a rich, magical world in nature. The details so
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Join Beaufield Berry and Dominique Morgan as they host Omaha’s premiere night in gathering our city’s musical, performing, and visual art talent. With musical acts by Jocelyn, Pony Creek and Esencia Latina, spoken word by Trac Schacht and an after party featuring music by DJ SharkWeek. The event will be held at the Slowdown. For tickets, visit www.oeaawards.org. ~ Reader staff
One afternoon, Anthony arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline’s door bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and an urgent assignment from their English teacher. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, they unlock a much deeper mystery that has brought them together. I and You is an ode to youth, life, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness. I and You by Lauren Gunderson is the 2014 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award winner. The Bluebarn’s performance features actors Anna Jordan and Jordan Smith; directed by Barry Carman. Tickets will be available through the box office at 402-345-1576 or BLUEBARN’s website. General Admission is $35 (Senior $30). ~ Reader staff
Here’s to having a fresh start at binge eating, boozing, and slacking off.
Happy New Year!!
Join us for FREE Wednesdays 6:30 - 7:30 pm
The Commons Community Center Enter through door #4 on the east side of the building
4923 Center - Est. 1945
402-932-5116
Monday-Friday 3 - 7pm Omaha's Best Happy Hour!!!
7020 Cass • Omaha, Nebraska 68132 (402) 556-6262 • www.fumcomaha.org
September 27th – October 21st, 2018
November 23rd – December 16th, 2018
January 31st – February 24th, 2019
March 21st – April 14th , 2019
May 16th – June 16th, 2019
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CURTAIN SET TO RISE ON ANOTHER STRONG THEATER SEASON Change, Experimentation marked performances in 2018
THEATER
B Y B E A U F I E L D B E R RY A N D N ATA L I E M C G O V E R N
BEAUFIELD BERRY is an accomplished playwright, novelist, theater arts educator and performer. She’s passionate about performing arts and has served on several boards across Omaha. When she’s not covering the theater scene, you can find her creative consulting with Storytellers Collaborative and leading personal coaching sessions with many beloved clients. Check her out at BeaufieldBerryFisher.com .
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ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
L
ocal theater in 2018 was a year of experimentation, change, and memorable productions. Experimentation showed us what’s possible in new venues, such as OutrSpaces on 13th Street. OutrSpaces hosted Ashley Laverty’s Kerfuffle and its ability to shapeshift as needed by whoever it has the pleasure of hosting. The Performing Arts Center at the Union for Contemporary Art is also a blank slate that transformed itself where needed and found itself filled to the walls with hits in both Centering the Margins, written by local playwrights (Beaufield Berry, Kim Whiteside and Peggy Jones), and the fall blockbuster Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, which sold out in its last two weekends. Both were directed by Denise Chapman. The Bluebarn Theatre returned in the fall with its Shakespearean “choose-your-ownadventure” foray into the woods with Walk The Night; Spirits to Enforce, a ghostly take on the Tempest. In fact, the Halloween season was the one to beat with Circle Theater, Brigit St. Brigit and OCP taking on haunting renditions of classic shows.
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Things changed on our scene last year with the loss of the classic Shelterbelt and SNAP! Productions space at 33rd and California after 25 years. They closed with Ellen Struve’s sold out run of The Dairy Maid Right directed by Amy Lane, a fitting end to a theater with a history of dinner shows. The space that has housed countless artistic memories, writers and performances, and the birthplace of original, local scripts, will now house an insurance group. SNAP! brought an impressive collection of Omaha’s finest talent together in its gorgeous cabaret written at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Elegies. And it once again set the stage on fire in its collaboration with South High School in the production of Once on This Island, starring Regina Palmer as Ti Moune and directed by Becky Noble and Michal Simpson. Another change was the leadership at the Apollon (Reader issue December 2018) as the founding parties moved on to other ventures and Carol Danigole stepped in to preserve the space and its unique niche in the theater. It ended the year with another sold-out run of the Harry Potter themed, interactive dinner show, Holiday
at Hogwarts. Apollon also hosted the runaway one-night event, Mom’s Night Out. The brainchild of producing pair Beaufield Berry and Amy Schweid, Mom’s Night Out brought together some of Omaha’s favorite stage moms for a rollicking evening of decade-hopping, songparodying comedy/drama. At the end of the year our community gathered for the three-night event The Flora and Fauna (Reader issue November 2018). This show was written by LA-based playwright Alyson Mead and directed by Amy Lane and Beth Thompson and also produced by Berry. It gathered 19 Omaha-area actresses in three venues (The Union, UNO and The Apollon) to raise money and awareness for victims of sexual assault. In the end the show raised more than $1,000 for the cause and was a critical success. Another hit was She Kills Monsters directed by Beth Thompson in her Community Playhouse directorial debut. It featured some of the year’s best costumes and fight choreography. Omaha Performing Arts again wowed during a standout season, with the hilarious hit The Play That Goes Wrong and a breathtaking production of The Phantom of the Opera. Early in the year, The Reader said goodbye to our friend and longtime contributor Gordon Spencer, feeling the loss of his passion for theater throughout the season. Now for a look at 2019. The new year will start the Omaha theater season strong with The Bluebarn debut of dramas I and You by Lauren Gunderson and Indecent by Paula Vogel, along with the award-winning “Oz”inspired dark musical The Woodsman combined with puppetry and partnered by STRANGEMEN THEATRE COMPANY. The Omaha Community Playhouse will focus on a number of plays
such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, of Mice and Men, Men On Boats, and the farce One Man and Two Guvnors. Don’t let the titles fool you -- there WILL be women on stage. Crowd favorite musicals will consist of Ragtime and Bridges of Madison County, both dramatic portrayals centering on diversity and romantic trysts. The Rose Theatre boasts a fun-filled and whimsical lineup of plays and a hit summer musical as Matilda takes the stage in early June. It’s a Tony Award-winning production based on Roald Dahl’s memorable book classic. Return to Niobrara, The Dollmaker’s Gift, Thumbelina, and Dragons Eat Tacos will round out the much-
anticipated season. The Chanticleer Theatre is staging Little Women in January, as well as The Little Foxes in the spring. George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion-inspired musical My Fair Lady (music by Frederick Loewe) closes the theater’s season in May. Ralston Community Theatre will stage the ever popular and iconic Beauty and the Beast for its 40th anniversary this summer, while Papillion LaVista Community Theatre presents Into the Woods. Bellevue Little Theatre’s lineup includes Arsenic and Old Lace in January, and She Loves Me in the spring. The Lofte Community Theatre branches out to unveil an operetta and a wellknown classic, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of
Penzance, after a successful 2018 Oliver! run. Other shows include Calendar Girls, The Voice of the Prairie, of Mice and Men, In-Laws, Out-Laws, and Other People, and the mystery whodunnit The 39 Steps. Brigit St. Brigit is going to round out an exciting season with Rona Munro’s Bold Girls and Arthur Miller’s Incident at Vichy. We’re all eagerly awaiting Shelterbelt and SNAP! To announce their new creative home and get back to what they do best, an announcement we hope to hear in 2019. An exciting development in 2019 will be the inaugural Omaha Fringe Festival, an international idea brought local by Tamar Neumann, playwright, educator and Reader contributor. The festival will take place
in July under the umbrella of Omaha Under the Radar, the annual experimental performance festival held in Omaha, now in its sixth year. Both festivals are taking applications for performers. For more information on Omaha Fringe, check out UndertheradarOmaha.com. On behalf of the Performing Arts Team at The Reader, we can’t wait to bring you greater and more in-depth coverage of our tremendous theater community over the next year. If you are interested in becoming an even sponsor, please contact Beau@TheReader.com. For more on #metoo visit www.metoomvmt.com and for more on Alyson visit: Alysonmead.com
SHE KILLS MONSTERS
THEATER
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GET IT LIVE Omaha is in the thick of things during International Blues Challenge month BY B.J. HUCHTEMANN
HOODOO
J
HOODOO focuses on blues, roots, Americana and occasional other music styles with an emphasis on live music performances. Hoodoo columnist B.J. Huchtemann is a senior contributing writer and veteran music journalist who received the Blues Foundation’s 2015 Keeping the Blues Alive Award for Journalism. Follow her blog at hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com and on www.thereader.com.
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anuary kicks off with great opportunities to get out of the house and support live music. Saturday, Jan. 5, MusicFestOmaha presents The Blues at the Metro. The 2018 International Blues Challenge winner, the Keeshea Pratt Band from Houston, performs at 7 p.m. Pratt is a dynamic vocalist and band leader, and the band features a great horn section. Find out more at keesheapratt.com. Featured artist Sir Charles Jones calls himself the “Undisputed King of Southern Soul,” mixing old-school Southern soul and blues with contemporary R&B. He plays at 9 p.m. The event takes place at Metropolitan Community College’s Institute of Culinary Arts, Building 22 (use the Sorensen Parkway entrance). General admission tickets are $30 and VIP tickets are $40 in advance. At the door, general admission is $35. For details see Facebook.com/ musicfestomaha1.
International Blues Challenge The Blues Society of Omaha sends two local acts and a youth band to Memphis in January for the annual Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge (IBCs), Jan. 22-29 on Beale Street. Matt Cox represents the BSO in the Solo/Duo category. Stan & The Chain Gang represent in the band category. The IBCs showcase more than 250 artists from around the world, a great opportunity to get heard, make connections and advance careers for aspiring touring artists. See blues.org/international-blueschallenge. The Blues Foundation also invites blues societies to send a youth band for its annual Youth Showcase, which puts young bands on the club stages before the start of the official IBC sets. BSO and the BluesEd program are sending Us & Them. The send-off show for BluesEd band Us & Them is Friday, Jan. 11, 7-10 p.m. at Chrome Lounge. The send-off show for Matt Cox and Stan & The Chain Gang is Saturday, Jan. 12, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Chrome Lounge. Hear these acts, show your support and contribute to the travel and lodging expenses for the artists’ trips to Memphis. Find details at OmahaBlues. com and watch Facebook.com/BluesSocietyOfOmaha for updates from Memphis during the IBCs. BSO Presents Blues Here’s the rest of the BSO Presents schedule for Chrome Lounge. Minneapolis-based Joyann Parker makes her Omaha debut Thursday, Jan. 3. She’s an up-and-coming vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Midwest Record says “some of the smokiest, smokingest green-eyed soul you are going to encounter. Killer stuff.” See joyannparker.com. Other BSO Presents shows at Chrome include Eddie “Devil Boy” Turner on Jan. 10, Hamilton Loomis on Jan. 19, the always-mighty-fine Bel Airs on Jan. 24, the horndriven sound of The Jimmys on Jan. 31 and the blues-Americana of
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HOODOO
Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations on Feb. 7. All shows are 6-9 p.m. See OmahaBlues.com. Zoo Bar Blues Highlights from Lincoln’s historic Zoo Bar’s calendar for January include 2018 IBC winner Keeshea Pratt Band on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 6 p.m. Jack Hotel and Mezcal Brothers team for a double bill for the 6 p.m. show Thursday, Jan. 10. Lincoln’s Swing Fever plays the 5 p.m. show on Friday, Jan. 11. Big Daddy Caleb & The Chargers host a CD release party at the Zoo on Saturday, Jan. 19, 6-9 p.m. The Bel Airs play the 5 p.m. show on Friday, Jan. 25. Check out the full schedule at ZooBar.com. Hot Notes Minneapolis’ Joyann Parker (see BSO Presents above) also plays the Omaha Jitterbugs’ Night Out dance Friday, Jan. 4, 9 p.m.midnight, at the Eagles’ Lodge, 201 S. 24th St. See jitterbugs.org. Buck’s Bar & Grill in Venice, Neb., continues to book very cool, up-and-coming country and Americana artists. Check out the website and show your support for a local restaurant and venue trying to build consistently great music and consistent audience attendance at bucksbarandgrill.com. Americana-roots guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Parker Millsap plugs in at Reverb Lounge on Thursday, Jan. 10, 9 p.m. See parkermillsap.com. G. Love & Special Sauce is up at Waiting Room on Saturday, Jan. 12, 8:30 p.m. Indie rock and folk artist Gregory Alan Isakov plays Lincoln’s Bourbon Theatre on Monday, Jan. 28, 8 p.m. The Bourbon has just announced guitarist Robin Trower for Thursday, April 18, at the theatre. See bourbontheatre.com. Guitar great Eric Johnson celebrates his 1990 Ah Via Musicom release on his current tour, which lands at Slowdown on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 8 p.m. He’ll be joined by band members from the original recording, Tommy Taylor and Kyle Brock. See theslowdown.com for seating and ticket options. For more on the tour, see ericjohnson.com. The 13th annual Omaha Entertainment & Arts Awards is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m. at The Slowdown. See Facebook. com/oeaawards, tickets are $30 and available at ticketfly.com. Local singer-songwriter Brad Hoshaw has a campaign to finance his next studio disc that ends Jan. 9. Check out gofundme.com/bradhoshaw or purchase music and merchandise at bradhoshawmusic.com. Hoodoo hero Jon Dee Graham, seen in Omaha and Lincoln in December, has an independent crowd-funding program to raise capital for the album he wants to make in conjunction with his 60th birthday in 2019. Find out more about Graham, a three-time inductee into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, his iconic role in the Austin and Americana/roots/blues music scene and read his statement about this project at jondeegraham.com/new-record.
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ZIG-A-ZIG-AH 2019 I’ll Tell You What (Movies) I Really, Really Want
B Y R YA N S Y R E K
FILM
T
For better or worse, depending on who you ask, senior contributing writer RYAN SYREK has been reviewing movies and writing about popular culture for more than 15 years. In print, on social media (twitter.com/thereaderfilm), on the radio (CD1059.com) and on his podcast, Movieha! (movieha.biz), Ryan tries to critically engage pop content while not boring anybody. Send him hate, love or local movie news items at film@thereader.com. .
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he most anticipated new release of 2019 will — fingers crossed — have Robert Mueller’s signature on it. Apologies to anyone who mistakenly thought “stay in my lane” would be among my New Year’s resolutions … The good news is that we will have an ample supply of cinematic shenanigans to distract us from the ongoing abject failure of our political institutions! Huzzah to anyone who correctly thought “use more exclamation points” would be among my New Year’s resolutions!! Let’s blow through 2019 like Father Time fast-forward farted and take a look at my most anticipated film for each month. An important caveat: Indie and arthouse movies are slower to schedule specific releases. I promise, my Spidey senses are also hella a-tingle for the entirety of Film Streams’ “Coming Soon” section! January Glass (Jan. 18) The greatest trick M. Night Shyamalan ever pulled was getting me excited about one of his movies again. The director who made a movie about Marky Mark fighting plants is wrapping up the Unbreakable trilogy, which I can’t believe exists. Just watching Bruce Willis’ poncho-clad Superman fight James McAvoy’s disassociated man-beast at the behest of Samuel L. Jackson’s purple plotting will be deeply satisfying, even if it somehow sucks. February Cold Pursuit (Feb. 8) February is traditionally the month when most people catch up on limited releases from the year prior that are nominated for Oscars. February is now the month when we all watch Liam Neeson as a snowplow driver hellbent on revenge, killing people in snowplow-related homicides. I promise, this is a whole, real movie despite looking like a fake movie poster you’d see in another movie. March Us (March 15) It’s not fair that I forced myself to choose only one movie per month! I am the teensy-weensiest nano-quark more excited to see Us than Captain Marvel (March 8). You may possibly remember director Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, from being the best movie that came out in 2017. His sophomore effort has scientolothespian extraordinaire Elisabeth Moss and Lupita Nyong’o, so it doesn’t really matter that we still don’t really know what it’s about. April Hellboy (April 12) Have you seen what Hopper from Stranger Things (David Harbour) looks like as the titular
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character? If so, I don’t really have to explain myself with this pick. With Guillermo del Toro off bathing in the glow of his mer-porn Oscar, director Neil Marshall takes over this reboot. As someone who still talks about the glory of The Descent and Doomsday, I am quite comfortable with this deal that involves the devil. May Godzilla: King of the Monsters (May 31) Your bank account statement is going to sound like it’s stuttering in May, repeating “movie theater” over and over again. You’ve got Avengers: Endgame (May 3), John Wick: Chapter 3 (May 17) and Aladdin (May 24), all of which you’re legally obligated to see in order to retain citizenship. But if you’re not most excited to see Godzilla fight Mothra and King Ghidorah, your priorities are dangerously a-whack. I’m told there will be humans acting in this film. I told those who told me this information that I don’t care. June Untitled Danny Boyle Comedy Project (June 28) That’s right, my most anticipated movie of June is so hip it doesn’t even have a name yet! Boyle is too often left off of lists that contain the elite directors of our era. Boyle teaming with Kate McKinnon and writer Richard Curtis is enough to capture this month’s crown in my book, which is a weird place for me to keep a crown. All I know is that this is set in the ’60s/’70s and follows a struggling musician, played by Himesh Patel. This is great because nothing is funnier to me than struggling musicians. They can’t pay for stuff and they sing! Classic. July Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 5) Any bets on just how awkward and awful Quentin Tarantino’s press junkets for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (July 26) will get? What are the odds that the new animated version of the old animated classic The Lion King (July 19) becomes the top-grossing film of all time? While people are asking themselves these things, I’ll be watching Spider-Man again and again. Spider-Man: Homecoming was maybe my favorite superhero movie ever. This sequel likely can’t compete with it, but it’s throwing Bubble Boy (Jake Gyllenhaal) at it, which is always the right move. August New Mutants (Aug. 2) Now that everyone speaks fluent comic book, we’re ready for some accents. That is to say, New Mutants appears to be a horror movie starring young X-Men. Some people may be concerned that the film was delayed, like, a year. But those people are cowards. Cowards, I say! If I’m right,
they spent that time making this a bit more horror-y. Huzzah and hurrah for more horror-ah! September The Kitchen (Sept. 20) Haven’t heard of this one? Sit down. I’m serious. I’m not doing this until you sit. Thank you. Writer/ director Andrea Berloff’s directorial debut stars Melissa McCarthy, Elisabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish as wives of New York gangsters in Hell’s Kitchen in the 1970s who decide to continue their husbands’ criminal activities after their hubbies get locked up. I told you to sit down, so it’s not my fault if you read that while walking and collided with a wall or something. We have to keep the planet going until at least September. October Zombieland 2 (Oct 2019) The voice cast of the animated Addams Family (Oct. 11) flick is so divine, I almost put that one here. Oscar Isaac as Gomez and Charlize Theron as Morticia? If it were live-action, I’d demand a national holiday for its release. Instead, I chose Zombieland 2, a sequel I never thought we’d get. The first film is one of those movies whose gravitational pull I cannot resist when I find it on cable. I doubt they’ll be able to recapture the pitchperfect tone and originality of the first flick, but I’m too hyped anyway. Who do you think they’ll use as the celebrity-playing-themselves-as-a-zombie cameo? Brad Pitt wasted his quirky walk-on during Deadpool 2, so my money is on Tom Hanks. November Charlie’s Angels (Nov. 1) Writer/director Elizabeth Banks oversees this reboot featuring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. If that’s not enough for you, I’ll raise you a Patrick Stewart as Bosley. I understand that this is breaking little to no new ground, but the idea that every generation gets a new set of Angels is pretty great, and the Stewarts were divine choices here. Please, nobody tell Crispin Glover he’s not invited. December Star Wars: Episode IX (Dec. 20) After the fan-baby eruption at The Last Jedi, the greatest film franchise of all time is at one hell of a crossroads. I believe the first two films in this new trilogy are the best in the series. Will it continue to be progressive, inspired and original, unseating the original trilogy by sticking the landing? Thankfully, if there’s one thing JJ Abrams is known for, it’s totally nailing the ending to his mysterious projects, right! I had better start drinking fermented green milk from sea creature teats now just to cope with my anxieties, huh?
DROWN ME IN A SEA OF SPIDER-PEOPLE ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Is Somehow Better Than You’ve Heard B Y R YA N S Y R E K
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atching Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the closest feeling I’ve had to the first time I cracked open a comic book, beginning a lifelong love affair with a legendary onesie wearer. The same way Steve Ditko’s pencils popped my eyeballs, Spider-Verse explodes like a shotgun blast of pop art, right to the kisser. Infused with the noblest parts of Stan Lee’s legacy, this is a film in which a father and son repeatedly verbally and physically demonstrate their love for each other, in which a talking pig and Nicolas Cage finally share screen time, and in which reductive fan-baby arguments about inclusivity are gently smothered beneath the Kingpin’s love handles. Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is the secondmost authentic screen teen this year, trailing only Elsie Fisher’s Kayla from Eighth Grade. That’s right, the best coming-of-age movies this year involve Peter Porker, The Spectacular SpiderHam, and the directorial acumen of Bo Burnham, just as we all predicted! At the onset of SpiderVerse, there’s only one Spider-Man, and it’s not Miles. It’s Peter Parker, as voiced by Chris Pine, who is immediately eligible for eight quintillion nerd points by completing the quasi-impossible Star Trek, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man trifecta. Except, and I swear this isn’t a spoiler because it happens in the first 30 minutes, Peter Parker dies. Prior to Peter Parker picking to perish, Miles is bit by a genetically engineered spider. His investigation into his arachnid love nip is what gives him front-row seats to the squashing of Spider-Man by the Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). Spidey was trying to stop the rotund mob boss from borking the multiverse by firing up a shoddy hadron collider. He failed, and the result is a bunch of Spider-people from different dimensions trapped in Miles’ world. The noticeably paunchy, midlife-crisis-havin’ Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), from a similar alternate Earth, reluctantly takes Miles under his
webbed armpit after a gleefully grand slapstick meet-cute at a gravesite. The dysfunctional duo aims to stop Kingpin and return the other Spiderfolks home. This includes Spider-Man Noir (Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and Spider-Ham (John Mulaney). If it sounds too crammed with characters and overly busy, please know I haven’t even mentioned a handful of other major characters. But please also know that the ADHD, hyperkinetic storytelling is purposeful, playful, perfect, and most other positive, P-based adjectives. Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman leverage a unique visual style that feels like slorping down pureed comic panels. From the hallucinatory animated approach to one of the best superhero soundtracks, SpiderVerse feels like the first major superhero movie genuinely made for today’s young people and not primarily made for older people who loved superheroes when they were young people. In so many important ways, Miles represents the best version and inspired evolution of Lee’s SpiderMan conceit. He is relatable to everyone but looks, talks and acts like a subgroup of Americans who have long deserved to see a mirrored reflection of themselves as hero on the big screen. You bet your bottom Spider-buck that the overarching moral is the expected riff on “with great power …” But the film also deploys the concept of a multiverse as a sly argument in favor of inclusivity as a blessing and not a threat. Coyly, it says “Calm down. See! White SpiderMan is safe. But look how cool all these different perspectives are?!” Combine the artistic splendor with that message along with themes that show healthy masculinity involves emotional expression and you have not only the best superhero movie of the year, not only the best animated movie of the year, but one of the best movies of the year period. Or, should I say: “Excelsior!”
NEW RELEASE
If Beale Street Could Talk
Dundee Theater — Starts Friday, January 11, 2019
4952 DODGE STREET OMAHA , NE 68132
Grade = A+
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CUTTING ROOM
• I can’t remember a piece I’ve had that set off as much fairly well-intended discussion as my argument that Die Hard is not actually a
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Christmas movie. It seems only right to follow it was “an insignificant bullet.” The idea of a in that franchise’s footsteps and exploit that space western set in the outer reaches of Star popularity as much as possible! So here’s news Wars is cool enough, but Herzog’s nihilistic that McClane, the Die Hard prequel that will intonations will fix any dialogue problems this try to shoehorn a backstory onto a cop whose universe has had. Just imagine a wry German whole schtick was that he was just an average monotone crawling over “I don’t like sand. It’s guy, will likely be rated R. That’s not much news, all coarse, and rough, and irritating. And it but it also doesn’t sound like much of a movie. gets everywhere.” Poetry. Nobody needs this. Actually, I just looked at • The last thing that Jodie Foster directed was Bruce Willis’ IMDB page. Bruce Willis needs a subpar episode of last season’s Black Mirror. this. The last two films she directed starred Mel • The live-action Star Wars series, The “Stop Giving Me Chances, I’m Just an Awful Mandalorian, has me breathin’ like a morbidly Person at My Core” Gibson. And yet, I’m obese Darth Vader on a stair stepper. Pedro still inexplicably overjoyed at news she’ll be Pascal from Game of Thrones is the lead, starring in and helming the English-language which is cool. Nick Nolte will be gruff about remake of the Icelandic eco-thriller Women at something in space, which is also cool. But War. It’s about a vigilante environmentalist, so y’all, Carl Weathers and Werner Herzog it’s as close as we’ll likely come to seeing Foster are in this thing! That’s Apollo Creed and as a superhero. Gibson is not set to appear, the director-turned-actor who once got shot unless he’s planning on the role he’s been during a press interview and kept going, saying destined to play for years: Pollution.
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• Netflix, whose spending habits seem irresponsible until you realize it has all of our money, is pairing with Spike Lee’s production company on See You Yesterday. The film combines one of the best things, time travel, with one of the worst things, police brutality. Based on an award-winning short film by Stefon Bristol and Fredrica Bailey, this thoughtful blend of social activism and whimsical imagination sounds downright brilliant. That’s provided they keep other time travelers away. Nobody wants to see Marty McFly explain “Black Lives Matter.” Cutting Room provides breaking local and national movie news … complete with added sarcasm. Send any relevant information to film@thereader.com. Check out Ryan on Movieha!, a weekly podcast, catch him on the radio on CD 105.9 on Fridays at around 7:40 a.m. and on KVNO 90.7 at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays and follow him on Twitter.
HEARTLAND HEALING HEARTLAND HEALING is a metaphysically-based polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods of healing the body, mind and planet by MICHAEL BRAUNSTEIN. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. Important to remember and pass on to others: for a weekly dose of Heartland Healing, visit HeartlandHealing.com and like us on Facebook. .
ENERGY HEALING: HEALING TOUCH BY MICHAEL BRAUNSTEIN
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y mother was sick. It was 1994 and the oncologist planned to perform surgery on her neck. Concerned about her tolerance of anesthesia, I talked her doctor into allowing me to hypnotize her instead. Surprisingly, Dr. White* allowed me in the surgical suite to make sure my mother remained hypnotized during the procedure. It was successful, and Dr. White was mightily impressed. It was the early days of alternative therapies in Omaha. A few days later Dr. White phoned me. “I have a patient,” he said. “She is at UNMC with a rare form of spinal cancer and in great pain. We don’t want to just keep giving her stronger and stronger painkillers. I have heard about something called healing touch for pain. Do you know anyone who does that here?” As it so happened, I did. She was a nurse, and I gave her number to Dr. White. A few weeks later I had reason to call my nurse friend. In passing, I asked, “Did Dr. White call you about one of his patients?” “Oh, yes,” she said. “I did several sessions with his daughter and she is much better.” Wow! So, the “patient” was his daughter. Dr. White was willing to consider healing touch when it came to someone close and dear to him. Dr. White’s need to find a practitioner and my ability to help signaled the beginning of Heartland Healing and our mission to inform and help connect the public with holistic and natural therapies. “See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.” — “Tommy” by The Who “And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying: Be thou healed.” — Gospel of Luke, 5:13 The healing power of touch may be the oldest interventionist technique known to induce healing in another. Cave paintings in the Pyrenees mountains of Northern Italy dating to 15,000 B.C. are said to show ancient man healing one another with touch. Carvings and artifacts from early Egypt, Tibet, China and Mesopotamia demonstrate the early development of the therapeutic value of touch. A medical textbook published in 2600 B.C., the Huang-ti Nei-Ching (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine) describes the use of hands-on healing among its varied therapies. Roman Catholic churches of medieval times display the use of touch as a healing technique in icons and artwork. French and English histories speak of the “King’s Touch,” which was said to heal. A touch expresses, a touch connects, a touch closes distance and in an instant reminds us that we are not separate. Touch quite truly lowers the resistance of energy between two bodies, and when that energy is linked, the potential is raised. The therapy of healing touch and associated modalities is based upon the simple understanding that the human body expresses and maintains an integral energy field. The history of touch and healing intertwine, going back millennia. It is through the studies and practices of Dr. Dolores Krieger that touch and healing have found a place in Western allopathic medical practice. Krieger’s formal development of Therapeutic Touch made a traditional, long-accepted modality become finally welcome by large segments of the American medical establishment. Dr. Krieger observed case after
case of healing while watching a 71-year-old retired Hungarian cavalry officer work with people with all description of ailments. The gentleman, Colonel Estebany, would sit quietly near the person being healed and move his hands near and around the body of that person. Dr. Krieger began doing her own studies while a professor at New York University. She found that empirical changes can be measured in the body as a result of the therapy. Therapeutic Touch and other healing practices, (some would say all healing practices,) use the knowledge that illness or dis-ease is the result of a body’s energy field becoming unbalanced. Dr. Krieger surmised that the touch worker, by interfacing his or her energy field with the field of the sick person, would influence the patient’s energy to rectify imbalances in that field and allow the energy flow to proceed uninterrupted, thereby restoring the natural state: health. Described briefly, the practitioner enters a meditative state, focusing intent. The patient or client can be conscious or unconscious. After establishing an empathic state, the healer passes his or her hands over the person’s body. (Note: it is not necessary to actually touch the body but simply engage with the client’s energy field.) Attention is given to areas that signify an imbalance or blockage. These areas are determined by sensations or intuitions of the healer. The energy of the healer adds to or rebalances the field of the client. With balance restored, the recuperative powers of the body function more freely and the illness surrenders to the body’s healthful properties. The development of the skill set necessary to perform a therapeutic touch session takes a devoted course of study, one that our friend Dr. White and his contemporaries never learned in modern medical schools. * Dr. White is a pseudonym for privacy. Be well. Heartland Healing is a metaphysically based polemic describing alternatives to conventional methods of healing the body, mind and planet. It is provided as information and entertainment, certainly not medical advice. Important to remember and pass on to others: for a weekly dose of Heartland Healing, visit HeartlandHealing.com. and like us on Facebook.
HEARTLAND HEALING
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