The Reader - December 2019 by PioneerMedia.Me

D E C EMBE R 2 0 1 9 | volU M E 26 | ISSU E 10

Early Childhood

Education In Nebraska: Why We Need To Do Better For Our Kids stories by Leo Adam Biga AnD Matthew Hansen

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COVER: Nebraska’s Early Childhood Education Leading into the Workforce

25th: Bar Hag: Cheers to the Memories

DISH: Ethnic Grocery Stores

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a season of events Holidays in the Old Market November 25 – January 5

The Capitol District Ice Rink December 6 – January 21

Holiday lights will be illuminated every evening through January 5, 2020 as part of Holidays in the Old Market. Special holiday activities, events and caroling will also take place.

A portion of the proceeds benefits Food Bank for the Heartland Closed Christmas Day

Old Market FREE

KETV Family Festival

Sponsored by Lincoln Financial Group

Sunday, December 1 | noon – 5 p.m. Venues

Celebrate the Holiday lights festival and help shine the light on hunger.

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• Downtown YMCA • The Durham Museum • Joslyn Art Museum • Omaha Children’s Museum • Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Barn • W. Dale Clark Library FREE

Family activities and entertainment with Ollie the Trolley providing transportation between sites.

10th & Capitol Ave. $10 admission fee includes skate rental

New Year’s Eve Fireworks Spectacular Sponsored by Wells Fargo

Tuesday, December 31 | 7 p.m. NEW FIREWORKS LAUNCH & VIEWING LOCATION! Near CHI Health Center & TD Ameritrade Park FREE parking in CHI Health Center Lots A, B and C (lots open to public at 6 p.m.) Additional viewing areas can be found at holidaylightsfestival.org

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December 2019

Connecting Early Childhood to Workforce Development by Steve Kerschke

response or years, philosoto the dephers, mands of psychologists the modern and educaworkplace,” tors have said Jason sought to disLauritsen, a cover the key consultant principles of and public child develspeaker on opment, and the topics it is widely of leaderaccepted ship and that learning human perand mental formance. development DR. JANYNE PEEK EMSICK, FOUNDER “Given the JASON LAURITSEN, Dr. Kim Hoogeveen, begins immeOF YOUR EXECUTIVE COACH CONSULTANT AND PUBLIC SPEAKER founder of MindSet competitivediately after ness of the “Sometimes we forget how impresWith this in mind, early childhood birth and translates beyond early childjob market and the ongoing challenges hood. We know, however, that children sionable children are. Every interaction education and its impact on workforce with our local talent pipeline, there is don’t just pick up foundational skills. They is an opportunity for learning, especially development is gaining attention, es- great value in early exposure to the skills need to be fostered through the applica- from those they admire. These impres- pecially in Nebraska. A recent report by necessary to build a solid foundation for tion of key learning principles, especially sions shape how they view the world and Blueprint Nebraska proposed the need to gainful employment later on.” graded exposure and repetition. Because how they behave,” said Dr. Janyne Peek “revolutionize all educational segments While the value of early childhood essential brain and neural development from early childhood to career” and sugEmsick, founder of Your Executive Coach. education is increasingly widely acceptoccurs within the first three to five years gested early childhood education has a “Whether in the classroom or at the dined, debate continues over which learning of life, early childhood education is an imdirect impact on workforce development. ner table, I’m a firm believer that we have approaches work best. Careful considerportant step in offering opportunities for “Historically, we’ve done a poor job ation of the whole body of research sugexploration and learning during this criti- the opportunity to shape the hopes and of adjusting the learning experience in gests the traditional learning approach, cal period of time. dreams of the next workforce.”

DECEMBER 2019

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which emphasizes foundational literacies, like language arts, mathematics and science, is not necessarily the best predictor of future, long-term success. A heavy focus on these core competencies falls short of equipping students with the knowledge they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving, technology-mediated world. Instead, employers are placing greater value on those who collaborate, communicate and solve problems — skills developed mainly through social and emotional learning. This social and emotional proficiency equips students to succeed in the evolving workplace, while traditional skills appear to be table stakes that allow future employees simply to “get into the game.”

port to navigate these pivotal years, the greater the impact we can have.” Today, children are being raised in a globally connected, rapidly evolving world, and experts say that many of them will work in jobs that do not exist today. Parents, teachers and leaders must recognize this and respond. Understanding and applying intrinsic and extrinsic motivational approaches and shifting from transactional to transformational learning are keys to helping children thrive in the future. “We no longer live in a transactional world of memorization and routines, and our approach is not in line with the expectations of the workplace,” Lauritsen

The World Economic Forum has also released a comprehensive list of skills required for success in the 21st century. One third of the skills listed were traditional hard or IQ-based skills. More notably, social and emotional skills made up the remainder. This is in line with studies showing that students who receive social and emotional instruction have achievement scores averaging 11 percentile points higher than those who do not, potentially leading to long-term benefits, such as higher rates of employment and educational fulfillment.

said. “Unfortunately, our system is not

“Early childhood education provides a safe and supportive learning environment where caring and responsive teachers can develop and reinforce character traits, like attitude, work ethic, honesty and integrity — all great predictors of long-term success,” said Dr. Kim Hoogeveen, founder of MindSet, a local consulting firm focused on building and protecting dynamic work cultures. “Beyond the early years, we know that social connections and our affiliations with friend groups can have a substantial influence on happiness and success. Around junior high is when kids start to form strong, lasting social networks. The earlier we provide students with the tools and sup-

nesses.” Focusing on human capital is

always set up in a way that reinforces the behaviors we actually want to develop.

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We tend to use rewards to obtain immediate, short-term results, and we celebrate low-maintenance students because they’re easy to manage. In doing so, we stifle those who demonstrate curiosity and creativity because it can be more challenging to deal with. ” Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker, said, “You don’t build businesses. You build people who build businot a new concept, and the value placed on culture and employee engagement is trending in the right direction. While the link between early childhood and the workplace is still a relatively new concept, it’s not too far-fetched. Educators who embrace the concepts of learning, while providing a safe, supportive learning environment, have the opportunity to provide children with a strong foundation to succeed in the workplace and in life. What happens in early childhood doesn’t stay in early childhood, and that’s a good thing … under the right conditions.

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DECEMBER 2019

Making the Case for Early Childhood by Leo Adam Biga

eset by high underemployment, poverty and achievement-gap zones, Nebraska has gone all-in on improving early childhood care and education to bolster its pipeline of future citizens and workers. Children living in poverty and exposed to trauma enter school unready to learn and more likely to present behavioral problems that impede academic-social progress. It’s why best practice schools and programs work with high-risk families from birth onward. Educare of Omaha’s early, immersive approach to children and families is the model Nebraska’s early childhood advocates are following. “The evidence is pretty clear that starting early is the best investment we can make,” said Sam Meisels, founding executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute (BECI). “We know this makes a difference. If we don’t start early, we’re only creating more problems for ourselves. It makes it hard for families, caregivers and teachers, and it makes it hard for children and, ultimately, for the rest of us.” Small-population Nebraska cannot afford children falling behind when it already faces a brain drain and employers who struggle finding in-state talent to fill high-tech jobs. Publicprivate funding, advocacy and policy have coalesced around early childhood.

Collaborating on a Comprehensive Approach BECI partners with the Learning Community (LC) of Douglas and Sarpy Counties on an 11-district Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan for school-based early childhood programs. It’s the largest birth-through-grade-three demonstration project in the U.S. It reaches thousands of children and their families. Its many moving parts and players range from the Omaha Public Schools to colleges and universities to nonprofits to test-pilot programs. “Anything that involves 11 superintendents and has them all in agreement is kind of world-shaking in my field,” Meisels noted. “This is really unusual. This is for the very long haul.

DECEMBER 2019

“We have data on children who started birth through third grade, so we’re already talking eight, nine years right there. It is a big deal, a big commitment. No one has said let’s get this thing done right away. It could break down at any level, but it’s not something we consider since it is so strongly supported.” A decade ago, Building Bright Futures took the lead on a birth-through-college focus. With more people taking up the work, the initiative expanded into a statewide human capital and economic development effort. Blueprint Nebraska, which identifies sectors for future prosperity, lists more support for early childhood teachers as a priority among pathways to strengthen the state’s workforce and grow its economy. A similar effort, Accelerate Nebraska, also toots the early childhood horn. The game-changer about this, according to former Westside Community Schools superintendent, now Avenue Scholars Foundation CEO, Ken Bird, is the “ever-growing attention to and understanding of the importance of early childhood education” across all segments. “I hear business leaders, politicians and families all talking the same language,” he said. “The work is all coming to a head at the right time. “With that said, we have a lot of work to do. If we don’t do something, we’re just going to see more issues upstream socially and educationally. We’ve got to fix it at the early stages. The exciting part is the primary stakeholders seem to be aligned. Now we need to turn that rhetoric into action, not just in Omaha but statewide.”

the early start — beginning at birth and continuing through third grade. Meisels said that gives children the head start they need. The second is using the school as a hub. “By involving the school right from the birth of a child onward, the family feels like they belong somewhere,” he said. “Principals and teachers know who the child is.” A third “Big Idea” is supporting parents and families as part of a whole child, whole family approach. “We want parents and families to be supported from the beginning and on through the early primary grades,” Meisels said, adding that families have been very open to the help offered. “Children spend the vast majority of their time out of the classroom and school, in homes and neighborhoods, where they face barriers and issues, especially children from families of low income,” said Meisels. The holistic approach also involves helping families out of poverty. “Economic insecurity is not good for the family and not good for the child in the family,” said Holland Children’s Movement CEO Hadley Richters. “We know children do better in a family that is healthy, thriving and economically stable. We need to remove road-

blocks or barriers for working families to succeed.”

Zeroing in on the Urban Core A two-generational model supporting intensive early childhood programming is taken at the LC’s two urban learning centers. The South Center partners with 11 South Omaha schools, and the North Center partners with six North Omaha schools. “We’re doing things public schools right now aren’t able to do — don’t have funding to do,” said LC Executive Director of Elementary Learning Centers Renee Franklin. “We’re not afraid to try new approaches. We’re learning so much, and part of our mission is to share what we’re learning and what works.” Franklin sees the plan “changing the paradigm” of early childhood within schools. “Not too long ago, [school districts] really didn’t see early childhood as anything that had to do with them, but now they’re seeing how that support makes children much better off when they get to their K-12 classrooms.” Franklin said there’s also been a shift in perspective — preschool is no longer seen as “just a place to go play.”

Big Ideas for a Big Impact Six “Big Ideas” anchor the Superintendents’ Plan. Infusing early childhood support and services from birth is its bedrock. “We think these big ideas fit anywhere we go,” Meisels said, “though in different communities and schools they will have different appearances because there are different resources and needs.” Meisels said he’s seen how important two of those “Big Ideas” are in practice. The first is

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Ken Bird, CEO of Avenue Scholars Foundation

Sam Meisels, founding executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute

Renee Franklin, EXEC director of elementary learning centers at the Learning Community “It’s viewed now as an integral part of the education system, where before principals didn’t necessarily see preschool classrooms as part of their school,” she said. Meisels is encouraged by schools’ buy-in. “The schools have kept their promise and really embraced young children,” he said. “This is a central harmony we have not had before. We’re breaking through silos and understanding you cannot do this alone. There is a need for systematic change, and we are working hard to implement it.” The “Big Idea” of parental involvement is put into practice in the North and South centers. “The way we’re set up in society, there are schools and parents — and they don’t necessarily work together as partners,” Franklin said. “I think there’s been a shift in realizing if we’re communicating with our families about what’s going on in the classroom, they can be supportive at home and reinforce the work happening in school.” As the South Center serves many immigrant, migrant and refugee families, it offers ESL classes to help parents overcome language-cultural barriers. The center has child learning classrooms for infants, toddlers and preschoolers and provides transportation and help navigating the educational system. The North Center offers a similar suite of services. “The goal is to strengthen their relationship with their children,” said South Center Family Learning Manager Nayeli Lopez. Social assistance and community navigators are also available to clients.

Nayeli Lopez, family learning manager at South Center

Anne O’Hara, family learning director at South Center

“Navigators guide participants to set up small goals to make changes in their lives,” Lopez said.

ico,” Lopez said, “I know our lives would have progressed faster.”

The Learning Community contracts with a deeply entrenched South Omaha neighbor, One World Community Health, to manage and operate the South Center. One World, in turn, provides participants access to wraparound services for families.

Community-driven

The idea, Lopez said, is “meeting parents where they are and providing them the tools they may need.” That includes workforce development and GED classes through Metropolitan Community College. “We’re looking for them to graduate from the program and to be comfortable and confident with the set of skills they gain to be successful on their own,” Lopez said. ents.

She sees strong commitment from par-

“Many participants work two, three jobs; yet, they still make the effort to learn not only for themselves but to provide something better for their families.” “As parents progress through the program, I often hear them say how much the experience improved their lives and the lives of their children,” said South Center Family Learning Director Anne O’Hara. “Independent evaluation results show a narrowing of the achievement gap for the children whose families attend our program.” Participants at both centers form their own cohorts. “A lot of encouragement happens,” South Center Instructional Manager Mandy Phillips said. “They all know what it’s like having little kids at home. It’s comforting to them to establish a community of people here who understand where they’re coming from.” “If my family had access to such a program when we first came to Omaha from Mex-

Putting these ideas into practice has involved significant relationship-building within the communities served. “We take their feedback very seriously,” Lopez said. “We listen very closely to school districts and to parents,” Franklin said. “We don’t just come in with a program and say, ‘Hey, we think you should try this.” Being mindful of residents is crucial in North Omaha, where “missionaries” have worn out their welcome. Said Franklin, “By listening to the community we kept hearing, ‘Don’t you dare come in and think you know the answer to what we need — you really need to listen and let us tell you what we need.’ “Focus groups said you’re just going to be another white hope — here today and gone in three years. We were like, ‘No, we’re here, we’re committed.” Franklin said that commitment was demonstrated with the hiring of Jamalia Parker as director of family engagement services. Parker is a North Omaha native who’s worked in the community. “Parents really love and trust her,” Franklin said. “Jamalia listens very closely to them. Our parental advisory group makes real decisions. Certainly, we have to have outcomes and measure things, but at the end of the day parents know what they need.” Parent University is one program borne from community feedback. Parker said it’s a holistic approach that “offers support and enhancement around parenting, life skills and wellness.”

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Hadley Richters, CEO of Holland Children’s Movement As many adults test high for chronic stress and trauma, she said there’s support to “break generational cycles” in order to spare children the spillover. ESL and GED classes are also available. Early results, Parker said, show “family resiliency has gone up — families feel they are able to stick together in hard times and manage and problem-solve better.” Classes on building assets and increasing financial literacy, she said, help some participants earn more, raise credit scores and become first-time homeowners. Some obtained their GED and started college. “Research says as those things occur, child outcomes improve, and participants have seen their preschoolers test higher in school readiness and vocabulary,” Parker said. Parents acting as their child’s advocate is another emphasis. “We help families understand if you don’t have a plan for success, someone else will create a plan for your child,” Parker said. “We let them know if their child’s not doing well in school they have to take back ownership of that plan. We have those real conversations with parents. “It’s very powerful to see the transformation of some of our families. We find that once we get parents engaged, they become the best advocates for the program. That has gotten more people in the door.”

Teacher Training Grounds The North and South centers also act as training grounds and resource centers for current teachers and future teachers. It’s part of the overarching plan to address an understaffed, underpaid and undertrained early childhood workforce.

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DECEMBER 2019

Mandy Phillips, instructional manager at the Learning Community’s South Center “Current teachers shared they need to know more regarding trauma, toxic stress, family engagement,” Parker said, “so we’re able to give them above and beyond what the district provides with an additional 11 days of professional development.” An early result, she said, is teachers “report feeling more prepared working within an urban setting.” “When we heard teachers were not prepared for these environments, we responded to that,” Franklin said, by partnering with Metropolitan Community College and Creighton University.

Hearn said the training “has allowed the teachers to have continuous professional development and support from experts in the field. Those who go through the coursework are not shy about sharing how much this has positively influenced their teaching and helps to improve the educational experience of children. “Improving the quality of our early childhood education workforce is key.” The North Center also assigns coaches to community child care providers who express a desire to improve quality of care. With disproportional suspension of young black children a real issue, the LC offers child care providers the opportunity to take a workshop on implicit bias. “They’ve started to reinforce that we don’t send preschoolers home for behavior,” Franklin said. “We work with the behavior and explore why is this behavior happening. It’s looking at it through the lens of not what’s wrong with this child, but what’s happened to this child and how can we be of help.”

DECEMBER 2019

The Cost of Quality Professional child care is a major family expense for what can be highly variable services.

Affordability “continues to be a significant challenge,” said Voices for Children in Nebraska Executive Director Aubrey Mancuso. “A recent national report ranked Nebraska one of the least affordable states for some types of care. Nebraska has continually failed to leverage public resources to help address the affordability of child care. Our eligibility for child care assistance available to lower-income working families remains among the lowest in the country.” Unrestored budget cuts to state child care assistance by then-Governor Mike Johanns, Mancuso said, “remains a broken promise to our state’s children and working families and limits the ability of families to access safe spaces for their children while they’re at work.” Holland Children’s Movement pushes for legislation boosting early childhood access and quality. Since 2013, it’s helped get passed LB 81, which lessened the “cliff effect” that ends child care subsidies for families whose income reaches a certain level, and Step Up to Quality, which created the state’s first child care ratings system. (Find it at stepuptoquality. ne.gov.)

“A positive development in this space has been the continual growth of Step Up to Quality,” said Mancuso. “This is a great resource for both parents and providers on what quality care looks like and how to get there.”

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Jamalia Parker, director of family engagement services at the Learning Community’s North Center

“Having that understanding has helped educators have more empathy to provide the emotional support needed to even be able to deliver instruction,” Parker said.

“Improving the quality of our early childhood education workforce is key.”

Jean Hearn, director of elementary and early childhood programs at Creighton, helped launch a coaching program across the demonstration project’s 11 districts.

Jean Hearn, director of elementary and early childhood programs at Creighton

Aubrey Mancuso, executive director of Voices for Children in Nebraska

“Measuring quality is important,” Holland’s Hadley Richters said, “because then we can move forward to assess where there is quality, where there isn’t. If you’re at step three or above in this five-level system, you’re recognized as a quality provider in the state. “What we’re striving for is that children from low-income households are able to be in programs of recognized quality. The goal is to incentivize programs to be a part of that program. Organizations work with providers to help them strive to meet those standards.” Richters points to “child care deserts” in Nebraska’s great rural expanses without licensed providers, much less ones meeting minimum quality standards. “Families do better when child care is accessible, affordable, and if it’s quality child care, so much the better — that’s the gold standard,” she said. Sam Meisels agrees it is “useful and very important” to have quality standards in place, and he is adamant that “not just any child care and education will do.” Richters and company remind elected officials that having more early childhood professionals expands the workforce and makes children more ready for school and future careers. Other legislation that Holland’s played a part in is LB 66, which provides for an early childhood element in comprehensive plans developed by communities, and LB 160, an early childhood infrastructure development initiative that gives towns access to economic development funds. The hard-fought battle to retain prenatal care for all women in the state was another victory. The Holland counts as victories anything that adds protection to families. “I believe state policy is a mechanism to provide more opportunities for children and families,” Richters said, “and for some it’s maybe all they have to rely on.” Surveys show policies and proposals that “actively support early childhood and the

middle class are highly favored by Nebraskans because it affects their children, their own well-being and the stability of their family,” said Richters. Despite the support, Meisels said public funding for early childhood falls short of what’s available for K-12. Conveners behind the plan tap many sources, including the Nebraska Early Childhood Education Endowment Fund and the Nebraska Preschool Development Grant. But relying on the private sector is not the answer, said Ken Bird. “It’s got to have more public support.” “Front loading the funding for our youngest is a much better and smarter investment than waiting until problems occur,” said Hearn. “It is a much more effective and bigger bang for your buck.” The “go big or go home” philosophy is echoed among the many early childhood players. “We need to attack this problem in a multi-pronged way — so each piece is important,” Hearn said. Renee Franklin calls it “the closest thing I’ve seen to collective impact in Omaha.”

What’s Next? “Everything is next.” Meisels said. “We’re working harder to do our job better. We started with huge goals, and we continue to work with them and refine them.” The end goal, he said, “ideally would be to close or greatly reduce that achievement or opportunity gap. Also to bring attention to the importance of quality care from birth onward.” “Persistence of effort yields persistence of effect. If you cut it short, you’re cutting short potential of children,” he said. “In these coming years we want to see broader application of these ideas.”

C velopment initiative that gives towns access to economic development funds. The hardfought battle to retain prenatal care for all women in the state was another victory. The Holland counts as victories anything that adds protection to families. “I believe state policy is a mechanism to provide more opportunities for children and families,” Richters said, “and for some it’s maybe all they have to rely on.” Surveys show policies and proposals that “actively support early childhood and the middle class are highly favored by Nebraskans because it affects their children, their own well-being and the stability of their family,” said Richters. Despite the support, Meisels said public funding for early childhood falls short of what’s available for K-12. Conveners behind the plan tap many sources, including the Nebraska Early Childhood Education Endowment Fund and the Nebraska Preschool Development Grant. But relying on the private sector is not the answer, said Ken Bird. “It’s got to have more public support.” “Front loading the funding for our youngest is a much better and smarter investment than waiting until problems occur,” said Hearn. “It is a much more effective and bigger bang for your buck.” The “go big or go home” philosophy is echoed among the many early childhood players. “We need to attack this problem in a multi-pronged way — so each piece is important,” Hearn said. Renee Franklin calls it “the closest thing I’ve seen to collective impact in Omaha.”

What’s Next? “Everything is next.” Meisels said. “We’re working harder to do our job better. We started with huge goals, and we continue to work with them and refine them.”

Nebraska Needs to Solve its

Early Childhood Conundrum by MATTHEW HANSEN | Photos by Duane Retzlaff

t is midmorning in Miss Chelsea’s classroom. Time to paint.

The eight infants and toddlers in Chelsea Perry’s class at Omaha’s Child Saving Institute get out the paints and some large Lego blocks and begin to stamp their papers with swirls of color. These budding Picassos range in age from 9 months to 3 years. As they paint, they are being helped by three adults — two teachers and an assistant — who constantly speak and listen to them, offering the sort of meaningful oneon-one attention any parent would want for his or her child. The kids lucky enough to be in Miss Chelsea’s class do an art activity nearly every morning, as well as activities that build their motor skills, improve their ability to work together and test their creativity.

They sing songs, dance dances, read books, learn how to share, learn how to use their words to ask nicely, play with a purpose and dozens of other things that prepare these tiny Omahans for their futures. “At some other places I have seen, what they do is fulfill that child’s basic needs. (They) just make sure the children are changed and safe,” Chelsea Perry tells me during a rare moment of classroom calm. “What we’re doing here is setting up the educational foundation for the rest of these students’ lives.” It is heartwarming to stand in Miss Chelsea’s classroom, because decades of research and your own two eyes tell you that the kids in her class love it here. And it is also a little sad to watch Miss Chelsea’s class, because the truth is that thousands and thousands of Nebraska children simply do not have access to the type of quality early education Chelsea Perry is giving her pint-sized pupils.

The end goal, he said, “ideally would be to close or greatly reduce that achievement or opportunity gap. Also to bring attention to the importance of quality care from birth onward.” “Persistence of effort yields persistence of effect. If you cut it short, you’re cutting short potential of children,” he said. “In these coming years we want to see broader application of these ideas.”

Chelsea Perry, an early childhood senior specialist at Child Saving Institute, with 9-month-old Reagan Colling.

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A series of barriers block many of our state’s kids from getting the type of early childhood education that could help them become better grade school

Reagan Colling, 9 months, is one of the lucky Nebraska children who receive high-quality early childhood education at Child Saving Institute. students, better high school students and more fulfilled adults. These barriers stand despite the fact that, in public opinion polling, Nebraskans stress how important early childhood education is to them. A whopping 67 percent of Nebraskans said in a 2016 Buffett Institute/Gallup survey that the state should make early education a higher priority than it is today. And thousands of Nebraska kids are blocked from classes like Miss Chelsea’s despite the fact that the more we understand about brain development, the more we understand that the early years really matter. We now know that 90 percent of a

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DECEMBER 2019

R the federal poverty line for a family of four. This, in turn, prompts woefully underpaid early childhood teachers to flee the field in alarming numbers. That rampant turnover is hurting our kids. That woefully underpaid early childhood teacher fleeing the field could in fact be the most important teacher of your child’s life.

And the revolving door leads directly to some serious child care shortages in Nebraska. Almost every county in the state lacks the number of child Chelsea Perry and reagan Colling Play in the outdoor Classroom at care slots to meet Child saving institute. current demand. Eleven Nebraska child’s brain growth takes place before his grasp it, because if it’s going to be solved, counties don’t have a single licensed child or her 6th birthday party. We know that we’re going to have to help solve it. care provider. Eleven. early learning directly correlates with better So what, exactly, is our early childhood This obvious, red-blinking-light probthird-grade reading and math scores, which conundrum? lem — massive costs to families on one directly tie to higher high school and colLet’s start with the price of high-quality hand, inadequate salaries to the early childlege graduation rates, which directly tie to child care. It’s often staggeringly high. On hood workforce on the other and the rebetter jobs. average, it’s more expensive to put your in- sulting lack of high-quality care for kids — We know all this. But we still aren’t givfant through a year of child care than it is doesn’t just matter to parents and teachers. ing a massive number of Nebraska kids their to pay a year of your 19-year-old’s college It matters to employers, because child own Miss Chelsea. tuition. Child care gobbles up a fifth of the care problems often disrupt employees’ A growing group of Nebraskans is average Nebraska family’s total budget. It work weeks or remove good employees working to change that. During the past strains the finances of even affluent parents from the workforce altogether. three years, a serious coalition of stake- while pricing out many middle-class famiIt matters to taxpayers, because reholders, including State Sen. John Stinner, lies who simply can’t afford it. search by a Nobel Prize-winning econoUniversity of Nebraska leaders, state board It’s a massive source of stress and dis- mist says the money we aren’t spending on of education members, early childhood extress. Ask parents with young kids about the high-quality child care actually costs us far perts, rural advocates, leaders in business monthly bill from their child care provider more money down the road on special eduand philanthropy and teachers and caregivand watch their faces redden, their jaws cation, social safety net programs and even ers have banded together and started the tighten, their eyes bulge. prison cells. hard work to understand and help solve this early childhood conundrum. In January, this Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission will release its findings and suggest a path forward for early childhood education in this state. Commission members want to make 2020 the year we devote ourselves fully to this problem. But Nebraskans ourselves need to understand this conundrum, too. We need to

DECEMBER 2019

You might assume that the eye-popping price tag would at least benefit Nebraska’s early childhood workforce by providing its teachers a good salary.

You would be wrong. Nebraska’s early childhood professionals with a bachelor’s degree make a median annual salary of $22,870. That’s right: Even with a college degree, the standard salary is barely above

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COVER

It needs to matter to all of us, because both brain science and economics research suggest that making affordable, high-quality early childhood education available to every Nebraska family is one of the best ways to make our state’s future better than its present. The Workforce Commission’s report will address possible fixes for this problem,

including a stronger funding base for all types of high-quality early childhood education, better pay for teachers and many ideas about how to grow and strengthen the workforce so that more Nebraska kids get their shot at high-quality education from an early age. But maybe the most important solution starts with a mind shift. Maybe Nebraskans, all of us, need to see early childhood education and those who provide it as every bit as important as grade school, high school and college. It is 11 a.m. in Miss Chelsea’s classroom and, on an unseasonably warm November Tuesday, that means it’s time to go outside. The students pull on their boots. They halt for a moment and sit together on the carpet as a 3-year-old sings a heartwarming rendition of “The ABC song,” and the younger kids, led by Chelsea, clap and do hand motions. Then they tromp out to the playground. Except it isn’t a playground. It’s an outdoor classroom. There is a garden where the kids grow vegetables for lunch and plant flowers that attract butterflies. There’s a fountain where the kids learn about water. There is a stage for performances and safe, wooden “treehouses” meant for exploring. There are spots for digging and a paved track where the 2- and-3-year-olds ride tricycles. A few times a year, Miss Chelsea’s class douses the small hill in the center of the outdoor space with water. The kids turn it into muck, and then they celebrate “Mud Day” with mud slides and mud pies. “They are always asking, “Is it Mud Day yet?’” Chelsea Perry says while standing at the center of a swirl of outdoor activity. Two kids are digging together in a sand box. Another is throwing leaves into the air. Another is hula hooping. Their teacher smiles. “‘Not yet,’ I tell ‘em. Soon.” You only need stand with Chelsea Perry near Mud Hill for a few moments and watch her with her students to understand something simple. To recognize something profound. Every Nebraska kid deserves a Miss Chelsea. MATTHEW HANSEN IS Amanaging MANAgINg EDIMatthew Hansen is the editor TOr AT THE BUffETT EArLY CHILDHOOD at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute INSTITUTE. at the University of Nebraska

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Bar Hag: Cheers to the Memories by Leslie Prisbell

hen John Heaston asked if I’d write about my time at The Reader, I rather delusionally accepted. How marvelous, I thought, to gather my recollections in a poignant little essay … except for the recollecting part. I had great difficulty writing my Bar Hag columns the next day after visiting a watering hole to review, much less trying to cobble together something coherent 20-plus years later. Nonetheless, a few fuzzy-rimmed images come to my feeble mind … The Bar Hag occupied a corner office at The Reader’s Dundee location. I’m pretty sure it was a converted closet, but I was grateful for it and immediately painted it Barbie pink. My desk was a hollow-core, unhinged door laid across two file cabinets, inside of which I kept my standard journalist’s arsenal: eyeliner, wine, nail file. How lucky we were, to be given a chance to write about things we — and hopefully our readers — found interesting. A first-person account of a Brazilian wax, an interview with a fainting-goat farmer, a conversation with

Girl, Interrupted author Susanna Kaysen that had been scheduled for the morning of 9/11 (she sobbed into the phone that we’d reschedule, if the world was ever OK again). And, of course, my catalog of cocktail purveyors, so full of color and mirth in those golden hours (I’d generally leave before the regulars answered their spouses’ third phone calls, the promising-athlete-in-high-school stories started or tomorrow’s regret returned from the bathroom). I recall only a few, but I remember how I loved walking into a joint and absorbing its essence. On Fridays, it was the expat romance of La Buvette bistro, where downtown artists and writers crammed rickety, wooden chairs around the front table, Hemingway-esque malcontents held court at the bar, and in the back, I sat with my Reader compatriots and my mother, who would fill a short champagne glass with water for Choo-choo, the panting Yorkie she would produce from her summer tote bag.

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Other nights comprised visits to neighborhood joints. I conveniently lived a block away from the 49’r bar — rest in peace — where the owner was kind and the beer was cold … although when I got home, I’d have to stuff my acrid, smoke-soaked clothing in a window and shut it to protect the entire apartment building’s occupants. And, of course, I have fond, if fleeting, memories of the landmark trifecta of Omaha speak-easies: the Holiday, the Interlude and the Green Onion. The red, circa-1980s carpet, marital-affair-dim lighting, varnished bar edged with pleather padding and the chrome-legged swivel chairs … a rough composite memory at best, but it felt like home — that I remember. And a 50-something female bartender — Aqua-Netted Nice ’n’ Easy Light Ash Blonde, frosted coral lips and tarred-lung hacks between friendly hellos — held in deepest regard, like that exotic divorcée neighbor up the street, who let you drink at her house that summer you were 12.

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At the end of my tenure at The Reader, I worked under the direction of John Heaston. What I appreciate — then and now — is John’s willingness to let writers find their voice. I found mine at The Reader, whether I was writing about losing a stiletto stumbling home from a rough night out or losing my father after a long illness — he died the same week as Mr. Rogers, and I’d penned that it was not a good week for radically kind men. So, for all of it — the memories, the moments and the chance to bring you along on my misadventures back then, I’m forever grateful, and I’ll always raise a glass to the folks at The Reader. Cheers, babies.

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My editor in those days was my beloved Timothy Schaffert. He gave me the moniker of Bar Hag, indulged me my weekly observations on the drinking life and delighted our readers with his storytelling and commitment to The Reader being a smart mirror of the community.

Downstairs:

Rock and Roll Suicide

Sokol Auditorium 2234 S. 16th St. Omaha February 2, 2019 7:30pm - 1am

Come help the Knights celebrate an end to the first act of this Circus! Watch as the Lyin’ Tamer takes on our special guests The Lyin’ King & his Pride!

Tacky - Formal - Bizarre - Irreverent (but not the white house kind) 25th anniversary

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DECEMBER 2019

Authentic Ethnic DIY Ethnic Grocery Stores are Growing Roots in Omaha by Sara Locke

hrough some travesty of justice, Taco Bell is consistently voted “Best Mexican” in Omaha. I personally choose to believe this has more to do with people’s lack of experience than their true belief that a Doritos Locos Taco is really the ultimate ethnic experience. Spaghetti Works always walks away with an award for “Best Italian,” and while we can all appreciate a hearty struggle meal, Emeril Lagasse would grimace at it being called anything more than Fast Casual American Fare. However, the tide is slowly turning for some of Omaha’s most intrepid restaurateurs. Truly authentic establishments are finding their place at the table as diners expand their understanding. It’s been exciting to explore these exotic offerings, and it also got us thinking: Why dine out when you can DIY? Just kidding. We would much rather dine out than do dishes. However, once in a while, pulling off an exotic meal in your own kitchen or surprising your Baba with an authentic dish

with aromatics, rice varieties, lentils, chickpeas and myriad flours. The frozen food section offers numerous desserts, pre-made meals and specialty frozen vegetables.

Tulsi in West Omaha offers fresh ingredients for traditional and Anglo-Indian fare. from the homeland can add a lot of wow-factor to family dinner. In that spirit, we decided to take a tour and find out just how much of this great big world we can see from Omaha’s storefront.

Indian Most of the Indian cuisine your average American diner is familiar with is actually considered Anglo-Indian. When British colonies were introduced to the spices and methods of Indian culture, recipes were adapted to accommodate the palate. If you’ve enjoyed a spicy mulligatawny or a kicky curry, or if you’ve never met a chutney you didn’t love, you’re a fan of Anglo-Indian. For those seeking an authentic plate, we know the best way to start!

Tulsi Indian Groceries 2455 S. 132nd St. Find ingredients for the perfect Thali meal, fresh herbs and vegetables, and even imported hair care and grooming items at Tulsi Indian Groceries. An adjoining café allows diners to experience the possibilities the store’s many spices and sauces can help them create. Offerings are available to fans of both traditional Indian dishes and the British counterparts served in most Indian restaurants.

A cute café with a huge selection, Tulsi is a small package full of big surprises.

DECEMBER 2019

| THE READER |

While the shop is small, the bulk spices at reasonable prices are a must to stock your kitchen

DISH

The owner, Deepa K, wants to create more than availability. He and his staff work to create understanding, offering guidance in-store and even sharing recipes with anyone who asks. And if you truly want to skip the dishes, palm leaf plates can be purchased for a sustainable and disposable option.

Patel Grocers (recently rebranded as Konark Grocers) 14128 Arbor St. Imported snacks, oils, spices and deep greens can be purchased at this chain, found in Denver, Des Moines and Omaha. The establishment goes beyond offering ingredients; it offers a lesson in culture and sincere service. Konark has a wider variety of From store-made to heaven-sent, Jerusalem fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs Grocery sources only the best. than Tulsi, but each offers something the other doesn’t, making their close proximity fortunate for those hoping han. If you’ve ever snacked on the chips and salsa until you were so full you put your lunch back to stock their kitchens. in the fridge, you might be a South Omahan. If you’ve never been into Jacobo’s at all, you might be about to regret the years you didn’t know. But now you know.

Mexican

Supermercado 1826 Vinton 3548 Q St. 2900 Leavenworth

With three locations in Omaha, convenience is key in making this selection. With a pretty standard variety of produce, harderto-find items can be spied from time to time. The sight and smell of the fresh tortillas being pressed in-store are enough to inspire you to dig a little deeper into the history and flavors of our southern neighbors.

Jacobo’s 4621 S. 24th St. If you’ve ever stood in line for 45 minutes for fresh hot flautas, you might be a South Oma-

Super Carniceria El Pueblito 5116 S. 24th St. The emphasis on maintaining the integrity of each traditional dish is what sets Super Carniceria El Pueblito apart from the “ethnic” aisle at your standard grocer. The meat selection will remind you that you’re in Nebraska, but everything else is straight south of the border.

Middle Eastern Jerusalem Grocery 2455 S. 120th St. Imagine coming home to your mom’s house after weeks away. You’re invited to sit, offered a snack and brought a cup of tea or coffee.

Once you’ve eaten, you’re told that you’re hungry and need food. This is the experience waiting for you at Jerusalem Grocery. The only difference is that this time “mom” is a gentleman from Nazareth who charges you for the food you take from the place that somehow feels like home. Take home some store-made tabbouleh, hummus, baba ganouj or yogurt, or let someone help you locate the ingredients to make any of these dishes yourself. Buy a box of Turkish Delights for your next family gathering, or enjoy a walk down the spice aisle for a little inspiration.

Asian Market offers hard-to-find items, from exotic fruits to hand-painted gifts.

Asian Market 321 n. 76th St.

The live shrimp and blue crabs wiggling around behind the counter stare at you with bright, clear eyes, daring you to think of something better than butter to cook them in. Fortunately, you’re surrounded by Okinawan purple sweet potatoes, Daikon radish and sesame nori. You’ll think of something. I first wandered into Asian Market looking for a specific tea a friend had missed since returning to the U.S. I left with what amounted to a $70 Chopped mystery basket and a burning de-

sire to learn to use ingredients I’d never heard of. My first foray into jackfruit usage taught me that nobody can use an entire jackfruit. Much of what you’ll find on the shelves comes sans an English translation, and while the staff lacks the frenetic energy of your standard Reader writer, they are eager to help at their own peaceful pace. The produce is fresh, in spite of the obvious journey required to get fruits and vegetables that are reluctant to grow on American soil. Each of the establishment’s thousands of goods deserves its own paragraph, but I have a strict and cruel word limit, so you’ll simply have to enjoy your own Asian Market adventure.

Ethiopian Market 2555 Leavenworth If you have enjoyed the experience at Lalibela, Ethiopian Restaurant or International Café, why not give the ingredients a go? The shop, sometimes called Ethiopian Market and sometimes called East Africa and Middle East Grocer, is located in the same building as Ethiopian Restaurant.

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The grocery side offers everything you need to create the dishes you’ll find in the small café, from injera to Masala. So you can dish, dine and do your grocery shopping in one warm and fragrant location.

An Ethiopian dish of injera and stewed lentils is just a shopping trip away.

As Omaha continues to deepen its appreciation of cultures and cuisines, we hope to see more access for those who have come from far away. A taste of home can bring us all a little closer together.

DISH

| THE READER |

DECEMBER 2019

Dance, Drink & Repeat at The Gatsby by Salvador S. Robles | Photos by Stephen Driscoll

tend to give myself credit for having an above-average memory, and this might sound like I followed the bar trend from an early age, but I remember a time when Omaha really didn’t have a lineup of cocktail bars. Omaha is known for ranking in the top 10 cities for most bars per capita; but, histori-

cally, most of those bars have tended to be average neighborhood dives that served, or still serve, your favorite domestic beer on tap and cheap well drinks. But over the last few years, I have noticed that as an old neighborhood bar closes, the new one that replaces it is more likely to be an elevated-cocktail lounge. Speak-easies have also multiplied on the Omaha bar scene, welcome additions with their own cocktail-lounge heritage. (Speak-easies were secret clubs where illegal alcohol was sold during the booze-ban days of 1920-1933. Thanks to the 21st amendment, the U.S. was able to continue its boozy tradition and Americans have long enjoyed their brews and liquors out in the open, but this is for a future Buzz article). This growing Prohibition-era/cocktail-bar influence has introduced Omahans to cocktails they might’ve heard of but never had the chance to try. It really is an exciting time for cocktail aficionados to exploit our new Omaha libation scene.

Two throne chairs sit right off the main entrance along with liquor lockers. Patrons can purchase a bottle of their choosing and store their libations for future use.

DECEMBER 2019

| THE READER |

Obviously, when you hear the name Gatsby, you think of F. Scott

THE BUZZ

Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, but for those of you who haven’t read the book, the 2013 movie, The Great Gatsby, offers a visual voyage into the style, glitz and glamour of the Roaring 20s. The film helped spark a resurgence of that style, and its popularity is likely to continue into the next 20s decade. Omaha’s newest and most intricately designed bar yet, The Gatsby Social Club, was originally slated to open in 2013, but plans fell through. So, Jake Gardner, owner of The Gatsby and its neighbor, with which it shares an entrance, The Hive, a bar/rock club on 1207 Harney St., decided to marry the two. “Think two uniquely fitted bars in one venue,” he said. “We wanted to give our patrons a forward-thinking, Prohibition-style bar while still being able to include our Hive stage and dance floor, all the while having a big party atmosphere that is aligned with that Roaring 20s theme.” Gardner closed The Hive on October 28 to undertake the revamping, which involved keeping The Hive’s dance floor but turning its bar into The Gatsby. “We were ready to open after 90 hours of redecorating,” Gardner said. “It was exhausting to say the least, but we got it done.” The Gatsby’s soft opening was held over the first two weekends in November, and the bar had its official grand opening November 15-16.

A sliding partition door marks the entrance to The Hive dance floor. The Hive and The Gatsby Social Club are two venues in one building.

ERNEST RICHARDSON, CONDUCTOR

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DECEMBER 2019

I got to The Gatsby right before the crowd started to roll in on opening night. Walking into the front entrance of the social club, old and newcomers can see from its front window that the social club already sparkles. The bar is brightly lit with ornate glass chandeliers. The new floor shimmers with a black epoxy slate and sprinkled gold flakes. In one corner, two throne chairs grace the front window and sit directly in front of the bar. (Premier seating is a hot commodity as all of you know when standing in line for a drink.) A giant Gatsby sign is perched above a large, wooden mantle with glass bottles of liquor catching the light from the chandeliers. I couldn’t help but think: If you want to give a bar a facelift, this is how you do it. Liquor lockers, a new concept for the bar, are nestled right by the wall close to the throne chairs. Gardner said he had seen the concept in bigger cities, like D.C. The liquor lockers allow patrons to purchase a bottle of their choosing and store it overnight for future use. Stairs, which are close to the main entrance, lead up to what is sometimes designated as a VIP area overlooking The Gatsby’s bar and The Hive’s dance floor. The back wall is lined with art deco wallpaper designed by Christine Martin, set designer for The Great Gatsby movie. Is this bar Gatsby enough for you yet? “I love how much the party vibe of the 20s, The Great Gatsby book, movie, whatever

I highly recommend trying the Peanut Butter Chocolate Old Fashioned that is made with a relatively new liquor, Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. The Gatsby will also serve light snacks and appetizers in the near future. “The food will mostly be charcuterie,” Gardner anticipates. “I hope that this adds to the culture of having people who work in the downtown district come in and have a drink and a light snack after work.”

you get your memories from that era, were romanticized,” Gardner said. “We are coming up on some landmark anniversaries in this new decade of the 2020s. We are also coming up on 100 years of the suffragette movement, and we just celebrated the 100th anniversary of Prohibition this past October. This is some historic stuff.”

lemon twist as garnish, and it has the perfect ratio of ice that collects right at the meniscus.

The Gatsby’s cocktail menu draws from the speak-easy heritage of the Prohibition era with standard cocktails, such as the classic cosmopolitan, which is a must-have. Obviously, a fruity drink with the perfect kind of punch, this cosmo is served straight up with a

“What we are hoping to accomplish with our cocktail menu is to serve up those classic drinks to our customers” at a faster pace, Gardner said. “We also want to be able to go off the menu, and we are planning to feature variations on our classic cocktails.”

The cosmopolitan is a must-have.

A hearty Old Fashioned served with an ice sphere to minimize diluting sits next to the classic cosmopolitan.

One of The Gatsby’s many Art Deco wallpapers, this was designed by Catherine Martin, set designer and artist for The Great Gatsby (2013).

DECEMBER 2019

| THE READER |

Other drinks include a hearty Old Fashioned served with an ice sphere to minimize diluting and even champagne on tap for mimosas, which will later be featured on the menu.

THE BUZZ

Bottoms Up: What sets The Gatsby apart from other Prohibition/Roaring 20s bars in Omaha is the fully immersed experience it gives to its patrons. It’s all in the details with this one. Peeps, get your best flapper outfit on, and start practicing the Charleston, because you are not going to want to miss the newest party down in the Old Market at The Gatsby Social Club. The new social club is open Wednesdays through Sundays. For an exclusive look at the The Gatsby cocktail menu visit TheReader. com. Remember to have fun, drink responsibly and tip your bartenders. Tweet us bar suggestions and follow The Buzz at TheReader.com. Your bar suggestions could be featured in The Buzz.

Dressed to the nines, a modern-day flapper sips a cold one in The Gatsby.

| THE READER |

DECEMBER 2019

A Christmas Carol runs through Dec. 23 with performances Wednesdays at 7 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Special p e r f o r m a n ce s include: a sensor y-friendly show Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.; ASL Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m.; and a bilingual performance Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $40 and are $26 for students. Call 402-553-0800 or visit TicketOmaha.com. —Beaufield Berry

your address), a non-alcoholic Butter Beer, a deluxe wand and a Hogwarts art print or special, handcrafted item. Visit apollonomaha.com. — Beaufield Berry

Now through December 22

The Apollon

A Christmas Carol

There are a few harbingers of Christmas time in Omaha. The first snow, tree lightings and, of course, Omaha Community Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol, now in its fourth decade on the Hawks Mainstage. Adapted from Charles Dickens’ timeless tale about the miserly Scrooge and the reflections brought to him by three Christmas Ghosts, A Christmas Carol continues sharing its valuable lesson of the true meaning of Christmas generation after generation. This is truly a show for the whole family to enjoy and remember. Omaha Community Playhouse also has performances scheduled for those with special needs.

December 2019

A couple of seasons ago, I had the great fortune of attending one of The Apollon’s Holiday at Hogwarts productions, and it was an absolute highlight of the year. As a complete Harry Potter newb, I attended with a certified Potterhead and was instantly transported into a Wizarding World we both could equally enjoy. All of your favorite Hogwarts teachers are there guiding you and your house through tasks to crown winners at the end. From receiving our authentic VIP invitations in the mail, to being sorted into our distinct houses (I’m a proud Slytherin by the way) and magically choosing our wands, this is a do-notmiss, new Christmas tradition for everyone in your family. I highly suggest shelling out the extra for the VIP treatment; it puts you in the experience that much more. Performances run Thursday to Saturday at 7 p.m. General admission is $35 and includes a wizarding wand and dinner. At $60, a VIP ticket includes additional perks: a Hogwarts acceptance letter (mailed to

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pickS

Petshop/Project Project

Bluebarn Theatre

Holiday at Hogwarts

Omaha Community Playhouse

Gallery Swap

A Very Die Hard Christmas

Now through December 21

Now through November 15

Now through December 7/13

Whether Die Hard should be ranked as an all-time Christmas great has long been debated, at least by those who consider the action-packed classic a Christmas flick at all. I do, and apparently so does the team at Bluebarn. Bluebarn always likes to have some fun with the show in their holiday spot, and this season’s A Very Die Hard Christmas is destined to be one of the most riotous shows you can catch. John McClane is ready to reconcile with his estranged wife, lie back on the coast and take it easy — but his relaxation is cut short by a band of well-choreographed, European-ish terrorists. When they start taking hostages, it’s time for John to do what he does best: cowboy up. This show is stacked with Omaha stage dynamos and directed by Bluebarn’s artistic director, Susan Clement-Toberer, so the results are sure to be explosive. Performances run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 22, with additional show times on Sundays. Tickets start at $35. Call 402-345-1576 or visit www.bluebarn.org. — Beaufield Berry

Gallery owners/artists are often so focused on organizing shows for others that opportunities to show their own work are rare. Petshop and Project Project solved this problem by exchanging exhibits, that is, the owners are showing their art in the other’s venue. Project Project owners, Joshua Powell and Joel Damon, opened their show, What A Dump, at Petshop during November’s Benson First Friday. Conversely, Petshop owners Joe Addison and Alex Jochim opened their show, New Work, at Project Project during November’s 2nd Friday on Vinton. What A Dump features works by Powell and Damon, using their work as a criticism and reflection of our world today. Powell uses mixed media and painting to juxtapose unrelated objects and transform the familiar into the unusual. Damon employs mixed media and found objects to create works that take a look at the refuse allowed by people and the law. New Work features photographs by Addison and Jochim who deal with the abstract. Adisson’s work uses non-traditional, enlarged images, such as the series called “Coffee Cosmos” created by photographing coffee cup stains. Often photographing with 35mm film, the world Jochim photographs is personal and spontaneous, so the narratives aren’t always readily available to the viewer. New Work runs until Dec. 7 at Project Project, located on 1818 Vinton Street. Gallery hours are by appointment. For more, visit projectprojectomaha.com. What A Dump is up until mid-December at Petshop Gallery, 2725 N. 62nd St. Gallery hours are by appointment. For more, contact info@ bensonfirstfriday.com. —Hugo Zamarona

December 4-7

The Madrigal Christmasse Feaste Regency Marriott Ballroom 10220 Regency Circle

ing new ones with your family and friends now, your entertainment options are many. One more classic Christmas tradition returning to the stage this year is the masterful ballet The Nutcracker. Christmas Eve in 1830s Europe, and we’re brought into a small girl’s dreams. Dreams filled with dancing mice, toy soldiers, sugar plum fairies and other animated flights of fancy. This is a great way to usher in the sights and sounds of the Christmas season and support our local dance community at once. Shows are Wednesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 ($15 for seniors and $5 for students, faculty and staff) and can be purchased online at boxoffice.creighton.edu, over the phone at 402-280-1448 or in person at the Lied Education Center for the Arts. —Beaufield Berry

If you LOVE costumes, great food, immersive entertainment and the Renaissance era, this is an unforgettable event you must be a part of. At The Madrigal Christmasse Feaste, you are esteemed guests of the Lord and Lady of Essex set to enjoy a festive evening at their Olde English Castle. This enchanting show is now in its 28th year and has welcomed more than 10,000 audience members in that time. Enjoy a multi-course meal (that includes carved sirloin and bread pudding) with a cast of characters dedicated to giving you the full and enchanting madrigal experience. Cocktails and pre-performance entertainment begin at 6 p.m., and the multicourse feast begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $62 and available at Ibsen Costume Gallery, 4981 Hamilton Street, or at 402-556-1400.

December 6

Hanson

(with Joshua & The Holy Rollers and Paul McDonald) Sokol Auditorium

December 6

Holiday Cultural Festival Durham Museum

Sample how the world celebrates the holidays at this 4 to 9 p.m. celebration of traditional crafts, garb, food, music and dance by some 40 local cultural organizations. Satisfy your sweet and savory teeth with ethnic eats available for purchase. Find unique gifts among the artisan wares for sale. Enjoy the historic museum all decked out for the holidays. The festival is free for museum members or included with regular museum admission for nonmembers. The presenting organizations include: Ancient Order of Hibernians Omaha Chapter; African Culture Connection; German American Society; Flamenco Omaha; Krishna Kripa; KUMBE Colombian Folkloric Dance; Mexican Dance Academy of Omaha; New American Arts Project; Polka Joy & Omaha Polish Dancers; Santa Lucia Festival Omaha; Czech and Slovak Educational Center and Cultural Museum; Sons of Norway; St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church; and Tri-Faith Initiative.

So many of our picks this month are rooted in tradition. Whether you’re continuing with those loved ones past or creat-

December 6

Art of Giving Local The Little Gallery

December 6

December 4-8

Creighton University

—Kent Behrens

—Leo Adam Biga

—Beaufield Berry

The Nutcracker

mas on the horizon, this can only mean one thing — group shows! The end of the year is usually the time for local art galleries to expand their offerings and help the art patron more easily view and collect art. The group exhibits typically display both new works and warehoused inventory, providing more variety of medium, work from each artist and exposure for the galleries. With the added benefit of a wide variety of price points, both browsers and buyers can reap rewards. Among other similar offerings in the metro, consider this top-shelf group exhibit at Modern Arts Midtown. This year’s fall/winter show, Resonance, opened Nov. 1 and continues through December. The show features the work of painters Jennifer Homan, Edwin Carter Weitz, Stephen Dinsmore, Merrill Peterson and Dan Boylan, and photography from well-known favorites Larry Ferguson, Jim Krantz and John Spence. From landscapes to portraits to the abstract, this group of artists offers something for everyone. Resonance will have a second opening reception on Dec. 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The show runs through Dec. 28. Further information is available at modernartsmidtown.com.

Celebrated pop-rock trio Hanson is bringing their Wintry Mix tour to Omaha. The concert will feature an eclectic mix of Christmas and holiday classics, fan favorites and a live preview of brand new music from the band’s forthcoming seventh studio album, set for release in 2020. “This is an exciting time for the band, with new music around the corner and more than 25 years of music behind us,” said Taylor Hanson on the band’s website. Added Zac Hanson, “This tour is a collision of worlds with Christmas classics and a taste of brand new music, making for an uncommon but awesome mix.” All diehard Hanson fans and “MMMBop” enthusiasts welcome. —Houston Wiltsey

Resonance Modern Arts Midtown

With Halloween, the Bemis Auction and Thanksgiving in the rearview and Christ-

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The giving season is here, and people are thinking about what to get their loved ones for the holidays. If you are in the market for something unique, look no further than below to find what could be the perfect gift, especially if art is on your short list.

| THE READER |

December 2019

Benson’s The Little Gallery is hosting the 5th Annual Little Show, featuring various media by local artists who were invited to submit pieces 12x12 inches or smaller that retail for $100 or less. The Little Gallery hosts the show to encourage the giving of locally made art during the holiday season. Participating artists, including John Stillmunks, Lori Tatreau, Lynda Vik, Haley Whitesel, Jonathan Seevers, Michael Trenhaile, Ranae Boggess, Becky Lee, Bob Mathews, Jaim Hackbart, Peggy Reineke, John Brumbach, John D. Munoz, Nancy Smith and Trudy Swanson, will be available during this season of giving. The 5th Annual Little Show opens Dec. 6 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and runs through Dec. 28 at The Little Gallery, 5901 Maple Street. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., or by appointment. For more information, visit polecatcommunications.com/the-little-gallery/ or contact info@polecatcommunications.com. —Hugo Zamarona

December 6

shown his work worldwide and is in numerous private collections and museums. His abstractions are dissections and reflections on an historic period, event or person, pared down and manipulated into patterns and forms of texture, shape and color. This time around, Joy moves away from the Elizabethans and Medieval European inspirations to which he is so recognizably connected. In Foundation Drawings, he dissects and muses on similar spiritual, meditative meanderings inspired by ruins of ancient churches in the Ethiopian desert. “Meditative, reflective, and above all, hopefully non-representational,” he said in an email to The Reader. The works are done in combinations of fiberglass, resin, beeswax and pencil on watercolor paper. Maple Street Construct is located at 5912 Maple Street in downtown Benson. Steve Joy’s Foundation Drawings opens with a reception for the artist on Dec. 6, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and runs through Dec. 30. The gallery is open only by appointment after the opening. Email maplestconstruct@ gmail.com for contact information.

December 7

Pro-Magnum with 34 Brothers Lounge

December 7

Joyful Noise:

A Gospel Christmas

Maple Street Construct

featuring Salem Baptist Church Holland Performing Arts Center

The December show at this edgy Benson neighborhood gallery and residency space features new abstract paintings from artist Steve Joy. Joy, who is well-known in Omaha as the first curator for the Bemis Project, has

December 2019

—Leo Adam Biga

—Kent Behrens

Steve Joy: Foundation Drawings

popular local performing artists known for their secular and sacred music chops, both of which will be on display. This annual free community concert will be performed twice: at 4 and 7:30 p.m. It’s a family-friendly way to warm up for the Christmas holiday. Tickets are $15 and available through Ticket Omaha.

Holiday classics and new music fill the bill as the voices of the Salem Baptist Church Choir join those of special guest artists for a gospel Christmas pageant that also includes elements of theater and sacred dance. Salem Minister of Music and Fine Arts Ananias “Markey” Montague leads the Grammy-nominated choir, who will perform with special guest Regina Belle. The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and actress is best known for her duet hits with Peabo Bryson, “Without You” and “A Whole New World.” Also gracing the stage will be

| THE READER |

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The Empowerment Network and Omaha Economic Development Corporation, along with community sponsors and partners, present this ninth annual festive experience where you can shop, play, eat, drink, sing and be merry. The noon to 5 p.m event features free carriage rides and family photos plus a toy giveaway. Indulge in interactive arts and crafts, face painting and a mobile game truck, shop at the Love’s Holiday Boutique, Styles of Evolution and Fair Deal Village Market. Eat at Emery’s Café or sample fare from food trucks. Visit the Union for Contemporary Art and Great Plains Black History Museum. Vibe to holiday, gospel and jazz music performed outdoors by area artists, including church choirs, enjoy a live nativity scene complete with a donkey, camel and sheep. Things kick off with a drill show and the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Clause. Catch the 4:30 p.m. lighting ceremony. —Leo Adam Biga

Omaha band Pro-Magnum takes the classic sound of rock and roll and mixes it with heavy metal, all while giving it their own Midwestern twist. This band is known for their “scorching rhythm section” that captivates audiences and breaks through the average rock band sound. Accompanying P-M is Kansas City-dwelling heavy metal band 34. Made up of five music veterans, 34 has two digital albums available for download at their website. 34 is pure scream-o and will give you all the reason you need to rock out and wish you had extra-long hair to swing back and forth. P-M and 34 complement each other and are sure to put on one wild show while keeping your foot tapping, head banging and the beers flowing. Check out Pro-Magnum and 34 Dec. 7 at Brothers Lounge. Tickets are $5, and the show begins at 10 p.m.

December 7-8

Toy Drive for Pine Ridge The Waiting Room/Reverb Lounge

—Brisa Colaizzi

December 7

Christmas in the Village 24th and Lake Streets

Since 2003, Lash LaRue (also known as Larry Dunn) has been collecting toys and raising money to bring holiday cheer to the children and families on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The reservation is one of the poorest areas in the United States. In recent years, funds have also been earmarked for the emergency propane fund. The fund assists elders and families in need of propane

to keep from freezing to death during the bitter winter months. This year’s events start Dec. 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., with a BSO Presents show at Stocks ‘n’ Bonds featuring Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal. A rock show with Satchel Grande, Pony Creek, Garst and Vago follows Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. at The Waiting Room. On Sunday, Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon, 89.7 FM’s P.S. Blues show will simulcast live performances from Reverb Lounge. Admission to Stocks ‘n’ Bonds and The Waiting Room is a new, unwrapped toy or $10. Admission to Reverb Lounge is free, but donations will still be accepted. See toydriveforpineridge.org for details on all events or to make online donations. —B.J. Huchtemann

Great Plains. Also on tap is a Mid-America Woodcarvers display, a Hummel display, a Christkindlmarkt selling holiday decorations, gifts and tasty treats and a visit from “St. Nikolaus” late in the day. With Gerda’s German bakery and restaurant now gone, this is the place to partake in some luscious schnitzel and pastries and to wash it down with some fine German ale in a stein. Free admission and parking. —Leo Adam Biga

December 9

The Wood Brothers Slowdown

December 7-8

Hot Shops Winter Open House Hot Shops Art Center 13th and Nicholas

December 8

Christmas in Germany German-American Society 3717 S. 120th Street

The members of The Wood Brothers had deep roots as professional musicians years before they formed their trio. Chris Wood is part of jazz group Medeski Martin and Wood. Oliver Wood toured with Tinsley Ellis before starting his own band, King Johnson. Joining up with drummer Jano Rix, they’ve released a series of acclaimed roots recordings. Their 2018 record, One Drop of Truth, received a Grammy nomination for “Best Americana Album.” The biological Wood brothers were raised in a home steeped in blues and folk. American Songwriter magazine says of their 2018 release “The Wood Brothers’ knack for mixing folk, blues, gospel and jazz remains in fine form. Their music is unique and instantly identifiable, high praise indeed for brothers that have seemingly become tighter and more focused as their professional liaison has matured.” The Wood Brothers play Slowdown Monday, Dec. 9. Doors open 7 p.m. and show starts at 8 p.m.

Originating from Texas, Old 97’s is not your average rock band. They have been around the block once or twice, with some of their biggest tracks featured on TV soundtracks and hit shows. The band even appeared as themselves in the Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston film The Break Up. This foursome uses its folky-Texan roots as a strong foundation to support its punk rock energy and powerful delivery. Old 97’s have released several albums praised by NPR, Billboard and Rolling Stone, which hailed their “fatalistic character studies” and “shiny melodies.” Now, take that and wrap it all up (no pun intended) into a musical Holiday Extravaganza, and Old 97’s will get you in the holiday mood. The band performs with Casey Magic (DIY punk rock magician) on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. at The Waiting Room. Tickets are $25.

—B.J. Huchtemann

December 13

Brother Ali (with

NUR-D (mpls) and DJ Last Word The Waiting Room

—Brisa Colaizzi

December 12

Joyann Parker Band The Jewell

Rapper and social activist Brother Ali stops by The Waiting Room mid-month in support of his latest record, Secrets & Escapes. The Minneapolis MC and producer Evidence decamped to Venice, California, to record the record. Over the course of three trips, the duo composed a huge number of tracks by having Evidence chop up samples and running them through a two-track compressor so the beats couldn’t be mixed or rearranged. It gives everything on the record an offthe-cuff, freestyle feeling that is so totally out of step with today’s hip hop it’s utterly charming.

—B.J. Huchtemann

December 9 German folk songs, dancing, shopping and authentic foods are part of this tradition-laced 12 to 6 p.m. festival that comes as close to recreating a Christmas in Germany as possible on the American

BSO Presents the Joyann Parker Band in a special show Thursday, Dec. 12, 6 to 9 p.m. Parker is an acknowledged performer on the Minneapolis blues scene who has been recognized as a 2018 Blues Blast Award nominee and a Heritage Guitars artist. She was Minnesota’s representative in the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., and received “Best SelfProduced CD” honors from the Minnesota Blues Society. With a sound that combines soul, R&B, gospel, jazz and blues, Parker is a vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist. She and her band bring the Blues Society of Omaha’s early Thursday show to The Jewell in the Capitol District Marriott. See OmahaBlues.com and JewellOmaha.com for details.

Old 97’s Holiday Extravaganza with Casey Magic The Waiting Room

—Houston Wiltsey

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| THE READER |

December 2019

December 13

December 16

Origin of Rurality

Stacey Abrams Lunch for the Girls

CHI Health Center Omaha

Fred Simon Gallery

Origin of Rurality features black and white photography by Lisa Bang Hoffman and Terry Koopman. This exhibition focuses on the vast, multifaceted landscape that is rural Nebraska, along with the power of nature, and the resolve and determination of rural communities. Bang Hoffman’s images capture intimate subject matter drawn from her family, rural environments and domestic scenes. Childhood themes, which draw upon the ineffable, non-verbal world, recur. Terry Koopman’s photographs of rural Nebraska express binary modes of thinking and the juxtaposition between rugged and peaceful, calm and chaos, serenity and immense power. These panoramic scenes capture solitary roads, cornfields and sublime views of Nebraska’s natural landscape. Origin of Rurality opens Dec. 13 and runs until Feb. 7, 2020, at the Fred Simon Gallery located at 1004 Farnam Street, Plaza Level. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 402-595-2122. —Jonathan Orozco

Apart from the show, a “Holigay” artists’ market with various vendors will be hosted on Dec. 14. A drag show will be held on Dec. 21, and a Sunday Social that will host performances ranging from poetry reading to open mic acts has been scheduled for Dec. 22. Although this exhibition is about queer inclusion, all people are welcome to celebrate together, Gurnett added. For more information, email queernite@gmail.com. —Jonathan Orozco

December 15

Kelley Hunt The Jewell

Josh Hoyer & Benjamin Kushner Duo

Friendly Persuasion Split Gallery | 2561 Leavenworth All my Friends at Once opens at Split Gallery on Dec. 13. John Paul Gurnett, the curator and creative director of the show, writes, “The purpose of this show is to create a Queer gathering space at the SPLIT gallery,” and for LGBTQIA2S+ people to utilize the space for gathering. Among the artists in the show are Carmen Stukenholtz, Joe Rohleder, Becca Bartlett and Sage Griffith. All are either queer or supporters of queer inclusivity.

December 2019

December 20

Mariachi Herencia de Mexico Orpheum Theatre

December 19

December 13

Aspirational black girls looking for inspiration could hardly do better than Stacey Abrams. The author, serial entrepreneur, nonprofit CEO and political leader came to national attention in 2018 as the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, where she served 11 years in the state’s House of Representatives, seven as minority leader. She won more votes than any other Democrat in Georgia history and in the process became the first black woman gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the U.S. After that election’s mismanagement by state officials, Abrams launched Fair Fight to ensure every Georgian has a voice in the election system. This John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award recipient, Center for American Progress board member and Lead from the Outside (guidebook on making real change) author is a model for aiming high and not settling. She’s the keynote speaker for this year’s Lunch with the Girls benefiting Girls Inc. Tickets for the 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. event are available at Eventbrite. —Leo Adam Biga

Founding members of Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal, Josh Hoyer and guitarist Benjamin Kushner, step out for another duo show Thursday, Dec. 19, 6 to 9 p.m., at Lincoln’s Zoo Bar. Expect a mix of originals from Hoyer’s catalog and some covers from the duo’s soul-blues-roots favorites. For more roots-blues show listings, see this month’s Hoodoo on page 30. See ZooBar. com. —B.J. Huchtemann

Zoo Bar, Lincoln

Kansas City’s soulful vocalist Kelley Hunt brings her “Winter Soulstice” show to The Jewell Sunday, Dec. 15, with two shows, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. See JewellOmaha. com. For more roots-blues show listings, see this month’s Hoodoo on page 30. —B.J. Huchtemann

| THE READER |

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Mariachi has never looked like this. This Grammy-nominated youth ensemble started in 2014 as a music education program for Chicago Public Schools students. Their latest album Herencia de la Tierra Mia debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s “Latin Album Sales” chart. These young stars from the barrio add new energy to a traditional art form. Their fans include Lila Downs, Los Lobos and Aida Cuevas, all of whom have performed with them on stage. “It’s impressive to see their playing level, where they’re at musically and how much they have evolved,” founder Cesar Maldonado told Billboard magazine. “It’s them being trailblazers, leading the genre.” In this special 7:30 p.m. holiday show, the group brings the Latin American tradition of the

posada to life through such holiday favorites as “Feliz Navidad,” “Los Peces en el Rio,” “Ave Maria” and “Jingle Bells.” —Leo Adam Biga

like every other punk band and taking their time to create beautiful, well-thought-out music for people to sing along to. Taking inspiration from Green Day and Nirvana and produced by the same team as New Found Glory, this band is inspired by some of the most iconic names in punk, all while keeping loyal to their own sound song after song after song. Bayside released their latest album, Interrobang, in October. Catch them at The Waiting Room accompanied by Capstan (progressive post-hard-core-rock band) on Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $24 at the door. —Brisa Colaizzi

December 21 and 22

Mannheim Steamroller Orpheum Theater

It’s a Christmas miracle. For a record 35th straight year, Mannheim Steamroller returns to the metro for back-toback productions of its Christmas music spectacular. This year’s show will feature the original classic Christmas hits from the first Mannheim Steamroller Christmas along with multimedia effects in an intimate setting. Like plenty of other holiday traditions, it’s a bit antiquated — the videos are the same ones they’ve used from the start, the arrangements haven’t been reworked, and the musicians are all dressed in the same oversized suit coats they’ve been wearing since the start of the millennium. At the same time, it’s comforting and a great opportunity to get your family together to hear some Christmas classics. —Houston Wiltsey

Orca Welles hails from several different cities, including Omaha, and have often journeyed across state lines to play together. But despite their rootlessness, the band has a cohesive sound of alternative, surfy garage rock. Accompanying them are Omaha-based Uh Oh, with band members Joe Champion on guitar and vocals, Mari Crisler also on guitar and vocals, Jay Jacobson on drums and Erik Trent on bass and vocals. The band has released three full-length digital albums, and their tracks have received a lot of local love. Join this dynamic duo, along with The Beeves, at 8 p.m. at Slowdown. Tickets are $8. —Brisa Colaizzi

Uh Oh, Orca Welles and The Beeves Slowdown

December 29

Twinsmith, opening for The Real Zebos Slowdown

Jocelyn Slowdown

Twinsmith is three albums deeps and only getting better. The indie-rock band has been recognized by NPR and others for their melodic rock beats and well-composed lyrics. Their latest single, Feels, follows Stay Cool, their full-length album from Saddle Creek, and is a departure from its electronic production style. Feels “brought back the pounding drums, swirling organs, and propelling guitars,” as described on the band’s website. Twinsmith opens for The Real Zebos, an indie rock band from Omaha who played their first show in January 2018 and have since recorded a debut album, Strictly Platonic. Check out both Twinsmith and The Real Zebos at Slowdown. Tickets are $10. —Reader staff

Bayside with Capstan The Waiting Room

First things first, Bayside is much more than your average pop-punk band. Meticulous in their writing and thoughtful in their production, the band has always been mindful of two things: not wanting to be

—Brisa Colaizzi

December 28

December 22

2014 (when she was just 17). Jocelyn signed with BMG last year and is touring with her debut feature album, Good to be Me. Catch at her at The Slowdown Dec. 28 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15.

Omaha’s Jocelyn is one of our own, and we should welcome her as such on Dec. 28 at Slowdown. As The Reader’s Leo Biga wrote in June, Jocelyn “has been a star-inthe-making since playing street corners and open mics as an old-soul teen prophet. Her winsome presence, yearning voice, melodic guitar licks and heartfelt lyrics about personal empowerment can move even jaded listeners.” Jocelyn takes inspiration from artists like Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Kodaline, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. She has been mesmerizing crowds with sweet, soothing vocals and melodic indie pop beats since

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| THE READER |

December 2019

Razzle Dazzle

Paul Anthony Smith’s ‘picotages’ combine optical play with street photography by Janet L. Farber | All images courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

ceramic artist by training and street photographer by choice, Paul Anthony Smith has managed, through his distinctive, visually dazzling process, to encompass the digital darkroom, ritually repetitive handwork, discourse on cultural diaspora and formalist optical aesthetics.

The Brooklyn-based, Jamaican-born artist, whose one-person show in Joslyn Art Museum’s Riley CAP Gallery is now on view through January 19, 2020, makes works that may be described as large-scale photographs manipulated by picking into their surfaces to create upraised surface patterns. Yet, it’s a characterization so simplistic as to undercut Smith’s complex visual and metaphorical content. In fact, the surfaces of his photographs are so attractive, over laced with varying geometric traceries of white, as to be the initial critical focus for the viewer. Smith has developed a technique in which he takes a sharp wooden tool originally designed for use with clay and pierces the photograph with it. Each little chad of paper, sticking up from the flat surface, thus carries both the remnants of the original image and its white underbelly. The result is one of shifting optics. As you walk by the work, the angle of the lifted paper changes the way the image appears, reminiscent of lenticular prints or holographic imagery. At other times, you feel as if you are looking at something through frosted glass. This is no small amount of visual disruption or distortion — each photograph is dominated by an openwork stippled pattern. Smith has settled on calling these works “picotages,” after an old method for printing on fabric using blocks of wood into which brass pins are arranged to form a design; the pins are inked and pressed onto fabric, creating dotted patterns. The patterns emerging from Smith’s photographs are geometric: stripes, rectangles, triangles and ellipses.

“So What,” 2016, unique picotage on inkjet print and colored pencil, mounted on museum board and Sintra.

DECEMBER 2019

| THE READER |

Among the cultural touchstones in Smith’s technique are African tribal scarification practices, in which the skin is pierced or etched to create raised designs. Smith has also acknowledged his interest in

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several Western forms of creating unusual optical interest in art, including traditions of late-19th-century Pointillism and the mid-20thcentury geometric and optical art movements. Equally fascinating and contextually germane is an apparent interest in dazzle camouflage. Dazzle camo (also called razzle dazzle) was a technique developed in WWI of painting British and American military vessels in bold, striped patterns so as to create optical distortions that would confuse or confound the enemy’s ability to gauge the size, speed and direction of ships at sea. From today’s perch, such ships looked like giant floating Cubist compositions. Or a Jun Kaneko production. For Smith, the ideas of camouflage and disruption are key, and here’s where the viewer can get below the surface of his penchant for optical trickery: His works also function as analogs to the fractured veil of memory as well as dualities not limited to assimilation/cultural heritage, community integration/ segregation, insider/outsider, and the like.

“Furtively Advancing Down Jones Lane,” 2018-19, unique picotage on inkjet print, colored pencil and spray paint, mounted on museum board.

Judging by the proliferation of palm trees alone, there is a distinct tropical vibe to Smith’s photographs, and it is not wrong to associate this with the artist’s particular point of view. Born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, Smith came with his family to Miami at the age of 9. His education later took him to the Kansas City Art Institute and then on to Brooklyn as a professional. Take, for example, “Untitled, Junction,” the first work on display as you enter the exhibition. It is an image of a sandy coastal view behind a kind of double scrim of a colorful beaded curtain in the foreground and the raised surface design of stripes and triangles. Smith yields no specific clues about the location, leaving it up to the viewer to decide if this is Jamaica, Miami or somewhere generic. The scene, with its daz-

zling camouflage, nonetheless conjures the idea of tropical heat and the pleasures of the sun and sand viewed through a prism of distance and memory. Several other works exist at a subtle cultural crossroads. “Furtively Advancing Down Jones Lane” is a colorful, candid shot of a nondescript, two-story building in Jamaica containing a pub. Outside, a few men gather on the stairwell; in the foreground is the blurred image of a man’s face, his distinctive striped Rastafarian cap visible like a fleeting rainbow reflection in the lower left. Smith enhances the feeling of “furtiveness” described in the work’s title by making the viewer peer at this image through a fence made

A Relating strongly to the immigrant experience are Smith’s images taken at The Gather, Brooklyn’s West Indian Labor Day parade. At this Carnivalesque annual event, participants masquerade to help preserve and celebrate community, especially those cultural practices and traditions often lost in the process of assimilation. “Untitled, 7 Women,” with its close-up “Untitled, Junction,” 2018-19, unique picotage on inkjet print, massing of female parcolored pencil and spray paint, mounted on museum board. ticipants and splashes of colored feathers, deby the stippled pattern of repeated breeze blocks. A frequent device in Smith’s “picotage,” scribes the joy and intimacy of the event. “Unthey function effectively as decorative flourishes titled,” with its focus on the splendid red and and are also instantly recognizable as a typical, green costuming of a performer, also seems to warm-climate cinder-block construction that si- key on the pleasures of the day. Even Smith’s fomultaneously provides privacy and air flow. We liate screening devices do not seem to prevent are left on the outside looking in, Smith’s meta- connection but rather echo the vibrant scene. phor for his own experience being a cultural pedestrian, both a part of and apart from such familiar surroundings.

Not so with “So What,” in which the image of an elaborately costumed performer with a fantastic green and pink feathered headdress

is obscured by the dazzle camo of a cinder-block wall. Identity and connection are disrupted, underlining the tension in Smith’s work between within and without, participation and observation, belonging and exclusion, closeness and distance. Perhaps the most abstract work in the show is the one that keys most intently on a sense of surveillance. “It’s a Frequency,” is a monochromatic crowd scene of an undetermined source. The faces within are all watching the something just out of our view. Smith’s breeze-block screen is deployed at an angle, enhancing an already cinematic, noirish feel. The work is formally intense, both attractive and disarming. Smith’s ultimate act of razzle dazzle here is one of almost complete dislocation, effectively canceling the power of the gaze and underscoring his stance on the truth of photography and life: What may seem black or white are really just shades of gray.

“Untitled,” 2018-19, unique picotage on

Paul Anthony Smith is featured in inkjet print with oil stick mounted on the Riley CAP Gallery through January 19, museum board. 2020, at Joslyn Art Museum. There is no p.m., with a late close on Thursdays at 8 p.m. For admission fee for this show. The museum is located at 2200 Dodge Street and is open more information, visit www.joslyn.org or Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 call 402-342-3300.

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF ART

5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn

SHEN YUN’s unique artistic vision expands theatrical experience into a multi-dimensional, deeply moving journey through one of humanity’s greatest treasures— the five millennia of traditional Chinese culture. “The power of the archetypes and the narratives were startling. It was an extraordinary experience.”

“The ancient Chinese wisdom will benefit not only the Chinese people, but also the whole world.”

—Cate Blanchett, Academy Award-winning actress

—Ted Kavanau, founding senior producer of CNN Headline News

FEB 25–26 ORPHEUM THEATER ShenYun.com/Omaha 402.345.0606

Reserve your tickets with holiday promo code: Reader5 (expires 12/31) Presented by SAN FRANCISCO FALUN BUDDHA STUDY ASSOCIATION

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| THE READER |

DECEMBER 2019

Big Canvas

goes all in for improv STORY by Leo Adam Biga | PHOTOS by Debra S. Kaplan

One, two, three … go. Improv, that breathless, script-less stepchild of narrative theater, is a hothouse of mental and physical gymnastics. Performers go where their imaginations and instincts, not a playwright’s words on a page, take them. For most of the last decade, Omaha’s lone dedicated home for improv was the Backline downtown. Five Backline veterans then formed their own troupe, Big Canvas. After operating as a gypsy company, Big Canvas has opened its own theater space in the gentrified Blackstone District. To set itself apart, Big Canvas mainly spins performances and classes around short-form improv — the variety seen on

Co-founder Tracie Mauk says improv encourages people to “dust off that childlike imagination.”

the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? Given an audience prompt as simple as a name or object, performers, working as a team, often competing against another team and racing the clock, spontaneously concoct a story laced with humor and hyperbole. What spills out on stage from this made-up, on-the-spot, pulled-out-of-thinair fiction is limited only by performers’ own wits’ end. “We put on a show without any rehearsals or memorizing anything or knowing any blocking,” said Big Canvas co-founder Tracie Mauk, who wrote-performed sketch comedy for Omaha Live! on

DECEMBER 2019

WOWT. “All we need is a stage, an audience and a suggestion to start us off.” Coming from community theater, Mauk needed to be converted to improv. “I was that person who was like, ‘I can’t do that, that’s terrifying,’” she said. “I want a script so I can memorize it to perfection and know what’s going to happen and when.” Then Mauk met some improv performers and went to their shows. She said it looked like they were having so much fun. “When I got my first taste of it in some classes, I never wanted to do anything else.” Creating on demand requires letting go of inhibitions and expectations in order to let ideas flow, hopefully in sync with fellow performers. “It happens instantly,” said Eric Green, another founder and improv convert. “It teaches you a high-risk, high-reward, livein-the-moment approach. It’s definitely the fun stuff we used to do as kids — just make believe.” “A sense of play is definitely at the heart,” Mauk said. “It’s a great chance to dust off that childlike imagination and play pretend with your friends.”

“We want you to know there’s this completely organic art form you can experience that totally embraces c o l l a b o ra t i ve thinking and spont aneity,” Mauk said. “The improv skill set is something you take with you Big Canvas recently opened its own theater space in Blackstone. into new situations where you don’t know what happens next. It gives to be funny,” adding, “But you do learn you a calmer, more confident place to start to work cooperatively, to be open to new from in making small talk, in public speak- ideas and to just go with your gut.” ing, in job interviews, in auditions. Mauk said improv encourages performers to let go. “Improv is one big series of trust falls,” she said. “You go out there trusting you’ll have each other’s backs no matter what happens. Learning to have that level of trust leaves you confident to tackle anything.” Co-founder Doug Rothgeb is another fervent advocate.

“Improv is not just a performancebased technique, but it can be a way of life or a tool to use Eric Green, another co-founder, says at work or school,” improv helps people come out of their With “Comedy shells and teaches skills that can be he said. “We want for Everyone” as its used in any personal interactions. to bring the power tagline, Big Canof positivity that imvas seeks to grow the local improv scene, prov brings to the community and to give which also includes 88improv, which perthe groups coming up a helping hand to forms at The Backline, and Workshop Im- do what we’re doing.” prov Troupe (WIT), by offering a showcase Mauk is quick to point out “improv for performers while promoting teachable training doesn’t necessarily teach you how tools with wide applications.

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THEATER

Doug Rothgeb, co-founder, says “We want our theater to be a safe space for all.”

“It’s more about the freedom of not over-thinking but coming in with a blank slate and working together to come up with something,” she said. Green champions it as a vehicle for helping people “come out of their shell to tell their stories in public.” Said Green, “You’d be amazed how many muscles get flexed in an improv class and how you can apply these skills outside of improv to any personal interactions.” Green, Rothgeb, Mauk and the other two founders, Heather Jones and Lindsey

Theis, met as students and performers at Backline.

as a performer or audience member. We all experience it together for the first time.”

“We were like moths drawn to the flame because it was the place to do improv in town,” Mauk said. “We found we shared similar sensibilities, and the five of us thought there’s more we can do. We definitely saw a niche of bringing improv to a more mainstream audience.”

Improv’s been around Omaha for a while, but the emergence of Big Canvas represents growing interest.

Big Canvas strives for “family-friendly” shows — a challenge when riffing on an adrenaline rush. “When you’re going completely off the top of your head in these shows you can go to places that are more adult or blue,” Mauk said. As part of an intention to do tame comedy, Rothgeb said, “We have to work and practice to stay clean and positive,” adding, “We want our theater to be a safe space for all.” However, Big Canvas does loosen things up during after-10 p.m. shows “that push the limit.” More than anything, Rothgeb wants Big Canvas to be a flagship for quality. A good show, he said, depends on “the sense of play in the moment, the commitment to the scene and the attitude that it’s not about me, but about the scene and my partner(s) on stage. “If those three things come together, then great things happen. Improv teaches you a lot about yourself and the people you perform with. You have to find people you love being on stage with.” Big Canvas features short-form improv, which Rothgeb calls the foundation. “High-energy, go, go, go,” is how he describes this intense style. “We do a game show, the Improv Comedy League, where two teams compete against each other.” Things get a little crazy. “By contrast, in long form, which we also perform and teach, we may take one suggestion and do anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes of building and creating art. It’s a different kind of energy. Some of those shows can be very serious. Some can be very funny.” Given its ephemeral nature, no two shows are alike. “It’s never the same thing,” Mauk said, “You never know what’s going to happen

With its year-round classes, this comedy cohort is positioning itself as the go-to stop for learning-doing Omaha improv. “We’re hopefully taking it to the next level,” Rothgeb said. Big Canvas also does community outreach, including partnering with organizations such as Very Special Persons, which serves the developmentally disabled community, to raise awareness and funds. The end goal is bigger than the troupe. “We want to create an improv community and provide more opportunities to perform and learn,” Green said. The company called Sozo Coffeehouse in the Old Market home for a bit but prioritized finding their own space. Enter Slate Architecture owner Dwayne Brown.

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Brown, who sits on the Big Canvas board, fell in love with improv and started advocating for it as a skill set that can be used in everyday life. Brown recently offered space in his Blackstone Commons building for the troupe to have its first dedicated theater and classrooms. “We feel it allows us more opportunities for growth,” Green said. “We’re in a fantastic location alive with revitalization. It’s very exciting.” For Rothgeb, who performed in Kansas City and Denver, Omaha improv has “still got a long way to go” to reach its potential. He feels there’s room for more theaters and groups. A bar’s been set by Nebraskans who’ve taken their talent to national stages, such as Chicago’s Second City. The star of this group, Omaha native Amber Ruffin, developed her chops at SC before finding fame on Late Night with Seth Meyers. She’s returned to do Omaha workshops. Big Canvas would love to be a launching pad for the next Ruffin. “She’s a good model for what we want to produce,” Rothgeb said. Big Canvas is at 3624 Farnam Street. For show dates, times and admission, visit BigCanvasNE.com.

1808 Vinton St. OracleArtSupply.com THEATER

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DECEMBER 2019

Blue Christmas

Beat the holiday blues by reaching out, giving of your time or talents and celebrating life with some uplifting live music by B.J. huChteMAnn

show Thursday, Dec. 19, 6-9 p.m. Hector Anchondo Band performs Friday, Dec. 27, 5-7 p.m., and Kris Lager Band plays after 9 p.m. on Dec. 27. Matt Cox Band is set for Saturday, Dec. 28, 6-9 p.m. You can also find latebreaking info at Facebook.com/ZooBarBlues.

ecember is a big month for most of us, on the run and juggling lots of events and work or school obligations. Every year, the Toy Drive for Pine Ridge and other local events focused on giving rather than getting, put the season in perspective. Since 2003, organizer and longtime local musician Lash LaRue (aka Larry Dunn) has motivated the community and kept the event growing to bring holiday cheer to children and families on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Just a day’s drive from the Omaha metro, the reservation is sadly one of the poorest districts in the U.S.

Get Out

This year’s Toy Drive events happen early in the month with the P.S. Blues simulcast on 89.7 FM, The River, moved to Dec. 1 due to Iowa Western’s football team making the playoffs. Thursday, Dec. 5, 6-9 p.m., the BSO Presents show at Stocks ‘n’ Bonds features Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal and benefits the Toy Drive. Saturday, Dec. 7, The Waiting Room hosts another event for the Toy Drive with Satchel Grande, Pony Creek, Garst and Vago. Admission to each show is $10 or a new, unwrapped toy. If you missed the events, you can still participate. In addition to the toy delivery, the Toy Drive is a 501(c)(3) that provides emergency propane for elders and families during the bitter winter months on the reservation. Donations can be made anytime at ToyDriveForPineRidge.org. LaRue’s commitment has shown how the power of one person to make a difference can rally others and become a force for good. What started at the now-closed Mick’s in Benson with a gathering of friends that produced a pickup-load of toys, the drive has grown exponentially each year. Every holiday, this effort reminds me that if you wonder what you can do in the face of any difficult situation, just take action. You may be surprised at how many people rise to help your efforts. Despite the media blitz of holiday cheer, the holiday season can be a time of struggle and sadness for many. Just taking time to make a simple act of kindness in your neighborhood or in your community can bring some light to someone who really needs it. And if your

DECEMBER 2019

Local artists Kris Lager Band spend most of their time on the road. Join them as they celebrate life with their original roots music at the Zoo Bar Friday, Dec. 27, and at The Waiting Room Sunday, Dec. 29. Photo credit: Facebook.com/krislagerband holiday could use some brightening, one way to do it may be to do something for someone else.

Blues Society of Omaha Presents The Thursday BSO Presents 6 p.m. shows hit a couple of venues this month. In addition to the Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal show at Stocks ‘n’ Bonds Dec. 5, the Rev. Jimmie Bratcher’s blues Christmas show is at Stocks ‘n’ Bonds Thursday, Dec. 19. BSO Presents returns to The Jewell in the Capitol District Marriott with Minneapolis-based jazz-blues-R&B vocalist Joyann Parker and her band on Thursday, Dec. 12. The BSO also hosts the Friday, Dec. 20, 5:30 p.m. show at the B. Bar with Lincoln’s rockabilly royalty, the Mezcal Brothers. The B. Bar presents a regular Friday after-work early show and other shows with varying styles of music

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HOODOO

— keep up with their schedule on the events tab at Facebook.com/TheB.BarOmaha.

Zoo Bar Blues Keep track of late-breaking additions to Lincoln’s historic Zoo Bar’s schedule at ZooBar.com. The groove-laden roots-rock, vintage R&B and blues of The Bel Airs is up for a 6-9 p.m. early New Year’s Eve show. Acclaimed guitarist and bandleader Bobby Messano is back Wednesday, Dec. 18, 6-9 p.m. The Tony Holiday Blues Band plays Tuesday, Dec. 10, 6-9 p.m. There are plenty of opportunities to check out homegrown talent from the Monday 5:30 p.m. piano happy hours with Emily Bass and friends to the Zoo Bar House Band Monday shows 7-10 p.m. and the jazz showcase with Jazzocracy Tuesdays 6-9 p.m. Josh Hoyer and Benjamin Kushner play a special duo

There’s a lot more music in the area than I can cover in this column every month. Music fans know the major ones. Here are a few other gems. Buck’s in Venice, Nebraska, straight out west at 27849 W. Center Rd., continues to book notable local country and occasional blues acts with the emphasis on true rising stars on the national scene who seem to be quickly moving on up to big venues and tour buses. Buck’s promotes a listening room environment during performances and also serves some tasty-looking food. Follow the schedule at Facebook.com/bucks.barandgrill. Then there’s The Corner Bar in Fremont, which consistently books touring blues acts and is sometimes the artists’ only Nebraska stop. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for show listings at Facebook.com/cornerbarfremontne. In Omaha, there are more venues than I can reasonably list promoting original live music and giving local and touring artists a place to play. Check out the curated listings at OmahaBlues.com for the BSO’s guide to blues shows and venues in the area, which includes shows such as Kris Lager Band and Friends Holiday Jam Sunday, Dec. 29, at The Waiting Room. The Jewell in the Capitol District Marriott is a new player on the scene this year. If you haven’t been there yet, you owe it to yourself to check it out and support this great venue. The sound system is exquisite, the ambiance is elegant, and the food and beverage service round out a great experience. Follow the show listings at JewellOmaha.com. Roots fans can check out veteran Kansas City blues-soul vocalist and songwriter Kelley Hunt at The Jewell Sunday, Dec. 15. Hunt will perform two shows at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

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DECEMBER 2019

Best Albums of the 2010s Best may be subjective, but these records are pretty darn good by HOUSTON WILTSEY

est-of lists are an inherently stupid, yet completely brilliant, way to judge any type of art. Think about it; even the most devoted music critic only gets the chance to seriously listen to a few hundred records out of the ungodly number released each year — never mind the near-infinite stream of mixtapes and singles that appear

exclusively on sites like SoundCloud. From there, they funnel out those that don’t mesh with their tastes and what they believe their readers might have an interest in. Then, toward the end of the year, they try to sift through their feelings about said records and rank them using no standardized criteria. Now, multiply this by 10, and you can

Piñata — Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Freddie Gibbs’ greatest strength, up until the release of Piñata, was also his greatest weakness — he could rap over anything. The Gary, Indiana, rapper’s lyrical dexterity allowed him to turn uninspired beats into something truly fun, if not a little forgettable, on his early mixtapes and major label fare. In Madlib, the California producer responsible for crafting Madvillainy with MF DOOM, Gibbs found a partner that could build him a world truly worthy of his talents. When Gibbs was imagining the record, he claimed he wanted it to sound like the sonic equivalent of a blaxploitation film. Across its sprawling 17 tracks, Piñata unfurls into just that. There are gritty shoot’em ups (“Scarface”), small-time drug deals (“Uno” and “Knicks”) and soap opera romances (“Deeper”). With production that incorporates everything from ‘70s soul to movie dialog and a guest list featuring the likes of Raekwon, Earl Sweatshirt and Danny Brown, it teeters on excess. In fact, it would probably collapse if not for Gibbs rapping his ass off through the whole damn thing.

Golden Hour — Kacey Musgraves

DECEMBER 2019

At the same time, I adore these lists, however stupid they may seem. They act as a snapshot that allows readers to see what the musical land-

was even able to craft a disco tune that feels more at home in the club than the honky-tonk. No matter what genre she was dabbling in, Musgraves made it feel distinctly her own and made fans of all genres take notice.

A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships — The 1975 Speaking of being genre-agnostic, no band typified this more than The 1975 on their 2018 breakthrough record. On it, the lads from Manchester were completely absorbed in reinventing themselves ... on every song. One moment they’re making pissy, emo-indebted rock (“Give Yourself a Try”) and the next they’ve moved onto tropical-flavored pop (“TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME”). The threesong closing features lounge-singer crooning from frontman Matty Healy (“Mine”), white-boy R&B (“I Couldn’t Be More In Love”) and the band’s approximation of a late-career Verve track (“I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)”). It doesn’t always work — the over-processed trap of “I Like America & America Likes Me” wears thin after a few listens — but there are far more hits than misses. It’s the perfect record for the technologically overstimulated playlist generation.

i,i — Bon Iver

In the decade when cross-pollination between genres became the norm, Kacey Musgraves was country music’s butterfly. On her fourth full-length, touches of psych (“Slow Burn”) and soft rock (“Wonder Woman”) sit comfortably alongside classic country ballads. With “High Horse,” Musgraves

see how ridiculous it is to make an allencompassing, air-tight list highlighting all the best albums from the past decade.

If you scan the extensive credits for Justin Vernon’s fourth album, i,i, you’ll find multiple mentions of Young Thug’s go-to producer, Wheezy. It’s a fitting pairing considering that Vernon has spent the better part of the decade becoming the indie-rock equivalent of the Atlanta MC. Throughout i,i, Vernon uses his voice in the

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BACKBEAT

scape of a particular year or decade was like. You’re able to go back and see if a record’s stock has risen or fallen since its release. And, most importantly, it’s a way for readers to discover music that they may have missed out on the first time around or convince them to give something a second listen.

same manner as Thugger, compressing, mangling, amplifying and sampling to extract the desired emotional response from his audience. When it finally does appear unscathed — soaring above the gurgling synths of “Faith” or fluttering along to the metronomic click of “Hey, Ma” — it sounds positively radiant. It’s a reminder that no matter how alien Vernon’s music has become, his first concern is always making you feel unapologetically human.

Currents — Tame Impala This one was a toss-up. I could’ve just as easily picked Lonerism, Kevin Parker’s flang-forward opus to outcasts everywhere. Instead, I opted for Currents because it sounds completely singular. Inspired partly by a drug-fueled car ride in LA in which Parker was listening to the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” and struck by the “emotive, melancholy feel to it,” Currents is an attempt to bring psychedelic rock to the dance floor. To do so, Parker spent hundreds of hours in the studio recording a nearly endless amount of takes in search of the perfect sound. The result is an audiophile’s wet dream. It’s easy to luxuriate in the mind-altering synths of “Nangs” or get lost in Axelrod-esque keys that kick off “New Person, Same Old Mistakes.” Kevin Parker says he finds the album to be “unlistenable.” I respectfully disagree.

Light Upon the Lake — Whitney Has a breakup album ever sounded so sunny? After the end of Smith Westerns and the collapse of their respective romantic relationships, Max

That’s merely what I’m hoping to accomplish with this list — to give you, the reader, a chance to find a new favorite song, artist or album. Or, if you’re already up to date on everything on this list, you can sit back and quietly judge it, basking in the glow of your superior musical knowledge.

Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich decamped to a friend’s basement and spent a brutal Chicago winter carefully crafting a collection of songs about their lonely, booze-filled evenings. However, Light Upon the Lake is anything but depressing. Buoyed by Ehrlich’s feathery falsetto, Kakacek’s zippy guitar fills and a glowing brass section, the duo isn’t lamenting about the past, they’re gazing at it fondly, excited by the possibility of recapturing that spark with someone new.

Dissed and Dismissed — Tony Molina Tony Molina gets straight to the point. The Bay Area hardcore veteran doesn’t waste time writing second verses or bridges or, in some cases, either. At 12 songs spanning 12 minutes, Dissed and Dismissed gets right to the good stuff: gloriously distorted riffs, half-sung lyrics in a mopey lilt that would make J Mascis smile, and uncontainably joyous guitar solos. I could go on about the album’s brilliance, but that would be missing the point.

In Colour — Jamie xx I was never a huge fan of The xx. Maybe it’s because the London trio’s moody pop music always came off a bit too selfserious for my liking or because everyone that owned a copy of the record seemed to have picked it up at Urban Outfitters — along with one of those shitty Crosley record players — and talked about how it was the perfect record to “vibe out” to. Probably a mix of both. On his first proper solo record, Jamie Smith, the group’s electronic architect drew from a big-

B ger pallet — pulling in the best parts of his flagship band and fusing them with the music of the London club scene, for which he had grown homesick after months on the road. As a result, there’s a duality that runs deep throughout In Colour. Drum and bass bangers find themselves alongside two of the best tracks that The xx should have recorded. Young Thug even stops by to drop a couple of bars. It’s carefree, spacey, and the closest thing you’ll get to a fun xx album.

House of Balloons — The Weeknd “Goddamn bitch, I am not a Teen Choice,” Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd rapped on “Reminder,” one of the standout singles from 2016’s wildly successful Starboy. After two years of using his MJ-esque falsetto to crank out club-ready hits, it was hard to take him seriously. But on House of Balloons, his 2011 debut mixtape, The Weeknd was downright terrifying. The Toronto native was singing about Eyes Wide Shutstyle orgies whose participants were hoovering up pharmaceuticals like Hungry Hungry Hippos. Yet

with the help of producers Doc McKinney and Illangelo, Tesfaye created a hellish party-scape that sounded inviting. Whether he was bouncing atop the elongated flangy synthesizers of “The Morning” or snaking between the ethereal chords of “The Party & The After Party,” Tesfaye was able to drag even the most morally upright music listener down to his level.

Take Care — Drake Over the last 10 years, Drake has proven to be one of the all-time wave riders in popular music. Whether barking over the sparse trap beats of If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late or ripping off the dancehall riddims of D.R.A.M.’s “Cha Cha” with “Hotline Bling,” the former Degrassi star and his production team were able to compress almost every major pop music trend into its most digestible form. On Take Care, Drake and producer Noah “40” Shebib did the opposite — they created an influential landmark that sounded like nothing else at the time. A noted fan of Aaliyah, Usher and his mentor, Lil Wayne, Drake combines woozy R&B with bigballed braggadocio into a gold-encrusted glass

case of emotion. Whether tossing out endearing, corny punchlines or drunkenly dialing an ex in the wee hours of the morning, Take Care was the first and last time that the 6 God would sound exactly like himself.

Contra — Vampire Weekend On Contra, Vampire Weekend decided to double down. Instead of spilling kefir and arguing about punctuation, the Columbia grads were sipping horchata and hanging with the sons of foreign dignitaries. And, instead of adding flecks of world music, the band was now fully engrossed in crafting it. Acting as the record’s producer, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij helped to flesh out the band’s explorations into everything from ska to Latin drum music, and frontman Ezra Koenig’s lyrics struck the perfect balance between pointed social commentary and catchy gibberish. Some might ride for Modern Vampires of the City or Father of the Bride, but, for my money, the band hasn’t topped the record they released two weeks into the decade.

BACKBEAT

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DECEMBER 2019

How to Shop for Your Movie Lover

This Ain’t a Gift Guide, It’s a Gift Philosophy by Ryan Syrek

“I

t’s the thought that counts” is not a sweet sentiment. It is a dire warning, provided you read it right.

Somehow, this adage that was clearly designed to remind folks that they should actually, meaningfully think about the presents they give has been bastardized into a shorthand response for “I hate it, but at least you tried.” So, unlike the billion other gift guides out there, what follows is not some laundry list of links to Amazon products (shop local if you can, yo). Instead, let’s talk about how to make the thought count when it comes to getting presents for your movie lover. Because, just like embarrassing usernames on websites, everybody has at least one of those in their life.

Know the Difference Between “Fun Collectable” and “Future Trash” You know what makes me sad? Throwing away something with a Doctor Who logo on it. Guess what I have to do in January literally every year?

Likewise, although mass-produced coffee mugs with Star Wars logos on them are lazy AF gifts, getting an offbeat print on a coffee mug can be a meaningful gesture. Again, depending on the gift receiver’s caffeine intake and cupboard space. Again, all of this is about starting with the item itself and not the franchise/ fandom. I promise you, someone somewhere has made a themed version of whatever object it is you think Mr. Movie Lover would want. I’m sure there’s a candle that smells like Yoda’s toe cheese and a Godfather tackle box out there. Oh, one last warning: It gets tricky with the kind of off-beat, kitschy items from places like Thinkgeek or Etsy. If it’s just something to put on a desk or shelf, be sure it’s something wicked cool or it is just more junk to dust. And if it’s an item you think is funny, don’t buy it for them. Just tell them about it. Floating trash islands in the ocean are made entirely of “funny gifts.”

Nothing Says “I Love You” Like Enabling

Knowing that a person is a fan of a particular franchise, film series, director or actor doesn’t mean that any random crap that just refers to said fandom is a good gift. Most of it is not. Most of it is garbage. The crucial question to ask is whether or not the item itself is inherently worthwhile, not just the branding on it. That’s the first big tip: Work backward.

If you’re unaware, there are soon to be something like eleventy flajillion different streaming services. Most vexingly, all of them have a minimum of at least one must-see exclusive on them. We have left the hellish confines of cable TV for a different internet-based nightmare, one in which we may have to know what a Quibi is.

If you know that your movie lover is constantly sporting graphic T-shirts, go someplace like Redbubble or other sites where artists design unusual, innovative takes on movie stuff. Sites like those or someplace like Mondo or eBay also have unique posters or art prints, provided your cinephile is cool about you dictating how she uses her wall space.

One of the best gifts to give is a subscription to a niche or new service that your movie lover either hasn’t subscribed to yet or decided they couldn’t financially justify. I’ve given horror enthusiasts a subscription to Shudder and arthouse obsessives a subscription to The Criterion Channel. It’s basically like giving them a whole ton of stuff that they don’t have to actually find a place for, which is the best kind of stuff.

Another mini-tip: It’s totally cool to get your film buff a smaller, framed version of something rather than a colossal poster. A super-rad, totally unusual art piece that’s small is actually a killer gift.

December 2019

Alternatively, ignore the myth that says gift certificates are bad or cold, sterile presents. They sure can be if they’re

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FILM

Don’t just buy anything with a logo on it for a movie lover this holiday season. Photo credit: Romain MATHON on Unsplash. chosen semi-randomly at a checkout line when you remember you forgot to buy something for someone. Fun fact: That’s how Chili’s gets 95% of its business these days. The expense of going to the movies adds up fast for people who love them. I promise you, it is not like handing your friend a bag of crusty dollar bills. A gift card to a theater you know they love means they may see a movie they may not have otherwise or they may snag some theater-specific swag they would have skipped.

Beyond that, here’s a really cool idea: The vast majority of theaters will let you rent out a screening for a pretty reasonable amount. I promise you, giving someone the gift of watching a movie they love on the big screen with their friends is an all-timer. Combine that with a poster for the event that you can frame? You’re winning the holidays. Above all else, just remember “It’s the thought that counts” is the stargate to incredible gift giving, not giving a Stargate trashcan.

King Tries to Give Kubrick a Shiner Doctor Sleep Is a Just-Okay Reclamation Project by Ryan Syrek Shining remains a perfect masterpiece, which Tsiblyhetotally sucks. This is because no movie can posbe good enough to justify Stanley Kubrick’s

literal torture of Shelley Duvall. We still live under the gaslit delusion that talented artists should get to abuse whoever they want. So, say this much for Doctor Sleep: It is likely not the byproduct of cruelty excused by “genius.” That is not an insignificant point of comparison for a wildly mediocre film that is otherwise devoid of any semblance of purpose. It makes total sense why Stephen King was motivated to write a sequel to The Shining. His personal addiction metaphor was turned into a cinematic critique that chose to hold accountable the man and not merely his affliction. His attempt to fully reclaim the work necessitated an eventual film adaptation, which is why Doctor Sleep is more obsessed with repossessing the most well-known horror iconography of all time than with introducing anything meaningfully new, other than the world’s stupidest hat. More on that later. Doctor Sleep picks up just after the worst hotel stay not involving the use of blacklight. A young Danny is still haunted by the saggy mammaries of the bathtub ghost and her friends. He gets taught by his dead friend, Dick (Carl Lumbly), how to imprison the spirits in mental coffins, deploying the kind of alarm-bell foreshadowing subtlety that mars much of King’s writing. Years later, Danny is now Dan (Ewan McGregor) and is also a raging alcoholic. He ricochets off rock bottom to find a small community that embraces him, where he takes on a role that lets him use his telepathy to comfort dying hospice patients. A young girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran), who has all kind of crazy mind powers, catches the eye of a pack of monsters who feed on said powers. Their leader is Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), who dresses in stereotypically racist “gypsy” jokes

woven into fabric. Her hat is so profoundly dumb that it is the single scariest thing about the main villain. In case you couldn’t guess, Dan must atone for his alcoholic misdeeds by protecting Abra from the monster people in a series of scenes with cinematography that screams “Hey, remember that other, much better movie that this is a sequel to?” McGregor is his usual affably sensitive self, Curran delivers a shockingly nuanced performance for a young teenager, and Ferguson’s talent cannot overcome being forced to wear Frosty the Snowman’s headgear. As he did much better in Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House, writer/director Mike Flanagan again shows his desire to explore big human emotions while inside the horror genre. The most haunting chunk of the film is McGregor quietly seated beside the bedridden elderly, ferrying them to the beyond.

NEW RELEASES

Greta Gerwig’s

Little Women

Dundee Theater — Starts Wednesday, December 25, 2019

4952 DODGE STREET OMAHA , NE 68132

The worst part of Doctor Sleep, other than the hat, is gruesome child murder, a King trademark. The next-next worst part is King’s muddled further explanation of the powers at work. Apparently, if you have ESP juju, it’s called “the steam,” and when you die, you burp it out, and others can eat it. The film isn’t outright “saved” by a third act that relies entirely on the work of its superior cinematic predecessor, but it is nudged from neutral-bad to neutralgood by it. King has publicly stated that he feels the new film “redeems” Kubrick’s Shining. That’s impossible, unless it summoned Kubrick’s ghost in a séance and made the apparition apologize to Duvall. All Doctor Sleep really did was serve up modest entertainment and make King feel better. Shine on, you crazy cubic zirconium.

Grade = BFILM

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December 2019

It won’t actually kill snowmen, but the new Alamo Midtown mural conjures warm summer nights. Photo credit: Alamo Midtown.

CUTTING ROOM by Ryan Syrek

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The first Frozen and its “Let It Go” united parents around the globe in the shared agony of children demanding their ears be injected with that audio heroin. Aksarben Cinema and Angels Among Us are at least using Frozen 2 to do some real good. On Sunday, Dec. 8 at 9 a.m., which is far too early for we childless to do anything with other human beings, the theater and organization are holding a fundraiser that will feature Santa, breakfast food, face painting, balloon animals and a chance to see either Frozen 2 or A Beautiful Day to Remember. Tickets to the event are $20 and will help Angels Among Us with their mission of providing support to families dealing with pediatric cancer. For a cause that good, I would do a karaoke rendition of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” or, to raise even more money, I would promise not to do that to everyone.

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This is a bit “last month,” but as we enter what promises to be the barren tundra of a climate-crisis-powered winter, you’ll forgive me for wanting a bit of warmth. Alamo Drafthouse Midtown recently unveiled their lovely new mural from Omaha artist Watie White that depicts the Monday night movies held in Turner Park. You remember when people actually enjoyed being outside, right? Like, a time when they would go out there because they wanted to and not from the sheer necessity of not wanting dogs to do their business in the house? White’s work nicely encapsulates the communal experience of filmgoing and adds a vibrant splash of color and life to the concrete surroundings. It’s a nice nod to everything great about watching mov-

ies in Omaha, other than the fact that it’s happening outside.

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In decidedly less local news, as we knew eventually would be the case, they’re going to remake/reboot/continue the Scream franchise. Honestly, I don’t hate it. I recently rewatched the first two films, and they … absolutely do not hold up at all. However, they do serve as a deliciously painful snapshot of that era, including Timothy Olyphant looking like he stumbled in on his way to audition for an MTV reality show. Were they to turn this new resurrection into a commentary on remakes/reboots/continuations that also works as a killer horror movie, it could be one of the few remakes/reboots/continuations that truly justifies its own existence. They should also call it Yodel.

December 2019

Tuesday, December 24, 5:30 or 9:00 pm

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Finally, I have largely stayed out of the hubbub surrounding non-youth Martin Scorsese crapping on Marvel movies. This isn’t because I don’t think he’s totally wrong but because of how painfully obvious it is that he’s totally wrong. Just like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan yelling at clouds of streaming services, the rancor of old white dudes who feel like their definition of art is the only one is so wholly gross and ignorant that it deserves little more than the fourth blurb in a monthly column. Folks who hold such positions are never going to change them, so the only way to move on from that mentality is to treat it like the worthless drivel it is and ignore it. At least Marvel had a woman as a lead in one of their movies once, Marty.

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 KVNO 90.7 on Wednesdays and follow him on Twitter @thereaderfilm.

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December 2019

The Labyrinth

Walk this Way by Michael Braunstein

Talk the talk? Then walk the walk. There is no right or wrong way to walk a labyrinth. It is experiential. Children often find it a game or fun. Adults experience it in individual ways. Here are some hints to enrich the experience.

rouble with your meditation lately? Can’t seem to settle the drunken monkey mind? Maybe you need to walk it off.

For thousands of years, walking meditation has been a way to calm the mind and reach a state of inner tranquility. Zen masters extol the virtue of physical discipline combining with intention leading to higher awareness. Martial arts train mind and body to work as one, with the result a state of inner peace. Ayurveda teaches that walking meditation is a perfect way for younger ones to learn to let their minds calm. And one of the oldest templates for letting our mind do the walking is the labyrinth. We know that relieving stress is a requirement of both mind and body. Modern studies confirm the role that stress reduction plays in health. Yet, many people find that meditation and other relaxation therapies aren’t easy for them to use. Maybe the idea of sitting still isn’t their cup of tea. Perhaps their legs need something more active than a lotus position. For those people, walking the labyrinth may be a perfect way to give the mind freedom to relax. The labyrinth is both an archetype and an ancient tool that crosses cultures and centuries. It has been used for self-discovery, prayer and meditation for thousands of years. As a symbol, it appears in the form of the Native American prayer wheel, Tibetan sand paintings, mandalas and prayer wheels, the Hopi seven-layer labyrinth, the Kabbalah in Judaism and the pilgrim’s path depicted in the Gothic Christian cathedrals of Europe. Maybe I’m a-mazed...maybe not. The labyrinth mimics the natural forces of the universe, and the designs of some basic labyrinths echo those found in the spiral of the nautilus or the web of a spider. Labyrinths are found in cultures in China, the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australia. Don’t make the mistake of thinking of a corn maze as a labyrinth. Mazes and labyrinths differ. A labyrinth has no dead-ends, no chicanes. Rather, your completion and destination are guaranteed. There is only one way to proceed once the labyrinth is entered, and the path always leads to the goal. Step by step, there is no thinking or planning necessary. If NIKE had invented the labyrinth, the slogan would still be “Just Do It!”

December 2019

The first is to take your time. There is no rush. Pause at the entrance before you begin and be aware of intent. Be in the moment without distraction of time or place. Adopt an attitude. Choose how you want to feel in the moment.

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Photo by Michael Braunstein. A labyrinth guides the walker to the very center, and then the path leads back out again. During the walk, the mind need not think or decide or judge. The way is clear and set for you — predestined. With no decisions to make, the intellect can take the day off, and thinking becomes unnecessary. The walker of the labyrinth just is. Walk this way. As Christian culture adopted the labyrinth, (the earliest Christian labyrinth was found in an Algerian basilica) the use was formalized. The walk from the opening in the labyrinth to the center was a time of prayerfulness and meditation. The journey was a metaphor for the annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jerusalem. The present-day format of the labyrinth is found in the Gothic Roman Catholic churches of medieval times. By the Middle Ages, mystical cults were part of the Christian experience. The immediate followers and relatives of Jesus roamed Europe after his crucifixion, and various sects descended from the lineage of Joseph, Mary Magdalene and others. One descendant sect, the Templars, had a hand in the design of many of the Gothic cathedrals built throughout France. The classic labyrinth built into the Cathedral at Chartres became the prototype for all successive labyrinths. It was constructed around 1400 A.D. and has survived to this day. It is an 11-layer pattern, meaning that there are 11 concentric circles that lead to the center. It is flat and carved into the stone floor of the Cathedral. Labyrinths have no walls or hedges to confuse or confine like a maze. In the center is a six-petal rosette, pre-dating the emergence of Rosicrucianism by two centuries. The Chartres labyrinth is 42 feet across and winds inward for a total of one-sixth of a mile. The return is the same.

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HEARTLAND HEALING

grow your own LABYRINTH Chartres is a vector of convergent cultures and mysticism, built on land sacred to Celts, pagans, Christians and Moors. Not one church relic is buried there, and legend persists that the Ark of the Covenant is entombed beneath the labyrinth. Built by the powerful sect of the Knights Templar, Gothic cathedrals were influenced by the diverse cultures that the former Crusaders had experienced in their travels. One of the most famous labyrinths in the United States is the one in the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Exactly duplicating the classic lines and dimensions of the Chartres one, it receives thousands of visitors each year that walk the path in peace. You can take a virtual tour at www.GraceCathedral.org. In medieval times, parishioners might crawl on hands and knees through a labyrinth, doing penance. In the 21st century, however, walking the walk is for meditating or praying, quieting the mind. Adapted to modern use, labyrinths are often painted or etched into a flat surface, lawn, garden or even a parking lot. The most common pattern is the Chartres. Walking the labyrinth is a “right-brain” activity. It is intuitive and requires no analysis. We simply follow the path we are on, happy in each instant that we are there. Done with mindfulness and awareness of the moment, it quickly becomes a route to peace. Putting all thoughts of anything else out of mind, each step becomes a mantra and is our only focus.

Walk with awareness. Feel each foot on the ground and become aware of your body responding. Let subtle senses guide you and give attention to the simple task at hand. Pause when you want to. You are where you are supposed to be. People at the Grace Cathedral and at other indoor labyrinths walk shoeless. When you reach the quiet center, become aware of your feelings and take a moment before beginning the return. Exiting, honor your experience with recognition. There is at least one labyrinth available for meditation in Omaha. In 1999, a Chartres labyrinth was painted on the plaza of the First Central Congregational Church, United Church of Christ at 36th and Harney. It is lighted and available 24 hours. There are brief descriptions of the use and history of labyrinths on the nearby pillars and benches for quiet time. Just take that first step. 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.

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December 2019

An Impeachment in 8 x 10 Glossy

Suffering through the Clinton years surrounded by the enemy by Tim McMahan

I’m writing this in the early morning hours of November 13, weeks before you’ll read it on the newsstands. Between the time I write it and you read it, the world may have changed drastically — and probably has — but here’s a snapshot at this moment in time.

t is the first day of the Trump Impeachment Hearings. Actually, the ”failing New York Times” is calling it Public Hearings on the Trump Impeachment Inquiry, which sounds more or less ominous depending on what you read into it and which direction you lean politically. Despite the build-up to what likely will be an historic day, all I can think of is “Here we go again.” I remember the Clinton impeachment hearings as if they were held yesterday instead of 21 years ago. Back then, as a young, idealistic journalist working at a downtown corporation, I was the only Democrat in an office filled with blood-red conservatives, all working for a staunch, very Christian Republican guy who hated anything liberal, especially anything Clinton. For those who weren’t around at the time and didn’t study American history (They still teach that stuff in school these days, don’t they?), at the heart of the Clinton impeachment hearings were allegations that the president had illegally lied about and covered up a relationship with

DECEMBER 2019

Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House employee. It was, indeed, sordid stuff, with testimony and evidence that included a stained blue dress and a damp cigar. I kept my head down throughout most of the impeachment hearings, which lasted through the fall of ‘98 and into the winter. While the internet had already been invented, it was nothing like we have today. We still depended on newspapers and television for trial updates. Just as I had done with the OJ trial a few years earlier, I went home for lunch every day to let out Sam (my dog) and catch the latest news via CNN before heading back to an information black hole. The House of Representatives formally adopted articles of impeachment against President Clinton — for perjury and obstruction of justice — on Saturday, Dec. 19, 1998. That following Monday at the office, I felt naked and alone sitting at my tiny desk, surrounded by a gang of chortling, teasing bullies who were literally slapping high-fives in their J.C. Penney power suits. It went on all day. Finally, at the lowest point, when I was ready to walk out of there and throw my career away, I received a care package from the folks in the public relations office a few floors up — Democrats all. Ken, that office’s soft-spoken admin with a heart of gold, handed me an 8 x 10 glossy with a warm smile and said, “Knowing what

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OVER THE EDGE

you’re going through down here, we all thought you’d need this about now.” It was a press photo of Bill and Hillary Clinton with a fake signature that said, “Hang in there, we’ll get through this. Your friend, Bill.” I grinned, glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. I thought I’d get unholy shit about the photo, but I took a plastic thumbtack and stuck it to the blue-felt wall of my tiny cubicle, where it hung for the rest of an afternoon filled with in-your-face wisecracks about the Pervert in Chief. In fact, that photo stayed hanging in my cubical throughout the coming weeks of the Senate trial where Clinton was ultimately acquitted on both counts. It hung there through the midterm elections, where Democrats picked up valuable House seats (though Republicans still controlled Congress). And throughout the remaining years of Clinton’s term, where he left with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U.S. president since World War II.

before the #metoo movement, and I have no doubt that if the exact situation presented itself today, just about any president would be impeached by both houses of Congress … except for Trump. Today, like back then, we all kind of know how Trump’s impeachment will end, though this time the stakes seem higher. While Clinton’s impeachment was characterized by a pathetic sadness that comes with watching a hero fall from grace, Trump’s impeachment burns bright with anger from both sides of the political spectrum.

No one was laughing at me anymore.

Despite everyone in my office disliking Clinton back then, no one tried to take down that photograph; no one made fun of me for having it. They might hate the guy, but they respected the office. As the gavel drops to open the hearings later this morning, I like to think somewhere out there a young, idealistic office worker has a photo of Donald Trump hanging in his cubicle. If you see him, no matter how you lean politically, try cutting the guy some slack.

Though Republicans controlled the Senate at the time, everyone knew they didn’t have enough votes to kick Clinton out. What he’d done was foolish, embarrassing and stupid, but in my mind (and many others), his actions seemed more silly than criminal. That was decades

Over The Edge is a monthly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on culture, society, music, the media and the arts. Email Tim at tim.mcmahan@gmail.com.

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