CITYPAPER Washington
Free Volume 37, No. 19 WAshiNgtoNCityPAPer.Com mAy 12-18, 2017
D.C.’s independent retailers fight for their lives in a city bent on becoming an outdoor mall. P. 14
By Kaarin Vembar Photographs by Darrow Montgomery
housing: posh NEw apt. buildiNg for shaw 7 food: philaNthropy for rEfugEEs via falafEl 17 arts: body aNd spirit 21
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A pp D Ju e lic a ly ad ti 17 lin on ,2 e 01 7
INSIDE
14 EvErything Mustgo D.C.’s independent retailers fight for their lives in a city bent on becoming an outdoor mall. By Kaarin Vembar Photographs by Darrow Montgomery
4 ChAtter
Arts
distriCt Line
21 Sick of It All: A pair of shows at two of D.C.’s most progressive neighborhood galleries highlight the grotesque and sublime of the body—and the body politic. 23 Theater: Klimek on Building the Wall and Macbeth 24 Short Subjects: Zilberman on The Wall and Gittell on The Lovers 25 Discography: Kelly on Cinema Hearts’ Burned and Burnished
7 Housing Complex: The rooftop at a new luxury building in Shaw includes a waterfall, reflecting pool, herb garden, kitchen, and firepits. 8 Shit in Tubs: Tenants at Sanford Capital properties face raw sewage floods in their bathrooms, living areas, and basements. 10 Loose Lips: The AG weighs his options on a Todd campaign inquiry as the D.C. Council considers reform. 11 Unobstructed View 12 Indy List 13 Gear Prudence
d.C. feed 17 Falafel Philanthropy: A mega-entrepreneur launches Falafel Inc. in Georgetown to support refugees. 18 Median Rare: A typical burger in the District, fast food and chains excluded, costs $13.75. 18 Hangover Helper: The Avocado Deluxe Bagel at Goldberg’s New York Bagels 18 What’s in Stein’s Stein: Fuller’s London Pride by maker Georgina “George” Young
City List 27 City Lights: Listen to the sun-drenched surf-punk band Wavves on Saturday. 27 Music 32 Galleries 32 Dance 33 Theater 33 Film
34 CLAssifieds diversions 35 Crossword
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washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 3
CHATTER
Racine and a Reign
In which readers consider the AG’s possible challenge to Bowser
Darrow MontgoMery
Last week’s cover story about Attorney General Karl Racine and his potential mayoral challenge to Mayor Muriel Bowser next year inspired a raft of responses from both his champions and detractors (“Torn to Run,” May 5). “I would love it if he were to run, but I want only one heavy hitter in the primary against Bowser,” brodies wrote on reddit. “Though we got lucky in the last race with the election of people like Robert White against [Vincent] Orange, we have a long history of having two great candidates splitting the reform vote and letting the corrupt or incompetent incumbent skate through. I’d hate for Racine, a fine candidate and likely a fine mayor, to split the vote with another qualified challenger resulting in another Bowser term.” To which dailyrorschach responded, “Especially if [Vince] Gray runs again, taking with him Wards 7 and 8, does Racine have a legitimate geographic base of support?” Others view a Gray campaign repeat as a foregone conclusion. “Oh, trust me, Gray is running,” Horaenaut wrote. “He is already campaigning for mayor hard in Ward 7. He may as well be saying, ‘Well, I have all these great ideas, but, as a lowly council person I can’t control that much— but if I were mayor … .” Still others commented that what Racine may lack in name recognition and a hardcore base of support, he could yet make up for. “Great article,” dude commented on our website. “He’d be an excellent mayor. Bowser is so entirely not up to the task and Gray still has too much mud on his face even if he escaped indictment. Once the WP endorses, there won’t be an issue with name recognition. Racine 2018!” Meanwhile, add Racine to the lengthy list of people, places, and miscellany that frequent commenter Typical DC BS blindly loathes. “Bowser continues to be the least objectionable of our options for mayor. Racine? Please.” Among those who offered a mixed assessment of the District’s first elected attorney general was aerie, who wrote that, despite concerns, “I would vote for Karl Racine without further debate because I sense in him a keen intelligence, a wider vision, and a beating heart absent from the Hatfields and the McCoys.” Not that revenge won’t feature next year. —Liz Garrigan
1500 BLOCK Of PennSyLVania aVe. nW, May 8
EDITORIAL
eDiTOR: liz garrigan ManaGinG eDiTOR: alexa Mills aRTS eDiTOR: Matt Cohen fOOD eDiTOR: laura hayes CiTy LiGHTS eDiTOR: Caroline jones STaff WRiTeR: andrew giaMbrone SeniOR WRiTeR: jeffrey anderson STaff PHOTOGRaPHeR: darrow MontgoMery inTeRaCTiVe neWS DeVeLOPeR: zaCh rausnitz CReaTiVe DiReCTOR: jandos rothstein aRT DiReCTOR: stephanie rudig COPy eDiTOR/PRODuCTiOn aSSiSTanT: will warren COnTRiBuTinG WRiTeRS: jonetta rose barras, VanCe brinkley, eriCa bruCe, kriston Capps, ruben Castaneda, Chad Clark, justin Cook, riley Croghan, jeffry Cudlin, erin deVine, Matt dunn, tiM ebner, jake eMen, noah gittell, elena goukassian, aManda kolson hurley, louis jaCobson, raChael johnson, Chris kelly, aMrita khalid, steVe kiViat, Chris kliMek, ron knox, john krizel, jeroMe langston, aMy lyons, kelly MagyariCs, neVin Martell, keith Mathias, traVis MitChell, triCia olszewski, eVe ottenberg, Mike paarlberg, noa rosinplotz, beth shook, Quintin siMMons, Matt terl, dan troMbly, kaarin VeMbar, eMily walz, joe warMinsky, alona wartofsky, justin weber, MiChael j. west, alan zilberMan
ADvERTIsIng AnD OpERATIOns
PuBLiSHeR: eriC norwood SaLeS ManaGeR: Melanie babb SeniOR aCCOunT exeCuTiVeS: arlene kaMinsky, aris williaMs aCCOunT exeCuTiVeS: stu kelly, Christy sitter, Chad Vale, brittany woodland SaLeS OPeRaTiOnS ManaGeR: heather MCandrews DiReCTOR Of MaRKeTinG anD eVenTS: sara diCk BuSineSS DeVeLOPMenT aSSOCiaTe: edgard izaguirre OPeRaTiOnS DiReCTOR: jeff boswell SeniOR SaLeS OPeRaTiOn anD PRODuCTiOn COORDinaTOR: jane MartinaChe PuBLiSHeR eMeRiTuS: aMy austin
sOuThcOmm
CHief exeCuTiVe OffiCeR: Chris ferrell CHief OPeRaTinG OffiCeR: blair johnson CHief finanCiaL OffiCeR: bob Mahoney exeCuTiVe ViCe PReSiDenT: Mark bartel GRaPHiC DeSiGneRS: katy barrett-alley, aMy goMoljak, abbie leali, liz loewenstein, Melanie Mays
LOCaL aDVeRTiSinG: (202) 650-6937 fax: (202) 618-3959, ads@washingtonCitypaper.CoM Find a staFF diRectoRy with contact inFoRmation at washingtoncitypapeR.com VOL. 37, nO. 19 May 12-18, 2017 washington City paper is published eVery week and is loCated at 734 15th st. nw, suite 400, washington, d.C. 20005. Calendar subMissions are welCoMed; they Must be reCeiVed 10 days before publiCation. u.s. subsCriptions are aVailable for $250 per year. issue will arriVe seVeral days after publiCation. baCk issues of the past fiVe weeks are aVailable at the offiCe for $1 ($5 for older issues). baCk issues are aVailable by Mail for $5. Make CheCks payable to washington City paper or Call for More options. © 2016 all rights reserVed. no part of this publiCation May be reproduCed without the written perMission of the editor.
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DistrictLine Ritz Shaw By Andrew Giambrone What do a cascading waterfall, a tree-lined boardwalk, and a 1906 Steinway Grand Piano all have in common? They’re each going to be rooftop elements of a new luxury building set to open soon in Shaw, and they represent a high point in the ongoing amenities arms race among D.C. developers vying for renters with deep pockets. The building, 880 P, is the final piece of Roadside Development’s City Market at O project, a mixed-use complex occupying two square blocks in Shaw. It promises nonpareil views of D.C. from an opulent rooftop above nine floors of luxury apartments and retail. For those who can afford it, anyway. For others, the $60 million addition may seem like the latest high-priced bastion of uppercrusters in the changing, historically black neighborhood, and within what American University professor Derek Hyra dubs “Cappuccino City” in his new book on gentrification in the District (heretofore “Chocolate City”). As currently advertised, the monthly rents at 880 P will range from $2,160 for a 423-square-foot studio all the way up to $12,000 for a 1,432-square-foot, two-bedroom duplex with two bathrooms and a spacious, L-shaped private terrace. A notch below the latter apartment—which will be the building’s priciest—is a 1,700square-foot, two-bedroom/one-bathroom unit marketed for $7,350 a month, followed by a 1,585-square-foot, two-bedroom/threebathroom unit for $7,100 a month on the same floor as that enviable duplex. Apartment listings average just under 800 square feet of space for nearly $3,500 a month. The pet-friendly building will also feature a variety of resources that residents might regularly use, including a gym and quiet nooks in common areas. (One of City Market’s existing rental buildings even has a rooftop dog park.) The project is a couple of blocks south of the Shaw Metro station and near plenty of nightlife, entailing a faster pace than farther-out neighborhoods where entire
housing complex
homes may cost as much to own. The tagline for 880 P, via the project’s website? “Life at the top should always come with a view.” Units began leasing this month, and construction is expected to conclude by August. There will be 142 apartments, which the project leader says will create an “earthy, modern” vibe. Ultimately, 880 P will have taken almost a year and a half to build—not counting months spent designing it. Some materials for the development have come from as far away as Italy, others locally. “I wanted this to be an inspiring building,” says Richard Lake, a founding principal at Roadside. “There’s going to be more and more people interested in renting rather than owning, when their kids move away or when they have a family, because it gives them more flexibility and less of a headache. ...People are living in their apartments for longer periods of time and want [comfort].” No surprise, Roadside is promoting the rooftop, which will be available to all the residents of City Market, as a major selling point. The overall development’s first apartments opened in late 2013. Among other things, City Market boasts a large Giant grocery store inside the landmarked O Street Market building. Constructed in 1881 on 7th Street NW, the market exemplifies the Gothic Revival style. City Market also contains an affordable building for seniors, Hodge on 7th, with 90 one-bedroom apartments reserved for singles and couples making no more than 60 percent of the area median income (about $46,000 and $52,000, respectively). There’s a hotel on site too: the 182-room Cambria Suites, which is within walking distance of the District’s convention center. Neighbors and officials have long praised the mixed elements of City Market, calling it a catalyst for Shaw’s economic growth and a model for community involvement in project planning. Alexander M. Padro, a neighborhood commissioner and the executive director of Shaw Main Streets, remembers when the redevelopment site used to be the O Street Market, a one-story Giant, and a surface parking lot. “The part where 880 is actually used to be
where the dumpsters were for the Giant store and a portion of that store,” he says. “[Roadside] has always been very responsive to the community.” Padro says the developer contributed over $250,000 as part of a community-benefits package and won approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission, allowing it to build more densely than regulations would have otherwise permitted. The money has supported improvements to the Kennedy Recreation Center located across the street from City Market (equipment and sports uniforms, the D.C. Public Library, and clean-teams run by Padro’s group). Neighbors wanted, and got, senior affordable housing. Given this history, Padro says it’s key not to view 880 P “as a stand-alone component.” With its introduction, more retail is expected along 9th Street NW, though specific tenants haven’t yet been announced. It could help bridge the area near the convention center with U Street, and boost desirable foot traffic along the north-south corridor both during the day and after work. Nevertheless, on paper, a rundown of the rooftop features of 880 P can sound like D.C.-development mad libs, or an open-air vista on steroids: a waterfall measuring 30feet-wide by 16-feet-tall over a reflection pool, firepits, a boardwalk that meanders around trees, a kitchen, and an herb garden. (“You can snip some rosemary,” Lake says). The new rooftop will connect to the one at 800 P St. NW—one of City Market’s existing buildings—which has a sizable lap pool. (“Another [swimming] pool would have created two energy zones. This creates an oasisfeeling up there.”) In Lake’s telling, the proverbial cherry on top might just be a shared music room that will feature a 1906 Steinway Grand Piano.
Darrow Montgomery
“It becomes this place where you really don’t want to leave.”
“We found there was a number of artistic residents, but no place for them to practice,” he says, mentioning guitar, violin, and trumpet players. “It’s an opportunity to have fun. If you lived in your own house, you would have no problem playing an instrument.” Lake admits these amenities and the associated price tag aren’t within everyone’s reach, or to everyone’s taste. But he bets that 880 P will attract enough people to fill the building. Besides, there are already 20 residents from City Market’s other buildings who’ve agreed to move in once it opens: They got first dibs on the new units as a kind of reparation for the construction work that’s gone on next door. One man moved into City Market two weeks ago to guarantee himself a spot, Lake notes. “880 fits the people we’re already tracking,” he says, adding that Roadside and Bozzuto— its property manager—were surprised that the development’s original tenants skewed older than they had projected, tending to be professionals in their mid-thirties and including some who have had children. “We’re starting to see more and more strollers, a ton of dogs,” the developer adds. As Shaw has transformed, so have the particular desires of its residents. “It becomes this place where you really don’t want to leave,” Lake explains of his vision for 880 P and a completed City Market. “This is where my dog walks, or where I take my aerobics or spin class, or where I play cards in this room, or where I play music with people. That’s what we’re aiming for.” CP
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 7
DistrictLinE Shit in Tubs
“I don’t sleep in my bedroom. Because where the feces was? It was in the bedroom below mine.”
8 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
At Belmont Crossing
Pamula Glover
As sAnford CApitAl and District lawyers engage in a protracted courtroom battle over Terrace Manor—an 11-building Southeast D.C. property in deep disrepair—tenants at other of the company’s 16 D.C. properties face harrowing conditions too. This spring a particularly disturbing set of photographs from a 275-unit, Sanfordowned complex called Belmont Crossing showed a vacant apartment covered in raw sewage, which the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs considers an emergency that must be addressed within 24 hours. Feces coagulated like cooled lava along the bathroom walls, and debris-laden brown liquid filled the bathtub and spilled out the bathroom door. This is a pattern. In January, a tenant at G Street Apartments, about six miles away from Belmont Crossing, showed City Paper photos of his own bathtub filled with feces. Timothy Harper, who took the photos of his unit, says his tub has overflowed with sewage three times, and that the last time it happened the mess was there for four days before a worker came to clean it up. “I hear my neighbors talking about the same issue all the time,” he says. That’s the case at Belmont Crossing too. Pamula Glover photographed raw sewage in the vacant apartment below hers in February after becoming sick from the smell. “I don’t sleep in my bedroom. Because where the feces was? It was in the bedroom below mine,” says Glover, who instead sleeps on her couch. “I can still smell it through the crack in the wall.” Glover keeps her own apartment Marie Kondo-clean—not a bit of dust on her glass coffee table, not a nugget of cat food fallen out of the bowl. Smells emanating from the apartment below started to bother her in the summer of 2016, but when people finally came to deal with the issue at the end of the summer, she says, their solution was mothballs. “It seemed like they took a whole grocery cart of mothballs and threw them in that apartment,” Glover says. “And the scent was so bad, I kept coming and going from the hospital.” Another Belmont Crossing tenant, who
asked to remain anonymous, says she hears banging sounds in the pipes behind her walls and that her toilet shattered on a day the banging was especially loud. Sewage filled her toilet and tub and gradually flooded into her bedroom. She says she made calls to the property manager at Belmont Crossing when it happened, but no one came to fix it or even look at it. The tenant did not get help until six days later when Janet Hernandez, a city inspector with DCRA, knocked on her door. DCRA was in the process of completing a citywide inspection of Sanford’s 66-building D.C. portfolio after City Paper and The Washington Post published investigations of the company. DCRA completes both complaint-based and proactive inspections. This one was proactive. Hernandez did not know what she would find, and the tenant, who works unpredictable hours at a 24-hour fast-food restaurant in Tenleytown, was home by chance. “I work any time they let me work,” she says. “Any time they have hours for me, I accept.” When Hernandez entered, the carpet still squished under foot. She found 15 housing code violations in the unit. Among them: an obstructed bath drain; a defective shower head; a leaking or defective faucet; a broken towel holder; and a toilet with leaks and missing parts. The fines for the violations totaled $6,400, which represents about 1.2 percent of the total potential fines DCRA tabulated while inspecting Sanford’s D.C. properties in March. A status hearing on Sanford’s 1,083 housing code violations is scheduled for May 11 at D.C.’s Office of Administrative Hearings. Sanford Capital owner A. Carter Nowell responded to an initial email requesting comment, indicating that he would look at City Paper’s questions, but did not respond to a followup email. Nowell’s 7,956-square-foot Bethesda home has six full bathrooms and two half-baths. His tenants are less fortunate. “I was sitting on my toilet when an exhaust fan came out of the ceiling and fell on me,” Harper says of a recent incident. His towel rack also fell out, and then a series of fix-it men struggled to even reinstall the towel bar. “I’m sitting here looking at 13 holes
At G Street Apartments
Timothy Harper
By Alexa Mills
DistrictLinE in my wall that fix-it men made,” he says. “And I used to work for these people.” A few years ago, Harper was a maintenance supervisor for Sanford, looking after 27 buildings and managing two employees. Before leaving the company in 2015 after an injury, he watched a building at another property, Elsinore Courtyards, leak raw sewage from its back drain pipes for more than a year. “The entire building smelled like sewage, to the point where they had raw sewage flowing out of the building, across the parking lot, and into people’s backyards,” Harper says. Eventually, Harper says, Sanford paid to run a high-pressure jet through the pipes to clear them out. “The buildings are so old, that over years and years you’re going to have buildup—like cholesterol in an artery or silt on a river,” he says. The cleaning didn’t last. A member of Elsinore’s tenant association says the leaking building was the topic of a recent meeting. During a visit to Elsinore two weeks ago, a tenant whose unit faces the parking lot said that raw sewage had last run off the building and down into the neighbors’ yards about three weeks earlier. That day, however, soapy water ran out the building’s pipes. The tenant speculated that someone had come to fix the issue but wasn’t sure. “You’ll see it running again,” she said. Raw sewage is also a problem at Terrace Manor, one of the two Sanford properties subject to the D.C. attorney general’s litigation. In February, DCRA inspector Michael Lampro found a burst pipe and an inch of standing water in the basement of a building there. “Respondents took a total of three weeks to address a raw sewage leak at the Property,” District lawyers wrote in a March 31 memo to the court. Less than two weeks after they wrote that, the problem had returned: Two basements at Terrace Manor were filled with filthy water, one of them about 18 inches deep. The basements were unlocked, unlit, and the air inside them hung heavy with moisture and the stench of mold. At Oak Hill apartments, another Sanfordowned complex, it’s the smell of gas that has most disturbed residents as of late, but they’ve been through raw sewage, too. “A couple of years ago, I went to church and came home and my bathtub was full of black sewage,” says Oak Hill tenant JoAnn Graves. “I didn’t take pictures at the time because I was so fucking mad.” Graves says two of her neighbors have experienced the same problem. Those tenants are now focused on the gas issue. Graves smelled gas on April 24 while she was off from work. Knowing it was un-
likely she’d get a response from Sanford, she called Washington Gas. In a two-page memo to Sanford, Graves describes what happened. A Washington Gas employee said that “the least little spark could start a fire if the smell was as strong as I’d stated,” Graves wrote. Graves, who has lived at Oak Hill for 11 years, says she pays $1,002 per month in rent and is not on government assistance. She says a man from Washington Gas arrived within 15 minutes, found the leak in the laundry room, and turned off the gas to the dryers. To relieve the building of the smell, he propped the front door open because the windows on the top floor of the building would not open. Nine days later, Graves could still smell gas, and Washington Gas returned and turned off gas to another dryer. the Belmont Crossing tenant whose apartment was soaked in sewage says the mess is now clean. Inspector Hernandez called the property manager during her visit, and someone came to snake the toilet that day. “I cut the carpet out myself,” says the tenant. A crew later came to clean, and Hernandez returned on March 24 to check on the unit. Though her bathroom works, the mice still come in her front door. “At around 10 at night, it’s their turn, not mine,” she says. On March 30, after the citywide Sanford inspection was complete, D.C.’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, Brian T. Kenner, said in a phone interview: “None of the violations that were noted during this review would have caused any units or any buildings to be condemned. So there were no violations that rose to the level of life, safety, or health-related reasons.” DCRA director Melinda Bolling added: “If, in fact, you had broken pipes and sewage backing up into the bathtub, that would be a reason to close a unit.” The unit below Glover’s is not leaking sewage now, but the woman living across the hall from it has a new set of troubles. On Easter Sunday, Irvina Fields says, her stove made an explosive noise and sparks came out of the top. The explosion was spontaneous—she wasn’t cooking at the time. The next day her refrigerator died. Two weeks later management brought her another refrigerator. It was used, wet, and infested with gnats. Her son cleaned it with bleach water, but the bugs and odor remain. She won’t put food inside. When management asked her if she wanted a replacement stove, she asked if she could see it first. CP An d re w G i a m b r o n e c o n t r i b u te d t o this report.
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washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 9
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DistrictLinE A Possible Probe The AG weighs his options on a Todd campaign investigation as the D.C. Council considers reform. By Jeffrey Anderson
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RESULTS ARE IN! legacy.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestofdc
10 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
Among the issues likely to drag on deep into the D.C. Council legislative session is campaign finance reform. Particularly in light of the controversy around Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, the vestiges of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s FreshPAC controversy, and her receipt of $31,500 in contributions over the legal limit. Those discussions are likely to focus on the Office of Campaign Finance, which is as much under the microscope as Todd’s campaign. Yet OCF is the only body that is doing anything to get to the bottom of the Todd matter—two years in the making—and is still dithering with a formal complaint Public Citizen filed in March about excess contributions to the Bowser campaign. At the Wilson Building this week, Loose Lips was met mostly with blank stares and bland deflections. And no wonder. As the agency that is expected to investigate and enforce campaign finance laws, OCF is subject to oversight from the very body whose members it is charged with regulating. Which makes for good lip service. “I’ve always thought that the Office of Campaign Finance could be more aggressive in pursuing allegations of wrongdoing, misconduct, and it should also be more proactive,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson says. “We’re hoping to look at reforms more broadly,” says one council staffer, “but can we get something in place in time for the next election?” Good question. And what about some clarity on Todd’s acceptance of more than $100,000 in improperly documented contributions? Or his inability to explain his largest campaign expenditures in 2015 and 2016, totaling $200,000 to the same shadowy consultants. “That’s a sensitive issue,” the staffer says. “It’s hard to discernwhetherit’ssomesortofconspiracyversus general sloppiness or incompetence.” Public Citizen government affairs lobbyist Craig Holman says D.C. needs not just an OCF overhaul but also an independent agency to probe campaign finance activities like Todd’s. And the D.C. agency best positioned to undertake such inquiries is the Office of Attorney General, Holman says. “Todd’s campaign is a prime example of the need to improve enforcement of campaign finance law, but also an example of OCF not doing its job,” Holman says. “OCF needs to be restructured, and we might well have the opportunity to do it this session.” Holman, who is working with At-Large Councilmember David Grosso on a reform bill, adds, “This
LOOSE LIPS
also would be an ideal opportunity for [Attorney General] Karl Racine to step in and deal with this through more authoritative action.” Racine’s office confirms that it is examining the D.C. Code to determine whether it has the independent authority to bring a misdemeanor case against Todd. (OAG does not have jurisdiction to prosecute felonies.) But Racine is circumspect about his intentions. “I do not want to do or say anything that could cause the public to question the integrity and fairness of any inquiry by OAG or any other law enforcement agency,” he says. There is precedent for such involvement. Racine’s predecessor Irvin Nathancooperated with the federal criminal investigation of the notorious shadow campaign that tainted Vince Gray’s 2010 mayoral election, and legal sources point to a statute that requires the OAG to notify the U.S. Attorney’s office if it intends to prosecute and to collaborate with that office on any case that it brings so that neither is subject to double jeopardy. Other options available to Racine are to stand aside to let U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips handle the matter, or to join forces through a provision that allows Phillips to deputize OAG lawyers to work on felony cases as special prosecutors under his purview. This would allow the D.C. Council to take its time with campaign finance reform and restructure the OCF while independent agencies with subpoena power sink their teeth into Todd’s finances, pronto. (At least three reform bills have been introduced this session, including one Racine is pushing, and the 2018 election season could be well underway before any new laws are enacted. OAG spokesman Rob Marus says Racine’s legislation is aimed at tougher restrictions on campaign activity but that Racine also supports public campaign financing “to get big money out of politics for good and take the color of corruption away.”) Meanwhile, Racine makes no effort to hide his conviction that the public deserves answers about Todd’s campaign. He appeared on News Channel 8 last week and fielded questions from host Armstrong Williams about Brandon Todd. Asked what he said during the interview, which was not available for viewing at press time, Racine recalls saying that “any lawyer worth his salt would advise him to tell the truth , the whole truth , and nothing but the truth, ASAP, because, as the religious folks say, the truth shall reveal itself.” He added, “The coverup is always worse than the crime.” CP
UNOBSTRUCTED
VIEW
How To Watch The NHL Playoffs: Don’t By Matt Terl I can’t watch playoff hockey anymore. There’s a growing sentiment that the NHL playoffs are the best playoffs. That the combination of hockey’s natural unpredictability and the heightened stakes of elimination make for a thrill surpassed only by the sport’s own playoff overtime games. That the sevengame series eliminates some of the luck that plagues football’s single-game eliminations— but without favoring the higher seed as emphatically as the NBA playoffs do. That the two-month playoff stretch, which just about doubles baseball’s relatively contained tourney, is a good thing. And yet I’m having genuine difficulty watching. Partly because of external factors. The last month has been rough in a lot of ways, and I generally use sports as an escape from that kind of tension. The NHL playoffs work the other way around. Part of this too involves my own sad conviction that every time I turn on the TV to root for a team, that team immediately starts losing. This is, of course, complete insanity. But it’s still true. And yet another part of it comes from my growing feeling that the sport is something like 89 percent luck. (Which, in turn, makes it even easier to conclude that my viewing choices somehow affect the outcome.) What crystallized my decision to (largely) stop watching was my realization that when the Caps win without my watching, I still get about 75 percent of the vicarious thrill of the victory. I relive it in GIFs and highlights and sometimes the condensed games that CSN airs. I read the columns and watch people— much braver fans than I—rejoice on Twitter. But when the team loses and I’m not watching, especially if it’s one of the grinding, soul-deadening, torturous losses at which playoff hockey seems to excel, my depression is a small fraction of what it is when I sit through the whole game. The math there is pretty clear, at least to me, but let’s break it down anyhow. Pros of watching: The shared experience of pro sports fandom. The sense that I have somehow EARNED my enjoyment of the team’s victory. The opportunity to witness feats of amazing athleticism in real time.
Cons of watching: Two-plus hours of constant, unrelenting tension, punctuated by tedious commercial breaks. The chance to be truly devastated by a loss—to have those hours of white-knuckling culminate in sudden heartbreak (as in overtime) or a slow acceptance of the inevitability of failure, or any of a dozen other flavors of misery. (Columnist Bill Simmons has for years written about the “levels of losing,” which he thin-slices into 16 distinct varieties of pain. By contrast, winning creates a one-note emotion.) Pros of NOT watching: Two-plus hours to catch up on chores or see my children or otherwise use as I please. Not jacking up my blood pressure and shaving years off the end of my life. Seeing all the amazing feats of athleticism (in highlight or GIF form) without having to witness the more quotidian stuff. Still get to smile and enjoy a victory, and still able to enjoy that victory’s benefits on the wider community. If following via social media, can still enjoy real-time action by proxy with much lower emotional buy-in. Cons of NOT watching: Joy in any victory feels totally unearned. Receive totally earned derision and scorn from other, better fans. And … well, that’s about it. And, if we’re being real with each other here, isn’t joy in a victory just as much a lunatic illusion as my imagined, observer-effect culpability in a loss? So I’ve largely made the only choice that makes real rational sense: not to watch. I’m not proud of this. It makes me feel pathetically old and fragile, for one thing. It makes me an undeniably lousy fan, for another. And it is beyond preposterous for even the most parttime, alt-weekly-ish of sports columnists to take comfort in NOT watching the local team’s playoff run. Whether I’m proud or not, though, the fact of the matter is that not watching the hockey playoffs has reduced the stress in my life. It has made a rough few weeks incrementally easier. Not watching, in fact, has paradoxically managed to increase my enjoyment of the whole thing. I only hope that one day the Caps will give me the opportunity to really enjoy not watching a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. CP
Events DC invites you to the
Walter E. Washington Convention Center Community Meeting Exterior Streetscape Project
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Room 152 801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW 6:30PM - 8:30PM
METRO ACCESSIBLE: Yellow or Green Line to Mt. Vernon Square / 7th Street Convention Center For more information: RSVP Link: https://www.xorbia.com/events/eventsdc/streetscape-community-meeting OfficialEventsDC TheEventsDC EventsDC
Contact: Theresa DuBois Community Engagement Manager tdubois@eventsdc.com
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 11
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By Kaarin Vembar Do you have a tip for The Indy List? Independent artists, retailers, and crafters, send your info to indylist@washingtoncitypaper.com.
Gear Prudence Gear Prudence: As a unfit biker, pedestrian countdown clocks stress me out so much. I’m trundling along half a block away, but have an almost Pavlovian response when I see the numbers tick down into single digits. And then it’s a full sprint because when I know that a red light is coming in a few seconds, I must beat it. Maybe that’s not the reason why they’re there, but I find their presence extremely anxiety- and sweat-inducing. How do I get over this? —Terrible Information Conundrum; Knowing Time Overwhelms Cyclist’s Knees Dear TICKTOCK: Have you considered biking blindfolded? You won’t get very far, but at least you’ll no longer be confounded by the horrible sight of descending numbers. But you’re right— it is hard to see a countdown and not think it’s meaningful. GP blames sports, game shows, and NASA. But trying to score “wins” by getting yourself through the green in its waning seconds is making you miserable. Either you beat the red and are out of breath or you don’t beat it and feel bad about yourself for coming up short. It’s a lose-lose. So here’s how you get over it: Time your commute. Time it when you hustle to catch the greens and time it again on a day where you accept you’ll hit the red lights. When you compare the difference and see that the horrible red-light-laden commute was barely slower (if at all), you’ll come to realize that rushing isn’t worth it and will learn to have a much more relaxed ride. This will far outstrip the downside of any marginal time loss. Guaranteed. —GP
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Gear Prudence: I just heard something and can’t possibly believe it’s true: Bike helmets expire after three years. What? I’ve had the same one for at least 10 years, but have I been riding with an “expired” helmet? Does that mean it doesn’t work anymore? It still seems fine. This sounds fishy. —Need Evidence, Would Like Instructive Data Dear NEWLID: You can put your helmet in the freezer, but if you sniff it and it smells like sour milk, something has gone horribly wrong. Whether this has anything to do with your helmet expiring and no longer meeting crash test standards is another thing entirely. Many helmet manufacturers do indicate a “replace by” date on their products, but according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (helmets.org), you should meet these claims with a good dose of skepticism. According to BHSI, age alone is not a reason to replace your helmet. So when should you replace it? Mainly if you’ve ever crashed wearing it or if the foam is cracked or damaged. If that’s not the case and you still like the way it looks (helmet fashion evolves) and fits, don’t feel compelled to buy a new one. —GP Gear Prudence is Brian McEntee, who writes @sharrowsdc. Got a question about bicycling? Email gearprudence@washcp.com washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 13
EVERYTHING
MUST GO D.C.’s independent retailers fight for their lives in a city bent on becoming an outdoor mall. By Kaarin Vembar
Scott WalliS tried to play it cool when Kevin Spacey walked into his store. He acted as if Spacey was any other customer at his men’s apparel boutique Avenue Jack. “He spent $1,400,” says Wallis. Months later, after Wallis decided to close his Connecticut Avenue store, Spacey returned. “You’re closing?” asked Spacey. “But this is my favorite store in D.C.” Spacey isn’t the only person who adored Avenue Jack. In the 21 months of the store’s existence, Wallis’ gem of a boutique received multiple accolades, including positive write-ups in Washingtonian, The Washington Post, and a “Best of ” Award from City Paper. Wallis even made the cover of Metro Weekly, with pages of glossy photographs of his store and products. “I thought the support we got and the press we got was phenomenal,” he says. Yet even with all the favorable buzz, Wallis found himself facing the hard reality of keeping a retail space open in D.C. Monthly rent cost him an astonishing $13,000 for 2,000 square feet of floor space. His revenues were up but not significantly. The lack of foot traffic on his part of Connecticut Avenue impacted sales, and his business was hurting. So he made the hard decision to close his doors in early January. “I knew what the rents were,” he says. “I really thought we could cover it because I 14 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
Photographs by Darrow Montgomery
thought we would get the traffic.” Wallis is just one casualty of a larger problem in D.C. and indeed nationwide. Independent businesses are disappearing. A combination of high rents, an infusion of chain stores, and a swayed consumer base that would rather shop at Amazon are all contributing to a retail squeeze-out, leaving businesses struggling to keep afloat in the District and beyond. Though the city has made efforts to promote arts and independent retail, originality has often given way to real estate development. A program called Made in D.C., designed to support independent makers and craftspeople who want to sell their wares, is the city’s latest effort. But the current circumstances are rooted in a much longer narrative that is steeped in D.C.’s history. To understand what’s happening, we have to start with U Street in the 1980s. to take a leisurely stroll down U or 14th Street NW today is fun and engaging, with a wide variety of places to eat, shop, and even buy groceries. The U Street corridor used to be a very different neighborhood. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968 set off riots that devastated businesses on 14th and U Streets, and in their aftermath the neighborhood steadily declined. By the late 1980s, crime was up. Stores had bars on their windows. The area was home to a license plate factory, used car
lots, and was known as much for prostitution as anything else. But then-Mayor Marion Barry Jr. had a plan. His vision for U Street involved restoring the corridor to its previous grandeur. Before the riots, the neighborhood was known as “Black Broadway” and was a cultural destination within the African-American community. Barry wanted to revive it. So he set out to rezone it to become the Uptown Arts Overlay, purposefully designed as a hub for artists, retail, and restaurants. The neighborhood was also getting the infrastructure necessary to jumpstart change. A Metro station was under construction that would eventually become U Street/AfricanAmerican Civil War Memorial/Cardozo. Barry decided to put a large government building called the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center smack in the middle of the corridor. It opened on the corner of U and 14th with hopes that it would drive daytime traffic and anchor the neighborhood. There was a grand design. Between retail, proposed artist lofts and galleries, restaurants, and nighttime entertainment, the overarching goal was to create an 18-hour flurry of activity in the area. The city’s main goals were to expand businesses, and thus job opportunities, and to increase housing “in a variety of rent and price ranges.” It was a bold vision. It seemed unlikely— even impossible— for the city’s plan to come to fruition. But it did work. Perhaps too well. the creation of a new, arts-dedicated U Street corridor was a fight. Not everyone was behind a rezoning project that would return the area to its former glory while simultaneously creating a shopping destination. Longterm residents were concerned that the area would grow so much that they would be priced out of the neighborhood. Critics argued that store rents would skyrocket and that the natural charm of the area would be overshadowed by real estate developers more loyal to their investors than the neighborhood’s residents or any municipal plan. The city commissioned studies to look at the viability of pouring money into creating a new U Street, producing a list of “preferred uses” for the area. This list included galleries, artist housing, museums, art stores, retail, and dining. Now, some three decades later, restaurants occupy a large portion of the ground floor space on both 14th and U Streets. Take those out, and most of what’s left are chain stores. Independent stores make up a slim portion of the larger whole. Of those, a number have closed in the last year, including Universal Gear, Timothy Paul Home, and Rosies & Rockers. Very little about greater U Street qualifies it as an arts destination. The city-commissioned studies of the late 1980s made the area sound like an artistic utopia. But the city also realized what change could come. A 1988 study by the D.C. Office of Planning stated: “Neighborhood retail uses need some preferred status in order to avoid being priced out of the area by other, potential-
Jaye Langmaid
Customers are using stores as staging areas. They want to look at a product, touch it, and make sure they like the color. Then they purchase it online—probably for a little less. ly more profitable uses, and by redevelopment generally.” The document cautioned that as the area became profitable, it would “simply price out the preferred uses.” When Pixie WindSor, otherwise known as Miss Pixie, first moved to 14th Street in 2008, there were still riot bars on the windows of her store. Her namesake furniture shop had already been open in Adams Morgan for more than a decade when she decided to move to the bigger space. It was a transitional time in 14th Street his-
tory. It felt like the plans for new retail detailed in city reports two decades earlier were finally coming to fruition. More restaurants were opening, and there was an unofficial “furniture row” that included other independent stores. The rent for her 4,000-square-foot space was $6,500 a month and included a coffee shop space upstairs that was rented to another independent vendor. Now, nine years later, her monthly rent has increased to $16,701.47. If there is a property tax increase, the cost will be passed directly on to her.
Her store is part estate sale, part installation art project. Walk through Miss Pixie’s and you might encounter a full silverware set, a cobbler’s bench that doubles as a coffee table, a series of busts wearing sunglasses, and a set of martini glasses. The store offers home goods that provide space solutions (dressers! tables! bar carts!), all of which she has carefully selected. This is the shop for when the sea of furnishings made of particleboard has exhausted your spirit. It also errs on the side of the whimsical— if it’s possible for a piece of furniture to have a
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 15
sense of humor, it ends up at Miss Pixie’s. In the same period, though, chain store giants—West Elm, Room & Board, Madewell, Shinola, and J. Crew Men’s—have opened around her. Meanwhile, independent stores Rckndy, Muléh, Ruff & Ready Furnishings, And Beige, Mara Home, Vastu, and Millennium Decorative Arts have all folded. And furniture row? Its existence is tenuous at best. Miss Pixie’s is one of the last independent places remaining. A box store can absorb a slow season, counting on a parent company to make up the rent. But that same down quarter can spell the end for independents that are shouldering the entire cost of their inventory and operations. In short, it’s hard to keep up with multimillion-dollar corporations. Retail as a whole is in a full-fledged national nosedive—to the point that experts are calling it a “retail apocalypse.” The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that 65,000 retail jobs were lost in February and March alone. In the first quarter of 2017, Macy’s, Sears, The Limited, J.C. Penney, Abercrombie & Fitch, BCBG Max Azria, Wet Seal, Rue 21, Agent Provocateur, Kit and Ace, and Payless all announced store closings. While large stores restructure debt and scramble to figure out if there is life beyond a brick-and-mortar experience, small businesses take direct hits on the viability of staying open in a wobbly shopping economy. U Street serves as a microcosm of these broader problems. But what no one could have possibly imagined in the late 1980s was shopping via home computers. Specifically, D.C. leadership couldn’t have projected that one online store would change the entire retail landscape a few decades on. “My competition isn’t in my neighborhood. My competition is Amazon,” says Leah Daniels, who opened her kitchen store, Hill’s Kitchen, in a townhouse in Eastern Market in 2008. Her shop is a delight both for skilled home chefs and for people who would rather watch Top Chef while eating takeout. It carries cookbooks, holiday cookware, pots and pans, and appliances. Daniels prides herself on a warm, personalized shopping interaction with her customers. A typical day involves recommending items, talking about food, and catching up on how her regulars are doing as they pop in before hosting dinner parties. A few years ago, she realized that her customers were shopping online while in her store. “Lots of people stand in the store and look on their phones on Amazon,” she says. “They don’t understand that it’s a gut punch for me.” Shopping on Amazon for the lowest prices is a now a common practice. The cost of any merchandise in existence is only a quick search away. A membership with Amazon Prime and sophisticated supply chain logistics make it easy to tap a few buttons and— sometimes within one day—receive goods. It’s a deal that’s hard to beat. Jaye Langmaid, owner of furniture and design store Hudson & Crane on Florida Avenue
partment of Small and Local Business Development is a statement within itself—signaling that local government understands the importance of art and handmade retail. Yet setting aside positions is different than retaining a fully funded program. Made in D.C. relies heavily on leveraging partnerships to bring programs and tools to small business owners. This dependence on partnerships or outside funding mirrors how D.C. is managing the reality of disappearing independent retail. The 1980s U Street concept of promoting retailers and artists was centered on a physical location in Northwest. Made in D.C. backs the notion of brick-and-mortar but also acknowledges that securing physical space within the city is very difficult. The program asks developers to include local business as part of their overarching project plans. “Incentives are the way,” says Harvey. “They aren’t fleshed out yet.”
Leah Daniels
“My competition isn’t in my neighborhood. My competition is Amazon.” NW near U Street, says his customers also shop this way. His store is one of only a handful of independent D.C. retailers that have expanded in the last year. Yet part of his overall business concern is how to deal with customers shopping online while they are standing inside his space. Take, for example, a rug. Langmaid sells a variety of them in his store and has seen customers turn over a corner of one, take a picture of the label, then walk out. The implication is that the shopper liked the rug and wants to purchase it. Just not from him. Customers are using stores as staging areas. They want to look at a product, touch it, and make sure they like the color. Then they purchase it online—probably for a little less. It’s hard to compete with an online company that can purchase 10,000 units of the same product, hold them in a warehouse, and thus undercut the price just enough to flatline competition. Without his store, customers wouldn’t have the same depth of understanding about what they are purchasing. “That’s the biggest problem—value perception,” Langmaid says. Part of his job, he explains, is thinking about how to navigate the Amazon reality while helping consumers understand the value of being able to walk into a brick and mortar to look at products. Hudson & Crane doesn’t have sales associates. Instead, Langmaid hires interior designers. The value of buying a rug from his independent store is that employees can help customers solve problems with specific expertise that goes way beyond an internet search. “If people want, in 10 years, to have a shop-
16 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
ping experience, they can’t just come in and browse. They have to be spending their money,” says Langmaid. “The big boxes coming in and Amazon are the death of retail.” When products are purchased locally, 68 cents of every dollar stays within the D.C. economy, compared to the 43 cents that stays in the community when items are purchased at box stores or online. Shopping locally creates local jobs and an economic boost. “Where you are shopping and how you are buying impacts things,” Langmaid says. the diStrict’S lateSt answer to supporting independent retail and artists is a program called Made in D.C. In May 2016, Councilmember Charles Allen pushed Made in D.C. legislation into law, an earnest effort to support and promote the city’s makers and artists as well as the stores that sell their products. It also was a means to depict a city with a robust small business scene. “One of the things most worrying for me is, how are we going to keep the businesses who stuck it out through the hard times?” says Ana Harvey, director of the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development, where the Made in D.C. program is housed. When the program was established last year, its entire budget funded two full-time positions in Harvey’s office. Dedicating government staff to support a small business program focused on independent makers is no small feat. Yet one year later, neither position has been filled. Placing the Made in D.C. program in the De-
“The availability of creative space that is affordable is also going to be a part of Made in D.C.,” Mayor Muriel Bowser told an excited crowd of local business owners the day she signed the Made in D.C. bill. But a majority of the participating makers are working out of their basements, in spare rooms, and in small corners of shared spaces. (Food manufacturers fall into a different category because D.C. requires spaces that adhere to food safety laws. Food businesses also have the added relief of not needing foot traffic to sell products.) This is a far cry from the original vision of building a city that widely supports its makers through retail spaces. The reality is that the city is relying heavily on private developers to support local retailers. Harvey acknowledges that the city is in talks with developers to offer incentives for creating affordable retail space within up-and-coming properties. Partnering with developers provides a short-term solution to a high-rent problem. But it also leaves independent retailers at the mercy of real estate owners to prop up physical business. While Made in D.C. is out to prove that the District is more than just a city of lobbyists, the retailers are relying on the concept of benevolent benefactors to work with them on rent. the diStrict doeS have areas that are buzzing, but the retail landscape is dangerously close to becoming an outdoor mall, devoid of independent flavor. As Scott Wallis from Avenue Jack puts it, “If you have the same stores in every damn city, what fun is shopping?” Pixie Windsor says she sometimes receives inquiries from would-be business owners asking about her 14th Street store. “All their plans end when I tell them the cost of what this space is,” she says. “There aren’t nooks and crannies for [small businesses] to start off on their own. I can’t imagine where anyone independent would go.” Yet her outlook for Miss Pixie’s remains optimistic. In March, she renewed her lease for five years despite the rent. “That’s as far out as my plans go,” she says. “Of course, I would like to be here longer, but we’ll see.” CP
DCFEED
Bar Bao opens Thursday in Clarendon (3100 Clarendon Blvd.) with shochu cocktails in frozen melons, eight kinds of bao buns, hangover soup, and patio dining.
Falafel Philanthropy
A mega-entrepreneur launches Falafel Inc. in Georgetown to support refugees. Not much iNside Falafel Inc., opening this Saturday in Georgetown, seems particularly remarkable. Like most falafel shops, you can hear the snap and crackle of falafel balls crisping in the fryer, and the smell of warm pita makes you hungrier than before you walked in. An array of creamy sauces in plastic bottles are tempting toppers, and the price is right. Falafel sandwiches overflowing with toppings are a slim $3. Entrepreneur Ahmad Ashkar is backing the pocket-sized store. He’s the CEO and founder of the Hult Prize Foundation—a nonprofit backed by former President Bill Clinton and dedicated to launching the world’s next wave of social entrepreneurs through annual startup competitions. Ashkar and others ultimately determine which team deserves the grand prize of $1 million. Huffington Post has called it “The Nobel Prize for Students.” Ashkar also sits on the advisory board of the United Nations Development Program and has been named Esquire magazine’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” for his work launching socially conscious, for-profit companies in more than 100 countries. So why is this philanthropic hot shot dabbling in falafel? It’s not because it gives him a chance to show off his Palestinian mother’s recipes or because he calls himself a “fat boy at heart that loves to eat.” “We had a refugee challenge where we asked entrepreneurs to create companies that could help with the refugee crisis,” Ashkar explains. “I had this refugee thing on my mind and started to look through pictures. When you type ‘falafel’ [into Google], refugee pictures come up. I want to use falafel to help solve the refugee crisis.” After all, falafel stands are often the main food source inside Middle East refugee camps. The Falafel Inc. concept was born in Summer 2015 and started to develop when Ashkar secured the former Quick Pita location (1210 Potomac St. NW). “Since we’re taking over an existing restaurant, we just had to put lipstick on it—make it look like a falafel stand inside a
Young & hungrY
refugee camp,” he says. It helps that it’s only about 800 square feet. While the space is small, Ashkar’s dreaming big with a manifold plan to support refugees, whose images will line the walls to raise awareness. “You’re eating falafel for fun,” he says. “They eat it because it’s the only thing they can afford to eat.” For every $10 customers spend, Falafel Inc. plans to donate the cost of feeding a refugee one day’s worth of food, which amounts to about fifty cents. Ashkar’s goal is to launch a Falafel Inc. Foundation once he grows the concept to scale, which will enable him to target donations directly to the Middle East refugees he wants to help. Until then, the restaurant will rely on existing technology. “We will literally take total sales on a weekly basis—every Sunday— and make the donation via the ShareTheMeal app,” he says. The World Food Programme (WFP) app enables p eople around the world to make donations to eliminate global hunger with a few swipes on a smartphone. WFP provides about 80 million people with food assistance in around 80 countries, and nearly 13 million meals have been shared to date via the app. “We set specific goals in countries with the most need, and once we complete this goal we move to the next,” explains ShareTheMeal rep C a m a l ey Je n nings. “For example, we completed a goal of reaching one million meals in just over a month (March) to help those affected by famine in South Sudan.” Finally, Ashkar wants to hire a refugee workforce, training them to move up through the industry ranks so that they can perhaps
open their own falafel franchises or other restaurants. The simple nature of the business makes the task less daunting than it otherwise might be because all the operation needs, Ashkar says, is 700 to 800 square feet, a fryer, and a small oven. He hopes to be able to deliver turnkey businesses to refugees looking to go from employee to franchise owner. His goal is to deliver the real estate, vendors, and equipment for $100,000. “And if they need financing, we’ll finance it ourselves,” he says. After watching the film Founder about the man who launched McDonald’s, Ashkar is convinced franchises are “for the little guy,” adding “They’re the best way to create and grow jobs and take a hard working ‘average Joe’ and turn them into a thriving entrepreneur.” With Falafel Inc., he says, “We really hope this brand will raise awareness, create jobs, and restore dignity to refugees who work for us and around the world.”
Darrow Montgomery
By Laura Hayes
And there couldn’t be a more critical time for it. According to the UN Refugee Agency, almost five million people have fled Syria since 2011 seeking safety in nearby countries like Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. February 2017 statistics show 13.5 million people in
need of support in Syria, including 6.3 million people displaced internally. “The problem is getting worse, not better,” Ashkar says. In addition to war-torn conditions, countries in the Middle East and North Africa have the highest rates of youth unemployment in the world. He encourages businesses to hire those who make it to the U.S. “If you’re a hiring manager, you have a choice,” he says. “You’re choosing between someone who just swam across the ocean to save their life or a kid who got his parents to pay for his college education.” He’s aware that “people associate refugees with bad things in the West like terrorism and bringing conflict and crime to communities,” but says it’s critical to demonstrate that refugees add value. “We need to be proactive, not reactive, in generating oppor tunities for them before the problem gets too big.” Ultimately, Ashkar wants to open 100 Falafel Inc. franchises, which would enable it to donate enough to feed a million refugees a year. He has already secured partners in Boston, Los Angeles, and Dubai. And he’s not stopping at falafel. “I created the falafel concept, and then I’ll reverse engineer it for five to 10 other brands that fall under a ‘food for good’ category.” It helps that Falafel Inc. isn’t Ashkar’s first restaurant rodeo. He’s an investor in The Halal Guys opening May 12 in the District and also co-owns Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ in Vienna, Virginia, with his brother. They’re currently working on rebranding the barbecue restaurant as District BBQ and plan to add a charitable arm much like Falafel Inc. In the meantime, Falafel Inc.’s grand opening in Georgetown is Saturday, May 13. It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to midnight serving a small menu with falafel or hummus sandwiches ($3 each), a falafel salad bowl ($4), and an array of sides like tabouli salad and za’atar fries ($3 each). It will also carry hard-to-find Middle Eastern soft drinks like Vimto and strawberry Barbican ($3 each). Both the hummus and falafel are Ashkar’s mother’s recipes. “A s a Pa l e s t i n i a n w h o w e n t t o Catholic school, I can say food is the ultimate equalizer,” Ashkar says. “Everyone can agree on a delicious, satisfying meal.” CP
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 17
DCFEED Grazer
Median Rare
They’re there for you after you run a marathon. They call your name after you finish off three beers. Brunch, lunch, and dinner—they tempt you away from everything else on the menu, acting as tractor beams on your hungry stomach. We’re talking about hamburgers. D.C. menus are full of creative new patties that push the limit of what’s possible when it comes to toppings, as well as old faithfuls that keep it simple. But what’s the current going rate for a burger in the District? We averaged the prices of the cheapest burger options at 75 sit-down restaurants across all four quadrants of the city. Fast food and chains like Five Guys and Shake Shack, while tasty, were omitted. Find the mean price below, plus some highlights to try during National Burger Month and beyond. —Laura Hayes
average price: $13.75 Median price: $13.00 range: $7.49 to $28.00
what we ate this week: Green papaya salad topped with beef and liver jerky, peanuts, and special sauce, $11, Present Restaurant in Falls Church. Satisfaction level: 4 out of 5. what we’ll eat next week: Jurassic Pork sandwich with roast pork, ham, bacon, Sriracha coleslaw, cheddar, tomatoes, and onions, $14, G by Mike Isabella. Excitement level: 3 out of 5.
Le Burg-aire au Poivre at The Big Board ($9) with black pepper, Wisconsin blue cheese, cognac cream sauce
NoPa Burger at NoPa ($14) with Roseda Angus beef, pimento cheese “whiz,” bacon jam, Kewpie aioli Ambar Burger at Ambar ($8) with beef and veal patty, lettuce, smoked mayo, tomato Macon Burger at Macon Bistro & Larder ($21) with pimento cheese, collards, pork belly
Boundary Stone Burger at Boundary Stone ($14) with pickled beet, blue cheese, bacon jam, balsamic onions Big Punisher at Ray’s Hell Burger ($9.99) with Cajun spice, diablo sauce, provolone, pico, jalapenos Belleburger at Mirabelle ($28) with Madeira caramelized onions, melted cave aged gruyere
The Dish: Avocado Deluxe Bagel
Price: $7.99 What It Is: When hungover and in Maryland, beeline it to the best bagel shop in town—Goldberg’s New York Bagels—with locations in Silver Spring, Potomac, and Rockville. The avocado deluxe bagel is your veggie cure-all, and comes stacked with fresh tomato, alfalfa sprouts, slabs of avocado, and your choice of cheese or cream cheese. Pro tip: Order the combo on an everything bagel with a side of matzo ball soup for the perfect hot-salty to cool-creamy meal. How it Tastes: This bagel sandwich is
Apache Sweat Lodge at Burger, Tap & Shake ($8) with fire-roasted green chilies, pepper Jack cheese, smoked onions, XXX Sauce your mouth once warmth is transferred from the toasted bagel halves that surround it. You’ll also get way more bang for your buck. For $7.99 the avocado deluxe comes with your choice of a fountain soda, french fries, home fries, soup, or salad.
Where to Get It: Goldberg’s New York Bagels, 9328 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, Md.
better than any artisanal avocado toast that you’ll find in trendier neighborhoods. The ripe avocado almost melts in
18 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
Stein’s Stein
Scion Burger at Scion ($13) with ground Wagyu and sirloin, smoked mozzarella, sautéed onions, fried pickles, peach ketchup
Diplomat Burger at Post Pub ($9.50) with cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato
HangoverHelper
What’s in
Why It Helps: If your hangover is coming at you fast with a head-pounding fever, cool it down with the creamy deliciousness of this vegetarian-friendly breakfast. Just keep in mind that if it’s Saturday, Goldberg’s will be closed in observance of Shabbat. But kind of like with Chick-fil-A, you have to remember and respect the rule. Nowhere else in D.C. will you find a more perfect bagel—crisp and golden on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. —Tim Ebner
Beer: Fuller’s London Pride Maker: Georgina “George” Young Hometown: Bristol, England Price: $8.25 per 20 oz imperial pint Taste: Brewed entirely with English barley, hops, and Fuller’s house ale yeast, this is an easy-drinking ale. Whiffs of ripe peach perk the nostrils and its pale orange color precedes a crisp, fruity finish. “London Pride is made with our house yeast, which brings an orange citrus character,” Young says. The head brewer likens its flavor to orange marmalade. It’s a balanced beer—quite jammy yet not cloyingly sweet—and has a dry finish. Elephant & Castle carries London Pride in keg form, which gives the beer more fizz than when it’s poured from a cask. Young notes a slight spiciness from the English hop varieties Northdown, Challenger, Goldings, and Target. “We have a saying here at Fullers: You don’t really appreciate how good London Pride is until you’re on about your third pint,” Young says. Story: Young, who started at the brewery in 1999, is the first female head brewer in Fuller’s 172-year history. “We do now have some female shift brewers and operators around the place, which is great to see, but it’s not my mission to turn it into an all-female brewery,” she says. In between her post as production brewer in 1999 and her appointment to head brewer in January, Young became a mom and taught secondary science classes. The key to her success? Teamwork. “I think you have to surround yourself with a team who can help you,” she says. “I’m not the trendiest person with the beard, but I do have trendy people with beards all around me.” Where to try it: Elephant and Castle, 900 19th St. NW; (202) 296-2575; elephantcastle.com —Michael Stein
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DC JAZZFESTIVAL JUNE 9 – 18, 2017 PRELU D E: JUNE 3 & 4
THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION 1600 21st Street, NW | FREE
JAZZ ‘N FAMILIES FUN DAYS SATURDAY, JUNE 3 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Janelle Gill, David Schulman + Quiet Life Motel, Donato Soviero Trio, Donvonte McCoy Quartet, John Lee Trio, Herman Burney
SUNDAY, JUNE 4 Noon – 7:00 PM Lennie Robinson and Mad Curious, Herb Scott Quartet, Reginald Cyntje Group, Leigh Pilzer & Friends, Marshall Keys & Soulfull Path, Kendall Isadore Trio
For tickets, artists and a complete schedule, visit DCJAZZFEST.ORG PRESENTING SPONSOR
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The DC Jazz Festival®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, and its programs are made possible, in part, with major grants from the Government of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, Mayor; and, in part, by major grants from the Anne and Ronald Abramson Family Foundation, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Gillon Family Charitable Fund, The Mayo Charitable Foundation, CrossCurrents Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, The NEA Foundation, Venable Foundation, The Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, The Reva & David Logan Foundation, John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and with awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. ©2017 DC Jazz Festival. All rights reserved.
20 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
CPArts
AFI Docs unveils lineup for its 2017 festival. washingtoncitypaper.com/arts.
Sick of It All
A pair of shows at two of D.C.’s most progressive neighborhood galleries highlight the grotesque and sublime of the body—and the body politic. van Bruggen. Solís’ take is elemental yet defeatist: inglorious. Mouth-stomachstomach. That’s all you get. “Orden Natural (Natural Order)” (2017) is a bit further abstracted from the body. An installation that occupies an entire second-floor room, the piece—an interactive collaboration with sound-artist Travis Johns—features hanging pods and a screaming klaxon of a soundtrack. There’s something to do with lights and sensors installed in some of these furcovered forms, which look like harvested Muppet organs, but however it works isn’t obvious. A sense of insensate alarm is. The piece screams unfelt crisis: cysts undiagnosed, growth undetected, failure unresolved. Yet the outcry is ultimately comical. Rhizome, an experimental-arts venue tucked away in a funky house in Takoma Park, is the right place for Solís’ work. The unpretentious gallery space allows works that are museum-sized in ambition but home-grown in execution to shine. Part of the sense of frustration that surrounds Solís’ work—and it’s no knock on the artist—is that it aspires to be more. Bigger budgets, graduate assistants, gallery-scaled exhibitions look like they belong in her future. At Rhizome, though, the gesture is more “Estudios Amorfos II (Formless Studies II)” by Paulina Velazquez Solis (2014-2016) than enough. “Estudios Amorfos II (Formless Stud“Boca Estómago Estómago (Mouth Stomach Stomach)” ies II)” (2014–2016) might be the highlight of Natural Order. Paulina Velázquez Solís, Natural Order (2016), the piece that greets viewers who climb the stairs to It’s a series of Murray-esque drawings of all the body parts that On view through May 28 at RhizomeDC the second-floor show at Rhizome, is a hanging soft sculpture are the most vexing: nodes and nodules, globules and glands. of guts. Rendered in gold and red fabric, the piece is a dou- There’s a drawing of a vaginal cavity connected to a uterus via NoMüNoMü, Now More Than Ever ble-length alimentary tract: a pair of giant ruby lips connect- a little spiral jetty of a cervix, an amoeba-form made of boobs On view through May 27 at Washington Project for the ed by a tube to a suspended soft-sac-stomach, which in turn with lactating nipples, a mons pubis that appears to be the head Arts runs by a longer arterial-looking cord to another, smaller gut. of a fatty snail. This is the fun stuff. But these parts are the ones Only when the absence of intestines registers does it become that fail us first, aren’t they? The hairy, indelicate, pleasureBy Kriston Capps clear that the piece is a metaphor for pregnancy, one stomach centric nooks and crannies, which Solís draws in fine, serious lines that are accentuated by the tender organic rings inlaid in Artworks thAt drAw on the human body for inspiration feeding another. And a playful metaphor at that. The Costa Rican–Mexican her wooden panels—bodies on bodies. can be gross, noble, boring, flat, inspiring, hilarious, sexual, irConveying the deliriousness of this mammalian—what? ritating, outrageous, quiet, confusing, daunting, deflating—as artist delights in the silly reduction of something as divine as varied as bodies themselves in all their shapes and sizes. For pregnancy to a gag—a bigger belly paired up with a smaller one. form? drapery? meat-self?—in a tenor that is even semi-seriher first show in the the D.C. area, Paulina Velázquez Solís has As an artwork, it reads like an Elizabeth Murray painting, with ous is a frustration, one that Solís courts intentionally. In placsettled on one overarching framework for the body: frustrat- her cartoonish embrace of biomorphic imagery, told through es she does so in minimalist terms, as with “Huellas (Traces)” the formal sculptural language of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje (2017), a process-oriented series of iterative tracings of fingering. Her approach is anything but. washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 21
CPArts prints. (These necessarily take on a political dimension for an immigrant artist in the Trump era.) Through all of Solís’ works, her humor surfaces. Trying to square this Cartesian circle between sense and nonsense in the body is one of the truest pursuits in art. One that is gross, noble, boring, flat, inspiring... Give credit where it’s due: NoMüNoMü has taken over the art scene. The brainchild of artists Joseph Orzal and Nora Mueller, the scrappy collective—or is it a brand?—got its start a few years back with some one-off outings at unofficial spaces. Their contributions to area shows have only grown since then. A dozen or more efforts later, including a spoof of museums at Transformer, Now More Than Ever is NoMüNoMü’s most official project yet. That’s a mixed blessing. Now More Than Ever is ultimately a straightforward group show at Washington Project for the Arts by a bunch of likeminded artists who are sick of it all. It’s one of just a handful of D.C. art shows to thematically confront President Donald Trump’s election, or rather, (less) specifically, the sentiments that swept him into office. Ani Bradberry’s “Loom” (2017), for example—a rectangular neon form suspended over a rug of the same shape on the ground—suggests the noumenal potential of a faith that the Trump administration is struggling to travelban out of the United States entirely. Similarly subtle, Billy Colbert’s “Psalm Before the Storm” (2016) is a handsome, protest-driven Pop Art painting. Its atmospheric backdrop suggests clouds of tear gas, a floral print, and a silhouette of rowhouses all at once; in the foreground, scattered black demonstrators struggle against an unseen an-
tagonist. Snippets of postcard text appear superimposed over the painting (“Save ⅔,” “850,” and “BUY LEMONS”), as does the incongruous figure of a marching-band drummer—juxtapositions that gesture at a critique of neoliberalism or late capitalism or something trendy like that. But Colbert’s punchy painting holds back, stopping just short of being didactic. Not so with several other works in the show. There’s Justin Poppe’s “Never Had a Chance To Grow” (2017), a bouquet of pale white flowers in which a flag, planted like a greeting card, reads “City of Flint Water Dep’t.” Okay—straightforward. Same goes with Orzal’s “TL;DR” (2017), a sculptural installation of granite tombstones screenprinted with racist D.C. housing ads from yesteryear for white-only homes. Check—got it. It’s not that these subjects aren’t infuriating. They are, of course. And it’s a surprise—astonishing, really—that the recent rise of fascist politics in the U.S. hasn’t been met with more direct resistance from the local art world. Fascists were deliberate and cruel about their persecution of D.C. artists during Pizzagate, after all (which continues!). The one other such confrontational show that comes to mind is Perversion Therapy, an exhibit by Eames Armstrong and John Moletress at Flashpoint in January that thumbed its nose (and other parts) at the prurience of Vice President Mike Pence and his righteous cohort. Otherwise, Orzal has been staging a lonely protest. In political art, the line between protest art and propaganda is a thin one. In Now More Than Ever, too many works fall on one side of the line—or they appear in the gallery when they belong in the street. Adrienne Gaither’s “I Don’t See Color” (2016), a simple grid painting of different shades of white skin,
is a solid painterly send-up of the faux post-racial ideology that attends any #AllLivesMatter conversation. Her collages of protest photos with protest texts, on the other hand, don’t belong mounted to sintra and plexiglass on the gallery wall. These are flyers that would benefit from the charge of a public rally. Now More Than Ever is a rallying cry that, in my own limited lifetime, harkens back as far as the launch of the Iraq War in 2003. Then as now, the question of what art could do loomed over everything. At that time, Richard Serra had an answer: In 2004, he produced a crayon lithograph, a horrifying silhouette of an Abu Ghraib prisoner. Over the figure’s head appear the words “STOP BUSH.” Serra’s powerful piece later made its way into the Whitney Biennial. It didn’t fit there. No one expects Orzal’s adventure club to reconcile all the tensions between activism and artwork in the art world. Now More Than Ever is a good sampling of local agitation, if a little on the nose. In one respect, though, NoMüNoMü has achieved something most group shows—most groups period—fail to do: Every NoMüNoMü show strives for racial inclusion among artists. The message matters, but so does the messenger. That’s just as true in the galleries as it in is protests. Working under the banner of NoMüNoMü, younger artists are turning goals into a reality. Inclusion alone might not be enough to satisfy NoMüNoMü, but in the context of the art world? That’s plenty enough to start. CP 6950 Maple St. NW. Free. rhizomedc.org. 2124 8th St. NW. Free. (202) 234-7103. wpadc.org.
DVOŘÁK’S New World Symphony
BARBER’S Violin Concerto SATURDAY, MAY 20 AT 8:00 PM
EMIL DE COU, GUEST CONDUCTOR
MARLISA DEL CID WOODS, VIOLINIST
SCHLESINGER CONCERT HALL AND ARTS CENTER
703-548-0885 WWW.ALEXSYM.ORG 22 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
TheaTer
Timely Ripped Forum Theatre takes Trump’s antiimmigrant rhetoric seriously, STC brings regime change to Dunsinane. Building the Wall
By Robert Schenkkan Directed by Michael Dove At Forum Theatre May 18-27
Macbeth
By William Shakespeare Directed by Liesel Tommy At Sidney Harman Hall to May 28 By Chris Klimek RobeRt Schenkkan took about as much time to write Building the Wall, his nightmarish speculative future-history of a truncated Trump administration, as Team Trump spent
ary like Trump in the White House. Schenkkan imagines that such an attack has happened: A bomb went off in Manhattan, Trump declared martial law, and millions have been interned. The play takes the form of an interview some time later between Gloria (Tracy Conyer Lee), an academic, and Rick (Eric Messner), a former manager in a private-prison firm contracted by the government to house detainees awaiting deportation. Rick, as it gradually comes to light, is one of the unlucky few convicted of horrific acts for which many more—and more powerful—people share culpability. But that doesn’t mean Rick isn’t guilty as sin himself, and his protests have a hollow, reflexive
Building the Wall
on the first draft of the President’s anti-Muslim travel ban. Schenkkan, a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner not given to haste, told The New York Times he wrote the play in a “whitehot fury” in the seven days leading up to the 2016 election. Forum, arguably the DMV’s most nimble and fearless theater troupe, is one of at least a half-dozen around the country that quickly reshuffled their already-programmed seasons to get Building the Wall in front of audiences sooner than later. In a normal new-play development cycle, full productions might not happen until 2019—the year Building the Wall happens to be set. But say it with me now: This Is Not Normal. I’d long assumed another 9/11-scale terror attack would have to happen before enough Americans would consent to put a deranged reaction-
interlocutor who’s trying to keep her emotional distance. Human Being was adapted from a psychologist’s nonfiction book about her interviews with Eugene de Kock, the South African police colonel who was sentenced to 212 years in prison after he confessed to abducting, torturing, and murdering anti-Apartheid activists in the 1980s and early ’90s. Sadly, Schenkkan’s speculative scenario requires no more buoyant a suspension of disbelief than Mosaic’s fact-based one. Margaret Atwood has said of her landmark dystopian future-history The Handmaid’s Tale that she put nothing in her work of fiction that had not already happened, somewhere. Schenkkan’s cautionary tale is less original but no less rigorous. He’s taking Trump literally and seriously. the SpectRe of South Africa under Apartheid comes up again in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s new gloss on Macbeth, that old song of ambition and assassination egged on by witchery. Director Liesl Tommy grew up in segregated Cape Town, and her family emigrated to the U.S. when she was 15. She’s chosen to locate her Macbeth in some unnamed, majority-Muslim country in Africa, one ravaged by civil war and peo-
When we meet their superior officer Hecate (who isn’t identified in the program, curiously), his Vladimir Putin-by-way-of-Boris Badenov accent pushes the show into more porcine— and far less absorbing—territory. As the Porter, Myra Lucretia Taylor, too, has been given license to ham and a visa to wander into the front rows of the audience. During the press performance she got flummoxed and botched the famous line about how booze “provokes the desire but takes away the performance.” It might’ve been funnier reversed. This schizophrenia persists throughout. Though Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest play, this production still takes three hours (including intermission) thanks to momentumsapping filigree like the full-on dance number, or the extended coronation scene wherein set designer John Coyne rolls the newly crowned King and Queen onstage in a Rolls. There’s a jolt of spectacle, and then you spend the rest of the scene wondering how they’re going to get that expensive car back into the wings. The answer is that they just back it up, a little bashfully, without even bringing down the lights. But the show’s biggest problem isn’t bloat: It’s that headliner Jesse J. Perez is a confoundingly bloodless and inert Macbeth, one never believ-
Macbeth
quality. You can tell that they don’t hold up even to his own examination. Messner, an actor too long absent from D.C. stages, does a superb job of peeling away the man’s layers in his own good time. Lee, a New York actor, believably suggests a reporter struggling to preserve her observational remove in the face of prosaic evil. It takes nothing away from Messner or Lee or director Michael Dove’s achievement to point out I just saw Chris Genebach, Erica Chamblee, and director Logan Vaughn do precisely the same thing in A Human Being Died That Night. Building a Wall’s similarity to A Human Being, which ended its run at Mosaic Theatre April 30, is more than casual. Both are one acts comprised of real-time conversation between a convict who’s had time to reflect on his atrocities and a female
pled by child soldiers and meddled with by Western superpowers. In her production, the assassins Macbeth dispatches to kill his rival Banquo are just kids, which makes the First Murderer’s line “We are men, my liege” land harder. In her most inspired revision, the three witches are clandestine military operatives out to prop up a puppet leader and sow political unrest. They’re played by David Bishins, Tim Getman, and Naomi Jacobson—two big guys and a woman, and all dressed in fatigues, the men sporting conspicuous wigs and/or dye jobs. They snap photos of the corpses on stage with their cell phones. When they’re not in the current scene one of them will frequently be huddled in a command post stage right, monitoring the action inside Dunsinane via headphones.
ably enslaved by ambition or rage or fear or lust. To hear him wail “How full of scorpions of my mind, Dear Wife!” is to wonder no more how Jerry Seinfeld might’ve delivered the line. He’s also absent any chemistry with Nikkole Salter, who is a good Lady M when she’s not stuck with Perez as her scene partner. Costume designer Kathleen Geldard puts her in a Harvard sweatshirt for her introduction—an easy joke, but a good one. That’s about the level of this Macbeth, which has great margins but a squishy core. It is a tale told by an introvert, full of sound and mild irritation, signifying not enough. CP 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $33-$38. (301) 588-8279. Forum-theatre.org. 610 F St. NW. $44-$123. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 23
FilmShort SubjectS
ShotS Fired The Wall
Directed by Doug Liman A few weeks ago, the war thriller Mine came and left area theaters without much fanfare. The film followed a Marine sniper who was forced to hold his position after his partner died and he stepped on a land mine. It is a terrible film, one that tacks a maudlin backstory onto the cinematic tedium of watching a man stand in place for several days straight. The Wall has a strikingly similar premise: It is also about a sniper—this one is in the Army—who spends most of the film stuck in one place. Whereas Mine halfheartedly tugs the heartstrings, The Wall unfolds like a grim joke. Director Doug Liman never glorifies his hero and instead opts to let the action speak for itself. Liman and screenwriter Dwain Worrell set the film toward the end of the Iraq War. Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Matthews (John Cena) are a scout-sniper team, and they’ve been at an area around a pipeline. They determine that it’s sufficiently safe to leave their camouflage, so Matthews walks toward the pipeline for a closer look. Disaster strikes when an unseen sniper wounds him, and Isaac runs to his aid. The sniper shoots Isaac too, so he has no choice but to abandon Matthews and seek cover behind a stone wall. The vast majority of the film takes place like this, with Isaac trying to get the drop on his enemy. The Wall is admirable in how it eschews the heroism of a modern war thriller. There is an air of realism to their behavior: While Cena spends most of the film bleeding out, lying still in the desert, Isaac relies on his training and intuition. A lot of Taylor-Johnson’s performance is non-verbal. There is an intense, disturbing scene wherein he removes the bullet from the gaping wound in his leg. He screams, grunts, and pants—all while his face is caked in blood and grit—and the sniper needles him. It is harrowing because it is hopeless and Isaac knows it, yet Liman never deigns to cut away from the implacable constant of the oppressive desert and highly accurate gunfire. The film would not work, however, unless Worrell added one vaguely implausible development. Shortly after Isaac gets behind the wall, he hears a voice on his radio. He slowly intuits that the voice belongs to the sniper, who seems sincere in his desire to chat with Isaac. Laith Nakli plays the sniper as intelligent and driven, and the character’s depth is all the more surprising since we never see his face. The sniper asks about Isaac’s family, his friends, and why he came to Iraq in the first place. Out of boredom and anger, Isaac alternates between cursing him and playing along with his mind games. Both men underestimate each other, and Liman carefully draws the bat-
tle lines so The Wall unfolds like a deadly chess match. There are only so many outcomes, and each eliminated possibility only heightens each agonizing step Isaac must take. The promotional material for The Wall is misleading. An American flag features prominently on the poster, and the trailer includes Cena shouting some gung-ho dialogue about how every soldier is a killing machine. In the actual film, Cena is too delirious to shout, let alone inspire Isaac, and patriotism is the furthest thing from any character’s mind. Instead, The Wall is a deliciously nasty film. The sniper toys with Isaac, and the audience by extension, with the simple goal of breaking his spirit. If its final minutes are mean-spirited, at least
The Wall
The Lovers
Liman and Worrell do their due diligence to earn it. —Alan Zilberman The Wall opens Friday at Regal Ballston Common Stadium 12 and AMC Hoffman Center 22.
Bed WedderS The Lovers
Directed by Azazel Jacobs In shAkespeAreAn terms, the only real difference between a comedy and a tragedy is the ending. If all ends well, it’s a comedy. If your two teenage lovers kill themselves because of a simple misunderstanding, it’s a tragedy. The Lovers, a remarkable film, walks the line between the two genres magnificently. As we watch its middle-aged married couple rekindle their flame and snuff it out, and then repeat the process all over again, we don’t know if we’re supposed to be laughing or crying, and it’s not until the final shot that we’re sure if it’s a comedy or a tragedy. As their marriage dissipates, Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger) have found respite from their humdrum lives in the arms of others. Mary has a good thing going with Robert (Aiden Gillen), a sexy and sturdy writer, while
24 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
Michael is mixed up with the volatile Lucy (Melora Walters). Neither Michael nor Mary knows about the other’s lover, but they have coincidentally each promised their paramours that they’ll end their marriage in a week, just after their college-aged son returns for a visit. It feels like a promise that has been made before, but the seriousness of the deadline causes Michael and Mary to instinctively reassess their marriage. They become caught in a powerful sexual vortex; in short, they can’t keep their hands off each other, and they find themselves doing things in the bedroom they haven’t done in years. Suddenly, their marriage is more fresh and exciting than their now-stale affairs, causing a complex set of moral questions, such as: Is it possible to cheat on your mistress with your spouse? It would have been easy to make The Lovers a silly comedy about old folks behaving badly, and perhaps even simpler to produce a fiery domestic drama. At moments, it tilts toward each of those, but director Azazel Jacobs seems steadfastly committed to keeping his viewers off-balance. He bathes every domestic scene in shadow, implying forbidden activity in every corner. Just when you’re expecting a confrontation, the film somehow elicits a giggle. The engaging score by Mandy Hoffman reflects its ethos of unpredictability, shifting so frequently between major and minor keys that we can never even settle on a feeling, allowing us to ride the waves of its characters’ passion.
These aesthetic choices are so bold that they occasionally threaten to overpower the film’s marvelously subtle lead performances. Jacobs, however, knows when to pull back and let his veteran actors shine. Letts in particular is a revelation. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (August: Osage County) nearly stole the show in last year’s remarkable Christine, but this is his finest performance. From the outside, Michael is an overweight loser stuck in a dead-end job, but Letts slowly reveals his youthful vigor. It’s not just his pronounced sexual appetite; there is a vulnerable passion here, an optimism that succeeds in breathing free against all odds. As for Winger, it would be tempting to call her performance a comeback, but she has made clear she’s not interested in a conventional acting career. Instead, she is a celestial cinematic event that only appears every few years, forcing us not to lament her absence but to be grateful for her presence. In The Lovers, she sets the passionate and precise tone that permeates the entire film. Her commitment to Mary’s emotional reality is what allows us to be comfortable balancing on that wire between comedy and tragedy. And so we experience The Lovers as its characters live their lives: teetering on the precipice, reveling in uncertainty, and loving every moment of it. —Noah Gittell The Lovers opens Friday at E Street Cinema, Bethesda Row, and Angelika Film Center.
MusicDiscography
Hearts of Darkness Burned and Burnished Cinema Hearts Self-Released
Cinema Hearts frontwoman Caroline Weinroth was a theater major in college, and when it came time to name her band’s second album, she looked to the world of musical theater for inspiration. Burned and Burnished is a riff on a line from The Fantasticks, the world’s longest-running musical. In that show, two fathers fake a feud so that their children will fall in love. They plot a mock abduction, hoping that the boy will save the girl and that they will end up together, which they do, by the end of Act I. But in between acts, as the fathers and their children are frozen in a happy tableau, the narrator explains, “For the story is not ended/ and the play is never done/ Until we’ve all of us been burned a bit/ And burnished by—the sun!” Their happiness doesn’t last, of course: When the ruse is revealed, the couple breaks up and spends the second act learning about heartache and the harsh realities of the real world. On the band’s 2016 Valentine’s Day gift, Feels Like Forever, Cinema Hearts sounded like a dusty memory of sock-hop pop. With a DIY sheen, Weinroth (and her brother and bassist, Erich Weinroth, and her friend and drummer, James Adelsberger) mixed doo-wop, surf rock, and ’60s girl group pop, singing lyrics heavy with youthful ennui about waiting for the spring semester to turn to summer; about yearning for bad boy love; about how parents just don’t understand. Since the release of the album, Weinroth graduated from George Mason University, and her tentative steps into adulthood are cataloged on their second album. Weinroth and Cinema Hearts have been burned a bit and burnished by the sun, as it were, and the resulting record is tighter, punchier, and sharper, while maintaining the Wall of Sound nos-
talgia and pristine pop songwriting of their first album. When taking Burned and Burnished for a spin, the band’s growth is apparent immediately. It kicks off with a big pop anthem, “Fender Factory,” that’s accented with background vocals, handclaps, and a surf solo. Better yet, it takes the feminist attitude of Feels Like Forever highlight “I Want You (But I Don’t Need You)” and applies it to the type of mansplaining that women face in guitar shops (“doesn’t make me want to buy a Strat, when you talk to me like that”), a specific example that speaks to a more general experience, surely. The fun continues on a song that updates a pop staple—discovering infidelity—for the millennial age: “I Saw Her (In Your Spotify).” Weinroth doubles-down on the retro melodies and au courant lyrics of “I Saw Her” on “Loose L o ve,” a n ode to summer hookups on which she sings, “my wrist hurts and I can’t sleep, spent all night scrolling through your feed.” He r vo i c e is well-suited for Morrissey-ian melodrama (“don’t get too devoted, don’t get too attached, you aren’t the first one and you won’t be the last”) and it really soars in the bridge and final chorus. The songwriting here seems more mature; if anything, “Fender Factory” and “I Saw Her” are too tight—neither breaks the two-minute mark despite deserving more of your time. The most burnt-and-burnished offerings close the album: There’s “To The Boy Who Broke My Heart,” a dirge of a slow dance that adds a healthy helping of fuzz and a pristine guitar solo to the mix, and “Cherish,” a reverb-heavy tribute to loves that don’t last (it’s also included as an instrumental). And even though the songs are about heartbreak, they still have the edge that Weinroth brings to these well-worn topics; her protagonist seems to emerge stronger from the experience. That seems true of the band, as well: Whatever ups-and-downs have informed this record have left Cinema Hearts wiser and ready for whatever the world serves up next. —Chris Kelly Listen to “Burned and Burnished” at washingtoncitypaper.com/arts.
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Merriweather Post Pavilion • Columbia, MD JUST ANNOUNCED!
THIS WEEK’S SHOWS AEG LIVE PRESENTS
DESIIGNER w/ 16yrold & Ciscero ................................................................ Th 11 Giorgio Moroder w/ Enamour....................................................................... F 12 Los Amigos Invisibles w/ Zakke ............................................................... Sa 13 Perfume Genius w/ serpentwithfeet ........................................................... M 15 MAY No Doubt, Tony Kanal, Adrian Young, Tom Dumont, & AFI frontman, Davey Havok w/ Superet .................................Th 18 ALL GOOD PRESENTS
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe featuring Melvin Seals ............... F 19 Cloud Nothings w/ Daniel Bachman .....................Sa 20 Laura Marling w/ Valley Queen ..........................Su 21 No Scrubs: ‘90s Dance Party with DJs Will Eastman and Brian Billion ........................F 26
JMSN w/ Gabriel Garzon-Montano
& Alcordo ....................................Tu 30
JUNE
LUPE FIASCO ..................F 2
9:30 CUPCAKES
Kings of Leon • Weezer • Jimmy Eat World • Fitz and the Tantrums
STORY DISTRICT PRESENTS
Out/Spoken: Queer, Questioning, Bold, and Proud ........................Sa 3
• Catfish and the Bottlemen • Highly Suspect • MISSIO • The Unlikely Candidates ............ MAY 14 Dierks Bentley w/ Cole Swindell & Jon Pardi .................................................... MAY 19 Bon Iver w/ Hiss Golden Messenger ...................................................................... MAY 24
The Avalanches ........................M 5 Royal Blood ...............................Tu 6 Freddie Gibbs ...........................Th 8 Jamestown Revival w/ Colter Wall ................................F 9 The Record Company w/ The Deadmen
I.M.P. & GOLDENVOICE PRESENT AN EVENING WITH
Sigur Rós .............................................................................................................. MAY 25
The Chainsmokers w/ Kiiara, Lost Frequencies, featuring Emily Warren ...... MAY 26
CAPITAL JAZZ FEST FEATURING
Corinne Bailey Rae • George Benson • Jaheim • Anthony Hamilton and more! .... JUNE 2-4
Paul Simon w/ Sarah McLachlan.............................................................. JUNE 9 Jack Johnson w/ Lake Street Dive .....................................................................JUNE 11 John Legend w/ Gallant .....................................................................................JUNE 20 Steve Miller Band w/ Peter Frampton ................................................JUNE 23 Luke Bryan w/ Brett Eldredge & Lauren Alaina ..............................................JUNE 25 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit w/ The Mountain Goats .........................JUNE 30 Dispatch w/ Guster & Marco Benevento ........................................................... JULY 7 My Morning Jacket w/ Gary Clark Jr. ......................................................... JULY 14
Early Show! 7pm Doors ...................Sa 10
Mixtape Pride Party with DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer .Sa 10 dded!
First Night Sold Out! Second Night A
Rodrigo y Gabriela w/ Ryan Sheridan .......................Su 12 Lizzo ............................................F 16 Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael
MERRIWEATHER 50TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT FEATURING
Jackson
Browne and Willie Nelson w/ Father John Misty plus special guest host Grace Potter Talkin’ & Singin ... JULY 15
Jackson Experience ................Sa 17
MANY MORE SHOWS ON SALE!
930.com
VANS WARPED TOUR PRESENTED BY JOURNEYS FEATURING
Anti-Flag • The Ataris • Gwar • Hatebreed • Valient Thorr and many more! ............. JULY 16
Gorillaz .................................................................................................................. JULY 17
The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. | www.buzzonslaters.com
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FILM COMPOSER OF OUR ERA
Echostage • Washington, D.C.
THIS THURSDAY!
Ryan Adams w/ Jenny Lewis ................................................... MAY 12
THIS SUNDAY! DC101 KERFUFFLE FEATURING
JUNE (cont)
DREAMCAR feat. members of
THIS FRIDAY!
Empire of the Sun w/ Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System ...MAY 11 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE • Ticketmaster • impconcerts.com
Hans Zimmer Live with Orchestra and Chorus performing music from Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, The Dark Knight and more! .................................. JULY 21 alt-J w/ Saint Motel & SOHN .................................................................................... JULY 27 Fleet Foxes w/ Animal Collective ........................................................... JULY 29 Belle and Sebastian / Spoon / Andrew Bird w/ Ex Hex .................. JULY 30 SUMMER SPIRIT FESTIVAL FEATURING
Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds • Bell Biv Devoe • Fantasia and more! ..................AUGUST 5-6
Lady Antebellum w/ Kelsea Ballerini & Brett Young .............................. AUGUST 13 Santana ............................................................................................................ AUGUST 15 Sturgill Simpson w/ Fantastic Negrito ................................................ SEPTEMBER 15 Young The Giant w/ Cold War Kids & Joywave .................................. SEPTEMBER 16
Lincoln Theatre • 1215 U Street, NW Washington, D.C. JUST ANNOUNCED!
PAUL WELLER ..................................................................................SAT OCTOBER 7
Chrysalis at Merriweather Park
JOHNNYSWIM ................................................................................NOVEMBER 15
Greensky Bluegrass w/ Leftover Salmon ................................................. JULY 22
On Sale Friday, May 12 at 10am On Sale Friday, May 12 at Noon
• For full lineups and more info, visit merriweathermusic.com
Dwight Yoakam w/ Elliot Root ...................................................................................... MAY 11
Pimlico Race Course • Baltimore, MD
THIS THURSDAY! THIS SATURDAY!
Demetri Martin ............................................................................................................. MAY 13 dded!
First Night Sold Out! Second Night A
PREAKNESS BUDWEISER INFIELDFEST FEATURING
SAM HUNT • Zedd • Good Charlotte • LOCASH • High Valley ............................... MAY 20
AN EVENING WITH
preakness.com
Old Crow Medicine Show Performing Blonde on Blonde .................................... MAY 23 Pop-Up Magazine ......................................................................................................... JUNE 6 dded!
First Night Sold Out! Second Night A
Feist .................................................................................................................................. JUNE 8
SECOND NIGHT ADDED! AEG LIVE PRESENTS
Tim And Eric: 10th Anniversary Awesome Tour ........................................................ JULY 19 TajMo: The Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ Band w/ Jontavious Willis ............................. AUGUST 9 Apocalyptica - Plays Metallica By Four Cellos .................................................... SEPTEMBER 9
9:30 CLUB PRESENTS AT U STREET MUSIC HALL Wavves w/ Post Animal ............ Sa MAY 13 Com Truise & Clark ........................... F 19 Lewis Watson ................................... Sa 20 Meat Puppets and mike watt + the jom & terry show ...................... Su 14 Tuxedo ............................................ F JUN 2 • Buy advance tickets at the 9:30 Club box office • 930.com
• thelincolndc.com • U Street (Green/Yellow) stop across the street!
impconcerts.com Tickets for 9:30 Club shows are available through TicketFly.com, by phone at 1-877-4FLY-TIX, and at the 9:30 Club box office. 9:30 CLUB BOX OFFICE HOURS are 12-7PM Weekdays & Until 11PM on show nights. 6-11PM on Sat & 6-10:30PM on Sun on show nights.
PARKING: THE OFFICIAL 9:30 parking lot entrance is on 9th Street, directly behind the 9:30 club. Buy your advance parking tickets at the same time as your concert tickets!
HAPPY HOUR DRINK PRICES
AFTER THE SHOW AT THE BACK BAR!
26 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
930.com
CITYLIST
INER
60S-INSPIRED D Serving
EVERYTHING from
BURGERS to BOOZY SHAKES
SPACE HOOPTY
A HIP HOP, FUNK & AFRO FUTURISTIC SET with Baronhawk Poitier
2ND & 4TH THURSDAYS 10:30 - CLOSE
BRING YOUR TICKET
AFTER ANY SHOW AT
Club
TO GET A
FREE SCHAEFERS
DAY PARTY
WITH DJ RUSSEL CAMPBELL 2nd & 4th Sundays
2 - 6pm
Music 27 Galleries 32 Dance 32 Theater 33 Film 33
Music
“We talk of the things that we hate in ourselves as if we’ll change them,” Tei Shi delicately croons in “How Far,” a single from her debut album, Crawl Space. “Let’s see how far it can take us before it forsakes us.” As a child in Buenos Aires, Tei Shi was terrified of the dark. To conquer her fear, she squeezed into a tiny, dark crawl space in her house, proving that sometimes the source of your greatest fear can also be the cure for it. The singer, now based in Brooklyn, confronts fears, frailties, and uncomfortable truths on Crawl Space to craft a sense of personal growth, which at times can simultaneously feel empowering, terrifying, and uncomfortable. But Tei Shi’s compelling vulnerability pairs nicely with her dreamy vocals and a sultry soundscape of bedroom R&B, a soothing remedy for even the darkest of fears. Tei Shi performs with Salt Cathedral at 8 p.m. at Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe, 2477 18th St. —Casey Embert
rock
Black cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Pond, Kirin J. Callinan. 8 p.m. $16–$18. blackcatdc.com. Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. The Palms, Me Not You. 7 p.m. $12. dcnine.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The Bumper Jacksons, Be Steadwell, Letitia VanSant. 8 p.m. $15–$20. thehamiltondc.com. merriweather Post Pavilion 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. (410) 715-5550. Ryan Adams & Band, Jenny Lewis. 7:30 p.m. $40–$55. merriweathermusic.com. rock & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. Run Come See, Anchorlot, Olivia Mancini. 9 p.m. $12. rockandrollhoteldc.com. songByrD music house anD recorD cafe 2477 18th St. NW. (202) 450-2917. Tei Shi, Salt Cathedral. 8 p.m. Sold out. songbyrddc.com. state theatre 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. (703) 237-0300. The Legwarmers. 9:30 p.m. $18. thestatetheatre.com.
Blues
Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Delbert McClinton. 7:30 p.m. $45. birchmere.com.
classical
kenneDy center concert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. National Symphony Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, RimskyKorsakov’s Scheherazade. 8 p.m. $15–$89. kennedy-center.org.
NW. Sold out. (202) 450-2917. songbyrddc.com. twins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Dial 251. 9 p.m.; 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.
Korsakov’s Scheherazade. 8 p.m. $15–$89. kennedy-center.org.
saturday
music center at strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. BSO: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. 8 p.m. $35–$99. strathmore.org.
national gallery of art east garDen court Fourth Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. (202) 842-6941. Winners of the 2016 Joseph and Goldie Feder Memorial String Competition. noon Free. nga.gov/programs/music.
9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Los Amigos Invisibles, Zakke. 8 p.m. $25. 930.com.
national gallery of art east garDen court Fourth Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. (202) 842-6941. Winners of the 2016 Misbin Family Memorial Chamber Music Competition. 2 p.m. Free. nga.gov/programs/music.
country
comet Ping Pong 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. (202) 364-0404. Crown Larks, Time Is Fire, The Messthetics. 10 p.m. $12. cometpingpong.com.
Jiffy luBe live 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow. (703) 754-6400. Luke Bryan, Brett Eldridge. 7 p.m. $34.25–$83. livenation.com.
gyPsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Kung Fu. 9 p.m. $15–$17. gypsysallys.com.
kenneDy center millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. NSO Prelude. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org. music center at strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra. 7 p.m. $20–$25. strathmore.org.
gyPsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Cris Jacobs Band. 8:15 p.m. $15. gypsysallys.com.
9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Giorgio Moroder, Enamour. 8 p.m. $40. 930.com. echostage 2135 Queens Chapel Road NE. (202) 503-2330. Kaskade, Cid, Ravell. 9 p.m. $48.40. echostage.com.
located next door to 9:30 club
tei sHi
Friday
electronic
2047 9th Street NW
CITY LIGHTS: Friday
u street music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889. Louis Futon, Armani White, Indiginis. 10 p.m. $10. ustreetmusichall.com.
Jazz
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $60–$65. bluesalley.com.
rock
BethesDa Blues & Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Carl’s Rare Roast Beef Band. 7 p.m. $10. bethesdabluesjazz.com.
the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Almost Queen. 8 p.m. $25–$35. thehamiltondc.com. rock & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. Broke Royals, Exnations, Color Palette. 8 p.m. $12. rockandrollhoteldc.com. state theatre 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. (703) 237-0300. The Legwarmers. 9:30 p.m. $18. thestatetheatre.com.
country
Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Reckless Kelly, Blue Water Highway Band. 7:30 p.m. $29.50. birchmere.com.
electronic
echostage 2135 Queens Chapel Road NE. (202) 503-2330. Kaskade, Cid, Ravell. 9 p.m. $48.40. echostage.com.
Funk & r&B
Black cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. No BS! Brass Band, Angelica Garcia. 8 p.m. $18. blackcatdc.com.
u street music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889. Wavves. 6:30 p.m. $20. ustreetmusichall.com.
songByrD music house anD recorD cafe 2477 18th St. NW. (202) 450-2917. Chynna Rogers. 8 p.m. $10–$12. songbyrddc.com.
classical
Jazz
kenneDy center concert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. National Symphony Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, Rimsky-
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $60–$65. bluesalley.com.
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 27
kenneDy center atrium 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Meshell Ndegeocello: Pour Une Âme Souveraine. 8 p.m. $49. kennedy-center.org. twins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Dial 251. 9 p.m.; 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.
opera
kenneDy center oPera house 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Washington National Opera: Madame Butterfly. 7 p.m. $25–$300. kennedy-center.org.
World
gw lisner auDitorium 730 21st St. NW. (202) 9946800. Aref. 7:30 p.m. $35–$110. lisner.gwu.edu.
D.C.’s awesomest events calendar. washingtoncitypaper.com
washingtoncitypaper.com/ calendar
sunday rock
amP By strathmore 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Garry Tallent. 8 p.m. $30–$40. ampbystrathmore.com. Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Iron Chic, J Robbins, The Rememberables. 9 p.m. $15. dcnine.com. fillmore silver sPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Mayday Parade. 7:30 p.m. $25. fillmoresilverspring.com. galaxy hut 2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 5258646. Bad on Purpose, Young Hands. 9 p.m. $5. galaxyhut.com. merriweather Post Pavilion 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. (410) 715-5550. DC101 Kerfuffle. 1:30 p.m. $55–$95. merriweathermusic.com. rock & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. Face to Face, Lost In Society. 8 p.m. $35. rockandrollhoteldc.com. u street music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889. Meat Puppets, Mike Watt + The Jom & Terry Show. 7 p.m. $25. ustreetmusichall.com.
classical
music center at strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. Murray Perahia. 5 p.m. $40–$80. strathmore.org.
national gallery of art east garDen court Fourth Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. (202) 842-6941. Boreal Trio. 3:30 p.m. Free. nga.gov/programs/music.
Funk & r&B
BethesDa Blues & Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. After 7. 1 p.m.; 7 p.m. $55. bethesdabluesjazz.com. Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Mother’s Finest. 7:30 p.m. $35. birchmere.com. warner theatre 513 13th St. NW. (202) 783-4000. Trey Songz. 7:30 p.m. $96.50. warnertheatredc.com.
Jazz
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Ms. Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $60–$65. bluesalley.com.
opera
kenneDy center oPera house 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Washington National Opera: Madame Butterfly. 2 p.m. $25–$300. kennedy-center.org.
Vocal
kenneDy center concert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Washington Chorus: Orff’s Carmina Burana & Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. 5 p.m. $18–$72. kennedy-center.org. kenneDy center millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
Monday rock
9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Perfume Genius, serpentwithfeet. 6 p.m. $21. 930.com. Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Gordon Lightfoot. 7:30 p.m. Sold out. birchmere.com. Black cat Backstage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Mystic Braves, The Creation Factory, Dan McNabb. 7:30 p.m. $12. blackcatdc.com.
CITY LIGHTS: saturday
WaVVes
After an epic—and very public—breakup with Warner Bros. Records earlier this year, Wavves, the sun-drenched surf-punk band from San Diego is back to creating and releasing music on its own terms. “I’d never come in contact with such a poorly run company in my life,” band frontman Nathan Williams explained in a press release. “It was anarchy. Nobody knew what they were doing.” Now freed from the shackles of corporate record label bullshit, Wavves’ forthcoming album, You’re Welcome, is set for release on May 19 via Williams’ own label, Ghost Ramp, and showcases the band’s signature buzzy, lo-fi sound. Judging by the album’s singles, like “Daisy” and “No Shade,” the band sounds as rowdy and defiant as ever—brushing off the haters and reveling in breezy beach life. After spending the spring opening for Blink-182, Wavves promotes You’re Welcome with a solo tour of its own. Wavves performs at 6:30 p.m. at U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. $20. (202) 588-1889. ustreetmusichall.com. —Casey Embert 28 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 29
LIVE the BUMPER UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
JACKSONS
W/ BE STEADWELL AND LETITIA VANSANT FRIDAY MAY
QUEEN
SATURDAY MAY
13
10am, 12:30pm, 3pm
MOTHER’S DAY GOSPEL BRUNCH
May 12
Andy DELBERT McCLINTON Poxon 13 RECKLESS KELLY w/Blue Water Highway Band
14
Heather Nova & Mishka 17 C A R L PA L M E R ’ S E L P L E G A C Y LIVES ON! EMERSON LAKE & PALMER
18 As seen in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
SOGGY BOTTOM BOYS
feat. Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, Ron Block, Stuart Duncan, Mike Compton, Pat Enright
Billy Price & The Keystone Rhythm Band Reunion Bob Margolin Band • Skip Castro Band Good Humor Band
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
W/ THE MAIN SQUEEZE
20
THURS, MAY 18
21
MORGAN JAMES
THE RECKLESS ABANDON TOUR W/ ANDY ALLO
WALTER BEASLEY with Baylor Wilson
THE ROBERT CRAY BAND & Luna 26 OTTMAR LIEBERT Negra
22
FRI, MAY 19
THE BLACK LILLIES W/ THE RAGBIRDS SAT, MAY 20
GIANT PANDA GUERILLA DUB SQUAD W/ THUNDER BODY SUN, MAY 21
DAVID BROMBERG BIG BAND W/ HONEY CHILD
WED, MAY 24
BEN SIDRAN FRI, MAY 26
JOHN MAYALL W/ BILL CARTER TDC SHOWS PRESENTS
Reunion 2017!
19
WED, MAY 17
SAT, MAY 27
Mothers’ Day with
MOTHER’S FINEST
16 AN INTIMATE ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH SIBLINGS
FEATURING WILBUR JOHNSON & THE GOSPEL PERSUADERS
DUMPSTAPHUNK
7pm & 10:30pm
AMEL LARRIEUX WED, MAY 31
JOHN NEMETH AND DANIELLE NICOLE BAND THURS, JUNE 1
THE NEW STEW
PERFORMING THE ALBUM
BILL WITHERS LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL
27
FREDDIE JACKSON
28
An Evening with
THE SELDOM SCENE June THE HOT SARDINES 2 With Love” LULU “To Sir& more! 3 Harrow 4 TAB BENOIT Fair 6 ERIC JOHNSON ELECTRIC BAND with Special Guest Arielle
9
MIKI HOWARD
10 The Mike Seeger Commemorative
OLD TIME BANJO FESTIVAL In the
15
18
!
OLD 97s
16&17
KINDRED THE FAMILY SOUL AMERICA
21 GERALD ALBRIGHT & JONATHAN BUTLER
From ruPaul’s Drag race
BenIDel- a- c-reme
W/ PARIS MONSTER
nFerno a go go
AIMEE MANN Jonathan Coulton 24 ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO BAND
23
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
CITY LIGHTS: sunday
For entire schedule go to Birchmere.com Find us on Facebook/Twitter! Tix @ Ticketmaster.com 800-745-3000
12
ALMOST
SUN, MAY 14
3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA • 703-549-7500
30 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
iron cHic
Iron Chic is one of four bands–alongside Spraynard, RVIVR, and, now, Tender Defender–to come out of Latterman, the short-lived, cult-favorite feminist punk band that broke up in 2007. And like Latterman and its offspring, Iron Chic tracks a unique path between emo, hardcore, and pop-punk. The band is honest and a little sorrowful; aggressive and forward-charging, but accessible with the hooks, choruses, and gang vocals that built the stardom of acts like The Wonder Years. Though Iron Chic rarely veers from the form that Latterman established, they do build upon it. Jason Lubrano sings with a textured voice that’s both rough and breathy, and the band makes the most of its two guitarists, who go a long way toward delivering Iron Chic’s emotional depth. The result is energetic and upbeat, but emotionally aware and confessional, all of it imbued with the same collective spirit that underwrote Latterman’s cult status, and which is likely to make for a fun, festive show. Iron Chic performs with J Robbins and The Rememberables at 9 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $15. (202) 483-5000. dcnine.com. —Kevin Carty Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Holy Fuck, Light Beams. 8 p.m. $15–$18. dcnine.com. galaxy hut 2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 5258646. Ryan and Francis Duo, FOR Trio. 9 p.m. $5. galaxyhut.com.
electronic
kenneDy center eisenhower theater 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Mason Bates’s KC Jukebox: Thievery Corporation. 7 p.m.; 9:30 p.m. $29–$59. kennedy-center.org.
Jazz
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Shahin Novrasil Trio. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $37. bluesalley.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The Bumper Jacksons. 8 p.m. $15–$20. thehamiltondc.com. songByrD music house anD recorD cafe 2477 18th St. NW. (202) 450-2917. Claudia Quintet, Janel + Anthony. 8 p.m. $15. songbyrddc.com.
opera
kenneDy center oPera house 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Washington National Opera: Madame Butterfly. 7 p.m. $25–$300. kennedy-center.org.
Vocal
kenneDy center millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Woodrow Wilson High School Vocal Music Program. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
tuesday rock
9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Real Estate, Frankie Cosmos. 7 p.m. Sold out. 930.com.
Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Heather Nova & Mishka, Kate Grom. 7:30 p.m. $29.50. birchmere.com. Black cat Backstage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Lanternfish, Technicians, Time Columns. 7:30 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com. Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. The Wind + The Wave, Justin Kawika Young, The Native Sibling. 9 p.m. $14. dcnine.com. gyPsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. The Delta Saints. 8 p.m. $10–$12. gypsysallys.com. lincoln theatre 1215 U St. NW. (202) 888-0050. Pixies, Cymbals Eat Guitars. 8 p.m. Sold out. thelincolndc.com. songByrD music house anD recorD cafe 2477 18th St. NW. (202) 450-2917. Alex Napping, Citris & Poppy Patica. 8 p.m. $10–$12. songbyrddc.com.
Blues
state theatre 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. (703) 237-0300. Buddy Guy. 7:30 p.m. Sold out. thestatetheatre.com.
classical
kenneDy center concert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Maurizio Pollini. 7:30 p.m. $25–$89. kennedy-center.org. kenneDy center millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Lincoln Middle School Band, CHEC Orchestra, CHEC Concert Band, and the CHEC Choir. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
Funk & r&B
howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Digable Planets. 9 p.m. $37.50–$77.50. thehowardtheatre.com.
Jazz
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Rochelle Rice. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.
CITY LIGHTS: Monday
claudia Quintet
1811 14TH ST NW
At first listen, The Claudia Quintet’s robust reimagining of European art music can seem alienating. But even strangers to the genre will likely find a tune they love. On the group’s latest album, Super Petite, released by Silver Spring’s Cuneiform Records, you can hear intense, intellectual art music next to re-interpreted funky dance tracks and echoes of high and lonesome folk songs reverberating across urbane accordion ballads. Each member is a master of melody, creating a pleasing blend of harmonic and rhythmic textures through their individual instruments. Picking through the quintet’s post-modern mix of references and influences is a dream for any musical deep diver these days. The ensemble rarely gathers for live performances, but to celebrate 20 years of making uncompromising, uplifting art, they’ll perform an intimate show at Songbyrd Music House with another ensemble that makes envelope-pushing art, local experimental duo Janel & Anthony. Claudia Quintet performs with Janel & Anthony at 8 p.m. at Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe, 2477 18th St. NW. $15. (202) 450-2917. songbyrddc.com. —Jackson Sinnenberg
Wednesday
tHursday
Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy. 7:30 p.m. $39.50. birchmere.com.
9:30 cluB 815 V St. NW. (202) 265-0930. Dreamcar. 7 p.m. $35. 930.com.
rock
Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Whores, Wrong, Bummer. 7:30 p.m. $12–$14. dcnine.com. lincoln theatre 1215 U St. NW. (202) 888-0050. Pixies, Cymbals Eat Guitars. 8 p.m. Sold out. thelincolndc.com. rock & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. PUP, Prawn. 8 p.m. Sold out. rockandrollhoteldc.com.
classical kenneDy center millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. School Without Walls Stage Band and Concert Choir. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org. national gallery of art east garDen court Fourth Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW. (202) 842-6941. Tomas Kaco. 12:10 p.m. Free. nga.gov/programs/music.
electronic u street music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889. Doorly, Hogan b2b Bortz, Ciconte, Colin Jeske vs Captain Carlos. 10 p.m. $15. ustreetmusichall.com.
Funk & r&B the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Dumpstaphunk, The Main Squeeze. 7:30 p.m. $23–$28. thehamiltondc.com.
Jazz BethesDa Blues & Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. The Cookers. 8 p.m. $45. bethesdabluesjazz.com. Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Victor Provost Group. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $37. b luesalley.com. twins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Animal Mother. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.
opera kenneDy center oPera house 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Washington National Opera: Madame Butterfly. 7:30 p.m. $25–$300. kennedy-center.org.
rock
amP By strathmore 11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. The Mersey Beatles. 8 p.m. $30–$55. ampbystrathmore.com. Black cat Backstage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Jack on Fire, Literals, Nice Breeze. 7:30 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com. gyPsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. Gibbz. 8:30 p.m. $10–$12. gypsysallys.com.
SU 14
classical
W 17 F
sixth & i historic synagogue 600 I St. NW. (202) 408-3100. Kennedy Center Chamber Players. 8 p.m. $18–$23. sixthandi.org.
country
Birchmere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. The Soggy Bottom Boys. 7:30 p.m. $45. birchmere.com.
electronic
u street music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889. Unlike Pluto, Seba Yuri. 10:30 p.m. $10. ustreetmusichall.com.
Funk & r&B
verizon center 601 F St. NW. (202) 628-3200. The Weeknd. 7:30 p.m. $33–$475. verizoncenter.com.
Hip-Hop
fillmore silver sPring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. NF. 8 p.m. $25. fillmoresilverspring.com. howarD theatre 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. DMX. 9 p.m. $37.50–$75. thehowardtheatre.com.
MAY / JUNE SHOWS THU 11
THE COOKERS
19 NEWMYER FLYERS PRESENT LAUREL CANYON:
SU 21
W 24
FRI 12
TH 25 &F 26 S
27
SU 28 30
W 31
POND
FRI 12
PUNK ROCK KARAOKE
SAT 13
NO BS! BRASS BAND
SAT 13
CHURCH NIGHT (21+)
ROY AYERS W/ SPECIAL GUEST CAROLYN MALACHI BE’LA DONA CONFUNKSHUN
FRI 19
THE MAKE UP
FRI 19
WITH DJ LIL’E 00S ALT DANCE PARTY
MON 15 TUE 16 THU 18
SAT 20
2SHOWS (7/10PM)
T
HUMBLE FIRE
(EP RELEASE)
GOLDEN SONGS OF LOS ANGELES 1966-72 THE PERSUADERS: THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE & HATE THE VOCAL WORKSHOP WITH CHRIS GRASSO. SHOWCASE 7/9PM
kenneDy center concert hall 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. National Symphony Orchestra: Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, Music for the Royal Fireworks. 7 p.m. $15–$89. kennedy-center.org. music center at strathmore 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. (301) 581-5100. BSO: Movie and Music—E.T. The Extraterrestrial In Concert. 8 p.m. $17.50–$99. strathmore.org.
@blackcatdc
AFTER 7 – MOTHER’S DAY (2 SHOWS 1/7:00PM)
the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Morgan James, Andy Allo. 7:30 p.m. $17.25–$39.75. thehamiltondc.com. rock & roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. Obituary, Gruesome, Witchtrial. 8 p.m. $20. rockandrollhoteldc.com.
www.blackcatdc.com
M AY
SAT 20
A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF ALEXANDER O’NEAL FEAT. KEITH SOUL EDWIN ORTIZ LA MAFIA DEL GUAGUANCO
MYSTIC BRAVES
LANTERNFISH JACK ON FIRE
(LAST SHOW!)
TIPSY
DEPECHE MODE
DANCE PARTY COLLIDER
(RECORD RELEASE)
SUN 21
GRINGO STAR
SAT 27
THE ORWELLS
JUNE TH 1
SAT 3 W 7 F
9
MICHAEL HENDERSON & CHERRELLE STARSHIP LANDING THE WANNA BEATLES PLUS VI-KINGS PRINCE TRIBUTE SHOW WAYNA
FRI MAY 19
THE MAKE UP
THE ORWELLS
7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD
SAT MAY 27
(240) 330-4500
www. BethesdaBluesJazz.com Two Blocks from Bethesda Metro/Red Line Free Parking on Weekends
TAKE METRO!
WE ARE LOCATED 3 BLOCKS FROM THE U STREET/CARDOZO STATION
TO BUY TICKETS VISIT TICKETFLY.COM washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 31
TRIVIA E V E RY M O N DAY & W E D N E S DAY
$12 BURGER & BEER MON-FRI 4 P M -7 P M
dual exhibition. May 18 to June 25. Closing: “Virginia Plants and Pollinators.” See up-close images of bees, plants, and the process of pollination in this exhibition of work by photographer Deanna Marion. April 6 to May 14.
CITY LIGHTS: tuesday
colM tóiBín
600 beers from around the world
Downstairs: good food, great beer: all day every day *all shows 21+ M AY 1 1 T H
ROASTBATTLESWITH CHOCOLATECITYCOMEDY, DOORS AT 7PM,SHOW AT 8PM M AY 1 2 T H
VENT!DC’SONLY INTERACTIVECOMEDY HAPPYHOUR
PRESENTED BY LAST RESORT COMEDY, DOORS AT 6:30PM M AY 1 3 T H
THEBIGASSTALENTSHOW:A BENEFITTOFIGHTRACISMIN THEVARIETYCOMMUNITY DOORS AT 8PM,SHOW AT 9PM M AY 1 4 T H
SCIENCECOMEDY WITHKASHAPATEL, DOORS AT 7PM,SHOW AT 8PM M AY 1 5 T H
DISTRICTTRIVIAAT 7:30PM PERFECTLIARSCLUB DOORS AT 5:30PM SHOW AT 7:30PM AMARACHARITY HAPPY HOUR-7PM M AY 1 6 T H
CAPITALLAUGHS
FREE COMEDY SHOW AT 8:30PM M AY 1 7 T H
DISTRICTTRIVIAAT 7:30PM SMASHED:ANERDYAND DIRTYCOMEDYSHOW, DOORS AT 7PM,SHOW AT 8PM M AY 1 8 T H
FORDHAMBREWING TAPPINGNIGHT M AY 1 9 T H
DCWEIRDOSHOWPRESENTS: THEGENDERQUEERDOSHOW! DOORS AT 8PM,SHOW AT 9PM COASTTOCOASTIPAS TAPPING NIGHT 4PM M AY 2 0 T H
ALLKIDSOUTOFTHEPOOL PART2-NIGHTOF1000RICKS PRESENTEDBYGLIT-O-RAMA DOORS AT 8PM,SHOW AT 9PM
1523 22nd St NW – Washington, DC 20037 (202) 293-1887 - www.bierbarondc.com @bierbarondc.com for news and events
Casual readers and moviegoers will remember Colm Tóibín as the author of Brooklyn, the romantic and tearjerking 2009 novel that follows a young Irish girl’s journey to and life in New York. But the author also finds inspiration in the myths and legends of millennia ago. In The Testament of Mary, he imagined the twilight years of the mother of Jesus as she questions her son’s work and negotiates with the writers of the Gospels. His newest book, House of Names, finds inspiration in ancient events: in this case, the Trojan War. In it, he gives a voice to Clytemnestra, the woman who killed her husband, then ruled his kingdom for seven years before getting offed by her son. Tóibín offers his subject some needed sympathy and challenges the one-sided version of the myth, thereby broadening a story readers already know. When he reads at Politics & Prose, expect him to teach you more than you expected about Troy, marriage, and parenting. Colm Tóibín reads at 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free. (202) 364-1919. politics-prose.com. —Caroline Jones
CITY LIGHTS: Wednesday
pup
The music of PUP sounds like what would happen if you grew up on pop-punk and then fell in love with Fucked Up, the musically developed Toronto hardcore band that hits as hard as any group in the last two decades. As a result, in PUP’s songs, “woah-ohh” bridges and verses accompany frantic hardcore drumming. Shouted vocals come over screaming fast guitar riffs and all of it builds and feeds on a fun, lovable energy that calls for tapping, dancing, moshing, screaming, or jumping—anything to match the spirit of Stefan Babcock, the lead singer. Melodic hardcore is a well-worn track within the punk world, but PUP is fresh. There is no band playing today that sounds quite like them–poppy and happy and angry and urgent all at once. That originality has made its members popular: Noisey called their first album a “perfect ten” while Pitchfork described their second album as “glorious.” The truth is that PUP is easy to love, a consensus favorite for punk newcomers and old hands alike. They’re fun and forward enough to be accessible, but developed and innovative enough to reward any longtime fan. PUP performs with Prawn at 8 p.m. at Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. Sold out. (202) 388-7625. rockandrollhoteldc.com. —Kevin Carty
Jazz BethesDa Blues & Jazz 7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. (240) 330-4500. Ronnie Laws. 8 p.m. $40. bethesdabluesjazz.com. Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Arturo Sandoval. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $70–$75. bluesalley.com. twins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Jazz Band Master Class, The Capital City Voices. 7:30 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.
opera kenneDy center oPera house 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Washington National Opera: Madame Butterfly. 7:30 p.m. $25–$300. kennedy-center.org.
32 may 12, 2017 washingtoncitypaper.com
Galleries
aDDison/riPley fine art 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 338-5180. addisonripleyfineart.com. Ongoing: “Cambalache.” Multimedia artist Joan Belmar presents a series of works on paper, as well as an installation in this solo show. April 22 to May 27. arlington arts center 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 248-6800. arlingtonartscenter.org. Ongoing: “Spring Solos 2017.” More than 100 artists from around the region applied and 14 were selected to participate in this annual exhibition that allows each artist to curate and display their work throughout the arts center. April 8 to June 11. the athenaeum 201 Prince St. , Alexandria. (703) 548-0035. nvfaa.org. Opening: “Pattern and Repetition.” Reni Gower and Stephen Boocks present works full of precise pattern work and bright colors in this
BrentwooD arts exchange 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood. (301) 277-2863. arts.pgparks.com. Ongoing: “Re-Locations.” In this exhibition of representational paintings, Morgan Craig, Joey Manlapaz, and Trevor Young explore their connection to specific places and capture the meaning of different locations. March 27 to May 27. greater reston arts center 12001 Market St., Ste. 103, Reston. (703) 471-9242. restonarts.org. Ongoing: “The Great Dismal Swamp.” Acclaimed multimedia artist Radcliffe Bailey makes his D.C. area debut with this exhibition that addresses his family’s Virginia heritage and the state’s role in the Underground Railroad. April 21 to July 8. hemPhill fine arts 1515 14th St. NW. (202) 2345601. hemphillfinearts.com. Ongoing: “Romare Bearden.” See a collection of collages and watercolors from the acclaimed African-American artist and activist. April 15 to June 10. Ongoing: “Jacob Kainen.” See a series of abstract expressionist paintings inspired by the American painter and printmaker’s 1972 trip to the former Soviet Union. April 15 to June 10. honfleur gallery 1241 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. honfleurgallery.com. Ongoing: “FinderMaker.” Artists Eric Celarier, Ani Hoover and Nicole Salimbene create the work in this exhibit from abandoned and trashed objects. April 21 to June 3. montPelier arts center 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel. (301) 377-7800. arts.pgparks.com. Ongoing: “Substrates.” Artists present paintings and drawings on unconventional surfaces like cardboard, ceramic, and fabric in this group show. April 2 to May 28. Ongoing: “David Brosch.” The printmaker, who developed his skills in classes at Montpelier and now teaches there, presents a series of intaglio and linocut prints. May 6 to May 28. morton fine art 1781 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 6282787. mortonfineart.com. Opening: “Victor Ekpuk.” The Nigerian-American artist uses visual symbols from world cultures in his large and unique works. May 12 to May 31. target gallery at torPeDo factory 105 N. Union St., Alexandria. (703) 838-4565. torpedofactory.org. Closing: “Ephemera.” Artists from around the world present works that are purposely meant to decompose over time or that capture the fleeting nature of certain things in this group exhibit. April 1 to May 14. viviD solutions gallery 1231 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. vividsolutionsdc.com. Ongoing: “Forgetting Is Normal.” Artist Kylos Brannon combines memories and scientific information about the brain in this video installation, his first gallery show. April 21 to June 3. washington Printmakers gallery 1641 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 669-1497. washingtonprintmakers.com. Ongoing: “Wanderlust.” Nina Muys, a former president of Washington Printmakers Gallery, presents a series of prints inspired by travel. May 3 to May 27.
Dance
music of our time The National Chamber Ensemble performs music from movies and theater, including Alexander Goldstein’s “Trio On The Roof,” while Bowen McCauley Dance presents the world premiere of A. Shor’s “Dreamers” in this varied evening that combines dance and classical music. Rosslyn Spectrum Theater. N. Kent St., Arlington. May 13, 7:30 p.m. $17–$33. (800) 494-8497. northern virginia Ballet The award-winning company performs Cinderella, set to music by Prokofiev and given a Russian twist with glamorous costumes and detailed sets. Hylton Performing Arts Center. 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas. May 12, 8 p.m. $18–$28. (703) 993-7759. hyltoncenter.org.
Theater
the araBian nights Ten years after first presenting this drama based on The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Constellation Theatre revives it. Director Allison Arkell Stockman tells stories of love, desire, and sacrifice in this elaborate production. Constellation Theatre at Source. 1835 14th St. NW. To June 4. $20–$45. (202) 204-7741. constellationtheatre.org. Brighton Beach memoirs Neil Simon’s landmark play about Eugene, a Brooklyn boy eager to grow up and explore the world comes to Theater J in a new production directed by Matt Torney. Lise Bruneau, Michael Glenn, and Susan Rome star in this lively, witty, and warm comedy. Theater J. 1529 16th St. NW. To May 14. $17–$47. (202) 777-3210. theaterj.org. Dorian’s closet Joseph Ritsch directs this world premiere musical based on the life of legendary female impersonator Dorian Corey, widely introduced to the public in Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning. From her early days on the drag circuit to her death and the discovery of a mummified human in her closet, this production explores themes of love, acceptance, and identity. Rep Stage at Howard Community College. 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. To May 14. $15–$40. (443) 518-1500. repstage.org. the father In this internationally acclaimed drama, an elderly man starts to lose track of his life and experiences strange events, from disappearing furniture to unknown people in his home. Local favorite Ted van Griethuysen stars in Florian Zeller’s drama, translated by Christopher Hampton. Studio Theatre. 1501 14th St. NW. To June 18. $20–$85. (202) 3323300. studiotheatre.org. fun home Based on the graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, this Tony-winning musical follows Bechdel as she chronicles her coming out and the subsequent death of her father. Featuring three different actresses playing Bechdel over time, this production includes the songs “Ring of Keys” and “Changing My Major.” National Theatre. 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. To May 13. $48–$98. (202) 628-6161. nationaltheatre.org. the hunchBack of notre Dame The story of the deformed bellringer Quasimodo and the enchanting dancer Esmerelda who captures his heart comes alive in a wordless production helmed by Founding Artistic Director Paata Tsikurishvili. The city runs wild when Quasimodo’s adoptive father pursues Esmerelda but Quasimodo’s inclination to protect the woman he cares for remains. Synetic Theater at Crystal City. 1800 South Bell St. , Arlington. To June 11. $20–$60. (866) 811-4111. synetictheater.org. Jesus christ suPerstar Signature presents this classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that chronicles the last week of Christ’s life. Featuring songs like “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and “Everything’s Alright,” this production is directed by Joe Calarco. Signature Theatre. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To July 2. $40–$99. (703) 820-9771. sigtheatre.org. macBeth Liesl Tommy, the director behind acclaimed productions of Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate, leads this production of Shakespeare’s classic tale of murder, magic, and ambition. Sidney Harman Hall. 610 F St. NW. To May 28. $44–$118. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org. the man who Inspired by the late Oliver Sachs’ The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, this play incorporates research and improvisation techniques. Originally performed in French, Peter Woods’ play closes the Spooky Action season. Spooky Action Theater. 1810 16th St. NW. To June 4. $20–$40. (202) 248-0301. spookyaction.org. master class Young opera students train with an aging Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s drama about the sacrifices artists make for their craft and the demands of performing at a high level. Local favorite Ilona Dulaski stars in this production directed by Nick Olcott. MetroStage. 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. To June 11. $55–$60. (703) 548-9044. metrostage.org. outsiDe mullingar John Patrick Shanley’s latest play gets its D.C. premiere at the Keegan under the direction of Mark A. Rhea. Told from the perspective of two farmers, it’s a rumination on love and the nature of relationships. Keegan Theatre at
CITY LIGHTS: tHursday
tHe Weeknd
When The Weeknd first emerged six years ago, he was an anonymous singer-songwriter, his gentle tenor cutting through the fog of ambient, electronic R&B and telling tales of late night love affairs and drug-dazed comedowns. The Torontobased talent (born Abel Tesfaye) explored that territory for a few years, carving out a space as R&B’s preeminent creepster, his beautiful voice belying the seediness of his sex-and-drug ballads. Eventually, The Weeknd turned down the ick-factor ever so slightly, finding mainstream success with the orchestra-assisted pop of “Earned It” and “Can’t Feel My Face,” a radio-friendly disco-funk jam that mixed cocaine references with Tesfaye’s Michael Jackson impression. The latter song has served as a template for his recent success, especially on a pair of singles featuring Daft Punk—“Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming”—that anchor last year’s Starboy. When The Weeknd brings his world tour to the Verizon Center (with Rae Sremmurd, 6LACK, and Belly in tow), expect a catalog-hopping set that you’ll want to shower after attending. The Weeknd performs at 7:30 p.m. at Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. $90–$425. (202) 628-3200. verizoncenter.monumentalsportsnetwork.com. —Chris Kelly
LIOR HANK STEVE RICHARD GERE ASHKENAZI AZARIA BUSCEMI CHARLOTTE MICHAEL DAN JOSH GAINSBOURG SHEEN STEVENS CHARLES
“AMAZINGLY FUNNY.” -A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Church Street Theater. 1742 Church St. NW. To May 28. $35–$45. (202) 265-3767. keegantheatre.com. ragtime This stirring musical, written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and inspired by E.L. Doctorow novel, tells the story of three different New York families at the turn of the 20th century. Featuring memorable songs like “Your Daddy’s Eyes,” “Wheels of a Dream,” and “Make Them Hear You,” this production stars Tracy Lynn Olivera, Nova Y. Payton, and Jonathan Atkinson. Ford’s Theatre. 511 10th St. NW. To May 20. $18–$71. (202) 347-4833. fords.org. smart PeoPle Four intellectuals look for love and try to understand themselves in this witty drama from playwright Lydia R. Diamond. Through the characters, the play explores issues of identity, prejudice, and cultural bias. Arena Stage. 1101 6th St. SW. To May 21. $40–$90. (202) 488-3300. arenastage.org. timon of athens The generous and wealthy Timon experiences a downturn of fortune and must figure out a way to survive in this biting Shakespearean satire. Robert Richmond, last seen at the Folger directing Julius Caesar, leads this production starring Helen Hayes Award-winner Ian Merrill Peakes. Folger Elizabethan Theatre. 201 E. Capitol St. SE. To June 11. $35–$75. (202) 544-7077. folger.edu. toPDog/unDerDog Jessica Frances Dukes and Dawn Ursula star in this Pulitzer-winning drama about two brothers who end up fighting each other for the upper hand in the game of life. For the first time since the play premiered, Olney and director Timothy Douglas have decided to cast two women in traditionally male roles. Olney Theatre Center. 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. To June 11. $35–$70. (301) 924-3400. olneytheatre.org.
the Dinner Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall, Richard Gere, and Steve Coogan play parents who meet to solve a mysterious conflict that concerns their chil-
The New York Times
The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
dren in this thriller based on the novel by Herman Koch. Adapted and directed by Oren Moverman.
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JOSEPH CEDAR WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM
(See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) guarDians of the galaxy vol. 2 The team, including Groot, Rocket, Gamora, and Peter Quill, reunites to find out the story of Peter’s parents in this sequel to the 2014 film. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) king arthur: legenD of the sworD Charlie Hunnam stars as the impoverished king who
Washington, DC LANDMARK’S E STREET CINEMA (202) 783-9494 Annapolis BOW TIE HARBOUR 9 (410) 224-1145 Arlington AMC SHIRLINGTON 7 amctheatres.com Bethesda LANDMARK’S BETHESDA ROW CINEMA (301) 652-7273
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retakes his destiny when he removes a sword from a stone in this retelling of the ancient legend from
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director Guy Ritchie. Co-starring Jude Law, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, and Djimon Hounsou. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) the lovers Tracy Letts and Debra Winger play a divorced couple who suddenly reunite in this intense personal drama written and directed by Azazel Jacobs. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)
Film
NORMAN
norman A political operative sees his life change for the better and for the worse when the aspiring politician he once assisted becomes a major play-
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3 generations A single mother must find and contact her child’s estranged biological father when they decide to transition genders in this coming of age film from director Gaby Dellal. Starring Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts, and Susan Sarandon. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)
er. Starring Richard Gere and Michael Sheen. (See
citizen Jane: Battle for the city Learn about the work of urban activist Jane Jacobs in this documentary that chronicles her campaign against city planner Robert Moses. (See washingtoncitypaper. com for venue information)
ic vacation when shenanigans ensue in the comedy
washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) snatcheD An adventurous daughter persuades her cautious mother to accompany her on an exotstarring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn. Directed by Jonathan Levine. (See washingtoncitypaper.com
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for venue information)
washingtoncitypaper.com may 12, 2017 33
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WinnResidential Wait list Opening!! Come Check Us Out!! On May 11th, 2017 WinnResidential is opening the Wait Lists for Atlantic Terrace, Atlantic Gardens, and Southern Hills for 2 and 3 Bedroom Standard Apartments. The wait lists for 1, 2, and 3 Bedroom Apartments that are accessible to people with mobility impairments (Wheelchair Accessible) and people with hearing or visual impairments will also be open. Due to the length of the current Standard Effi ciency and One Bedroom wait lists those lists are remaining closed. Applications can be picked up at the WinnResidential Management offi ce at 4214 Fourth Street SE, Community Center, Washington, DC 20032 on Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm beginning on 05/09/2017. Applications can be returned in person at the Southern Hills Community Center at 4335 4th Street SE, Washington, DC 20032 on Thursdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm beginning on 5/11/17. Applications can also be printed at www.liveatlanticterrace.com and returned by email to atlanticterrace@winnco. com beginning at 10:00 am on 05/11/2017. We will only accept the first 300 applications for 2 bedrooms and 200 applications for 3 Bedrooms Apartments and then the wait lists will close. These properties have rental assistance through the Project Based Section 8 program and are subject to a maximum income limit. Applicants are selected from the wait list based off of the time/date of their application and applicable preferences. There is a preference for applicants who are working a minimum of 32 hours per week for the same company for the last six months, are 62 years of age or older, or are disabled. Persons with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations in the application process.
Thai Magic Touch Relaxing Swedish massage I offer sensual massage and relaxing, stress releasing with my hand Magic soft touch Open 7 days a from 9-6pm 60min /120$. cash only. Tip welcome. Please call at least half hour in advance, no text messages, no private of blocked calls will not be accepted. No AA. Call: 703-587-4683 In call only, easy parking and shower available 22304
VETERANS bring me your written denial and lets get to work on your claim. Contact Effi e Forde, Esq. by calling 202-508-1483. I am conveniently located at the Farragut North Metro Station.
Print & Web Classified Packages may be placed on our Web site, by fax, mail, phone, or in person at our office: 734 15th Street, NW Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20005. Commercial Ads rates start at $20 for up to 6 lines in print and online; additional print lines start at $2.50/ FIND YOUR line (vary by section). Your print ad OUTLET. RELAX, placement will include web placement UNWIND, REPEAT plus up to 10 photos online. Premium CLASSIFIEDS options available for both print HEALTH/MIND, and web may vary. BODY & SPIRIT http://www.washingt-
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GM seeks M to rent bedroom and bath in townhouse located in Arlington’s Adams Mill neighborhood. $785 rent includes all utilities, maid service, premium cable, WIFI, W/D,kitchen access. Monthly lease but looking for a one year informal commitment. $375 security deposit. Employment and credit check. No smoking, no pets, no drugs, no weapons. 703-727-6029. Capitol Hill Living: Furnished Rooms for short-term and longterm rental for $1,100! Near Metro, major bus lines and Union Station - visit website for details www.TheCurryEstate.com
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Computer/Technical SEO Manager w/ Carfax, Inc. (Centreville, VA) Develop SEO roadmaps, incl. recs on site structure & link ops. Req’s Bach in IT, Comp Apps, or CS & 5 yrs. post-Bach’s SEO exp which must include: XML sitemaps, Schema markups, SEO & e-commerce team mgmt. exp., dvlpmt of search engine mktg strategies, identifi cation & resolution of coding & usability issues cross platform, linking strategies, web positioning, enterprise SEO s/ware, site moves/merges incl. 301s, canonicalization, creative SEO ideation, SEO analysis reporting, on-page & off-page SEO optimization, mobile & tablet SEO, Google Analytics, SEO budgeting. Must hold Brightedge Professional cert. All applicants subject to full bkgd check. Send resumes: T. Winesett, CARFAX 5860 Trinity Pkwy, Ste. 600, Centreville, VA 20120 Software Engineer SME. Synergetic Computing, Inc. seeking engineer to perform backend and frontend Java development, including web services, jar files, Java beans, servlets. Assist in IT infrastructure plans, create technical design, develop software. Occasional visits to client sites in Wash. D.C. metro area. Telecommute position. Resume to: 13704 Dry Run Rd, Clear Spring, MD 21722 CSZNet Inc. seeks Software Developer - Must have MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent. Worksite: Washington, DC. Apply: HR@ csznet.com
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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ADVERTISING SALES Washington City Paper has an immediate opening for an outside sales position responsible for selling and servicing our advertising and media partner clients across our complete line of marketing solutions including print advertising in Washington City Paper, digital/online advertising on washingtoncitypaper.com and across our Digital Ad Network, as well as event sponsorship sales. In addition to selling and servicing existing accounts, Account Executives are responsible for generating and selling new business revenue by finding new leads, utilizing a consultative sales approach, and making compelling presentations. You must have the ability to engage, enhance, and grow direct relationships with potential clients and identify their advertising and marketing needs. You must be able to prepare and present custom sales presentations with research and sound solutions for those needs. You must think creatively for clients and be consistent with conducting constant follow-up. Extensive in-person & telephone prospecting is required. Your major focus will be on developing new business through new customer acquisition and selling new marketing solutions to existing customer accounts. Account Executives, on a weekly basis, perform in person calls to a minimum of 10-20 executive level decision makers and/or small business owners and must be able to communicate Washington City Papers value proposition that is solution-based and differentiates us from any competitors. Account Executive will be responsible for attaining sales goals and must communicate progress on goals and the strategies and tactics used to reach revenue targets to Washington City Paper management. Qualifications, background, and disposition of the ideal candidate for this position include:
Out with the old, In with the new Post your listing with Washington City Paper Classifieds http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/
â&#x20AC;˘ Two years of business to business and outside customer sales experience â&#x20AC;˘ Experience developing new territories & categories including lead generation and cold calling â&#x20AC;˘ Ability to carry and deliver on a sales budget â&#x20AC;˘ Strong verbal and written communication skills â&#x20AC;˘ Able to work both independently and in a team environment â&#x20AC;˘ Energetic, self-motivated, possessing an entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic â&#x20AC;˘ Organized, detail and results oriented with professional presentation abilities â&#x20AC;˘ Willing to embrace new technology and social media â&#x20AC;˘ MS Office suite proficiency - prior experience with a CMR/CMS software application â&#x20AC;˘ Be driven to succeed, tech savvy, and a world class listener â&#x20AC;˘ Enjoy cultivating relationships with area businesses We offer product training, a competitive compensation package comprised of a base salary plus commissions, and a full array of benefits including medical/dental/life/disability insurance, a 401K plan, and paid time off including holidays. Compensation potential has no limits â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we pay based on performance. For consideration please send an introduction letter and resume to Melanie Babb at mbabb@washingtoncitypaper.com. No phone calls please.
washingtoncitypaper.com May 12, 2017 35
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