CITYPAPER Washington
Free VoLume 36, no. 35 wAshingtoncitypAper.com Aug. 26–sept. 1, 2016
District line: LAnier’s record on community poLicing 7 fooD: weLcoming deAf diners 21 arts: A mAss guitAr ensembLe 25
Adrian James used to be a hero cop. when he lost his badge, he became a crack-smoking crook and an informant in a murder case implicating a marion barry aide.12 By Ruben Castaneda photogrAphs by dArrow montgomery
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2 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
INSIDE
Property 12 ExtinguishEd Virgin? carEEr
The untold story of former hero cop Adrian James By Ruben Castaneda Photographs by Darrow Montgomery
4 Chatter DistriCt Line
7 Community Disengagement Critics say outgoing Police Chief Cathy Lanier has dealt a blow to neighborhood policing 9 Unobstructed View 10 Buy D.C. 11 Gear Prudence
D.C. FeeD
21 Young & Hungry: Deaf diners shouldn’t feel limited to Northeast D.C. 23 Brew in Town: Milkhouse Homestead Hefeweizen 23 ‘Wiching Hour: All Purpose’s Crispy Eggplant & Mozzarella
arts
25 Art of Noise: Andras Fekete is D.C.’s musical madman 27 Film: Olszewski on Southside With You and My King 28 Galleries: Capps on “Light Wishes Only To Be Land” at the Arlington Arts Center
City List
31 City Lights: Milemarker brings its next-level posthardcore to Rock & Roll Hotel. 31 Music 35 Books 36 Theater 37 Film
Get Our Guide to DC’s 1st Time Buyer Programs Here:
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38 CLassiFieDs Diversions 39 Crossword
“Acting as a security guard or scarecrow, that’s not community policing.” —Page 7
Voted Best of DC 2014, 2015 + 2016
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CHATTER Art Forum
TIME TRAVEL TO
It was apt that most of the reader response to last week’s cover story by Kriston Capps (“Art Blanche,” Aug. 19), which explored how D.C. museums have embraced social media-friendly exhibitions, was shared via Twitter. The Twitter account for Lord Cultural Resources (@ LordCultural), which offers museum and cultural planning services, affirmed the notion that visitors love Instagram-friendly installations: NEAR ANNAPOLIS, IN CROWNSVILLE, MD “If there’s one thing social mediasavvy visitors like, it’s a big, Kids 15 & Under admitted photogenic exhibition.” Tyler Wyant (@twyant) offered FREE August 27 & 28th! this observation: “Threequarters of a million people saw ‘Wonder’ at the Renwick, which is how long the lines felt.” City Paper contributor Margaret Carrigan (@ reallifemaggie) wrote, “My fave part of @kristoncapps’s review of ‘Icebergs’ is that it’s also another review of the Renwick’s ‘Wonder.” She continued, “but also, there’s this very important nugget of info that we need to talk abt more: ‘Spectacle is an economic condition of art.’” To which Robert Bettmann (@rbett) responded, “Is that new, or has it always been that way. I’d suggest: increasingly. Result of democratization of the media?” Capps also got some Twitter love from DCist editor-in-chief Rachel Sadon (@Rachel_Sadon): “Leave it to @kristoncapps to write the thoughtful piece on art-as-spectacle in D.C. that I’ve been looking for.” Meanwhile, we were surprised by this one: The
Twitter account for the federal government’s website on disability policies and programs (@Disabilitygov) tweeted a link to food editor laura hayes’ piece about how patrons are increasingly faking their pets’ status as service animals to bring them into bars and restaurants. (In, er, service to the story, Hayes paid $79 to register her imaginary pooch Miss Piggy as a certified emotional support dog. It only took four minutes.) But enough self-congratulation. City Paper remains Enemy No. 1 with Adams Morgan neighborhood activists who are trying to save the SunTrust bank plaza from redevelopment. “This is why City Paper’s readership is in decline,” wrote Chris otten, who remains livid about CP’s Aug. 12 piece “Plaza-ble Deniability.” “Your staff won’t do the research and just blurts out what the developers tell them. It’s amazing!” —Liz Garrigan
Maryland Renaissance Festival
Reduced n io Admiss h August 27th - October 23rd throug ! h Sats, Suns & Labor Day Mon Sept 11t 10 am - 7 pm Rain or Shine
EN d O P ylan
Mar
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department of Corrections: In last week’s cover story (“Art Blanche”), we mistakenly characterized seasonal attendance figures for the Hirshhorn as annual figures. Annual attendance is about 700,000 visitors.
40TH SEASON
! T U Y A R D a n c e Fe
In which readers finally realize we’re just shills for developers
s t i va l . c o
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Want to see your name bold on this page? Send letters, gripes, clarifications, or praise to editor@washingtoncitypaper.com.
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6 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
DistrictLine
Community Disengagement By Jeffrey Anderson As Police chief Cathy Lanier stood beside Mayor Muriel Bowser at police headquarters last week to announce her retirement from the force, the mayor rattled off familiar accolades: a 23 percent drop in violent crime since 2007, deep community ties, a feeling of safety among D.C. residents and tourists. “One thing I don’t think Cathy gets enough credit for is developing talent,” Bowser added, eschewing formality and foreshadowing the next chief. (Bowser this week named Assistant Chief Peter Newsham as interim chief.) Then Lanier, who is masterful at working a room, fielded questions from the media. “What was your low point?” a television reporter asked. “When children or the elderly are victims of crime,” she replied. “What’s been your biggest challenge?” another asked. “My biggest challenge has been the press,” she said to mawkish laughter. Asked about reports of officers expressing joy at her departure, and claims by Black Lives Matter activists of inadequate policing in troubled neighborhoods, she ignored the latter and dismissed the former with a boast of receiving hundreds of laudatory texts. Such disarming responses, Lanier’s critics say, have allowed her to obscure the state of the department she leaves behind. Now, as Bowser selects a successor, the mayor has to decide: Does she want the rigid, top-down bureaucracy that Lanier’s detractors decry, or an engaged, proactive police force that citizens want. Lanier is credited with continuing reforms— initiated by her predecessor Charles Ramsey—of a department known for excessive force. She has avoided major scandal, and integrated the Metropolitan Police Department with federal agencies. It is a professional, bigcity police force. That’s the view from on high. On the ground, the story is different. In July, City Paper reported that more than 800 officers have left MPD since 2014, many via resignation after less than five years. Currently, MPD is approved for 4,300 officers,
but there are only about 3,750. Fewer than 3,500 sworn members have the rank of sergeant or below, according to Gregg Pemberton, treasurer of the Fraternal Order of Police. Of the FOP’s members, Pemberton estimates that fewer than 3,000 patrol the city’s streets, and that the department is having trouble covering shifts. Although Lanier has cited a retirement bubble due to a late 1980s hiring push, officer morale has become a problem. A Bowser administration official says the department is expanding a senior officer program that brings detectives and investigators back from retirement, and a cadet program that offers educational incentives to District high school students and pays for their associate degrees. The official says competition in the labor market is a significant hurdle. According to news reports, Bowser’s people are also concerned that high-ranking officers will depart. Whatever the causes of attrition, manpower is at the nexus of an issue that concerns everyone from the D.C. Council, to rank-and-file officers, to D.C. residents: community relations. Lanier is known for showing up at community meetings, emoting and reassuring concerned citizens. Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, sees much that Lanier has done right but is concerned about a lack of meaningful officer visibility. “We talk a lot about community policing, but real community policing involves officers on the beat who are known in the neighborhood,” Cheh says. “That means getting out of police cars and deployed on the street.”
Darrow Montgomery
Outgoing Police Chief Cathy Lanier may be credited with deep community ties, but critics say she’s dealt a blow to neighborhood policing.
Community policing is a nebulous concept, Pemberton says, but by whatever definition, Lanier’s policies have served to maintain visibility at the expense of allowing officers to go out and prevent crimes. He points to Lanier’s reliance on “fixed post” details, which require officers to remain in designated areas—either on foot or in their cars—and go into service only upon a call or approval from a dispatcher. “Acting as a security guard or a scarecrow, that’s not community policing, and we’ve been say-
ing it for the last three years,” he says. Teri Janine Quinn, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Ward 5, says she’d like to see Lanier’s policies “tweaked not scrapped.” She doesn’t want a “feel-good approach” that just pushes crime to another area. “If you’ve got big white vans everywhere, you’re not doing anything you might be doing somewhere else,” she says. Lanier addressed the issue of visibility recently at the scene of the July shooting death of Democratic National Committee staff-
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 7
DistrictLine er Seth Rich. She told DCist that a police car posted near the scene of the crime was for purposes of visibility, but that she had no plans to maintain around-the-clock “stationary posts.” Said Lanier, “Stationary posts are not that effective, honestly. The criminals know where you are.” Asked to clarify Lanier’s remarks, a spokesman says that “stationary posts” are prohibited, but he did not respond to requests to delineate such assignments from “fixed post” assignments. Former MPD Det. Joe Belfiore, a 13-year veteran, says there’s no meaningful distinction for purposes of making the public safe, and that Lanier was simply caught in an unguarded moment. But if she really believes such practices are not effective, she should own it, he says. “I think the public would respect her honesty about that and I know that officers would. “ Pemberton says there are disciplinary consequences for leaving either a fixed or stationary post, and that Lanier has adopted a “finger-in-the-dike” approach that prevents real police work and hinders recruitment and retention. He says MPD has painted itself into a corner where it cannot keep the officers it has trained or compete for new talent. He points to
job satisfaction and salary. MPD offers a relatively high starting salary of $55,000 a year, he says. “But when you get to your five-year step increase, we’re behind Montgomery County and Fairfax County. It’s a bait and switch. Recruits are getting paid, getting trained, then their dream job comes along and they’re out of here.” At that point, Pemberton says, the department must lower its standards to replenish the workforce, which hearkens to the hiring glut of the late 1980s. “That’s not how to run a department,” he says. Such differences feed the narrative that Lanier is simply at odds with a recalcitrant union. Unresolved grievances, pending arbitrations, and a court appeal over retroactive salary increases suggest both sides have dug in their heels. Lanier appeared to seize the upper hand in January when FOP members elected a new chairman, Sgt. Matthew Mahl, who has struck a conciliatory tone. But the transition resulted in bad optics and a fractured union: City Paper reported last month that Lanier gave Mahl a $40,000, fully equipped scout car—after the union already bought him an unmarked vehicle—and Mahl has been reticent to challenge the de-
partment. (Mahl’s members forced him to return the vehicle.) He didn’t respond to calls for comment. Last Saturday, City Paper visited the Northeast neighborhood where police recently shot and killed 63-year-old Sherman Evans after he refused to drop what appeared to be a rifle but ended up being a BB gun. Police cars and news trucks swarmed the pocket of brick apartments in Pleasant Hill the night of the shooting, but they haven’t been around since then, residents say. In the building across from where Evans lived, 62-year-old The Nguyen says that in five years he has never seen police in the neighborhood, which he describes as robberyfree but frequented by “people who run by and shoot but who are not from here.” He laughs at one exception: “They come by every night to write parking tickets.” A young woman named Jackie says as she gets into her car that she doesn’t feel safe, not because of the Evans shooting but because of random gunfire. “You could be out anytime and get shot,” she says. Asked about police presence since Evans died, she replies, “No, I don’t see them anymore.” In the alley, 20-year-old Herbert says he
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only sees police when they drive through the neighborhood every so often. “They’ll come if someone calls,” he says, confirming Jackie’s account of frequent gunfire. His friend Justin, who is 18, shakes his head vigorously when asked if he ever sees police in the neighborhood interacting with the community. Lanier has faced the harshest criticism east of the Anacostia River. Ronald Williams Jr., 35, a sixth-generation Washingtonian who is trying to establish a seafood business in Ward 8, rates MPD a “one” for community engagement, on a scale of zero-to-10. “[Police] need to meet people where they are,” Williams says. Longtime residents have seen chiefs come and go. Benjamin Thomas, 93, has lived in the same house in Ward 7’s Benning Ridge since 1958. “I don’t think we’ve seen a police officer around here for months,” says Thomas, a regular at ANC and Sixth Police District Advisory Council meetings. “Even when they do come past, they don’t interact with the community without getting approval first.” Which is a shame, because Thomas is observant and engaged. “I like to know what’s going on in the ward because I don’t get any information from the newspaper.” CP
UNOBSTRUCTED
VIEW
Buckner’s Basketball Diaries By Matt Terl CandaCe BuCkner has encountered a few surprises since arriving in D.C. as the Washington Post’s new Wizards beat writer. Some of these, like discovering that all the Smithsonian museums are free, have been pleasant, if tangential, to her career. But there’s a big one that could not be more relevant. “My introduction to [Wizards] fans was just their utter disappointment,” Buckner says. “I’m just surprised, because as an outsider I never viewed the Wizards as this chronically underachieving franchise.” It’s a refreshing perspective in what is perpetually a hangdog basketball town. It’s not that Buckner is unfamiliar with the team or its management. She came to the Post earlier this month from the Indianapolis Star, where she covered the Indiana Pacers, and she spent some time at the Vancouver Columbian covering the Portland Trail Blazers before that. So she’s seen the local team and their fans from the visiting media seats in the Verizon Center press box, most notably during the Pacers/Wizards second-round playoff series in 2014. “I saw the Verizon Center … I don’t know if it was packed, but it was energetic,” she recalls. “I saw these two young guys forming a backcourt that I thought was going to be the best in the league in no time.” She expected sustained improvement from the Wizards and was somewhat surprised to see them falter last year. “I thought, too much talent, they’re gonna sneak into the eighth seed. Never happened.” From her vantage point outside the bubble of D.C. sports neuroses, it was a disappointing but ultimately forgettable dip. And then the Post called. She accepted the position, announced it on social media, and immediately discovered a fan base with a chip on its shoulder the size of the Pentagon. She was reminded that the team hadn’t had a 50-win season since the Carter administration. Many asked when she’d be writing a “Fire Ernie Grunfeld” piece. Fans enjoy wallowing in their misery, but this seemed a bit much, she says. “It’s like, really? Is he doing that poor of a job? When I first got on the Pacers beat, that team—the Wizards—did make it to the second round two years in a row, so I didn’t think it was that terrible.”
With the Wizards preseason still more than a month away, the Post’s plans for the beat are still in process, but Buckner has been penning offseason NBA pieces and contributing to the Post’s Olympics coverage. Perhaps her most striking work to date is a blend of reporting and first-person opinion about gymnast Gabby Douglas and how black women feel about their hair. The controversy struck a deep nerve with Buckner, the only African-American woman covering the NBA beat. “I’m part of the problem,” she says. “Although I’m not talking about her hair, I’m part of the community that’s way too concerned about my appearance.” It was a surprisingly personal public introduction. “For one of my first pieces, I wasn’t expecting it to be a first-person perspective, but to have that opportunity and that platform is kinda mind-blowing,” Buckner says. She says she has encountered no harassment in the locker room and in fact believes being a woman in that context actually has its advantages. “I’m not a psychiatrist, but sometimes men feel more open to talking about personal things to a woman than they are to a man,” she says. As the Douglas piece suggests, Buckner is unafraid of sensitive issues. “The people that follow me know that I have no problems talking about blackness, talking about race, talking about society’s problems,” she says. “I just think that in this city, this diverse, culturally mixed, progressive city, I think—I hope!—the feeling is that people will like the complexities and the layers, and they won’t just say, ‘Aw, she’s just out here for the black cause’ or ‘She’s a race baiter.’ I’m not. But if I happen to bring up the fact that I am black, I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem here.” Buckner, a St. Louis native, seems to have a deep and genuine fondness for D.C., and has taken a two-pronged approach to learning her new home, visiting a different neighborhood each week and asking her Twitter followers to recommend places to go and see. It’s not unlike how she plans to tackle the Wizards beat. “It’s always good to have somebody who understands your fan base, somebody who may even be from the area,” she says, “but I like coming in with fresh eyes and hopefully telling stories that haven’t been told before.” CP
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10 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
Gear Prudence Gear Prudence: I’m thinking about getting a bike so I can ride with my kids. They’re not old enough to ride their own bikes, plus I’m a little queasy about letting them ride in traffic. I want a cargo bike, but there appear to be two types (the one where they ride up front and the one where they ride in the back) and I don’t know which is better. Any advice? —Can Anyone Recommend Good Option? Dear CARGO: GP doesn’t have a lot of personal experience with cargo bikes or biking with kids, for that matter. But it does seem like there’s been an explosion in popularity over the past few years as more parents decide that bicycling their kids around makes more sense than abandoning them in the forest or loading them into the tragically unhip family minivan. What makes biking alone appealing also applies to biking with kids: avoiding traffic, not worrying about parking, saving gas, getting some exercise, and maybe even enjoying your travels. Plus, some avowed car-free folks don’t want to capitulate just because they made the decision to procreate. Cargo bikes, in this regard, make a lot of sense. But where to put the youngins? Up front where you can keep on eye on them, or in back where you don’t have to? According to Loren Copsey, co-owner of The Daily Rider, there are a few factors to consider before buying either type of cargo bike. With the kids up front, it’s easier to carry on a regular conversation. Also, they sit closer to the ground with this option, lowering the center of gravity on the bike and helping to stabilize it. But the killer difference is the versatility. “After kid duties are finished, this is a great bike for picking up drywall or five bags of mulch or your entire week’s worth of groceries,” Copsey says. “It can be done on the longtails, but it just takes more doing.” Longtails, where the kids sit in the back, ride more or less like standard bikes. You can either buy bikes that are pre-built or invest in conversion kits that transform regular bikes into cargos. Kids sit in the back, either straddling the bike or in a kid’s seat. Longtails have other key benefits, says Gillian Burgess of Kidical Mass Arlington. “They are easier to store at home and to park at racks,” she says. “Some are even light enough to maneuver up and down a few stairs.” Additionally, they’re generally priced much lower than frontloaders. You might find one second-hand for even less. Kids are expensive enough. In either case, go for a test ride. Remember to bring your kids. It’s a pretty big investment, both in money and in lifestyle, so take your time and get it right. —Gear Prudence Gear Prudence is Brian McEntee, who tweets @sharrowsDC. Got a question about bicycling? Email gearprudence@washcp.com.
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washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 11
Adrian James used to be a hero cop. When he lost his badge, he became a crack-smoking crook and an informant in a murder case implicating a Marion Barry aide.
By Ruben Castaneda
Photographs by Darrow Montgomery 12 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
On a summer day in 1995, Adrian James, a onetime hero cop turned disgraced felon, was hanging out in his old police beat in the Bloomingdale neighborhood with two men in their twenties. He’d met one of them, Rob, 15 or so years earlier, when James was a highly respected Metropolitan Police Department officer and the man was just a kid. Once a wiry athlete, James was showing the beginnings of a middle-age paunch, but his mind remained sharp. He remembered Rob because when the young man was a pre-teen, he had been a terrific basketball player recruited by local high schools. As James tagged along, Rob and his pal began talking about a recent kidnapping and murder. Rob’s friend said he was related to one of the perps—a guy named Roach Brown. “Rob’s friend said Roach Brown was part of it,” James recalls now. Rob’s friend also mentioned that Brown was in serious debt—and that he worked for Mayor
Marion Barry. The man said Brown “worked right down the hall from the mayor, and he kept a gun in one desk drawer and drugs in another,” James recalls. James had never heard of Brown, who was a convicted murderer and former gangster. James listened and took mental notes but asked no questions. As a cop, he’d been good at blending into the background and observing. Neither man explicitly said how he knew about the abduction turned homicide. James didn’t get the impression that the men had been involved in the crime or had talked to Brown directly. “If they were related [to Roach], they could have heard it from another relative,” James says. The ex-cop’s gut and experience told him the information was credible. “If I had still been on the police depart-
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 13
ment, I would have taken them to homicide so detectives could get a statement.” At that point, James had been working for about three years as a confidential, unregistered informant for Police Capt. William “Lou” Hennessy, a friend and former colleague. Later that day, James called Hennessy—who headed the homicide squad—to share his tip. Hennessy immediately matched the tip to the abduction and killing of Carlton “Zack” Bryant, a veteran gambler known to have copious amounts of cash. Before that day, James had never heard of Roach Brown, but Hennessy had: Brown was a veteran D.C. gangster. James’ crime tips had always panned out, Hennessy says. He wrote up the ex-cop’s information in two separate investigative documents. The tip would lead to one of the messiest episodes in MPD history. Within a few months, Hennessy—arguably the department’s most successful homicide commander ever—was ousted from his post by Barry’s police chief, who smeared Hennessy in off-the-record remarks to reporters, claiming that the captain was the target of a criminal grand jury investigation, an outright fabrication. With Hennessy
out of homicide, no one investigated Brown in connection with the Bryant homicide. The captain’s two investigative documents mysteriously disappeared from the police file on the case. And James’ life as a valuable confidential informant evaporated. Until the publication of this article, James has never been publicly identified as Hennessy’s informant. nOw 61, James looks every day his age. His face is generously lined, and his once lean 5-foot-9 frame supports a middle-age gut. What little hair he still has is flecked with gray. He takes medication now and then for schizophrenia, and to help him sleep. James could easily be mistaken for a retiree on the homestretch of a publicly uneventful life. But he has been a hero cop who earned, by his count, more than 40 commendations. He’s been a police pariah, an armed crack-smoking bandit, a convict, and a trusted informant who provided leads that closed about two dozen felonies, including a handful of homicides. “I was a Billy Badass,” James says matter-of-factly during one of more than three dozen interviews. James says he believes the MPD fired him
14 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
“I thought I got the screws as far as the police department. Nobody knew about PTSD back then. I thought it was wrong that the police department turned its back on me, didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt.” —Adrian James unfairly in 1984, that he is not responsible for his felonious behavior because he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, when he provided drugs to a girlfriend, which led to his ouster. “I thought I got the screws as far as the police department,” James says. “Nobody knew about PTSD back then. I thought it was wrong that the police department turned its back on me, didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt.” James is not much for introspection. Aside from expressing anger—at the police chief who fired him, at the federal prosecutor who tried his drug case, at the deceased internal affairs
investigator who arrested him—James has a difficult time conveying emotion. He admits his past crack use and robberies. But he dodges responsibility, and isn’t contrite. About his bad choices and behavior, James blames PTSD, with which he was diagnosed more than 10 years after his firing. “I lost perspective on what had happened to me,” James says. “I had a simple life: Policing, chasing girls, playing basketball. Losing the job left a big void. After I got fired, I just lost it. I just thought it was unfair. … So I thought, ‘Fuck it, I’m going to do what they said I was doing.’ I was angry, pissed off. I got a rotten ap-
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Jacob Riis: Revealing “How the Other Half Lives” is a co-presentation of the Library of Congress and the Museum of the City of New York Made possible by generous support from the Library of Congress Third Century Fund; Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik’s Foundation; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Danish Ministry of Culture, and Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces; The Royal Danish Embassy; and The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Jacob Riis
Thomas Jefferson Building 10 First Street, SE Washington, DC
Revealing “How the Other Half Lives” A Library of Congress Exhibition
April 14–September 5, 2016
Monday–Saturday 8:30 a.m–4:30 p.m.
Journalist Jacob Riis’s stories and photographs of the impoverished conditions of New York City tenements helped spur modern social reform. www.loc.gov/exhibits
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 15
James and his three brothers—Adrian was the second oldest—grew up in Paradise Manor, a sprawling housing complex in deep Northeast, between the Anacostia River and Interstate 295. James didn’t see much of his father, who was often in trouble with the law. When James was a young boy, his father was incarcerated for several years on a burglary charge. An uncle, who stole safes, also served time. In 1972, as he prepared to graduate from Eastern Senior High School, James took an aptitude test provided by an MPD recruiter. He had no college plans, and he’d be needing a steady job after graduation. He did well on the test and became an MPD cadet. In November 1974, James was sworn in as an MPD officer and assigned to the 5th District, which included some of the toughest sections of Northwest and Northeast D.C. James was a good young cop. He got to know Hennessy, also a young 5th District (5D) officer, and in short order the two became what MPD cops call “10 percenters”—the relatively small group who made as much as 90 percent of the department’s arrests. James recalls Hennessy showing him how giving guys on the street a break on small offenses—like smoking a joint on the porch—built credibility and equity. The guy you didn’t haul away for a misdemeanor might later offer information about a felony. “I saw the value in it,” James says. James evolved from a good officer to a great one when he partnered with Charlie Miller for three years beginning in 1976, Hennessy recalls. By the time Miller retired in 1993, fellow cops widely considered him one of MPD’s top narcotics officers. And Miller himself had nothing but respect for James. “He was young,” Miller says now. With his big, wire-rim prescription eyeglasses and wiry build, James didn’t look formidable. “He looked like Urkel,” Miller adds, referring to the Family Matters sitcom character. “He was a little guy, but he had the heart of a lion. I knew if I went through a door into trouble, either both of us were coming out alive together, or we’d both die together. I trusted him more than my own brother. I love that man. Let me tell you something, he was good. Adrian James was 1,000 percent police. He was worth taking the time to teach.” As the 1970s gave way to a new decade, James had the respect of his fellow officers but was not well known outside of the police department. That would soon change.
Courtesy of Adrian James
ple deal. I felt betrayed, lied to.” Asked if he regrets his criminal behavior, he answers, “No, I regret that the police department didn’t get me help for PTSD when I needed it.” “Adrian’s never been a bad person,” says Hennessy, now a Maryland District Court judge. “He’s just a guy who made very poor decisions. If he was a bad guy, I wouldn’t have had anything to do with him.” Hennessy understands why James’ life fell apart once the MPD fired him. “He felt he’d lost everything meaningful in his life. He felt he had nothing to lose, and people are dangerous when they feel they have nothing to lose.”
James was a good young cop. In short order he became what MPD cops call “10 percenters”—the relatively small group who made as much as 90 percent of the department’s arrests. On Feb. 11, 1980, MPD Officer Arthur P. Snyder and his partner were manning an observation post in the 2000 block of 14th Street NW, between U and V streets, on the lookout for hand-to-hand drug deals. Today, that area is one of the more vibrant in the city, chock full of new restaurants, coffee shops, and gleaming apartment buildings, populated by well-off young professionals. But in 1980, that part of 14th Street was a major drug market. Hustlers plied their trade openly, selling heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamines out of the boarded-up ruins of buildings that had housed grocers, hardware stores, and dry cleaners before the 1968 riots. “You’d go out there anytime, there’d be 200, 300 people out there to buy drugs, daytime and nighttime, weekdays and weekends,” Hennessy recalls. Snyder and his partner saw a drug sale go down, called for backup, and Snyder went after the suspected dealer on foot. Snyder, who was in uniform, told his partner there’d be no problem, he knew the guy. The hustler—Bruce Wazon Griffith—was known as “Reds,” because of his light complexion. He was a garden-variety neighborhood slinger. As Snyder approached Griffith, someone on the street called out “Mickey Mouse comin’,” Snyder’s nickname. Griffith pulled out a pistol and fired. One bullet struck Snyder’s belt buckle, a second his bullet-resistant vest. Snyder fell to the ground, unconscious. Griffith then stood over Snyder, shot him in the head, and ran. The audacious killing rocked the MPD and
16 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
stunned much of the city. In the eight days after the murder, the Washington Post published at least six front-page articles related to the attack. It had been nearly three years since a D.C. cop was killed in the line of duty. Law enforcers streamed onto city streets, looking for the killer. Virtually every MPD officer on the force hunted for Griffith, along with U.S. Park Police, Capitol Police, officers from suburban Maryland and Virginia, and agents from the FBI, DEA, and ATF. They raided the homes of Griffith’s relatives, friends, girlfriends, and criminal associates. They hunted him in nightclubs and alleys. Two days after the killing, James and partner Bob Lanham were on their beat in Bloomingdale when a teenager discreetly asked James if he was looking for Griffith. James had arrested the adolescent a few years earlier for a burglary, and had urged leniency because the boy was contrite. The youth told James that Griffith would be on a particular street corner the next day. It was a classic example of what Hennessy had taught James: If you give non-violent offenders a break, some of them will help you solve big crimes. The next afternoon, with Lanham in the passenger seat and both cops dressed in plainclothes, James drove his 1978 gold-colored Toyota Celica into Bloomingdale and parked on a side street with his gun in his lap. Minutes later, a cab stopped near them on First Street. A man wearing a ski mask and goggles got out of the taxi. “He took his ski mask and goggles off and wiped his brow. I looked up with my binoculars and said, ‘That’s
him,’” James recalls. Griffith got back into the cab, which headed north. As Lanham radioed for backup, James followed, maybe 20 feet behind the taxi. Suddenly, a patrol car roared onto the block, lights flashing, siren screaming, and stopped just behind James’ Celica. No point in stealth now. “I jumped out and Bob jumped out, we took cover behind a parked car,” James says. “I took out my gun and said, ‘Come on out with your hands up, Griffith, I know it’s you!’” “The cab driver jumped out and rolled, like he was in a TV show,” James recalls. Griffith raised a gun and fired through the taxi’s back window, sparking a furious gun battle. James and Lanham were almost out of bullets when Griffith crawled out through the blown-out rear window and rolled off the taxi. “He came out blazing,” James says. “I was behind the parked car, waiting for him. He runs and turns to fire. He took only a couple of steps. I stepped out from behind the car in a crouch and let him have it. He dropped.” Griffith was dead. When James arrived at the 5D station that night, two dozen officers and a handful of commanders met him with a standing ovation. To many Washingtonians, and certainly his fellow cops, James was a hero. “Young officers looked up to him,” says Marcello Muzzatti, who joined 5D as a rookie in 1981. He retired in 2010 and later served as president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #1. In the months after he took down Griffith, James became even more zealous on the street, and took greater risks, Hennessy says. At the time, the MPD had no protocol requiring officers who had been involved in shootings or other serious incidents to receive counseling. “If I shot someone on a Tuesday, my sergeant would say go home and get drunk for three nights, then I’d be back at work by Friday,” says Charlie Miller, James’ former partner. A few months after the shootout, MPD made counseling mandatory for officers who’d used force that led to a death or a serious injury. The program has helped countless officers over the years, says Gary Hankins, who was chairman of the FOP’s labor committee and helped negotiate for the program. But it was not in place when James shot Reds Griffith. James earned the adulation of fellow officers and respect on the street. Then he sold drugs to an undercover policewoman. James had married in the late 1970s. By the early ’80s, the marriage was over. He became sexually involved with Velisa Clark, a stunning Howard University student. In 1982, someone broke into her Southwest D.C. apartment and stole $12,000, she told police. Clark named James as a potential suspect. She told officers that he gave her drugs, which led to internal affairs arresting James on felony drug charges. James denies that he stole Clark’s money, but he acknowledges he bought heroin, cocaine, and marijuana and sold them (unknowingly) to an undercover officer. His explanation seems fanciful. “She reached out to me for help,” James says, adding that Clark had told
him some of the stolen money belonged to an organized crime outfit in New Jersey. Clark told him that a hit man from New Jersey named Bob was going to come to D.C. to look into the stolen cash, and that she was afraid for her life, he says. He says she told him that Bob knew James was an officer—and that if James sold him drugs, Bob would believe he was a dirty cop. “It was a way to earn his trust,” James claims. James bought $240 worth of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, intending to sell it to Bob so he could position himself as crooked in Bob’s eyes, James explains. But Bob didn’t show up to the buy on Sept. 1, 1982. Instead, outside the Skyline Inn hotel on South Capitol Street SW, James met a woman whom Clark introduced as one of Bob’s friends. She was actually Gretchen Merkle, a U.S. Park Police officer working undercover as part of an internal affairs investigation. Sgt. Richard E. Caron arrested James the next month. In November 1982, the police department suspended James without pay, and he went on trial in D.C. Superior Court in January 1984. At least six well-respected D.C. police officers, including Hennessy and James’ old partner Charlie Miller, testified as character witnesses. “If you can prove to me that Adrian James sold drugs for profit, I would lay my arm in a paper cutter, and you could have it,” Miller told the jury. James testified that he bought the drugs as part of an undercover operation to protect Clark, who did not testify. (Efforts to reach Clark were unsuccessful.) The jury acquitted James. He expected that a police trial board would then clear him to return to duty. “I thought I’d earned the benefit of the doubt,” he says. But a few months after the acquittal, the trial board fired him, not for the drug allegations, but for running an unauthorized police operation, according to his lawyer in a later case. James says a friendly captain told him the trial board was prepared to clear him, but then-Chief Maurice T. Turner Jr. told them to find a reason to fire him. (Turner died in 1993.) James felt betrayed. Stripped of his badge, he didn’t just tumble into the life of a gangster: He took a running start and leaped. “They accused me of doing all these crimes I didn’t do. I may as well go out and do some,” James recalled telling Hennessy. Around this time, the crack cocaine epidemic ravaged D.C., unleashing a torrent of violence as dealers fought over turf. And the ex-cop who never smoked or used drugs became a crack-smoking armed bandit. in 1986, a woman friend who was using crack gave James his first hit. “It was a rush, it felt good,” he recalls. Initially, he used with his friend, smoking crack whenever she had some. Then he started using on his own, which meant he needed money. So he started robbing drug dealers. It started when James went to Mayfair Mansions, a sprawling apartment complex in deep Northeast, near his childhood home of Paradise Manor. One night, as James walked into the complex to visit his brother, a half dozen drug deal-
In November 1982, the police department suspended James without pay, and he went on trial in D.C. Superior Court in January 1984. At least six well-respected D.C. police officers, including Hennessy and James’ old partner Charlie Miller, testified as character witnesses. “If you can prove to me that Adrian James sold drugs for profit, I would lay my arm in a paper cutter, and you could have it,” Miller told the jury. ers quickly surrounded him, offering crack. James patted the gun tucked in his waistband and barked, “Get the fuck away from me.” The encounter tripped a wire in James’ mind. “Something told me this was a way for me to make money.” Before long, he figured out that many of the hustlers weren’t locals. “These guys didn’t know me,” he says. “They weren’t from the city. They were from Florida, St. Petersburg, Miami, New York City. Some were from North Carolina. I saw a lot of guys in Mayfair and Paradise with money signs on them. They were from out of town. They had no business fucking with my city.” They didn’t know him, so they couldn’t retaliate. James knew that drug dealers were unlikely to call police to report that someone had stolen their crack. One night at the complex, a dealer approached him. James suggested they go inside one of the buildings to make their transaction. James pulled out his gun and said, “Hand that over.” He says he usually wore a hoodie during his robberies, and sometimes hit his victims on the head with his gun “to get their attention. Once you get their attention, they’ll cooperate.” “I was robbing the hell out of those motherfuckers,” James says. Stripped of badge, service revolver, salary, and pension, James still had the skills acquired on the force, and put them to new use. He’d hang out in the complex, knowing how to blend in, sizing up potential targets. His brother helped by telling him where dealers lived. One day, James learned that a Jamaican dealer had just gotten a healthy shipment of cocaine delivered to an apartment in Mayfair. James knew the people in that unit, and talked his way in, intending to rob the hustler. But
before James could pull off the heist, a team of officers from the 6th District raided the apartment. James tossed his handgun, but police arrested him for illegal gun possession. The U.S. Attorney’s office chose not to prosecute. “That was my gun, but they couldn’t prove it,” James says, still angry that police charged him. His old partner Charlie Miller was by then a sergeant in 6D. He told an officer to uncuff James, then spoke with him. “Buddy, what’s going on with you?” Miller asked. “You were the best.” “I was trained by the best,” James replied. His former partner wouldn’t look him in the eye, Miller recalls. James kept sOme of the crack he jacked from dealers for his personal use. He gave some away to girlfriends or relatives, and sold some. “Usually to people I knew, like my brothers, and for less than I could have sold it for,” James says. “I wasn’t really a drug seller. I gave a lot of drugs away.” James committed dozens of robberies and made numerous small sales of crack without getting caught. His luck ran out on Dec. 2, 1986. A Drug Enforcement Administration agent arrested him and a girlfriend as they sat inside a car outside the main terminal of National Airport. The agent found 31 grams of cocaine inside James’ jacket and an illegal handgun. James was trying to make a cocaine delivery to a man named Bobby Shapiro, a friend of his girlfriend, federal court records show. Unknown to James, Shapiro was cooperating with the DEA and federal prosecutors. This time, the jury convicted James of cocaine possession with intent to distribute. James was sentenced to three years in prison. He remained free while he pursued an appeal, which was de-
nied, and began serving his sentence in August 1989. He served most of his time in a federal institution in Florida, and was released in December 1992. James lost touch with most of his fellow officers after the department fired him, but Hennessy remained a loyal friend. He would swing by in his patrol car to check on his former colleague and slip him $20 here, $50 there. Soon, James began giving Hennessy tips. “He’d tell me who was talking about a particular case, where we might find a gun used in a particular crime,” Hennessy says. James was providing information that Hennessy used to close cases—serious ones like armed robberies, attempted murders, assaults with a deadly weapon. James provided the information not because he saw it as a way to redeem himself, but because Hennessy had remained a friend, and because he had faith that his former colleague would follow through. At one point, James told Hennessy he knew who had committed a bank robbery, and identified a suspect from surveillance photos. The FBI locked her up, and James earned $500 in reward money. In September 1993, as citywide violence fueled by the crack trade was reaching its bloody apex, Hennessy assumed command of the homicide squad. By then, the District had earned its “nation’s murder capital” distinction and would finish the year with a then-record 454 killings, the vast majority drug-related. Hennessy revamped the way detectives investigated homicides. He assigned investigative teams to each of the seven police districts, and gave them a mandate to develop sources in their respective areas. The new approach worked. In September 1995, the Justice Department recognized the MPD homicide squad for maintaining a closure rate of more than 50 percent. It had typically lagged in the thirties before Hennessy assumed command. It seemed the MPD was stemming the bloody tide. Then James called Hennessy with his tip about Roach Brown. in late april 1995, someone abducted Carlton “Zack” Bryant, 59, from his home at gunpoint. Bryant’s family received a ransom demand soon afterward. Bryant was a legend among the city’s old-school hustlers and gangsters, and he was a prime target for a shakedown because he was known to have plenty of cash. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Bryant sold heroin and ran an illegal numbers racket. Though his relatives delivered $50,000 in cash, Bryant’s battered corpse was found near the Barry Farm public housing project three days after the kidnapping. Later that summer, James overheard Rob and Rob’s friend talk about Roach Brown’s alleged involvement in a kidnapping-murder. Hennessy immediately grasped the significance, because Brown wasn’t just any suspect. He was a veteran D.C. gangster who’d helped Marion Barry win back the mayor’s office after Barry served time for cocaine possession. In 1965, a judge had sentenced a young
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 17
Brown to life in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. Brown and three other defendants had beaten and fatally shot a man during a robbery. Brown admitted his part in the attack but denied shooting the victim. Nine years later, President Gerald Ford commuted Brown’s sentence from life to 30 years in prison, making him eligible for parole. He was released, and worked a series of jobs, including a production gig at a local TV station. Brown couldn’t stay out of trouble. In 1987, he started using crack and was caught selling cocaine to an undercover officer. About that time, he stole $45,000 from the Hillcrest Children’s Center, a charity for emotionally disturbed kids. He pleaded guilty to both offenses. The judge sentenced Brown to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay $45,000 in restitution. Brown caught another break in 1993, when authorities transferred him from federal prison to the D.C. Department of Corrections. He was supposed to serve the remaining 16 years on his murder conviction, court records show, but he was released on parole after only five months in D.C. custody. The next year, Brown worked on Barry’s 1994 mayoral campaign, organizing ex-offenders. Barry defeated incumbent Sharon Pratt Kelly and six other candidates in the Democratic primary and cruised to victory in the general election. Mayor Barry rewarded Brown with a $35,000-a-year job as director of the Office of Ex-Offender Affairs. At the time Bryant was kidnapped, Brown still owed significant restitution for his theft from the children’s charity. An MPD review of court files, Hennessy says, showed that Brown made a healthy payment just after Bryant was abducted and killed. A day or two after James called Hennessy with his tip about Roach Brown, the captain and his informant met at MPD headquarters. Hennessy took notes as James recounted what he’d heard. A few days later, James returned to headquarters, and Hennessy had him talk to the detective on the Zack Bryant murder case. Hennessy was so protective of James that he didn’t identify him by name to the investigator. In two documents, known within the MPD as 123s, Hennessy wrote up James’ tip and placed them in the case jacket. “My plan was to wire up Adrian and have him talk to the two people [Rob and Rob’s friend] again, to get them on tape,” Hennessy recalls. Detectives could then subpoena them to testify before a grand jury. But Hennessy never got the chance. That September, he learned from a police commander that Mayor Barry wanted to transfer him out of homicide. Hennessy asked interim police Chief Larry D. Soulsby if that was true, and Soulsby denied it. By late October, Hennessy had confirmed the rumor. On the day Barry held a news conference to announce that he was making Soulsby permanent chief—which gave Soulsby the authority to transfer commanders—James paged Hennessy. The two met at a hamburger place on New York Avenue NW. James had heard news of the transfer, and asked if it was
James dismisses the idea that he’s endangering his life by revealing his identity as an informant. “I don’t worry about things I can’t control,” he says. “I don’t worry about things that happened in the past. Besides, he’s gotta be older than me. He’s past grinning about getting away with it.” true. Yes, Hennessy replied. “Do you want me to kill him?” James asked. The ex-cop was so loyal, Hennessy thought he might really try to hit the chief. No, stay away from him, Hennessy replied. The press conference was an hour or so later. Soulsby announced a series of transfers but said nothing about Hennessy, the head of the homicide squad who was gaining national prominence. Afterward, I and two other reporters approached Soulsby. I asked what was happening in homicide. He was moving Hennessy to night patrol, Soulsby replied. “Sounds punitive,” I said. Soulsby, who did not respond to letters and phone calls asking for comment on this story, said he would elaborate only if the other two reporters and I agreed to go off the record. We did, and the chief lied, saying Hennessy was the target of a criminal grand jury investigation. I gave Soulsby a chance to back off, asking him if he might have misspoken. “I did not misspeak,” he insisted. I ran into Hennessy a few minutes later at MPD headquarters. He asked what Soulsby said about him. I hesitated for only a moment. True, I had agreed with Soulsby to go off the record. But those agreements assume both parties’ good faith. Soulsby had almost certainly lied to me and I knew it. As far as I was concerned, it voided our agreement. Still, I didn’t directly answer Hennessy’s question, responding instead with one of my own, whether he was the target of a grand jury. “That lyin’ son of a bitch!” Hennessy exploded. He later confronted Soulsby, raging at him for lying, an encounter he taped. Hennessy and the police department eventually reached an agreement: The captain would not testify against Soulsby at his confirmation hearing before the D.C. Council, and the chief would assign Hennessy to the training division, rather than night patrol, and leave him alone. The next spring, Hennessy ran into the detective assigned to the Bryant homicide and asked about the case. Your source was mistaken, the detective answered—it wasn’t Roach Brown, it was Roach Henry. Hennessy didn’t
18 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
press the detective because he was no longer head of homicide. But he checked on Roach Henry, and learned that he had a good alibi. The week that Bryant was kidnapped and killed, Henry had been busy dying of cancer— in prison. But Hennessy still called James just to double-check. James confirmed his sources had accused Brown. Hennessy arranged for a detective to let him see the Bryant murder file. His write-ups on James’ tip were gone. Someone was derailing the investigation from the inside, Hennessy suspected. The issue of Brown’s alleged involvement in the Bryant homicide emerged publicly in the fall of 1997. On Oct. 10, radio station WTOP aired an interview with James in which he recounted how he had obtained information that an unnamed mayoral aide had been involved in a kidnapping-murder. Reporter Paul Wagner (now with WTTG-Fox 5) did not identify James and had a station engineer disguise his voice to protect his identity. The same day, in testimony before the D.C. Council’s Judiciary Committee, Hennessy described how he was removed from the homicide unit after his informant provided information that a mayoral aide (whom Hennessy did not identify) had participated in Bryant’s kidnapping and killing. During that time, many people—including some of Bryant’s friends—thought he was behind the kidnapping and killing, Roach Brown says. “Word on the street was there was a contract out to kill me,” Brown recalls. After a Councilmember said the FBI should investigate Hennessy’s allegations, the police captain took two FBI agents to a jail in Tappahannock, Virginia, where James was incarcerated for missing an appointment with his probation officer. The agents interviewed James, but nothing came of it. Brown says that no investigator ever questioned him about the kidnapping-murder. “No FBI, no detective, no IRS,” he says. His name probably became the focus of the Bryant investigation because people mixed him up with Roach Henry, Brown claims, adding that he had attended Bryant’s funeral. In
fact, Brown says, Bryant was his cousin. (In 1997, Brown told Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy that Bryant was his friend.) “I didn’t have nothing to do with it,” he says. “I had no motive. I was in the political arena, in the mayor’s office. It was the pinnacle.” James dismisses the idea that he’s endangering his life by revealing his identity as an informant. “I don’t worry about things I can’t control,” he says. “I don’t worry about things that happened in the past. Besides, he’s gotta be older than me. He’s past grinning about getting away with it.” Brown tells City Paper that James “has nothing to worry about from me. Man, I’m 72 years old, in failing health. The only person I hurt is myself, getting out of the car.” Brown left the mayor’s office in 1997, and for the last several years has hosted a weekly radio show that focuses on prison reform and the rights of inmates and ex-cons. Hennessy earned a law degree, served briefly as a Maryland state delegate, and in 2005, took the oath of office to become a Maryland District Court judge. Soulsby resigned under a cloud of suspicion in November 1997, hours before MPD Lieutenant Jeffrey Stowe— the chief ’s best friend and roommate—was charged with extorting money from married men who frequented gay bars. James says that until I started asking him about it, he hadn’t thought of the Roach Brown episode in years. He dismisses Brown’s explanation that his accusers, at least one of whom was related to Brown, had confused him with Roach Henry. “I wouldn’t know it was a kidnapping unless someone told me,” James says. “I wouldn’t know [the suspect] worked for the mayor’s office unless someone told me.” tOday, James seems stuck in time, emotionally and mentally, an urban version of Rip Van Winkle squinting uncomprehendingly into the glare of a city transformed. He depends on SSI payments and lives in a subsidized apartment in a Southeast neighborhood where gunfire is common. He gets around on a bicycle and relies on public transportation and rides from friends. James has missed much of the dramatic renewal that the District has undergone in the last two decades. In a series of interviews, I drove James to the scenes of some of the most dramatic episodes of his life. He gawked at the changes in the Southeast neighborhood around Nationals Park, where in the early 1990s he hustled for a living, washing cars and passing out fliers for small money. When I took him to the Bloomingdale neighborhood he had once patrolled as a cop, he marveled at the throngs of white people. “There weren’t any white people here when I was a cop,” he marveled. “It’s sad,” Hennessy says. “Adrian peaked so early in his life. He reminds me of a top-notch athlete whose career was cut short by injury. He was phenomenal as a street cop. He had amazing sources, talent, and instincts.” Ruben Castaneda is a former Washington Post reporter and author of S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C. CP
Adopt a friend today!
FACTS ABOUT DOLLY PARTON
BREED: REDBONE COONHOUND MIX COLOR: RED/GOLDEN/ORANGE/CHESTNUT AGE: YOUNG, 1.5 YEARS SIZE: MED. 26-60 LBS (12-27 KG) SEX: FEMALE Dolly Parton’s Story...
MEET DOLLY PARTON
Dolly Parton is an approximately 1.5 year old Redbone Coonhound mix who was surrendered by her owners. She is missing her right front foot from a birth defect. Dolly Parton arrived in D.C. on July 28 and is settling into her foster home. Here is what Dolly's foster has to say about her: Dolly is a fantastic puppy friend. Even though she only has three paws, she loves to romp with all her friends. She has lots of energy and spunk. She is VERY strong-willed. When she is done with something (walking, bathing, eating, etc.) she makes sure you know, usually by laying down wherever is most convenient for her. She does get tired pretty quickly, so walks have to be limited. Depending on her energy level, she can go 1-3 blocks without a pretty significant break. She will lay down in the middle of the street/ sidewalk when she decides she's done. She's a snuggler and wants to be in the same room no matter what you're doing. She likes to watch out the window and chew on her rope toy. She loves to meet new friends, dog and human alike! She is very interested in the tiny humans she comes in contact with, and will snuggle and play with the regular sized humans all day. She also gets along well with cats! We are working hard on manners, including not jumping on new friends, sitting for treats/dinner, and laying down on command. She sits quietly in her crate, waiting for more play time. She's perfectly house trained. She only barks when she is ready for more play time/attention. Dolly really is a perfect companion. She has a strong personality, but is very eager to please. She can't wait to find her forever family!
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Toli Moli, the falooda stall at Union Market, will be a permanent fixture, and they’re adding cold noodle salads to the menu starting Aug. 30.
Sign of The Times By Laura Hayes &pizza founder Michael Lastoria says his rapidly expanding company wouldn’t be what it is today without the District’s deaf community. He’s not alone. Richard Brandenburg, the Director of Culinary Strategy for Edens, which operates Union Market, says deaf diners have been a phenomenal part of the market’s success. What these two have in common is that they share a zipcode with Gallaudet University—the nation’s preeminent school for the deaf and hard of hearing. Brandenburg even playfully characterizes Union Market as Gallaudet’s cafeteria, a luxury that can only be compared to Google’s New York crew getting to dine across the street at Chelsea Market. But despite &pizza’s address at 1118 H St. NE, Lastoria admits he initially didn’t consider the restaurant’s proximity to Gallaudet. “While we did a fair amount of research in the neighborhood, it was somewhat overlooked,” he says. That is, until the first eight customers arrived—all of them Gallaudet students, including local model and deaf activist Nyle DiMarco of Dancing with the Stars and America’s Next Top Model fame. “I realized they were signing to each other and that we could forge a strong bond— not because they were our first guests, but because they were pleased and thankful that we opened,” Lastoria says. The group gave &pizza a Gallaudet banner to hang, signaling deaf diners should feel at home. Lastoria’s goal was to build a pizza shop reflective of the community, so he quickly worked to make the ordering seamless by focusing on visual communication and basic sign language. While deaf diners can expect accommodating service at Union Market and H Street NE restaurants, other parts of the city may not be as prepared. At a time when D.C.’s dining scene is basking in national accolades from Bon Appetit and beyond, deaf diners shouldn’t feel limited to one quadrant. True, deaf diners face a number of unique challenges, but there are simple ways restaurants can adapt, and the reward is often repeat customers.
Young & hungrY
The biggest challenge is light—without it, people who rely on sign language can’t communicate. National Association of the Deaf CEO Howard A. Rosenblum says restaurants should seat deaf and hard of hearing diners in well-lit areas, or better yet, give deaf patrons control over where they roost. “Evening dining is a challenge when restaurants like to dim the lights,” he says. “Which is understandable but it isn’t so deaf friendly.” Keith Doane, who is getting his Masters in Public Administration at Gallaudet, agrees. “When they dim the lights for dinner, it’s like I was already struggling with light, now it’s worse,” he says through an interpreter. He compares the situation to scoring a quiet table that turns too noisy as the restaurant fills up. For a quick fix, offer deaf patrons extra candles or small LED lights. They enable deaf couples to be in control and still cozy up and converse during date night in a dark restaurant. Then there’s ordering. Servers should understand that all deaf diners are different. “Someone who can speak, but uses sign language to understand is very frequent—hearing and speaking don’t always have to do with each other,” exDiners sign during lunch plains Jennifer Heiser, the development at Union Market. specialist at Deaf-REACH. Hard of hearing herself, she consults restaurants on Another problem is that deaf diners often how to be deaf friendly. Geo Kartheiser is getting his doctorate miss out on deals. “When a group of us deaf in Educational Neuroscience at Gallaudet. people get together and it’s a lot of pointing, His boyfriend, Layton Seeber, is a graduate there’s no motivation for the server or barstudent there and helps coach the basketball tender to relay happy hour specials,” says team. The mega-foodies dine out three times Jason Almendarez, a Gallaudet graduate a week. “Sometimes Layton uses his voice to who bartends at H Street Country Club. place orders, but that doesn’t mean I want to,” “They’re like fine, just point and choose Kartheiser says. “I would like restaurants to [from the regular menu].” Four things can help when it comes to orknow that just because one deaf person at the table uses their voice, it doesn’t mean the rest dering and interacting with deaf diners, in addition to the basics like making eye contact: of the table wants to.” Restaurant staff should discuss orders with gesturing, paper and pens, a tablet such as an each diner, according to Rosenblum. “Too of- iPad, and employees who sign. Doane says willingness to gesture goes a ten restaurant staff may ask a person at the table who might be able to hear or speak to han- long way. He beams when describing a post– dle all of the food orders. While this may be camping trip meal from earlier this month, easier for restaurant staff, this is offensive to even though the destination was Denny’s. “The waitress was amazing at communicatdeaf and hard-of-hearing diners,” he says.
Darrow Montgomery
Deaf diners shouldn’t feel limited to D.C.’s Northeast quadrant.
ing with us visually because she was able to gesture, ‘do you want coffee?’” he says, explaining servers too often panic and dash to get a pen even though the request is straightforward. “Yes, I appreciate writing it down, but can’t we try to understand a simple sign for water or coffee?” That being said, paper and pens can be helpful when gesturing falls short. “You’ve probably played charades with your friends, and you had that one friend who was completely awful at the game. You never know, it’s hit or miss,” Almendarez says. Seeber agrees and says ideally, a server should arrive at the table with a pad of paper already containing a greeting. Seeber saves the notes from their dinners for sentimental value, going over them occasionally to remember a meal. “I understand that writing
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 21
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takes a bit longer than speaking, but the responsibility of the restaurant is to make sure their patrons have a stellar dining experience,” he says. Seeber has some pet peeves, though. Sometimes servers will drop off the pen and paper and walk away. “If a hearing patron is speaking to you, will you walk away as well? I feel the same respect applies,” he says. “Also, don’t try to keep speaking after we ask for a pen and paper. It only falls on deaf ears—literally.” If a pen and paper are too cumbersome, a tablet pre-loaded with the menu, daily specials, descriptions of wines, and more can work. “Throughout the country, there are restaurants that now have tablets available for diners, and the tablets make it possible for everyone, including those who are deaf, to order without communication barriers,”
learned basic signs. He would encourage other chefs to hire deaf employees. “It’s about how you work—a lot of people don’t make it in my kitchen,” Stearman says. “If you have the patience, it’s a little bit of a challenge, but everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, everyone’s a challenge.” Beyond hiring employees who know ASL and discussing with non-signing staff tools like gesturing, writing on paper, or programming a tablet, restaurants should at least focus on being attentive. “Patience and flexibility are the two biggest things outside any of those practical things,” says Heiser. “If you can’t be patient and flexible, you shouldn’t be in the restaurant industry.” It’s no surprise that restaurants widely praised for good service are also favorites among deaf diners. Kartheiser and Seeber name Little Serow and Rose’s Luxury
“Don’t try to keep speaking after we ask for a pen and paper. It only falls on deaf ears—literally.” Rosenblum explains. Of course, the best-case scenario is having staff members who know at least a little American Sign Language (ASL). “It’s as easy as learning your ABCs—as slow as it may be— it still breaks down the barrier,” Almendarez says. No time for lessons? Heiser says the employees at Union Market’s Peregrine Espresso used The ASL App. DiMarco is one of the sign instructors on the interface. The person who knows ASL might even be in the kitchen. David Uzzell, a Gallaudet graduate, has been a cook at Marcel’s since December 2014. He’ll pop out to the bar or dining room to sign if there are deaf patrons dining or drinking. Chef de Cuisine Paul Stearman recruited Uzzell from where he was working in Union Market. “He was sitting there having a beer and he texted me on his phone and said he was cooking,” the chef says. “I asked him what he liked to cook and he said he was stuck washing dishes and making shitty money, so I said come work for me.” Uzzell reads lips to get by, but Stearman has
as favorites outside of the Gallaudet neighborhood. “The people who work there ooze positive vibes, and they do a great job of making us feel inclusive in their dining environment,” Seeber says. But perhaps the couple’s best experience was an anniversary dinner at the Inn at Little Washington—the Virginia restaurant surprised them with an interpreter. Positive or negative, websites like deaffriendly.com allow deaf diners to review restaurants based on inclusiveness. For example, user “Fmhaey” submitted a review about Po Boy Jim. An excerpt reads: “What particularly got our attention was our great waitress, Rachel. She was friendly and used sign language with us the whole time. She told us that she is a CODA [Child of Deaf Adults], a bonus! She was friendly throughout our dining experience. We would go back just because of her.” Did you hear that, restaurants? CP Eatery tips? Food pursuits? Send suggestions to lhayes@washingtoncitypaper.com.
DCFEED
what we ate last week: Tower of Power with spare ribs, roast pork, and slow cooked brisket with house pickles and condiments, $15, Chao Ku. Satisfaction level 4 out of 5.
Grazer
what we’ll eat next week: Chawanmushi with Benton’s bacon, heirloom tomato, and frisee, $14, Momofuku. Excitement level: 4 out of 5
don’t hate the platers, hate the game It’s too bad the Washington Wizards have their hands on the hashtag #DCRising, because no phrase better captures the state of D.C. dining. Some are still blind to our success, including Donald Trump and the Daily Beast’s Olivia Nuzzi, who stirred things up on Twitter on Aug. 16. “I give Trump a lot of shit but he’s right about DC restaurants tbh,” she tweeted. Followed by, “the best DC restaurants would be mediocre restaurants in NY and it’s ok to admit that, guys. DC has other things going for it.” Later she urged us to “go cry into your @bonappetit mags.” Chew on this, Olivia: 2016 has been a banner year for Cap City, and not just according to Bon Appetit (but ok, they do love us). Here’s a timeline of this year’s accolades. —Laura Hayes
BrewinTown Milkhouse Homestead Hefeweizen
May 2: The James Beard Foundation awards Rose’s Luxury Chef Aaron Silverman best chef Mid-Atlantic.
Aug, 10: Bon Appetit names Washington D.C. the restaurant city of the year.
Where in Town: Takoma Park Farmers Market, 6900 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park Price: $8/16.9 oz.
May 31: It’s announced D.C. will be the fourth city to have a Michelin guide in the U.S., joining New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Aug. 16: Food and Wine selects JP Fetherston of Columbia Room as one of the best new mixologists in the country.
Aug. 2: Bon Appetit picks The Dabney, Bad Saint, and Tail Up Goat as three of the 50 best new restaurants in America.
Aug. 16: Bon Appetit designates Bad Saint as the second best new restaurant in America.
Aug. 17: Southern Living names The Dabney and Kinship as two of the best new restaurants of the South 2016.
July 21: Eater Critic Bill Addison names Pineapple & Pearls one of the 21 best new restaurants in America.
’WichingHour
zarella, tomato sauce, Sicilian tartar sauce, basil Bread: White sandwich roll Thickness: 3 inches
The Sandwich: Crispy Eggplant & Mozzarella Where: All Purpose Pizzeria, 1250 9th St. NW Price: $14 Stuffings: Crispy fried eggplant, moz-
Pros: Based on the ingredient list, you’d expect this sandwich to be as heavy as your average eggplant parm—especially with the addition of two different sauces. But it’s not. A traditional tomato sauce adds sweetness and tang while a creamy tartar sauce lends salty richness. Both make the sandwich more flavorful. A sprinkle of basil gives each bite a dose of freshness. Cons: The eggplant in the first half of the sandwich feels crisp and almost beefy when you bite into it. However, if
you linger too long eating the other half, its contents become mushy and the crust starts to slide off the vegetable, as does the mozzarella. Sloppiness level (1 to 5): 3. The hot mozzarella oozes out of the sandwich and leaves globs of cheese on your plate and dangling from your lips. Double saucing also makes this sandwich quite juicy. Cover your lap with a napkin, and don’t dare wear white. Overall score (1 to 5): 4. The early bites of this sandwich make you think of a refined eggplant parm that tastes vegetal and fresh, not canned. Its quality decreases as it cools, but if you seek a rich vegetarian sandwich, this one hits the spot. —Caroline Jones
Hoppy Trail-Blazers: On their 47-acre farm in Frederick County, Maryland, Tom Barse and Carolann McConaughy raise horses, sheep, and bees, but their primary business is beer. After Barse successfully pushed for changes to Maryland’s laws, Milkhouse Brewery at Still Point Farm became one of the state’s first licensed farm breweries in 2012. Each of its beers uses hops and other ingredients produced on site or from neaby farms. Barse, a homebrewer with more than 40 years of experience, has been growing his own hops for almost a decade. He also serves as the president of the Northeast Hop Alliance, a group with more than 600 members from North Carolina to Quebec that promotes the growth of hops. Wise Weizen: Brewed for customers seeking an authentic German-style hefeweizen, Homestead is made with a half-wheat, half-barley malt bill, nugget and crystal hops, and a traditional yeast. Barse uses a lower fermentation temperature to balance out the banana and clove characteristics typical of the style. “We didn’t want a banana bomb hefe,” he says. Homestead starts out tangy, with tongue-tingling carbonation. Notes of circus peanut candy, fresh cut oranges, cloves, and, yes, a touch of banana are followed by a satisfying, dry finish. Light-bodied and only 5.5 percent alcohol, Homestead makes for a quaffable summer seasonal. While Milkhouse beers are not yet available in the District, they’re easy to find at beer spots throughout southern Maryland, as well as at weekly farmers markets in Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park. Consider making a day trip straight to the source, located northeast of Frederick, about 50 miles from D.C. —Tammy Tuck
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 23
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24 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
CPArts
Listen to the debut EP of Ocobaya, a new project from Protect-U’s Mike Petillo and Aaron Leitko. washingtoncitypaper.com/arts
Art of Noise
One of D.C.’s most inventive musical visionaries has created a mass guitar ensemble that he never intended to be perfect. “fUCK IT UP!” Andras Fekete yells, arms flailing upward like he’s trying to raise the dead. He circles around the room, his piercing eyes zeroing in on each guitarist as he passes them. “FUCK. IT. UP.” he intones, like he’s reciting a deranged mantra. Is he insane? No. Well, yes, but not in the way you would think. In fact, Fekete might be the D.C. area’s most innovative and propulsive musician. For the past three years, he’s been the mastermind behind a mass guitar ensemble. A bold, grandiose, and genre-defying musical experiment that’s quickly becoming a kind of annual ritual for a large number of area musicians. On Friday night in Black Cat’s main stage room, 70 guitarists will gather for “Boat Burning: Music For 70 Guitars,” a performance of eight movements written specifically for a mass guitar ensemble. The idea of 70 guitarists playing simultaneously might sound like a seventh circle of musical hell, but when done right it’s an incredible feat in the vein of avant garde classicists like Glenn Branca, Philip Glass, and John Cage. The simple movements Fekete and his bandmates compose take on a new life produced from a shitload of guitars. Peculiar harmonies and strange sounds evolve from the walls of copious feedback. “Really, our fascination is minimalism,” Fekete says. “We just take a maximalist approach to minimalism. We take the minimalist concepts and amp them way up so that you can emphasize the overtones a bit more.” The result of those overtones? A gorgeous symphony of noise that will overwhelm Black Cat Friday in what will surely be the most guitars playing simultaneously that the venue has ever had. But first: rehearsal. It’s a recent muggy Tuesday evening at Joe’s Movement Emporium, a community arts space in Mt. Rainier, and eight guitarists and a drummer are circled around Fekete in the basement art room. Fekete stands in the center of the room, surrounded by an oppressive wave of sound. He’s leading everyone in a piece he wrote called “Telephone,” which calls for each guitarist to repeat a simple eight-measure riff faithfully for 16 bars and then completely fuck it up. It’s a weird composition that starts as a krautrock-y postpunk jam before Fekete leads everyone into frenetic sabotage, transforming the piece into a kind of free-jazz wall of noise. In a way, it’s a piece that perfectly fits Fekete’s persona. He’s
MUSIC
an ever-curious musician raised on classical music, informed by punk, and shaped by disrupting the musical status quo, whatever it may be.
Andras Fekete
The son of Hungarian immigrants who migrated to the U.S. after World War II, Fekete grew up in Richmond, Virginia, amid a “severe Roman Catholic background.” His parents prized music, but only classical. “Rock music was verboten in our house; you weren’t allowed to have it,” he says. “Later on, they loosened up, but for the longest time we couldn’t even listen to The Beatles.” Violin was the first instrument Fekete learned to play when he was in grade school, and soon after he switched to guitar and messed around with a little banjo in high school, where most of his friends were into country music. But it wasn’t until he moved up north to attend Boston University in 1975 that he first became entrenched in a music scene. “It was a really formative time because it was the changeover from disco to early punk,” he says, “so I saw the rise of bands like Mission of Burma.” After about nine years in Boston, where he “kicked around in various bands of no consequence,” Fekete moved around a bit—to New York, San Francisco, then in 1988 to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he got married and had kids, now grown. (His daughter, in fact, is one of the 70 guitarists participating in Friday’s ensemble). Chapel Hill would turn out to be the place where Fekete would thrive. His first band in the Triangle (the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area) was a Television cover band in 2007. “It was my job to imitate the [Tom] Verlaine parts, which was not half as difficult as imitating the Richard Lloyd parts, which another guy did, an outstanding guitarist named Pete
Darrow Montgomery
By Matt Cohen
Gamble,” Fekete says. “Out of that, Pete and I formed this improv ensemble called Boat Burning.” Equally inspired by the improvisational nature of jazz, the Triangle’s significant legacy of indie and punk rock, and its burgeoning underground experimental scene, Fekete and Gamble formed Boat Burning as a kind of bridge between those worlds. “We did just pure improv, there was literally no net and we would step on the stage and we wouldn’t even have a framework or an idea or a chord sequence, we would just start playing,” he says. They were soon joined by cellist Josh Starmer and percussionist Ken Friedman to round out Boat Burning’s first incarnation. “That kind of formed the core of this idea that we’re going to have improvisation with balls,” he says. “We love formless improvisation. We don’t necessarily want to have a wall of noise, we want to have something where it washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 25
CPArts feels like a composed piece. So the idea is that, as soon as we start playing, we are thinking and communicating how we are shaping the piece, and bringing in elements of classical music.” For a few years, Boat Burning kicked around the Triangle’s experimental scene with a few personnel changes; Starmer left and the band was joined by cellist Deborah Aronin. Then, in 2011, Fekete moved up to D.C., but not before he executed an long-gestating idea, and one that would surely leave his mark on the music scene: a mass guitar performance. BoaT BUrnIng’s fIrsT mass guitar ensemble, which Fekete created with then-bandmate Matt Guess, took place at the Nightlight in Chapel Hill, a self-described “tiny art-land vortex” that served as a kind of home base for much of the area’s experimental music scene. “That was about 25 people, and they had cello, drums, and all guitars,” Fekete says. It went over so well that they did again in 2012 with about 30 guitarists, and then moved it to the much larger Motorco Music Hall in Durham in 2013 with 55 guitarists, three vocalists, two drummers, and two cellists. But by this time, Fekete had been living in D.C. and was ready to reignite Boat Burning with a fresh lineup. Jonathan Matis, a musician who plays with the D.C. Improvisers Collective and in Boat Burning, met Fekete years before he moved to D.C. When Fekete invited him to participate in the first mass guitar ensemble in D.C. (this one featured about 20 guitarists, a cellist, a violinist, and a drummer), at Union Arts in 2014, he was awestruck by what happened.
And with the mass guitar ensemble, it gives Fekete, Matis, and the rest of the group’s core members—each member writes and contributes pieces for the band and the ensemble—the chance to explore new sonic possibilities and uncharted territories. When you’re writing music for 70-plus musicians, there’s a lot of room for error. What if someone messes up? What if they can’t play the piece right? That’s not really a concern for Fekete, who knows his musical limitations and uses it as a strength. Back in Boat Burning’s Chapel Hill days, Fekete says the band was kind of scoffed at by the area’s “rock guitar cognoscenti.” The criticism was that they hadn’t paid their dues. “I got to saying to these people, ‘I do not care. I do not care for that argument.’ I use my amateurism as a weapon. I wear it proudly. I’m not stuck in how things need to be done.” And that’s where Fekete’s musical aptitude lies. Boat Burning is comprised of skilled, accomplished musicians who’ve been playing for most of their lives, but the movements they compose are strikingly simple, allowing the tone of their instruments and the stark simplicity of what they’re playing to give life to something new. There are inevitably mistakes—sometimes intentional, like what Fekete has written into “Telephone,” and sometimes organic. But it’s in that unpredictability that Boat Burning’s music comes to life. “Where we get it right is in this attempt to not totally get it right,” Fekete says. “I don’t want to get too polished. Luckily I have not gotten that way.” CP
“That first show we did, I was like, ‘Oh, all this weird stuff starts happening in the room,’” Matis says. “After doing that show, I sent him an email and was like, ‘You know, I have a couple of pieces I kind of would love to try with the big group.’ Of course, it’s unwieldy to keep the big group together, so the question I wanted to solve was, what’s the minimum number we need to still create a mass guitar sound. Turns out, six.” And with that, it didn’t take long for Fekete to get a new iteration of Boat Burning off the ground, with a core group comprised of longtime D.C. music vets: Matis; Norm Veenstra of the long-running post-rock ensemble Tone; Geordie Grindle of Dischord Records pioneers Teen Idles; experimental musician Phong Tran, who fronts the band Halo Valley; Robin Diamond of The Probes, and drummer Mark Sherman. Since then, Boat Burning has been performing regularly with the core ensemble, playing a combination of high-profile shows, such as opening for Mission of Burma and proto-punk legends Rocket From the Tombs, and unconventional ones too, like outdoor performances in Adams Morgan and in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library. But its annual mass guitar ensemble performance remains at the center of Boat Burning’s mission. “I think Boat Burning the combo is very similar to Boat Burning the mass guitar ensemble in the sense that we take the same pieces … and do it with six guitarists,” Fekete says. “It gives you a different feel, and it’s much more compact. There’s much more definition.”
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26 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
8/11/2016 13:21:45
Film
What Is Love?
A suspiciously “true” story of the President and First Lady’s first date and a bleak look at a promising new relationship gone to hell offer differing perspectives on the nature of love. Southside With You
Southside With You
Directed by Richard Tanne
My King
Directed by Maïwenn By Tricia Olszewski EyE rolls arE likely when a filmmaker treats the subject of his biopic with worship. Add in another pedestal’d character, and the “oh please” factor ratchets up. And when both of them, people we now know would go on to make history, are put on display as idealized youths? Such hagiography is nearly unbearable. From its very title to its closing credits, Southside With You was destined for at least minor cheesiness. Occasionally sweet and inarguably slight, first-time writer-director Richard Tanne’s film fictionalizes the inaugural date of President Barack Obama and his first lady, then Michelle Robinson. The afternoonto-evening outing between the law-firm advisor (Tika Sumpter) and her underling (Parker Sawyers) starts out with—or is supposed to start out with—a community meeting to which Barack invited Michelle. She therefore insists to her parents that she’s not going on a date with the “smooth-talkin’ brother”—they’re just two associates indulging their mutual desire to “make a difference.” Except: This part of their get-together is a product of Tanne’s imagination, one upon which the whole premise of the story lies. Barack is shown to be a bit of an aggressive jackass: He gives Michelle the wrong time for the meeting, picking her up earlier (well, officially he’s late) and suggesting they visit an art in-
stallation and grab a bite to eat to kill time. The ruse doesn’t sit well with his superior, who repeatedly explains to him that as a black female in a predominantly white male profession, she has to work three times as hard to be taken seriously, and she doesn’t want to jeopardize that by fraternizing with her underling. Though Michelle relents, her mantra throughout the day is a stern, “This is not a date.” But all the art! And wonder! And poetry! (yes, Barack recites not only a poem, but one of Michelle’s favorites) apparently gets under her skin in a good way, and even though their not-a-date follows the highs and nearly brakeapplying lows of a long day getting to know another person, it’s no spoiler to say that they both end the evening with a smile. The smartest choice that Sumpter and Sawyers make is to eschew mimicry. Sawyers is more of a physical and vocal match, and he does get a “Listen…” in during Barack’s too-pretty speech at the community meeting. (Obvious musical cues deepen the scene’s alleged heart-flutteringness.) Sumpter, meanwhile, only resembles Michelle in the eyebrows (though it’s a pretty damn good match). The script, of course, foreshadows the pair’s future, ruminating on the issues facing Chicago’s poor black communities and their hope to make an impact on them. “Maybe I could write books,” Barack says. “Politics?” Michelle counters. “Maybe.” Each of the characters, however, are unlikable at some point: Barack in his refusal to accept Michelle’s boundaries, and Michelle in her general contrarian stance to the entire day. (“You’re asking a lot of questions,” she tells him in response to a completely innocent one.)
And some of the dialogue is wince-inducing. When Michelle interprets something Barack says as suggesting she’s wasting her life, she says, “You didn’t have to use those words. You used other ones, and they stung just as much!” Or when they finally go off-career-topic to talk about personal interests, she says, “At least we can agree that Stevie [Wonder] is the best. At least, we can start from there.” Finally, an olive branch! Even with Southside clocking in at a mere 84 minutes, Tanne unnecessarily elongates the ending, passing up a perfect moment to fin in order to make sure that we understand that these two kids might hit it off after all. But even though the audience knows how this story ends up, the film does little to shed light on how it truthfully started. My King takEs a look at what happens beyond that intoxicating first date—and it ain’t pretty. A Blue Valentine–esque story of a couple leaning toward middle age, the film sears, pulling you inside an affair in which two strongheaded people love passionately and fight with equal fervor. Tony (Cannes Best Actress–winning Emmanuelle Bercot) spots Georgio (Vincent Cassel, an appealing scoundrel) at a nightclub when the playboy is holding center court on the dance floor. She recognizes him from her bartending days, when he’d flirt with women by lightly flinging water in their faces. (Not as furyinducing as it sounds.) So Tony goes over to Georgio once he takes a seat and flings likewise, only to have him not immediately remember her. But he does by the end of the night and promptly invites Tony and her friends to his magnificent apartment for breakfast. Director and co-writer Maïwenn’s major misstep is framing the story around a painfully forced metaphor. (Etienne Comar helped with the script.) Tony has seriously injured her knee while skiing and checks into a rehab center, where she’ll stay for several months. When she gets there, an intake person asks her what happened, and won’t accept the obvious answer. “Why did your skies get tangled? Why then?” Tony, naturally, laughs at the question. But the woman looks up the psychobabble significance of the knee, and its health (or lack thereof) is indicative of accepting an event. And gee, Tony and Georgio had just gotten divorced. So it wasn’t the skis; it’s Tony’s emotional core that done fucked her up. Tony and Georgio’s romance is then shown
in flashbacks. It’s a largely unnecessary tack; it’s also a safe assumption that Maïwenn thought telling the story in a linear manner would be too dull. Turning this pair dull, however, would take Herculean effort. When things are good with them, they’re great, and the honeymoon period lasts for a while. Georgio immediately wants to have a child with Tony, telling her that he loves her the first time they sleep together. She gets caught up in his whirlwind and also gets pregnant, which is when the trouble starts: Georgio’s obsessive and unstable ex-girlfriend, a supermodel named Agnès (Chrystèle Saint Louis Augustin), attempts suicide after hearing that he’s about to have a baby. And his guilt—or something else, perhaps—keeps Georgio looking after her, visiting her in the hospital, taking her calls at all hours, and even naming her godmother. Tony tries to be patient, but she eventually succumbs to depression and mood swings that become so severe that Georgio tells her, “24/7 with you is beyond me.” So he gets his own apartment, stocked with wine before he even has furniture, “for business clients.” You can see where this is heading. The storminess of their ensuing 10-year relationship is palpable. Bercot delivers a fiery and raw performance, in one scene playing Tony so drunkenly unhinged that otherworldly sounds occasionally emanate from her mouth. Cassel easily calls up his villainous side, his Georgio calmly torturing Tony with his ever-increasing need for freedom and other women, suggesting that she’s being unreasonable. Within the tempest, though, Maïwenn captures some lovely scenes. One is when the couple first meet their son, with Tony holding up the sweet infant as the pair gawks at him with the disbelief most every new parent feels. Another is during a tender moment that Tony feels toward her ex as he speaks during a parentteacher meeting. The camera—Tony’s eyes— takes in Georgio’s features, from his forehead to his stubbled chin, as if with renewed fascination. Despite the enduring allure of their mutual pull toward each other, though, make no mistake: My King is a film that will make CP you wish you never fall in love again. Southside With You opens Friday at Landmark Bethesda Row, Landmark Atlantic Plumbing, and Angelika Film Center. My King opens Friday at the Angelika Pop-Up.
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 27
galleries
Beyond The Light
The latest landscape show at Arlington Arts Center showcases some of the best new works by artists devoted to the format. “Light Wishes Only To Be Land” At the Arlington Arts Center to Oct. 2.
By Kriston Capps The poeTic TiTle to a small gallery exhibit at the Arlington Arts Center offers a big hint about the thinking behind it. “Light Wishes Only To Be Land,” a group painting show curated by resident artist Becca Kallem, takes landscape painting as its departure. This aphorism perverts the Impressionist-era maxim that the artist who paints landscapes paints light. It makes a lyrical claim over light itself, along the lines of the quote attributed to architect Louis Kahn: “The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building.” Each of the four artists who appear in the exhibit—Mike Dowley, Liz Guzman, Thomas Bunnell, and Kallem herself—makes competing claims about painting with their work. “Light Wishes Only To Be Land” isn’t a smarmy thesis show, though. It’s an indulgent painting show, one that unapologetically celebrates landscape as a mode for discussing form, identity, and other possibilities. “Light Wishes Only To Be Land” is also a conservative show, in the richest sense of the word. All four artists stick to acrylic or oil, although Guzman’s paintings appear to include some different applications, including spray paint. Her paintings are the most mischievous of the bunch: The landscape that she explores might be the tweenage worlds of young millennial women. Her palette is inspired by Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers, a seapunk motif as popular in 2016 as it was in 1985. Guzman has stripped the vaporwave aesthetic down to its elements. Swirling pink and purple sunsets framed by vivid fronds of ferns are the essentials for her settings. In “Esos Besos” (2016), Guzman’s painting depicts a creamy sky seen from a perch within what might be a grotto or lagoon. Through a cavelike entrance graced by tropical ferns, the words “esos besos” appear in the sky, whispered in clouds, barely there. Guzman is winking at the viewer, plainly, but she’s serious about her paintings, too; the way she renders the frames for her sunsets from painting to painting is almost conventional, a squarewithin-a-square strategy a la Josef Albers or Mark Rothko. Guzman is taking the stuff of girlhood as seriously as those artists took their mythic source material.
Dowley might be the artist of this bunch who is the most deeply enamored with painting. His landscapes are impasto paintings so thick that they look as though he’s squeezed the tube directly onto his canvas and left the paint to dry. In an era of so-called zombie formalism, this kind of expressive painting isn’t especially typical. One of Dowley’s untitled paintings (2016) looks like a direct quotation from Cézanne’s series on Mont Sainte-Victoire—but rendered in a wholly different style. While Dowley’s paintings aren’t trendy, they are evocative, especially for their small scale. One painting of a bridge features an unconvincing mishmash of greens and grays, but his paintings are otherwise tonally balanced. Kallem has included her own works as anchors for the show. She tends to work at a small scale, and her paintings for this show are no exception: the largest is a 9.5” by 11” panel. Her contributions include two pairs of sketches, “Rainbow Sketch I & II” and “Sign Over the Sky I & II” (all 2016), and these help to establish the rhythm of the show. They look like they were made for this show specifically, in fact. In other exhibitions, Kallem has often showed a lot of little paintings at once, building up a whole that is larger than the sum of its parts. Kallem’s ideas simply take up lots more canvas than she’s assigned herself in this show. Here, she is contributing only snippets of thoughts. Bunnell’s abstractions barely register as landscapes at all. His paintings emphasize composition over brushstroke or content. They borrow an electric palette favored by the likes of Amy Sillman, Dana Schutz, or Katherine Bernhardt, the brash painters of the 2000s. Bunnell’s paintings are more earnest than those, though. “Soft Serve” (2015), maybe the coolest and calmest in the show, and it reads like a color study. It’s fresh but also casual. “Light Wishes Only To Be Land” is a steady show, an even survey of new works by artists devoted to the format. It’s a painter’s painting show, although to say that is to risk suggesting that it succeeds specifically by its traditionalism. It’s too easy to take painting CP for granted; none of these artists does. 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Free. (703) 2486800. arlingtonartscenter.org.
28 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
“God is Love, Daggers, and Hearts” (2016) by Liz Guzman
“Rainbow, Conflagration” (2016) by Becca Kallem
SUMMER 2016 “ A maliciously delicious black comedy.” — The Washington Post
PRESENTS BONEY JAMES
MARSHA AMBROSIUS
AUG 31
DISNEY IN CONCERT TALE AS OLD AS TIME
EXTENDED AGAIN BY POPULAR DEMAND
HAND TO GOD
WITH WOLF TRAP ORCHESTRA
©Disney
SEP 2
DIRECTED BY JOANIE SCHULTZ The blasphemous Broadway hit about sex, sinners, and sock puppets.
STUDIOTHEATRE.ORG 202.332.3300
Music Festival HISTORIC LINCOLN THEATRE
DON HENLEY
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SEPTEMBER 2 – 4, 2016 THREE NIGHTS OF MUSIC
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LABOR DAY WEEKEND
BRYAN ADAMS GET UP!
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LEON BRIDGES LIANNE LA HAVAS
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washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 29
I.M.P. PRESENTS Merriweather Post Pavilion • Columbia, MD
MIRANDA LAMBERT
THIS THURSDAY!
THIS WEEK’S SHOWS
Skye & Ross from Morcheeba w/ DJ Christine Moritz .................. Th AUG 25 Hot in Herre: 2000s Dance Party with DJs Will Eastman & Brian Billion F 26 THE CIRCUS LIFE PODCAST THIRD ANNIVERSARY CONCERT FEATURING
Justin Trawick and The Common Good • Louisa Hall •
Owen Danoff (from NBC’s The Voice) FULL BAND • Oh He Dead • The Duskwhales • Gingerwolf • Nardo Lilly Early Show! 7pm Doors ........... Sa 27 TRILLECTRO AND YESJULZ PRESENT
1AM Vices (Official Trillectro After Party) featuring Mista Selecta,
Spinser Tracy and more! Late Show! 11:30pm Doors .......................................... Sa 27
FIERCE COLLABO PRESENTS
w/ Kip Moore & Brothers Osborne ..............................................................................AUGUST 25
THIS SATURDAY!
Trillectro
Kid Cudi • Rae Sremmurd • Goldlink and more! . AUGUST 27
feat.
The Lumineers w/ BØRNS & Rayland Baxter ............................................. SEPTEMBER 10 WPOC WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY FEATURING
Little Big Town • Rodney Atkins • Dustin Lynch and more! .................OCTOBER 15 & 16
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• For full lineups and more info, visit merriweathermusic.com • 930.com
DNA After Dark - Hip Hop Choreographers Showcase 18+ to enter. ....... Su 28 Banks & Steelz (Paul Banks & RZA) .........................................................W 31
Echostage • Washington, D.C.
Melanie Martinez .................................................................................. SEPTEMBER 22 Glass Animals ........................................................................................ SEPTEMBER 25
SEPTEMBER
NIGHT ADDED!
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
The Claypool Lennon Delirium w/ Marco Benevento ..............................Th 1 Diggy Simmons ...............................................................................................Su 4 Television w/ Chris Stamey ...............................................................................Tu 6 of Montreal w/ Ruby the Rabbitfoot ...................................................................W 7 Dinosaur Jr. w/ Cloud Nothings .......................................................................Th 8 Marian Hill w/ Vérité & Shaed Early Show! 6pm Doors ....................................... Sa 10 MIXTAPE 8 Year Anniversary Party with DJs Matt Bailer & Shea Van Horn Late Show! 11pm Doors ........................................................................................... Sa 10 Peaches ............................................................................................................Su 11 Angel Olsen w/ Alex Cameron ....................................................................... Th 15 Cherub w/ Frenship & Boo Seeka ...................................................................... F 16 Built To Spill w/ Hop Along & Alex G .............................................................Su 18 Okkervil River w/ Landlady ............................................................................ M 19 Lush w/ Tamaryn ...............................................................................................W 21 Blind Pilot w/ River Whyless Early Show! 6pm Doors ........................................... F 23
FIRST NIGHT SOLD OUT! SECOND
CHVRCHES ....................................................................................................OCTOBER 18 Die Antwoord ...............................................................................................OCTOBER 23 FOALS w/ Bear Hands & Kiev .........................................................................NOVEMBER 3 Grouplove w/ MUNA & Dilly Dally .................................................................NOVEMBER 9 Good Charlotte & The Story So Far
w/ Four Year Strong & Big Jesus ....................................................................NOVEMBER 15
Two Door Cinema Club ........................................................................NOVEMBER 17 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE • Ticketmaster
1215 U Street NW Washington, D.C. SECOND SHOW ADDED!
JIM NORTON - Mouthful of Shame Tour ...................FRI, OCTOBER 7 Two Shows - Live taping! 6pm & 10pm Doors. 10pm Show On Sale Friday, August 26 at 10am
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
The Revivalists w/ The Temperance Movement Late Show! 10pm Doors ........... F 23 Princess featuring Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum ...................Su 25 TRUTV PRESENTS
Adam Ruins Everything Live! with Adam Conover This is a seated show. . M 26 Yuna................................................................................................................... Tu 27 Buzzcocks w/ Residuels ..................................................................................W 28 Bob Moses w/ No Regular Play & Weval ........................................................ Th 29 U STREET MUSIC HALL PRESENTS
Bakermat & Sam Feldt ............................................................................... F 30 OCTOBER
The Growlers ................................................................................................... Sa 1
MANY MORE SHOWS ON SALE!
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The best thing you could possibly put in your mouth Cupcakes by BUZZ... your neighborhood bakery in Alexandria, VA. | www.buzzonslaters.com
9:30 CLUB PRESENTS AT U STREET MUSIC HALL Bibi Bourelly w/ PJ ........................F SEP 2 The Album Leaf w/ Sister Crayon ...... W 14 Wifisfuneral w/ Danny Towers • Lucky Chops...................................... Sa 17 Ski Mask the Slump God........................... Sa 3 Julien Baker w/ Grayling .................... M 12 Selah Sue w/ Polly A ............................ F 23 • Buy advance tickets at the 9:30 Club box office DAR Constitution Hall • Washington D.C.
The Head and the Heart w/ Declan McKenna .................................................OCTOBER 22 Lindsey Stirling .............................................................................................................. OCTOBER 24 Ticketmaster
JUST ANNOUNCED! THE BENTZEN BALL PRESENTS: A UHF LIVE COMMENTARY FEATURING
“Weird Al” Yankovic, Malcolm Gladwell, Dave Hill, and more! ..OCTOBER 30
Chris Isaak .............................................................................SAT NOVEMBER 12 Both Shows on Sale Friday, August 26 at 10am
Gad Elmaleh ................................................................................................ SEPTEMBER 1 The Gipsy Kings feat. Nicolas Reyes and Tonino Baliardo w/ Galen Weston Band .. SEPT 9 Blood Orange .............................................................................................SEPTEMBER 13 KT Tunstall w/ Conner Youngblood ............................................................SEPTEMBER 14 IN CELEBRATION OF THE OPENING OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
Preservation Hall Jazz Band ................................................................... SEPTEMBER 23
Peter Bjorn and John w/ City of the Sun & Cleopold .............................. SEPTEMBER 24 Ryan Bingham and Brian Fallon & The Crowes w/ Paul Cauthen . SEPTEMBER 28 Jake Bugg w/ Syd Arthur ............................................................................SEPTEMBER 29 Patti Smith A conversation about her bestselling memoir, M Train ................. OCTOBER 12 Ticket purchase comes with a paperback copy of M Train.
Melissa Etheridge: MEmphis Rock & Soul Tour ............................................ OCTOBER 19 WESTBETH ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS
Dylan Moran ................................................................................................. OCTOBER 20
AEG LIVE PRESENTS
Bianca Del Rio .............................................................................................OCTOBER 22 THE BYT BENTZEN BALL COMEDY FEST PRESENTS THE MOST VERY SPECIALEST EVENING WITH TIG NOTARO & FRIENDS FEATURING
Tig Notaro, Aparna Nancherla, and more! .......................................OCTOBER 27 BRIDGET EVERETT Pound It! w/ special guest Michael Ian Black ...................OCTOBER 28 STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW LIVE WITH JOSH AND CHUCK ...................OCTOBER 29
Henry Rollins Election Night Spoken Word ............................................NOVEMBER 8 The Naked And Famous w/ XYLØ & The Chain Gang of 1974 .................NOVEMBER 15 NIGHT ADDED!
FIRST NIGHT SOLD OUT! SECOND
Ingrid Michaelson .....................................................................................NOVEMBER 22 Andra Day w/ Chloe x Halle ..........................................................................NOVEMBER 25 • thelincolndc.com • U Street (Green/Yellow) stop across the street!
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!
30 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
930.com
CITYLIST
INER
60S-INSPIRED D
Music 31 Books 35 Galleries 35 Dance 36 Theater 36
Serving
EVERYTHING from BURGERS to BOOZY SHAKES
SPACE HOOPTY
A HIP HOP, FUNK & AFRO FUTURISTIC SET with Baronhawk Poitier
FRIDAY NIGHTS, 10:30 - CLOSE
BRING YOUR TICKET
AFTER ANY SHOW AT
Club
TO GET A
FREE SCHAEFERS
SABBATH SUNDAY NIGHTS Punk/Metal/Hardcore Classics
10:30 pm - Close $5 Drafts & Rail Specials
Music rock
Black cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Boat Burning: Music for 70 Guitars, Anthony Pirog Quartet. 9 p.m. $15. blackcatdc.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The Electric Peacock Dance Band. 10:30 p.m. Free. thehamiltondc.com. iota cluB & café 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 522-8340. Through Being Cruel. 8:30 p.m. $10. iotaclubandcafe.com. Rock & Roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. MIlemarker, Puff Pieces, The Effects. 9 p.m. $15. rockandrollhoteldc.com.
dJ Nights
Black cat Backstage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. Dark & Stormy with DJ Shea Van Horn. 10 p.m. $5. blackcatdc.com. Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Liberation Dance Party with DJ Shannon Stewart. 10:30 p.m. $5. dcnine.com. fillmoRe silveR spRing 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. ‘80s vs. ‘90s Dance Party featuring Biz Markie. 8 p.m. $15.50. fillmoresilverspring.com.
World
howaRD theatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Orishas. 8 p.m. $35–$60. thehowardtheatre.com.
Folk
kenneDy centeR millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Near Northeast. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
couNtry
hill countRy BaRBecue 410 7th St. NW. (202) 556-2050. Scott Kurt & Memphis 59. 9:30 p.m. Free. hillcountrywdc.com.
Jazz
the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Al Di Meola Electric Band. 8 p.m. $38.35–$200. thehamiltondc.com. mR. henRy’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Aaron L. Myers II. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com. twins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Luis Faife Quartet. 9 p.m.; 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.
ElEctroNic
MilEMarkEr
On its new album, Overseas, Milemarker looks to the future. Then again, the Chapel Hill, N.C. band, which is currently based, well, overseas in Germany, has always looked to the future. In the late ’90s, when its post-hardcore contemporaries were pushing angular riffs and jittery melodies to the forefront of alternative music, Milemarker was concerned with the next evolution of the genre, incorporating futuristic synth sounds to its already otherworldly songs. Albums like 1999’s Changing Caring Humans and 2002’s Frigid Forms Sell placed the band in a league of its own. It’s been a decade since the release of its last album, Ominosity, and if the few songs released in anticipation of Overseas is any indication, the band hasn’t lost any of its vigor. “Carrboro” has a kind of laidback post-rock vibe before devolving into a spacey, psychedelic jam, while “Conditional” finds the band going full krautrock. It’s next level stuff, even for a band that’s built its career around searching for a higher level. Milemarker performs with Puff Pieces and The Effects at 9 p.m. at Rock & Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. $15. (202) 388-7625. rockandrollhoteldc.com. —Matt Cohen
saturday
Black cat Backstage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. 4U Social with DJs Mate Masie and Sly Wonder. 9 p.m. $5. blackcatdc.com.
rock
flash 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Deetron, Dansman, Throe. 8 p.m. $5–$12. flashdc.com.
Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Bob Log III, The Kevin Dowling Fitness Hour. 9:30 p.m. $12. dcnine.com.
u stReet music hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 5881889. Juice, Ducky Dynamo, Kristy La Rat, Jacq Jill, The Lothario. 10 p.m. $5. ustreetmusichall.com.
hill countRy BaRBecue 410 7th St. NW. (202) 556-2050. Paleface. 9:30 p.m. Free. hillcountrywdc.com.
gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. The Funk Ark, Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality. 9 p.m. $12–$14. gypsysallys.com.
located next door to 9:30 club
CITY LIGHTS: Friday
Friday
FuNk & r&B
2047 9th Street NW
Film 37
national galleRy of aRt sculptuRe gaRDen 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. (202) 7374215. Moonshine Society. 5 p.m. Free. nga.gov. state theatRe 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. (703) 237-0300. Ballyhoo!, Stacked Like Pancakes, Higher Education. 8 p.m. $15–$18. thestatetheatre.com.
Rock & Roll hotel 1353 H St. NE. (202) 388-7625. William Elliot Whitmore, Tim Barry. 9 p.m. $15. rockandrollhoteldc.com.
hip-hop howaRD theatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. 50 Cent and Friends. 10 p.m. Free. thehowardtheatre.com. meRRiweatheR post pavilion 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. (410) 715-5550. Trillectro. Noon. $65–$125. merriweathermusic.com.
Folk
state theatRe 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. (703) 237-0300. The Legwarmers. 9:30 p.m. $18. thestatetheatre.com.
kenneDy centeR millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Good Old Time Music and Clogging. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
dJ Nights
couNtry
Black cat 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 667-4490. Eighties Mayhem with DJs Steve EP, Killa K, Missguided, Krasty McNasty. 9:30 p.m. $10. blackcatdc.com.
Jiffy luBe live 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow. (703) 754-6400. Keith Urban, Brett Eldredge, Maren Morris. 7:30 p.m. $30.25–$65. livenation.com.
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 31
AREYOUAWINNER?
PROvEIt!
BLUES
GO-GO
Wolf Trap filene CenTer 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson Trio. 8 p.m. $40–$70. wolftrap.org.
hoWard TheaTre 620 T St. NW. (202) 8032899. Go-Go Brunch featuring Be’la Dona. 1:30 p.m. $20–$40. thehowardtheatre.com.
JAzz
HIp-HOp
Maryland youTh BalleT 926 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring. (301) 608-2232. Nuance. 7 p.m. $35–$40. marylandyouthballet.org.
dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Droplockers, Prowess Tha Testament, Blacmav and The Fear Itself Crew. 9 p.m. $8. dcnine.com.
Mr. henry’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. The Quartet. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com.
COUnTRY
TWins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Luis Faife Quartet. 9 p.m.; 11 p.m. $15. twinsjazz.com.
ELECTROnIC flash 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. David Waxman, Cali Lanauze. 8 p.m. $8. flashdc.com. rhizoMe dC. 6950 Maple St. NW. Synthador, Bushmeat Airways, Salarymen, Barbiero-Byrd-Ghaphery. 8 p.m. $10. rhizomedc.org.
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u sTreeT MusiC hall 1115 U St. NW. (202) 588-1889. Buku & P0gman, Tre Justice, The Banditz, Rocholl. 10 p.m. $17–$20. ustreetmusichall.com.
FUnk & R&B
BirChMere 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. The Oak Ridge Boys. 7:30 p.m. $59.50. birchmere.com. The haMilTon 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The Lonesome River Band, Furnace Mountain. 7 p.m. $16.25–$39.75. thehamiltondc.com.
JAzz TWins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. James Hall. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.
FUnk & R&B Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Kameron Korvet. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Carol Riddick. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $30. bluesalley.com.
Bossa BisTro 2463 18th St NW. (202) 667-0088. Three Man Soul Machine. 9:30 p.m. Free. bossadc.com.
fillMore silver spring 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. (301) 960-9999. Tank, Team Familiar, DJ Battle, The Fix. 8 p.m. $55. fillmoresilverspring.com.
MOnDAY
The haMilTon 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. Yellow Dubmarine. 8 p.m. $18–$25.50. Speakers of the House. 10:30 p.m. Free. thehamiltondc.com.
ROCk
BlaCK CaT BaCKsTage 1811 14th St. NW. (202) 6674490. The Escape Artist, Bent Knee, Cartoon Weapons. 7:30 p.m. $10–$12. blackcatdc.com.
SUnDAY
dC9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Hockey Dad, Muuy Biien. 9 p.m. $10–$12. dcnine.com.
Kennedy CenTer MillenniuM sTage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Gold Connections. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Keith Busey and Friends with Robert Thompson and Sonja. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.
ROCk
JAzz
CITY LIGHTS: SATURDAY
TRILLECTRO
When Trillectro debuted in 2012, its namesake blend of hip-hop and electronic dance music was on the leading edge; in 2016, it’s commonplace. But even after half a decade of hybridization, the trailblazers haven’t been lost in the dust: Rather, Trillectro has only gotten better with age, especially since moving to Merriweather Post Pavilion last year. And while the festival has lessened its emphasis on big name DJs (Soulection’s ESTA, pictured, is the only DJ-producer named among this year’s headliners), the lineup features plenty of young talents seeking to expand the limits of hip-hop, including Atlanta hitmakers Rae Sremmurd, Philadelphia upstart Lil Uzi Vert, and local favorite GoldLink. Plus, this year’s edition of the festival is headlined by a veteran presence—Kid Cudi—who presaged the Trillectro portmanteau with his late-aughts hit “Day ‘n’ Nite.” In 2008, Cudi rapped about “lonely stoners” and “lonely loners” that liked both rap and electronic music. These days, they aren’t so alone, thanks to festivals like Trillectro. The festival begins at noon at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. $65–$125. (410) 715-5550. merriweathermusic.com. —Chris Kelly 32 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
tuEsday gospEl
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Roderick Giles & Grace. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $20. bluesalley.com.
World
kenneDy centeR millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Cristian Perez. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
couNtry
hill countRy BaRBecue 410 7th St. NW. (202) 556-2050. Scott Kurt Duo, Shawn Byrne. 8:30 p.m. Free. hillcountrywdc.com.
WEdNEsday rock
Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Layne, Skyline Highway. 9 p.m. $12. dcnine.com. kenneDy centeR millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Metro Performs! 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
World
Bossa BistRo 2463 18th St NW. (202) 667-0088. Kame Zennia and His Band. 9:30 p.m. $5. bossadc.com.
Jazz
twins Jazz 1344 U St. NW. (202) 234-0072. Marty Nau. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $10. twinsjazz.com.
----------
wolf tRap filene centeR 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Boney James, Marsha Ambrosius. 8 p.m. $25–$60. wolftrap.org.
ElEctroNic
flash 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Croatia Squad. 8 p.m. $10. flashdc.com.
FuNk & r&B
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Sy Smith. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $25. bluesalley.com.
thursday rock
Dc9 1940 9th St. NW. (202) 483-5000. Devils Walk As Saints, Famous for a Century. 9 p.m. $8. dcnine.com. the hamilton 600 14th St. NW. (202) 787-1000. The Trongone Band, Dangermuffin. 7:30 p.m. $10–$15. thehamiltondc.com. state theatRe 220 N. Washington St., Falls Church. (703) 237-0300. The Mountain Goats, Tristen. 8:30 p.m. $30–$35. thestatetheatre.com. wolf tRap filene centeR 1551 Trap Road, Vienna. (703) 255-1900. Chicago. 8 p.m. $35–$60. wolftrap.org.
World
Bossa BistRo 2463 18th St NW. 202-667-0088. Feedel Band. 9 p.m. $10. bossadc.com. howaRD theatRe 620 T St. NW. (202) 803-2899. Sizzla. 8 p.m. $39.50–$75. thehowardtheatre.com.
CITY LIGHTS: suNday
3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA • 703-549-7500
For entire schedule go to Birchmere.com Find us on Facebook/Twitter! Tix @ Ticketmaster.com 800-745-3000
THE SMITHEREENS KIM WATERS 27 28 THE OAK RIDGE BOYS Anna & Sept 1 UNCLE EARL Elizabeth 2 THE MANHATTANS Aug 26
featuring
GERALD ALSTON
& TOO FUN BILL KIRCHEN/AUSTIN DELONE MUCH BAND and TOM PRINCIPATO Amy 4 SAWYER FREDERICKS Vachal
MO’Fire
9
featuring
IN GRATITUDE: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire Motown & More: A Tribute to Motown & Soul Legends 10 THE SELDOM SCENE & JONATHAN EDWARDS Rick 11 HAL KETCHUM Brantley Jenny 15 THE PROCLAIMERS O. EUGE GROOVE 16 Laura 17 MATTHEW SWEET Tsaggaris 18 GARY PUCKETT & UNION GAP 21 THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND 22 THE SMITH SISTERS
H
H
MAYSA & HER FUNK SOUL SYMPHONY
9.24
24
OWEN LAITH AL-SAADI DANOFF
9.29
Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, Rob Block, Stuart Duncan, Mike Compton, Pat Enright
27
BILLY BRAGG & JOE HENRY
29 30
SHINE A LIGHT TOUR
LUNA A’NGELA WINBUSH
Oct 1 WMAL Free Speech Forum w/Chris Plante, Brian Wilson,
Larry O’Connor, Mark Levin
2&3
EL DeBARGE
4&5
An Evening with
LYLE LOVETT
AND
ROBERT EARL KEEN
H
9.1 9.2 9.3 9.9 9.10 9.11
23
feat.
DRIVIN N CRYIN / JUMPIN’ JUPITER SCOTT KURT & MEMPHIS 59 PALEFACE SHAWN BYRNE LIVE BAND KARAOKE
8.26 8.27 8.30 8.31
‘35TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW!’ with AL PETTEWAY ‘25/50 Silver & Gold Celebration!’
H
8.25
9.15 9.16 9.20 9.22 9.23
25 From “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
New York’s famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel is currently owned by Chinese billionaires who plan to turn the majority of the glitzy hotel’s rooms into bland condos for one percenters, but the grand Park Avenue landmark once played host to rich tourists and smooth entertainers. It’s in that legendary building where Mosaic Theater sets its latest production, a one-man show focused on the last days of legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Set backstage following one of Armstrong’s final performances, the play follows Armstrong as he reflects on his career and the impact two men—his manager, Joe Glaser, and fellow trumpeter Miles Davis—had on his life. Popular local actor Craig Wallace, seen in both contemporary and classic works at Arena Stage and Shakespeare Theatre, plays all three roles and digs deep into Armstrong’s psyche. Criticized during his lifetime for not being active enough in the civil rights movement, the iconic artist audiences will see on stage is a conflicted character who makes them reconsider the man they knew as a warbling waiter in Hello, Dolly. The play runs Aug. 25 to Sept. 25 at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. $10–$60. (202) 399-7993. atlasarts.org. —Caroline Jones
SUNDAY, SEPT. 11 ~ 8:30PM TIX: $12/$15
“Twin Twang Rides Again”
3
SOGGY BOTTOM BOYS
satchMo at thE WaldorF
JD WILKES / DEX ROMWEBER
9.30 10.1 10.4 10.7 10.11 10.13 10.20 10.21 10.29 11.5 11.17 12.4
KELSEY WALDON GUTHRIE BROWN THE CERNY BROTHERS ROCK-A-SONICS HUMAN COUNTRY JUKEBOX JD WILKES / DEX ROMWEBER THE RIZDALES THE CURRYS OLD SALT UNION PANSY DIVISION THE CONGRESS (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW) BARRENCE WHITFIELD & THE SAVAGES MARTI BROM & THE LUSTRE KINGS THE HOWLIN’ BROTHERS GANGSTAGRASS SLAID CLEAVES WILD PONIES PETER CASE THE UPPER CRUST / HICKOIDS/GRANNIES THE LOWEST PAIR HOOTEN HALLERS BOB SCHNEIDER THE BLASTERS JAIME WYATT SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB
HILL COUNTRY BARBECUE MARKET
410 Seventh St, NW • 202.556.2050 Hillcountrylive.com • Twitter @hillcountrylive
Near Archives/Navy Memorial [G, Y] and Gallery PI/Chinatown [R] Metro washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 33
CITY LIGHTS: MoNday
Witold ryBczyNski THU AUG 26TH
ORISHAS THU SEPT 1ST
SIZZLA
TUE SEPT 6TH
RICHARD BONA THU SEPT 8TH UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS SUN SEPT 11TH
THE TEMPTATIONS REVIEW FT. DENNIS EDWARDS
TUE SEPT 13TH
MOLOTOV SAT SEPT 17TH AMEL LARRIEUX SAT SEPT 24TH
RACHEL YAMAGATA
SAT SEPT 24TH
DJ ?UESTLOVE SUN SEPT 25TH DC RECORD FAIR TUE SEPT 27TH PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH WED SEPT 28TH PETER CINCOTTI FRI SEPT 30TH
CAMEO
BUY TICKETS AT THE BOX OFFICE OR ONLINE AT THEHOWARDTHEATRE.COM 202-803-2899
34 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
“A chair can be a living link to the past,” Witold Rybczynski writes in Now I Sit Me Down. In his book, the architect and design writer turns the most quotidian of household objects into his subject. Viewing the chair through his unwavering artist’s gaze, he traces its history—from ancient stool to classical Greek klismos still present today, from Louis XV’s opulent sitting furniture to the unassuming English Windsor, from the folksy American rocker to Charles and Ray Eames’s popular plastic shell chair, which debuted on the seat-scene in the 1950s. Chairs endure, even as we descend further into the digital age. We find classical period pieces persisting in the face of modern innovations, contemporary chairs like folding and swinging seats with surprising early origins existing beside modern ergonomic and reclining chairs, which developed from careful scrutiny of human physiology. Rybczynski’s fascination with this sturdy item stems from its dual concerns with aesthetics and functionality. The most intriguing question Rybczynski asks is why humans sit in chairs at all. By sketching the progression of the chair he outlines the evolution of human behavior. Witold Rybczynski reads at 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free. (202) 364-1919. politics-prose. com. —Victoria Gaffney
CITY LIGHTS: tuEsday
“harlEM hEroEs: photographs By carl VaN VEchtEN”
Photographer Carl Van Vechten spent years documenting the central characters of the Harlem Renaissance. From activists like W.E.B. DuBois (pictured) to artists and writers like Ossie Davis and Bessie Smith, Van Vechten captured the faces of these icons until his death in 1964. By the 1980s, conservationists were concerned that his negatives would wear out, leading them to handmake 50 of the images into gravure prints. Those prints, transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1983, make up the museum’s latest exhibition. Not only do visitors get to learn about the delicate printing style that made the images, they also get to see more relaxed takes of these icons. Broadway actress Altonell Hines, for example, is shown covered with flowers, giving the image a more delicate look. With the exhibition timed to coincide with the opening of the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture, seeing these prints together for the first time gives viewers new insights into these well-known figures. The exhibition is on view daily 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., to March 19, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets NW. Free (202) 633-7970. americanart.si.edu. —Caroline Jones
kenneDy centeR millennium stage 2700 F St. NW. (202) 467-4600. Luz de Riada. 6 p.m. Free. kennedy-center.org.
couNtry
BiRchmeRe 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. (703) 549-7500. Uncle Earl, Anna & Elizabeth. 7:30 p.m. $27.50. birchmere.com. gypsy sally’s 3401 K St. NW. (202) 333-7700. The 19th Street Band. 8 p.m. $5. gypsysallys.com. hill countRy BaRBecue 410 7th St. NW. (202) 556-2050. Kelsey Waldon. 8:30 p.m. Free. hillcountrywdc.com.
$10 BURGER & BEER MON-FRI 4 P M -7 P M
TRIVIA EVERY M O N D AY & W E D N E S D AY
$3 PBR & NATTY BOH ALL DAY EVERY DAY
1811 14TH ST NW
mR. henRy’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 5468412. Stewart Lewis. 8 p.m. Free. mrhenrysdc.com.
BluEs
Blues alley 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (202) 3374141. Chris Thomas King. 8 p.m.; 10 p.m. $25–$30. bluesalley.com.
ElEctroNic
flash 645 Florida Ave. NW. (202) 827-8791. Way Out West, Christauff, Spatten. 8 p.m. $8. flashdc.com.
Books
John BessleR The editor of Against the Death Penalty and professor at Georgetown University discusses why he believes it’s time for the Supreme Court to reconsider the constitutionality of the controversial punishment. Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe. 1517 Connecticut Ave. NW. Aug. 30, 6:30 p.m. Free. (202) 387-1400. maRgot machol Bisnow The former FTC commissioner and mother of two business owners shares parenting stories and discusses her new book Raising an Entrepreneur: 10 Rules for Nurturing Risk Takers, Problem Solvers, and Change Makers. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Aug. 31, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. kate anDeRsen BRoweR The former CBS News staffer and Fox News producer explores the legacy and important work of presidential spouses in First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Aug. 26, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. fRank BRowning The former NPR science reporter examines the different ways gender impacts life in The Fate of Gender: Nature, Nurture, and the Human Future. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Sept. 1, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919. witolD RyBczynski The architect and design critic discusses the importance and permanence of chairs in his new book, Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair: A Natural History. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Aug. 29, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 3641919.
600 beers from around the world
Downstairs: good food, great beer: $3 PBR & Natty Boh’s all day every day
AUGUST 25TH
UNDERGROUND COMEDY
W/ THE ROOT BOY SLIM ALL STARS
SOUL SESSIONS FEAT. CONYA DOSS MICHAEL JACKSON BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE CONCERT
M 29
AUGUST 26TH
STARR STRUCK COMEDY
AUGUST 27TH
HOTT NIGHT PRODUCTIONS
F
2
S
3
MARCUS YOUNG & MARCUS ANDERSON
DOORS AT 8PM SHOW AT 9PM
SU 4
AUGUST 28TH
W 7
AUGUST 30TH
AUGUST 29TH
STARTS AT 730PM
LAST RESORT COMEDY DOORS AT 8PM SHOW AT 830PM AUGUST 31ST
DISTRICT TRIVIA STARTS AT 730PM 1523 22nd St NW – Washington, DC 20037 (202) 293-1887 - www.bierbarondc.com @bierbarondc.com for news and events
ELECTRO / RETRO / DANCE
4USOCIAL DANCE PARTY
AMY WINEHOUSE TRIBUTE BY AMERICAN IDOL
EXOTIC!
A FILM BY AMY KC ODEN
MON 29
THE ESCAPE ARTIST
BENT KNEE
TUE 30 HOGWARTS HAPPY HOUR THU 1
RADKEY
MOUSETRAP
CELEBRATE THE LIFE & LEGACY OF
FINALIST ELISE TESTONE
DOORS AT 8PM SHOW AT 830PM
MUSIC FOR 70 GUITARS
SUN 28 FILM SCREENING:
SAT 3
W/ FRANK MCCOMB & MAYSA
SCIENCE COMEDY
DARK & STORMY
FRI 2
POPA CHUBBY THE JEFF BRADSHAW & FRIENDS B-DAY CELEBRATION
&
FRI 26
SAT 27
SEPTEMBER
DOORS AT 7 PM SHOW AT 8PM
BOAT BURNING:
EIGHTIES MAYHEM
AN EVENING W/ MARIANNA PREVITI M3 – MARCUS MITCHELL,
W 31
FRI 26
SAT 27 FYM PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS:
DARYL DAVIS PRESENTS
30
DOORS AT 8PM STARTS AT 830PM
neely tuckeR The Washington Post staff writer reads from his third mystery involving Sully Carter, Only the Hunted Run. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Aug. 30, 7 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919.
aRlington aRts centeR 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. (703) 248-6800. arlingtonartscenter.org. Ongoing: “Photography Institute: Texture of the City.” Students in Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s Photogra-
BOOGIE ‘TIL YOU PUKE
27
SU 28
T
AUG / SEPT SHOWS
2 SHOWS
*all shows 21+
DISTRICT TRIVIA
Galleries
S
@blackcatdc
KENNY LATTIMORE
TH 25
aRun sunDaRaRaJan The NYU business professor explains how new innovations in the way we hire cars, deliver food, and purchase goods has changed the concept of work in his new book The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-based Capitalism. Busboys and Poets 5th & K. 1025 5th St. NW. Aug. 30, 6:30 p.m. Free. (202) 7892227.
g.B. tRuDeau The author of the long-running comic strip Doonesbury discusses his new book,Yuge!: 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump and explains why he decided to incorporate the businessman-turned-Republican presidential nominee into his work. Politics & Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Aug. 29, 4 p.m. Free. (202) 364-1919.
www.blackcatdc.com
AUGUST
SAT 3 THU 8 SUN 11
FRI 16
PRINCE W/ DJ DREDD
STEVE SOTO & KEVIN SECONDS
PRIESTS DIAT
BLACK CAT 23RD STAFF ANNIVERSARY PARTY
GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT
JUST ANNOUNCED
TH
COCO MONTOYA 9/22 MARCUS JOHNSON
F
9/23 THE THRILLA FROM
T
9/27 THE LEGENDARY COUNT
SU 9/11
VANILLA WITH SOUL CRACKERS AND KING SOUL
FRI SEPT 16
GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT
BASIE ORCHESTRA
MELBA MOORE 10/14 MORRIS DAY AND THE TIME 2 SHOWS
SU 10/2 F
SAT SEPT 24
7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD (240) 330-4500 www. BethesdaBluesJazz.com Two Blocks from Bethesda Metro/Red Line Free Parking on Weekends
DEATH
TAKE METRO!
WE ARE LOCATED 3 BLOCKS FROM THE U STREET/CARDOZO STATION
TO BUY TICKETS VISIT TICKETFLY.COM
washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 35
LIVE
CITY LIGHTS: WEdNEsday
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
LOVE
CANON W/ THE WOODSHEDDERS
THURSDAY AUG
25
AN EVENING WITH
AL DI MEOLA
ELECTRIC BAND FRIDAY
AUG 26
SAT, AUG 27
AN EVENING WITH YELLOW DUBMARINE SUN, AUG 28
WAMU’S BLUEGRASS COUNTRY PRESENTS
THE LONESOME RIVER BAND W/ FURNACE MOUNTAIN THURS, SEPT 1
THE TRONGONE BAND AND DANGERMUFFIN FRI, SEPT 2
AN EVENING WITH TONY SANDS: IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR A TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA
a Fat WrEck
An examination of the bands signed by Fat Wreck Chords, the subject of the new documentary, A Fat Wreck, offers a tour through a certain kind of punk rock. It’s the subgenre championed by the label’s infamous co-founder, Fat Mike, the kind of punk that cheers on the mosh pit, flashes a middle finger to the camera guys, and revels in being offensive. Lagwagon, Screeching Weasel, Descendents, and many others were signed by Fat Wreck Chords, exemplars of a style of punk that drove the scene in the ’90s and shaped it in the ’00s. Featuring puppet shows, tales of heavy partying bands, and a whole lot of f-bombs, A Fat Wreck is a documentary about a label that has made its mark on the punk circuit for the last several decades. Contemporary punk has moved beyond the style that Fat Mike promoted and his label funded. There are more femalefronted bands, and, it seems, a bit less masculine aggression. But for a while, Fat Wreck Chords was punk rock, for better or for worse. A film telling that story is sharing a valuable piece of history. The film screens at 8 p.m. at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. $10. (202) 803-2899. thehowardtheatre.com. —Kevin Carty phy Institute showcase the work they created over the summer in the center’s Jenkins Community Gallery. Aug. 13 to Oct. 2. Ongoing: “Light Wishes Only to Be Land.” Arlington Art Center Resident Artist Becca Kallem curates this group exhibition that looks at the different ways depth and texture are reflected on canvases. Featured artists include Tom Bunnell, Mike Dowley, and Liz Guzman. Aug. 13 to Oct. 2.
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
honfleuR galleRy 1241 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. honfleurgallery.com. Ongoing: “10th Anniversary East of the River Exhibition.” Artists who
IS THE GLASS HALF FULL? IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY? HOW ABOUT HALF OFF!
work, live, or have roots in Wards 7 and 8 showcase their work at this annual exhibition. This year’s showcased artists include Mei Mei Chang, Wesley Clark, and Deborah Terry. July 29 to Sep. 16. viviD solutions galleRy 1231 Good Hope Road SE. (202) 365-8392. vividsolutionsdc.com. Ongoing: “Feminicity.” Olivia Tripp Morrow creates abstract sculptures using wire and textiles donated by women in this exhibit that explores female identity and experience. Presented as part of IMMERSION, an ongoing art installation in locations throughout Historic Anacostia. July 29 to Sep. 16.
Dance
Dna afteR DaRk Hip-hop choreographers from around the region display their best work at this col-
REALDEAL.WASHINGTONCITYPAPER.COM
laboration night presented by Fierce Collabo. 9:30 Club. 815 V St. NW. Aug. 28 9 p.m. $17–$30. (202) 2650930. 930.com.
36 august 26, 2016 washingtoncitypaper.com
Theater
hanD to goD A Christian puppet ministry working at a Texas church is overwhelmed by a possessed, demonic puppet in this silly comedy from playwright Robert Askins. Studio Theatre. 1501 14th St. NW. To Aug. 28. $20–$65. (202) 332-3300. studiotheatre.org. Jelly’s last Jam Jazz pianist Mark G. Meadows plays the title role in this musical biography of pioneering jazz artist Jelly Roll Morton, portraying the highs and lows of his career and personal life. Signature Theatre favorite Matthew Gardiner directs this lively production that features songs like “That’s How You Jazz” and “Good Ole New York.” Signature Theatre. 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. To Sept. 11. $40–$79. (703) 820-9771. sigtheatre.org. the lonesome west Martin McDonagh’s 1997 play follows two contemptuous brothers who recently lost their father—the result of a presumed accident for which one of the two sons was responsible. Riddled with self-effacing humor, brotherly ridicule, and unapologetic profanity, McDonagh paints a hilarious and macabre portrait of two siblings in the boondocks of western Ireland whose unfettered derision may destroy them. Keegan Theatre at Church Street Theater. 1742 Church St. NW. To Aug. 27. $35–$45. (202) 265-3767. keegantheatre.com. RepoRt to an acaDemy Scena Theater presents Franz Kafka’s dark drama about a captured ape who ensures his survival by imitating his human companions and ultimately presents his work to a collection of scientists. Atlas Performing Arts Center. 1333 H St. NE. To Sept. 25. $20–$35. (202) 399-7993. atlasarts.org. satchmo at the walDoRf Louis Armstrong recounts his monumental career as a professional musician and his experiences working during the civil rights movement in this acclaimed off-Broadway show that’s presented at Atlas by Mosaic The-
ater Company of DC. Atlas Performing Arts Center. 1333 H St. NE. To Sept. 25. $10–$60. (202) 399-7993. atlasarts.org. the tempest Shakespeare Theatre Company revives Ethan McSweeney’s popular production of Shakespeare’s take on power and magic on a tropical island for its annual Free For All. Affiliated artists Patrick Page and Edward Gero star as Prospero and Alonso. Sidney Harman Hall. 610 F St. NW. To Aug. 28 Free. (202) 547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.
Film
waR Dogs Writer-director Todd Phillips draws inspiration from the story of two men who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm U.S. allies in Afghanistan for this drama. Starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) kuBo anD the two stRings A young boy must settle an old vendetta by tracking down a suit of armor once worn by his late Samurai warrior father in this animated adventure from director Travis Knight. Featuring the voices of Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, and George Takei. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) hanDs of stone A boxing coach comes out of retirement to train an emerging Panamanian fighter named Roberto Durán in this biographical film from
director Jonathan Jakubowicz. Starring Edgar Ramirez, Robert De Niro, and Usher. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)
CLEA
mechanic: ResuRRection Jason Statham once again stars as Arthur Bishop in this sequel to the 2011 film. This time, Bishop must assassinate three people and make it look like an accident in order to save the woman he loves. Directed by Dennis Gansel. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)
Ben-huR Timur Bekmambetov reimagines the classic 1959 film about a man who attempts to free his family by winning a chariot race in ancient Rome as a more action-packed adventure starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Huston. (See washingtoncitypaper. com for venue information)
NATASHA VINCENT
JASON
BEN
ALIA
COBIE
“SHARP-TONGUED AND SMART OBSERVATIONAL COMEDY.”
moRRis fRom ameRica A 13-year-old boy moves to Germany when his father gets a job coaching professional soccer and must open up to new friends in this comedy from writer and director Chad Hartigan. Starring Markees Christmas and Craig Robinson. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information) a tale of love anD DaRkness Natalie Portman makes her directorial debut in this adaptation of Amos Oz’s menu about his childhood during the early days of Israel. Starring Portman, Amir Tessler, and Shira Haas. (See washingtoncitypaper.com for venue information)
MELANIE
DuVALL LYNSKEY LYONNE PIAZZA RITTER SCHWARTZ SHAWKAT SMULDERS
- RUSS FISCHER, THE PLAYLIST
D.C.’s awesomest events calendar.
WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?
Film clips by Caroline Jones.
CITY LIGHTS: thursday
washingtoncitypaper.com/ calendar
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BETHESDA STARTS ARCLIGHT 7101 DEMOCRACY BLVD, FRIDAY 240-762-4000 BETHESDA
Washington City Paper Wednesday, 8/24 1/8Pg(2.25x5.1455) Color
sizzla
During his two-decade career, Jamaican reggae star Sizzla has been the definition of “prolific,” releasing more than 50 full-length albums and dabbling in every flavor of reggae and dancehall while celebrating the Bobo Ashanti branch of the Rastafari movement to which he subscribes. But his career has also been marked by controversy, specifically his repeated use of lyrics that call for violence against gay men. For years, this so-called “murder music” has been the target of a global campaign that has protested and often forced the cancellation of concerts by Sizzla and his contemporaries. In 2008, Sizzla’s American visa was revoked, possibly due to his homophobic lyrics. His current tour finds him returning to the States for the first time in nearly a decade. Earlier this month, his performance at a California festival was reportedly free of hateful lyrics, and he seemed to renounce violence in a post-show interview. Time will tell if Sizzla has finally learned his lesson, turned over a new leaf, and returned his focus to the kind of positivity and unity that reggae is all about. Sizzla performs at 8 p.m. at the Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. $39.50–$75. (202) 803-2899. thehowardtheatre.com. —Chris Kelly washingtoncitypaper.com august 26, 2016 37
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Out with theSUPERIOR old, In with COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA the new Post2016 your ADM652 PROBATE DIVISION listing with Washington Name of Decedent, Thelma Chen City Paper Adult Services Classifieds Notice of Appointment, Notice to
-Need a complete full hour massage ‘IM YOU’R LADY’ ready to see me?(301)655-0598 Serving Potomac,Bethesda,Rockville.
Creditors and Notice to Unknown http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/ Thai gorgeous Heirs, Leopold Chen whose adExperience a SENSUAL body dress is 705 Lake Vista Drive, rub, Pros massage, beauty Forest, VA 24551 was appointed with AMAZING curves! I offer Personal Representative of the complete full body pampering estate of Thelma Chen who died appointment, INCALL 703 on March 10, 2016 with a Will -5874683 Location on duke st and will serve without Court suAlexandria, 9.30-7pm pervision. Pretty 28 year old. Full body All unknown heirs and heirs massage. Open 10am-6pm. Call whose whereabouts are unknown 410-322-4871. Virginia. shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed With the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3” Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/18/17. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/18/17, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: 8/4/16. Personal Representative: Leopold Chen. TRUE TEST COPY /s/ ANNE MEISTER Register of Wills. Name of Newspapers: DWLR, WASHhttp://www.washingtonciINGTON CITY PAPER. Pub Dates: Aug. 18, 25, Sept. 1, 2016. typaper.com/
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Mechanics’ Lien: 2003 Subaru VIN# 4S3BH675937618449. Sale to be held 9/2/16 at 11a.m. on the premises of Johnsons Autorepair, 5912 Walker Mill Rd., Capitol Hgts, MD 20743.
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Mechanics’ Lien: 2012 Honda VIN# 19XFB2F59CE093874. Sale to be held 9/2/16 at 11a.m. on the premises of Collision Autobody, 7229 Landover Rd. Hyattsville, MDhttp://www.washingt20785.
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Mechanics’ Lien: 2014 Infi VIN# JN1BV7AR7EM701217. Sale to be held 9/2/16 at 11a.m. on the premises of Collision Autobody, 7229 Landover Rd. Hyattsville, MD 20785.
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Apartments for Rent
Rooms for Rent
Townhouse for Sale - Silver Spring Renovated 4BR/2.5 Ba w/ all new appliances, flooring & house generator so you never lose power. Open House Sat. Sept. 3 11am-2pm 10853 Bucknell Dr. Silver Spg (walking distance to Wheaton Metro) Mr Lister Realty/ 301-252-3075
Apartments for Rent
1 Month Free!* 1 & 2brs offering large floor plans not usually found in the city. W/D in each apt, floor to ceiling windows, generous closets and a balcony or terrace. On-site parking, fi tness center and dog park. Walk to Brookland-CUA Metro, dining and shopping. 1brs from $1599* & 2brs from $1999*. Call today 855-291-5612. EHO *Limited time offer, ask for details.
Out with the FIND YOUR old, In with FIND YOUR OUTLET. OUTLET. the new RELAX, RELAX, UNWIND, REPEAT CLASSIFIEDS HEALTH/ UNWIND, Post your MIND, BODY & SPIRIT REPEAT listing with CLASSIFIEDS Washington HEALTH/ City Paper MIND, BODY Moving? & SPIRIT FindClassifieds A Helping Moving? Find A Helping Hand Today
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Duplexes/Townhouses For Sale
1 Month Free!* 2 brs offering the largest floor plans in the Brookland area, w/d in apt and a multitude of closets. Free on-site parking, fi tness center and pet friendly. Walk to Brookland-CUA Metro, http://www.washingtonshopping and dining. Rents citypaper.com/ starting at $1779. Call today 855-387-5355. EHO *Limited time special ask for details.
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Affordable, stylish one-bedroom apartment for rent near the Catholic University/Brookland area. Conveniently located 7 minutes from Brookland, Fort Totten, and Takoma Park metro stations on the “Red Line” and the Georgia Avenue/ Petworth Metro Stations on the “ Green” line. • This clean, neoclassical 700 square foot, 1950’s apartment features an upgraded kitchen, a large master bedroom, plenty of closet space, beautiful hardwood floors, central heat and a/c, natural light, and some added value features. The perfect home just awaiting your personal touch and minimalist lifestyle. • Located minutes from Capitol Hill, Monroe Street Market, Bus Boys & Poets, Walmart, and YES Gourmet; walking distance to area hospitals, restaurants, shops, and entertainment. On-street parking available. • Requirements – – $45.00 application fee via certifi ed check or U.S. Postal Money Order Only – Valid government issued photo ID – Three most recent paystubs – Three professional references • A must-see. Call (202) 415-2388 to schedule an appointment today. This affordable commuter dream-come-true will not be available for long. • Monthly rent $1600 plus utilities (first month’s rent and deposit; 12-month lease). Special rent promotions apply with lease until October 1, 2016. • Utilities Not Included • Non-smoking; No pets
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ALL AREAS: ROOMMATES. COM. Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to compliment your personality and http://www.washingtlifestyles at Roommates.com!
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Short-term Furnished Room along H St. NE Corridor- Capitol Hill. On busline and within walking distance of Union Station. Utilities included, kitchen access, and W/D onsite. Visit TheCurryEstate. com for more details Cost:$1,100 month. Furnished rooms for rent $800$1,000 monthly starting August, 2016, all inclusive washer and dryer, Central air/heat, kitchen access located in Petworth, Washington DC close to the metro. Contact Samantha 202.365.5085. 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
Business Opportunities PAID IN ADVANCE! Make $1000 A Week Mailing Brochures From Home! No Experience Required. Helping home workers since 2001! Genuine Opportunity. Start Immediately! www.WorkingCentral.Net
Customer Service Rental/Customer service clerk needed for Fast paced Pro Audio/ Video/Lighting company. Full Time position Duties include, but never limited to: Rental equipment prep/testing/ maintenance & customer service Bilingual a plus.
Miscellaneous Flyer Distributors Needed Monday-Friday and weekends. We drop you off to distribute the fl yers. NW, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton. $9/hr. 301237-8932
Financial Services Are you in BIG trouble with the IRS? Stop wage & bank levies, liens & audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, & resolve tax debt FAST. Call 844-753-1317
Floral Services $$GET CASH NOW$$ Call 888822-4594. J.G. Wentworth can give you cash now for your future Structured Settlement and Annuity Payments.
General Contracting Duncan Demolition One room to entire house Haul away everything Low Rate Great Service Since 1988 (202)635-7860
Home Services Services Coming Soon!! Prepaid Cable Live local channels, premium channels. Lower price than cable or satellte. DVR eliminated! Shows recorded in the cloud. No Credit Ck, No Contract. For more info text Cheaperthancable to 55469 or call 631-219-4352
Moving & Hauling Best Rate Movers. Home, offi ce & apartment. DC/VA/MD. Student discounts. Short-notice moves. Free estimates. Free boxes. Best rates in town! Call 24 hours, 202607-6156 - offi ce.
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Indian Spiritual healer & Psychic - Pandit MAHINDRA Guruji is expert in Palm readings, face & photo reading Solutions available to all kind of problems like Love, Marriage, Husband - wife relationship problems, Job, Money, Health, Depression, Education, court cases. Pandit Guruji is an Expert in Removing and destroying Black Magic, Evil spirits &Generation Curse, Evil eye power and he provides protection to you and your family. Call for appointment-240-643-9718 Or 240-821-2150 Www.mahindraguruji.com
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Puzzle SURF’S UP
By Brendan Emmett Quigley 1
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1 Weightlifting move 5 Day of the wk. the WSJ runs contest crosswords 8 Sitting around relaxing 14 Making the rounds 16 Peace agreement 17 1985 Don DeLillo novel 18 Eavesdrop 19 Some sources of wool 20 Play time? 21 Incomprehensible span 24 Prepared fashionably 28 Truffaut’s “___ belle fille comme moi” 29 Busy women? 31 Cancel 33 Able-bodied 34 Hillary’s assistant 39 “Gotcha” 41 Untouched 42 Problem caused by a skipped period? 46 Actress Gretchen 47 Kate Moss’s modeling sister
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Furniture & Home
Miscellaneous “Foreign Service Agent,” Teen Book Ages 12-19, by Sidney Gelb. www.barnesandnoble.com, 1-800-843-2665. Order today! “Kids Story Book Two,”Ages 9-12. by Sidney Gelb. www.barnesandnoble.com, 1-800-8432665. Order today!
Cars/Trucks/SUVs CASH FOR CARS: Any Car/ Truck 2000-2015, Running or Not! Top Dollar For Used/Damaged. Free Nationwide Towing! Call Now: 1-888-420-3808
Musical Instruction/ Classes
Moving? Find A
Information session on Saturday morning, September 10th about domestic, academic, gap year programs. Higher Education Org currently has programs available for eligible applicants interested in public history, business and/or teacher education. Application process is rigorous and highly selective. Please visit educatehigher. org/information-sessions. html to RSVP. Information session location and time details made available upon confirmation of attendance. Visit educatehigher.org for more information.
Volunteer Services
Voice, Piano/Keyboards-Unleash your unique voice with outof-the-box, intuitive teacher in all styles classical, jazz, R&B, gospel, neo-soul etc. Sessions available @ my studio, your home or via Skype. Call 202-486-3741 or email dwight@dwightmcnair.com www.dwightmcnair.com
Bands/DJs for Hire DJ DC SOUL man. Hiphop, reggae, go-go, oldies, etc. Clubs, caberets, weddings, etc. Contact the DC Soul Hot Line at 202/2861773 or email me at dc1soulman@live.com.
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Butterfl y Pavilion/Insect Zoo Volunteers needed at the National Museum of Natural History! Handle real arthropods! Talk to Museum Visitors! Training in September! Email NMNHVolunteer@si.edu to apply and interview today! Defend abortion rights. Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force (WACDTF) needs volunteer clinic escorts Saturday mornings, weekdays. Trainings, other info:202-681-6577, http://www. wacdtf.org, info@wacdtf.org. Twitter: @wacdtf Q?rius jr./Q?rius Volunteers needed at the National Museum of Natural History! Engage visitors with over 6,000 museum in these interactive spaces! Training in September! Email NMNHVolunteer@si.edu to apply now!
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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE – 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 http://www.washingtoncimakers and/or small business owners and must typaper.com/ 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.
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Qualifications, background, and disposition of the ideal candidate for this position include:
• Two years of business to business and outside customer sales experience • Experience developing new territories & categories including lead generation and cold calling • Ability to carry and deliver on a sales budget • Strong verbal and written communication skills • Able to work both independently and in a team Out environment In w • Energetic, self-motivated, possessing an Pos Out with the old, In entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic with the new • Organized, detail and with results oriented with Post City professional presentation abilities Cla your listing with • Willing to embrace new technology and social http Washington City media onci Paper Classifieds • MS Office suite proficiency - prior experience http://www.washingtoncitypape http://www.washingtoncitywith a CMR/CMS software application paper.com/ • Be driven to succeed, tech savvy, and a world class listener • Enjoy cultivating relationships with area businesses
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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 – 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.
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