Riverfront Times, October 20, 2021 by Riverfront Times

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America’s #1 comedy club Delivering Laughs for Over 35 Years

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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MARCH 6-12, 2019

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THE LEDE

“I lean into public art. ... The most heartwarming part is when I spoke with one of the bus drivers and a couple of the other folks working here, and [they were] like, you know, ‘Just warms my heart to see a sister doing this, or a woman doing this.’ So it’s really affirming, and it just feels very wonderful when people feel excited.”

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

SIMIYA SUDDUTH, VISUAL ARTIST AND HEALER, PHOTOGRAPHED WITH HER MURAL AT ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8 riverfronttimes.com

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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Mississippi Myths

ou weren’t at Mississippi Nights for that Nirvana show. We know, you’ve been telling that story for so long you almost believe it. But if every person who says they were in the pit that night was telling the truth, the walls would’ve blown out, ending the legendary venue’s run even earlier. So here’s how we can help: Jon Osia Scorfina talked to a whole bunch of people who actually were there and melded their memories into a fantastic oral history. (The behind-the-scenes with a security guard is worth it alone.) It’s not the same as being there, but it’s as close as you’re going to get. If nothing else, it’ll give you more details to flesh out that story of yours. —Doyle Murphy, editor in chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy

E D I T O R I A L Digital Content Editors Jenna Jones, Jaime Lees Interim Managing Editor Daniel Hill Food Editor Cheryl Baehr Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski Contributors Eric Berger, Jeannette Cooperman, Mike Fitzgerald, Eileen G’Sell, Reuben Hemmer, Ryan Krull, Andy Paulissen, Justin Poole, Jack Probst, Richard Weiss, Theo Welling, Ymani Wince Columnists Thomas Chimchards, Ray Hartmann Editorial Interns Phuong Bui, Zoë Butler, Madyson Dixon A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Associate Publisher Colin Bell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Director of Business Development Brittany Forrest, Rachel Hoppman Director of Marketing and Events Olia Friedrichs Regional Director of Marketing and Events Kristina Linden

COVER One Wild Mississippi Night An oral history of Nirvana’s singular, near-riotous show in St. Louis Cover illustration by

NOAH MACMILLAN

C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein www.euclidmediagroup.com N A T I O N A L A D V E R T I S I N G VMG Advertising 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com

INSIDE The Lede Hartmann News Big Mad Feature Cafe Short Orders Reeferfront Times Culture Film Savage Love 6

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HARTMANN Pay Up Saint Louis Zoo needs to ditch its 20th century tourism model BY RAY HARTMANN

magine if the Saint Louis Zoo permanently closed its website and email accounts. And it didn’t permit cell phones and digital cameras on the premises. And payment at concession stands was limited to cash and checks, with just a few major credit cards accepted, if they could be swiped manually. Does that sound like a zoo that might be out of touch with present-day reality? Well, before you snicker at 1970, consider this: That scenario is no more out of date than St. Louis’ approach to tourism as it applies today to the zoo and a few of its other cultural institutions. In 2021, St. Louis prides itself as offering the world a free zoo, just like it did a half century ago. But a funny thing happened since leisure suits and bellbottoms were all the rage: Tourism exploded as a multi-billion-dollar revenue source for metropolitan areas across America. St. Louis, sadly enough, has decided to sit that one out. That’s particularly noteworthy since the Saint Louis Zoo just pulled off quite a coup, luring Dwight Scott, director of the famed San Diego Zoo, to replace Jeffrey Bonner, its retiring leader. Like St. Louis, the San Diego Zoo benefits from a sizeable amount of property taxes that support it — some $18 million, according to its 2018 annual report. That compares to roughly $22 million for the same period in St. Louis. Like St. Louis, its annual attendance (not counting the pandemic period) hovers around the 3 million mark: San Diego welcomed 3.2 million visitors and St. Louis 2.9 million visitors in 2019. That’s where the similarity stops. Today, the admittance price to the San Diego Zoo is $62 for ages twelve and older, $52 for ages three to ten. For St. Louis, that would be zero and zero. As a result of the latter, St. Louis

is irrationally and irresponsibly forgoing tens of millions of dollars annually — mostly from tourists — that it simply cannot afford to pass up. I fully realize that’s heresy to many in St. Louis, where the “free zoo” is such a symbol of local pride. But this isn’t 1970 anymore. Consider some history. And some present-day cold reality. Back in 1970, the idea for a Zoo-Museum District (ZMD) was hatched that would bring together the city and county as funding sources to support — and solidify the future — of the zoo and Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park and a struggling science museum in the county. It would be funded by a new property tax collected in both jurisdictions. A spirited battle ensured between city and county state legislators. Those from the county were especially concerned that their residents would suffer a double whammy if they agreed to the new tax, only to have the institutions turn around and start charging admission on top of it. A grand compromise was masterfully engineered by civic leaders, shepherded by Representative Charles Valier, a young state legislator from the city. Compromise language was inserted in the state law creating the ZMD: The institutions would remain “forever free.” So it came to pass that St. Louis made an eternal commitment to the noble mission of never charging the public admission to its zoo. It applied to the other institutions as well, but then and now it was all about the zoo. This was not all that big a deal in 1970. Very few zoos charged admission at the time, and the ones that did collected nominal amounts at the gate. It’s important to remember that tourism revenues were not much of a thing for governments back then. As an example, the Missouri Tourism Commission — on which I served for two years in the ’80s — wasn’t even established until 1969. It wasn’t all that much of a sacrifice to forego zoo-admission revenues in 1970. This was a political compromise between some politicians jockeying over fiefdoms and local interests. No wars had been fought over the right to enter zoos for free. This was not an organiz-

Does anyone think the world-class Saint Louis Zoo isn’t worth paying for? If anything, it should fetch a higher ticket price than other zoos. But it’s time to start charging tourists for tourism. ing principle of democracy. It did turn out that the ZMD was a brilliant idea. What started as about a $1 million property-tax initiative has expanded to a $75 million funding engine providing incredible community support and stability for the original institutions and two more that would be added: The History Museum and Missouri Botanical Gardens. It works. It’s great. But it’s as outdated as waiting for Saturday cartoons to come on the family TV. Since 1970, zoo admission has become a multi-billion-dollar revenue source where once it was a trickle. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums reports that some 181 million people enter its institutions annually, “more than NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB games combined.” With rare exceptions like St. Louis, these people pay stout prices to visit zoos — typically ranging from $12 to $25 for adult and kids older than twelve, and $8 to $12 for kids two to twelve. The world has changed. Zoos have become a major revenue center for American tourism. But not in St. Louis. In 2019, no fewer than 39 percent of those visiting the Zoo lived outside the St. Louis area, according to its statistics. Only 37 percent of zoo visitors are from the county (27 percent) and city (10 percent). The remaining 24 percent came from the counties St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin in Missouri and St.

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Clair and Madison in Illinois. That means there were nearly 1.1 million visits from tourists outside the area. That number could have generated $15 million to $20 million in found money to the zoo at minimum, all with no opportunity cost to the region’s economy. Those numbers are not precise. It can be argued that some visitors would stay away if they had to pay. But does anyone think the world-class Saint Louis Zoo isn’t worth paying for? If anything, it should fetch a higher ticket price than other zoos, so the estimates might be conservative. To be clear, I believe the zoo should remain “forever free” for the city and county residents who support it so generously with their property tax dollars. They should be able to bring in a reasonable number of complimentary guests as well. The deal in 1970 was forever free. But it was intended to protect residents from being doubledipped, not to provide a gratuitous gift to the entire world. Remember, there were no tourism billions generated by zoos back then. Had there been, the legislators in Jefferson City would have had a very different discussion. There’s also the change in local structure to consider regarding the ZMD. When the tax was created, the combined city and county accounted for 85 percent of the people in the core seven-county region. Today, that number has shrunk to 51 percent. If you use the Census Bureau’s fifteen-county definition, city and county residents represent less than half of the area (46.3 percent). At this point, however, the ZMD argument is for another time. The low-hanging fruit is that the zoo needs to begin embracing 21st century principles — with the other ZMD institutions then free to follow — and start charging tourists for tourism. Anything less is as useless as that wall phone. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhar tmann1952@gmail.com or catch him on Donnybrook at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on Nine PBS and St. Louis In the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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NEWS

City Relies on ‘Criminal’ Police in Case, Lawyer Says Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

he city’s long-running prosecution of a St. Louis pastor and a police protester is, at its core, a case of “Who do you believe?” It began in September 2017 when the Reverend Darryl Gray and Calvin Kennedy were arrested outside of Busch Stadium during the protests that followed the ac uittal of a hite olice o cer in the killing of a Black man. Police claimed Gray, then 63, attacked o cers ithout rovocation, and then Kennedy jumped in. In the four years since then, the two men and the city have been locked in a seemingly endless legal battle. The city won an early round, securing convictions in municipal court, but Gray and Kennedy appealed, hoping to force a jury trial in state court. hat fight is still going today In the latest hearing, held last week, attorney Javad Khazaeli pushed again for a jury trial, but also for more information about the olice o cers at the center of the city’s case. Limited video from outside the stadium on September 29, 2017, captured the events just before and after the initial clash between olice o cers and ray, leaving a gap of a crucial few seconds to be filled in by olice and other eyewitnesses. Those accounts vary wildly, and Khazaeli says revelations over the past four years show there is even less reason to take the ord of the o cers “To put it point blank,” he said at last week’s hearing, “some of the o cers are criminals f three o cers endorsed as witnesses by the city, one has been indicted on federal forgery charg-

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The Rev. Darryl Gray has been fighting charges from a protest for four years. | STEVEN DUONG es, another was reportedly being forced out of the department for an off-duty overdose, and the third is said to be on the St. Louis Circuit ttorney ce’s e clusion list of cops who can’t be trusted to present cases or testify, Khazaeli says. ther o cers on scene that night as part of the police department’s former Special Ops unit included one who was charged — and later acquitted — in a pair of assault cases and another o cer accused of rape, according to Khazaeli. “A poorly written cable movie could not concoct a scenario more absurd than these five o cers being on the same unit, being at the same incident, and being the backbone of litigation ith a ma imum fine of , the attorney rote in a court filing nstead of investigating ho five of the nine o cers from the ecial s team could all be involved in a litany of corrupt acts, the City has chosen to focus on Defendant.” hazaeli alleges the city is fighting against a jury trial (while continuing to pursue prosecution) for a couple of reasons — primarily to avoid e osing damning information about crooked cops that could hurt the city in a separate civil rights lawsuit Gray, Kennedy and other rotesters have filed in federal court. “The only reason they’re doing

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“Instead of investigating how five of the nine officers from the Special Ops team could all be involved in a litany of corrupt acts, the City has chosen to focus on Defendant.” this is they know they’re screwed in the federal case, and they’re harassing these two men, trying to get an advantage in the civil case,” Khazaeli says in an interview. City attorneys, first under thenMayor Lyda Krewson and now under Mayor Tishaura Jones, have argued for several years that the charges are similar to a tra c ticket and don’t meet the threshold for a jury trial. Khazaeli disagrees, arguing that the potential

fines of make the charges a misdemeanor and eligible for a jury trial. “I’m very disappointed the Jones administration is still making these arguments,” Khazaeli adds. “We were hopeful they would see the error of the ways of the Krewson administration, which has consistently tried to protect corru t olice o cers he idea that U.S. Constitution does not allow Black men to have jury trials or even get evidence of the witnesses testifying against them ies in the face of justice.” A spokesman for Jones said the city wouldn’t comment on pending litigation but that the new city counselor was reviewing the case. hree of those o cers referenced by Khazaeli are no longer employed by the department. That includes Ronald Vaughan, once a city detective assigned to Special Ops, who claimed Gray shoved him in the chest as Vaughan tried to politely talk him down. That con icts ith the accounts of pastors who marched alongside Gray that evening. They claimed o cers manhandled t o female clergy members as the group tried to make it through a busy intersection, and when Gray protested, vocally, he was body-slammed and pepper sprayed. In February, Vaughan was charged with felony forgery after he was accused of faking a doctor’s note to get out of work, claiming that he would need to quarantine for two weeks with COVID-19 symptoms. Charges against him are still pending. Vaughan is no longer on the force, a police s okesman confirmed on onday Another of the city witnesses is Kyle Chandler. He is probably best known in St. Louis as the police officer ho shot ansur Ball-Bey in after he and aughan claimed the eighteen-year-old pulled a gun on them — a claim Ball-Bey’s family has long disputed. hazaeli said in court filings that a former o cer, ho as being deposed in a separate case, said Chandler was later assigned to desk duty and slated for termination after he overdosed off-duty. A police spokesman declined to comment on details of the suit or s ecific allegations but confirmed Chandler’s employment with the department ended in May. third city itness, olice o cer

Larry Wentzel, is the one who bodyslammed Gray. Khazaeli has fought to force the city or the Circuit Attorney’s ce to rovide information that would show whether Wentzel is on the Circuit Attorney’s secret e clusion list hazaeli says he asked all the o cers during de ositions if they were on the list, but when it came to Wentzel, city attorneys jumped in, instructing him not to answer before cutting the deposition short. nother o cer later claimed in a deposition that Wentzel was in fact on the list and not allowed by the Circuit ttorney’s ce to testify in cases, Khazaeli says. Wentzel remains on the force. Assistant City Counselor Adriano Martinez said at last week’s hearing that Khazaeli was misstating the de osed o cer’s comments when it came to Wentzel. he o cer said he had heard Wentzel wasn’t allowed to testify but didn’t testify he knew for certain, according to Martinez. And like Khazaeli, Martinez insists this case is really about the federal civil rights lawsuit, not low-level criminal charges — but he says the motivations for pressing on are not the city’s, but those of Khazaeli and his clients. “This is an effort for him to advance his federal case,” the assistant city counselor said at the hearing. As far as verifying whether Wentzel is on the list, the city says that info would have to come from the circuit attorney. Khazaeli subpoenaed the Circuit Attorney’s Office, but an attorney from that office attended last eek’s hearing to say in person what they had already said in a letter: The circuit attorney doesn’t plan to comply with the subpoena, given that they are not the ones prosecuting Gray and Kennedy. That is one of the maddening parts of the case, according to Khazaeli: Neither the city nor the circuit attorney wants to release additional information about the o cers, and each says it ould be the other’s responsibility. “This case needs to come to an end,” Khazaeli says. “We need our day in court.” The case sits with St. Louis Associate Circuit Court Judge Nicole Colbert-Botchway. She promised to take the issues raised at the hearing under advisement. n

Parson Threatens Journalist Who Reported Security Gap Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

he discovery that Social Security numbers of thousands of Missouri teachers were exposed on a state-operated website has spurred Gov. Mike Parson to call for criminal charges against the St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist who alerted officials to the vulnerability. In a press conference last week, Parson levied a direct attack on the newspaper and its reporter Josh Renaud — but Parson pointedly did not name Renaud, or the newspaper, instead offering a version of the controversy in which the state’s education department “was made aware of a vulnerability” in a website storing personal information of Missouri teachers. “This was clearly a hack,” Parson said, adding later that the incident “may cost Missouri taxpayers as much as $50 million” and that his administration has contacted the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office to pursue a criminal investigation. But there was very little that’s clear about Parson’s accusations, which omitted key context about the role of a professional reporter contacting Missouri officials about a blatant security vulnerability in a state website. On the evening of October 13, the PostDispatch published Renaud’s findings under the headline, “Missouri teachers’ Social Security numbers at risk on state agency’s website.” The report described how a teacher certification search tool — an online feature maintained by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or DESE — allowed any visitor to view a teacher’s Social Security numbers in the page’s HTML source code. The Post-Dispatch did not find any evidence that the personal data had been accessed or exploited, but this wasn’t a benign discovery: A public web page’s source code is designed for public access, as it is often referenced, or crawled, by search engines and web advertisers. It is not generally hidden by a password, which appears to be the case for the DESE search tool that became the subject of the Post-Dispatch’s inquiries. (You can try it yourself: For instance, on Google’s Chrome browser, right-clicking on a page reveals the op-

Governor Mike Parson claimed a reporter’s helpful discovery was criminal. | PARSON FLICKR PAGE

An act of responsible journalism is recast as a case of criminal “hacking” by an embarrassed governor. tion to view the “Page source” and “Inspect” tool, which allows a user to view some information about the files and design used in the web page.) This wasn’t a hack, but, as the PostDispatch story made clear, a web design mistake with potential harm at a vast scale. According to Renaud’s findings, “based on state pay records and other data, more than 100,000 Social Security numbers were vulnerable.” The state reacted to Renaud’s inquirers. On Tuesday, October 12, the search tool was taken down. When Renaud’s story was published one day later, it included the acknowledgment that the newspaper “delayed publishing this report to give the department time to take steps to protect teachers’ private information, and to allow the state to ensure no other agencies’ web applications contained similar vulnerabilities.” The story includes multiple quotes from DESE spokeswoman Mallory McGowin, including a confirmation that the department’s data team had acted “to get that search tool pulled down immediately, so we can dig into the situation and learn more about what has happened.” McGowin was also quoted saying that the department had begun an audit, but had not found any other instances of the

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vulnerability in its other web tools. She apparently remained in contact with the Post-Dispatch as late as Tuesday. Then, something changed. In an October 13 letter sent to teachers and published as a press release on the DESE website, Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven wrote that the department had been “made aware” that personal information “was potentially compromised” within the data available on DESE’s website. There was no mention of the PostDispatch or its reporter; the letter instead claimed that “through a multistep process, a hacker took the records of at least three educators, decoded the HTML source code, and viewed the social security number (SSN) of those specific educators.” The letter leaves out the fact that the supposed “hacker” was the same person who had made the department aware of the security hole — and that the three records taken had been provided to a Saint Louis University professor for verification of the vulnerability, a detail spelled out in the eventual story. Shaji Khan, the cybersecurity expert who reviewed the Post-Dispatch’s findings, is quoted in the October 13 story, Continued on pg 10

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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New Ruling Favors St. Louis County Mask Mandate Written by

JENNA JONES

udge Nellie Ribaudo has lifted a temporary restraining order against St. Louis County’s mask mandate. Her ruling came on October 14, weeks after St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and Dr. Faisal Khan issued a new public health order instructing residents over the age of five to wear masks indoors in public. It applies to everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Ribaudo had in September refused to lift an injunction that blocked a mask mandate, writing at the time that she was puzzled by the county’s move to extend the prior mask order rather than issuing a new one. The judge’s September ruling led Page and Khan to do just that,

PARSON’S THREAT Continued from pg 9

explaining that this particular kind of security flaw has been known “for at least 10-12 years, if not more,” and exclaiming, “The fact that this type of vulnerability is still present in the DESE web application is mind boggling!” But that’s not the outrage Parson is now stoking. On October 14, the governor repeated the DESE letter’s precise wording and key omissions. He accused a “hacker” of using “a multi-step process” to take records “of at least three educators” and who also “decoded the HTML source code and viewed the Social Security number of those specific educators.” While Parson’s remarks copied the careful reshuffling of events that debuted in DESE’s earlier letter, the press conference took the argument several steps further — while still conceding that he was attacking a news organization because he thought it was trying to “embarrass” his administration. “Nothing on DESE’s website gave permission or authorization for this individual to access teacher data,” Parson said. “This individual is not a victim, they were acting against a state agency to compromise teachers’ personal information in an attempt to embarrass the state and sell headlines for their news outlet. We will not let this crime against Missouri teachers go unpunished and we refuse to let them be a pawn in the newspaper’s political vendetta.” Parson’s remarks were boldly self-contradictory, showing both an awareness of the details of Renaud’s reporting — which

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and the county issued a new mask mandate on September 27. The newly issued public health order was the catalyst for lifting the previous restraining order, Ribaudo ruled, because the new order replaces the one issued on July 26. Since the previous order no longer exists, the restraining order isn’t necessary. Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office had argued in a press release that the new order was “ridiculous and illegal.” In the October 14 hearing, Ribaudo denied Schmitt’s office motion to renew and enforce the injunction but did grant the office ten days to file a new petition. The spokesman for the Attorney General’s office Chris Nuelle promised Schmitt would file a new restraining order against the current mandate, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the current order is “illegal” under the law, which requires legislative approval for health orders that extend longer than 30 days in a 180-day period. The September 27 public health order was supported by a majority of the St. Louis County Council, unlike the original July 26 order. n

had prompted DESE to take down the vulnerable web page in the first place — while presenting the journalists’ actions as “wrongdoing committed by bad actors.” While repeatedly referencing “an individual” reporter and a news organization, Parson feigned ignorance toward the journalist’s motives and, moments later, accused him of compromising teachers’ personal information “for pathetic political gain.” “We also do not know why this individual is seeking to access, convert and take personal information from Missouri teachers,” Parson said, vowing that “we will not rest until we clearly understand the intentions of this individual and why they were targeting Missouri teachers.” The Post-Dispatch is pushing back against the governor. Renaud has not responded directly to Parson’s accusations. In a statement included in the October 13 story that broke the news of the DESE website vulnerability, attorney Joseph Martineau said that Renaud “had done the responsible thing by reporting his findings to DESE so that the state could act to prevent disclosure and misuse.” This wasn’t an example of hacking, but watchdog journalism. Martineau argued that “there was no breach of any firewall or security” and no malicious criminal intent behind Renaud’s reporting, which had led to government action to fix a pressing problem — and, now, a governor’s backlash to the fallout. “For DESE to deflect its failures by referring to this as ‘hacking’ is unfounded,” Martineau’s statement concluded. “Thankfully, these failures were discovered.” n

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THE BIG MAD Problems, Possessed Parson’s perfidy, society’s sickness and Kroenke’s expansion scheme Compiled by

DANIEL HILL

elcome back to the Big Mad, the RFT’s weekly roundup of righteous rage! Because we know your time is short and your anger is hot: EXPANSION SCHEME: The best part of the ongoing lawsuit between St. Louis and the NFL is the delicious schadenfreude of having Rams owner Stan Kroenke and his billionaire buddies come groveling back to the city they betrayed. The second-best part is the possibility that the NFL pays St. Louis a stupendous amount of money. There is no third thing. Yet, with the lawsuit heating up, legal analysts and sports commentators are raising the possibility that the NFL could try to reach a settlement to give an expansion team to St. Louis. To supporters of this, we say: For real? We place more trust in Sam Bradford’s cursed knees than any promise from the NFL, an organization that gladly encouraged owners to pressure cities into using public funding to build stadiums — such was the racket that led St. Louis to burn $18 million on a new stadium plan in 2015 that the league and Kroenke never had any intention of considering. So, give us the cash, and if there’s additional sweetening needed for the settlement, don’t give us a team, but something we actually want: a Black Mirror-style television special where Kroenke has to eat Imo’s for 24 hours straight while complimenting a slideshow of St. Louis’ historic churches, and every time he mispronounces a street name Kurt Warner comes out and hits him with a pork steak. You know, justice. NURSING A GRUDGE: In a time where we, as a society, are quite literally hanging on by a thread, you would think everyone would take a moment and be nicer to each other. Instead, we have people who are openly assholes just to prove a point. A story published last week by Kaiser Health News highlighted just how fucked our society is, with patients and their families exhibiting a range of poor behavior from assaulting medical staff to threatening to bring guns to hospitals that have COVID-19 protocols they don’t agree with. Missouri alone has had a tripling of physical assaults, causing nurses at one hospital to carry panic buttons on their badges. Let us emphasize

that for you: a tripling. One nurse has noticed the ongoing problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic, with people taking their political anger out on nurses just trying to do their jobs. It is infuriating to watch this happen to anyone, let alone people who saved a decent chunk of our asses last year fighting an unknown deadly enemy. Now it’s time to do your part: Get vaccinated against both the flu and COVID, stop attacking people, and thank a healthcare worker. We owe these people a hell of a lot better than just “don’t assault them,” but hey, we could at least start there. HOT COFFEE HOT TAKES: Remember in 2017 when people were throwing their coffee makers off balconies in fealty to Fox News hosts? It seemed at the time like the height (oh, yeah!) of stupidity. But we’ve learned from this pandemic that things can always get more stupid. Now, we’ve got people throwing their whole careers out the window for equally dumb ideas. Newly former KMOV reporter Kim St. Onge proudly announced her profession-shucking decision this week in a public Facebook post after she refused the station owner’s requirement to either get vaccinated or follow strict safety protocols. “I refuse to stand for a company dictating medical decisions for its employees, especially when it comes to an experimental vaccine,” St. Onge writes in a screed that was long on “freedom” references and short on science. “I want my future kids to know their mom stood up for her beliefs, her morals, even though it cost their mom her job.” Say what you will about a Keurig, but at least it works. F12 THE MAINFRAME: The list of things that the Governor of Missouri doesn’t understand is long. There’s microbiology, of course, considering his disastrously handsoff approach to COVID safety measures. There’s economics as well, leading Parson to discontinue enhanced unemployment benefits based on nothing more than “conversations” rather than data, a move which national studies have shown had no positive effect on jobs report numbers. So it makes sense that the governor might be bewildered by the inscrutable sorcery of computers, leading him to accuse a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of being a “hacker” over his ability to click an F12 button and view a pile of social security numbers freely available in the source code. It’s believable, but honestly we suspect he’s being disingenuous on this one, and moreover, a great big weenie. Attacking a journalist for doing his job is a perfect way to throw some red meat to his base while simultaneously deflecting blame for the outrageous security flaws that happened under his watch, but it also fuckin’ sucks. Just take the L, man. n

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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RECORDS Y OF SUB POP S TE R U O C S PHOTO

hirty years ago this month, on October 16, 1991, Nirvana played its first and only t Louis gig at the beloved and now-bygone venue t ights ississi i cool and was a clear Wednesday autumn when the trio of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl pulled into the late, famous Landing nightclub he band as in the middle of a massive metamorphosis from underground unkers to generation-defining, international superstars; its

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landmark album Nevermind had been released 22 days earlier on e tember , , by major label C ecords nd the accomanying music video for its first single, mells ike een irit, had remiered as a Buzz Bin cli on ’s late-night alternative video show 120 Minutes on e tember he grou ’s une ected ascension to a garish grunge commodity was as close to a viral sensation as anything got in the time before dial-up internet, largely due to een irit almost immediately leaving the Buzz Bin and landing in continuous rotation on n the fe eeks bet een the album’s release and the tour

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sto in t ouis, the relatively small 1,000-capacity venue was completely oversold (tickets cost just $8 to $10!), and anticipation as at a fever itch for eattle’s greatest annel-clad e orts to play their debut gig in the river city What happened that night has gone do n in t ouis history as one of those legendary gigs, a show that now everyone claims to have attended but only a lucky fe actually itnessed rom the start, the crowd erupted into a cacophony of blood, sweat and passion as slam-dancers and crowd-surfers ransacked the pit, sto ing the gig more than five times before Cobain got frustrated or inspired (perhaps both)

and invited the whole audience onto the stage mid-sho Naturally, the crowd enthusiastically complied, with chaotic results ear as stolen he fire marshal as called rohl booked it backstage and giddily watched as anarchy engulfed his fellow bandmates, who were pinned to the walls with their instruments, and a near-riot broke out choolyard legend among ’ s stoners has it that Cobain wanted to cause a stir that would rival uns ’ oses’ infamous iverort iot fe months earlier, on uly , , l ose had stormed off stage after attacking

a fan who was taking pictures of ell, thanks the band, outing, to the lame-ass security, ’m gon actual three-hour ing home riot ensued, with dozens of injuries, as into icated fans angry about ose’s early de arture attempted to rip seats out of the then-less-than-a-month-old amhitheater in aryland eights hough the rivalry bet een irvana and uns ’ oses as very real in the early ’ s, and is used by many rock historians as a way of describing the cultural shift from the days of hair-metal dominance to the Nevermind era, this was likely not on the minds of the irvana cro d ovoselic even allegedly pleaded that night with the audience, saying, on’t be like the ’n’ cro d,

he because shit attracts ies was Nights fervor at Mississippi more spontaneous, with a crowd sim ly elated by a eeting fe hours of raucous rock & roll and the opportunity to see a band at the peak of its performance in a venue the size of which it would likely never lay again he Riverfront Times spoke with some of the lucky few who were there that night in a series of one-on-one interviews to build an oral history of the chaotic sho Pat Hagin, former booking agent for Mississippi Nights, current owner of the Pageant and Delmar n those Hall: booked the sho days, it was probably [booked] eeks to eight eeks before si irvana e booked the sho before we had any idea about the band

Rob Wagoner, Ultraman and Bent, Euclid Records: When Bleach came out it asn’t really my thing kne a lot of eo le ho liked them a lot ltraman as in unich laying on e tember hen Nevermind came out e ere in the club in the daytime and they were playing it remember thinking, o , is this the same band nd the kid from cream as on drums Matt Harnish, Bunnygrunt, Matt Harnish’s Pink Guitar, Vintage Vinyl: had heard mells ike een irit on ony Cat’s radio sho on , he roove achine, on aturday nights hat as the only song had heard by irvana

Eric Eyster, Hell Night: remember it as articularly e citing because they’d never layed t ouis before heir buzz was strong though, because the show was sold out at Mississippi ights y friends and had already heard most of Nevermind because of all the bootleg recordings of the demos that ere oating around ost of us already kne the songs, e just didn’t kno a lot of their correct titles Hagin: he guest list might have been huge, because everyone was crawling out of the woodork trying to go to that sho here could have been another hundred people in there just from various record stores, newsa ers, fanzines Roberta Patterson, former KCOU music director: n , as a music director at C in Columbia, issouri he station was an early supporter of grunge and other alternative music, and we had played Bleach hen Nevermind came out, remember writing the album review for the station ince the station as so supportive, the DGC college radio rep hooked me up with tickets, and my roommates and ere going to drive to for the sho

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Thomas Crone, former Riverfront Times music writer: I was really, really lucky, because I was covering music for the RFT, so my ticket was comped. I certainly would have paid for a ticket. I absolutely wanted to see them. I think a lot of people at the time felt like Urge Overkill was the better band. I never quite found my clique as a fan of Urge Overkill. For me it was 100 percent a Nirvana concert.

itar and walking up with the gu re were the d an s the other thing d the un aro all le op loads of pe tickd ha dy ea alr I ce club. Sin en fri ds ets, UO gave me and my s for sse backstage all-access pa our trouble.

Harnish: Probably the reason I was at the show was because my roommate was a big Urge Overkill fan. I was in college. I was DJing at KSLU. Mississippi Nights was kind enough to give us free tickets to almost every show to give away, but we had essentially zero listenership. It was pretty much always the DJs that went to the shows. Jim Utz, former Vintage Vinyl employee: The night before I went to Columbia, Missouri, to see the Meat Puppets and Urge Overkill play at the Blue Note. We’re hanging out after the show at the Blue Note, and Urge Overkill was just hanging out too. I was talking to them. I told them I was going to see them tomorrow night with Nirvana. They asked if there were cool places to shop [in St. Louis] for vintage clothes. I told them about Haberdashery and Hullabaloo. We exchanged numbers. I drove back to St. Louis and went to work the next day at Vintage Vinyl and they called me at work. They told me [Hullabaloo was] great. So they said, “Thanks, we’re going to leave tickets for you at the door.”

Overkill Wagoner: During Urge around lk wa ely you could fre ody. I yb an o int mp and not bu Overkill remember when Urge nding on played, Grohl was sta self and the first riser by him any him g nobody was payin m fro him ew attention. We kn we so m, ea Scr when he was in him for went up and talked to a while. t night, Utz: I get to the door tha name my t and Urge Overkill pu me ve ga d on the guest list an en Wh s. sse pa some backstage ir the ed ish fin verkill rge n ee tw Be . ge sta ck ba set, I went ng re ha bands, I’m back the ill and ing out with Urge Overk you n’t they said “Hey, why do e of sid the watch with us from ” ol! “Co the stage.” I’m like,

Overkill Urge Patterson: at the show -up played a warm fans, big were We . Note Blue U KCO by e cam band the and and did an interview before the show. As it turns out, UO left the Blue Note without a guitar, a bunch of tools and a sweater. When they got to STL, they went by Vintage Vinyl. That is where Jim Utz had spoken to them, and they asked him if he knew anyone in Columbia that could get the things and bring them to the show. Jim knew I was driving in and put them in contact with me. I was able to pick up the things and deliver them to Mississippi Nights. I remember

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

invited Crone: The lights guy which , oth bo ht lig me into the ck of ba the at y wa was all the all ight the club and u a sm was so it of steps. I remember fished d an cro ded e sa me bands th bo me out. I watched which , oth bo from the sound y cool usl geo tra ou gave me this rted to ability to see as it all sta t vantage break down. From tha ng to see. point it was quite a thi lights Eyster: By the time the place the , na went out for Nirva cked -pa jam s wa was ready. I full ing ow kn nt, fro in the very feeling well I would soon be s hypcrushed. Everyone wa ening op notized by Nirvana’s Me nt Wa song, “Jesus Doesn’t for a Sunbeam.” one in Crone: I think every y were the e lik t fel the room special. ing eth som there for alive, in The room was really ctric. It the sense of, like, ele a lot of s seemed like there wa of the nt fro in chaos happening ge. sta the to stage, spilling on t night Hagin: I went down tha the ofand ended up sitting in rge r fice talking to the o ne en Th k. Overkill plays. Set brea s wa I . ge Nirvana goes onsta I t bu r, ne ow still talking to the to r ea e on of t was listening ou pick up the show and I could ’t going sn wa ing eth [that] som ar from right by what I could he

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the stage. t until the openEyster: It wasn’ , e second song ing riffs of th e ac pl e th n he “Aneurysm,” w was one of It t. hi ts ba t wen re I was being those times whe et merely from lifted off my fe was crammed the fact that I reds of people between hund same time. pogo-ing at the ing I remember Utz: The one th the show was the most from t into “Aneuwhen they wen osebumps. rysm.” It’s still go in those days Hagin: Back little rougher things were a s. around the edge The crowd, for Joe Poole, fan: hts’ standards, Mississippi Nig t rowdier than was a little bi , rolling around usual. I was up I think it was in the crowd. ng off Bleach probably a so I e Barber.” like “Floyd th y the stage i ed over onto n I went to he w wife says that helped me up. stand up, Kurt ely remember. I don’t complet I know I got The next thing back by secuslammed in the lled backwards rity. I was pu set and thrown past the drum outside. t, former MisTommy Wiprech curity and barsissippi Nights se gets on stage. tender: This kid ont of the stage He gets in the fr nter. Kurt Coa little bit off ce nter guy. The bain was the ce mping around, kid’s on stage ju on stage left. dancing around r security guys, One of the othe grabs the guy he goes out and says “Let’s go.” by the arm and a bear hug and He gets him in ing omeho they start scu ce first on the they both fell fa in as atchoor urt Coba the sudden he ing it and all “What the hell stops and says, Let that kid go.” are you doing? the crowd and Kurt looks at rity. Everyone says, “Fuck secu w!” on the stage no just got steamPoole: Security rolled. ain’t going to Wiprecht: We ere were only win this one. Th us [on Mississix or seven of rity]. We went sippi Nights secu door. We took out the back

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our staff shirts off and turned them inside out. [We didn’t want our] staff shirt showing because these people were going fucking crazy. They were, like, possessed. All the sudden everyone was up on stage. We walked down the alley and went to Second Street and popped into another bar and got a beer really quick. By the time we got back the cops had got there. When we got back in Mississippi Nights there were probably 100 people on stage, just milling around. Eyster: The security at Mis ing sissippi Nights started gett particularly hostile with the crowd and throwing kids out of the show. Kurt was displeased, and eventually as an act of defiance, he invited the cro d onto the stage. I didn’t go up but I watched the chaos. The scariest part was watching the PA stacks almost topple over, but Krist Novoselic managed to talk everyone down and the show started again. Crone: When the band invited the audience members up, it seemed like all the equipment was going to get wrecked or all the cords and cables were going to come undone. From a mechanical perspective it seemed like it was going to be over. It’s pretty wild that any part of that show took place after. At a Foo Fighters concert at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on July 20, 2008, Grohl reminisced about his former band’s Mis as nce erie exp hts Nig sissippi pre-song banter before the twee jangle with the memorable Men ” Me. tos-inspired video, “Big Dave Grohl: I’ll tell you a Mis g, lon A y. stor hts sissippi Nig long time ago. In a galaxy far, far away. I was in a band way

back in 1991. And we had just made this fucking record tha t we didn’t think was a big deal, but evidently a lot of people from here did because too many people showed up to the Mississippi Nights show. So we fucking roll into town and we were on tour with a band called Urge Overkill. Actually, the night before, we had played a show and my drum set was all fucked up the whole tour, because the guy tha t played fucking lead guitar and sang in that band used to chop at it every night with his gui tar. Right. So there were holes in my drum kit. So we thought, the night before we played here, at the end of the show, “Let’s fucking destroy the drum set.” Like really destroy it, so I got to get a new one. So we did. After the last song, we said, “Hey y’all, you can leave if you want, but we’re going to just bust the drum set up.” So we did, and the next day was a Sunday. All the drum shops were closed, so I was fucked. Shit out of luck . So I had to borrow the drum set of the opening band, who were called Urge Overkill. So we come to Mississippi Nights; Urge Overkill plays and it’s great. We come along and I’m borrowing their drum set. We play a couple songs and the security guys were being kinda rough with the kids. So, the singer guy says, “Hey motherfuckers, if you don’t coo l it were going to fucking stop playing.” We play a couple more songs and they don’t stop . We stopped one more time and say, “Hey, if you motherfuckers don’t cool it we’re going to stop playing.” We played a couple more songs and they were still rough. We stopped and said , “OK, you know what? Everyone on stage!” And the whole fucking club got on stage at

to only ssiswent took

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Mississippi Nights! It was this radical, fucking kick-ass riot that was happening. So I fucking split. I went backstage. I don’t want to get my ass kicked by someone I don’t know. I get back to the Urge Overkill dressing room and I’m like, “Dudes, you got to get out there! There’s a fucking riot going on.” And Blackie [Johnny “Blackie Onassis” Row an, drummer of Urge Overkill] says, “What about my fucking drum set, motherfucker?” Oh, shit o s end the ne t fifteen minutes gathering up his drum set from all the assholes tha t were looting the gig. Then we put that shit back together and e finished laying the gig f that tour, that was one of the most memorable nights of my fucking life. It’s good to know you can go anywhere and still find a little bit of fucking kick ass, freaky drunk-ass rock & roll wherever you go. In an excerpt from the book In Their Own Words – Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love, Urge Overkill’s drummer, Blackie Onassis, confirms the experience. Blackie Onassis: We were doing a show at the Mississipp i Nights club in St. Louis on the Nevermind tour, and the whole day there had been this run ning joke in the Nirvana camp about how Guns N’ Roses had just had that big riot there. Kurt mentioned that he’d like to start a riot, too, but I don’t think anyone took him seri ously. Nirvana needed to use our gear that night because the previous evening they had just trashed everything. It was only twenty minutes into their set and Dave runs in and says tha t Kurt just invited the entire club onstage because there was so many kids stage-diving. We realized our gear was up there, so we all went running on stage to save our equipment. We found Krist and Kurt sitting on the edge of the stage, totally bewildered , with 500 kids swarming all around them. The whole place was going crazy, the owners were calling the cops. The police showed up and Krist gave this long speech [about] how everybody needed to get along, and he talked everybody back into their seats and the cops agreed not to arrest anybody. Nirvana started playing again and they kept the

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club o en late so they could finish their set. Even the cops stayed and watched the show. What started out as total mayhem ended in peaceful resolution. That’s how badly people wanted to hear Nirvana. Wiprecht: Only a few bands can possess a crowd like that. The crowd were like zombies. That was probably the most impactful show I ever worked. Eyster: I remember the vibe wasn’t quite the same after that. The tightly packed crowd down front had dispersed some and the energy level had dropped significantly Crone: The fact that the G’n’R situation had already happened too probably permeated that whole room. I think everyone was kind of expecting some sort of chaotic thing to continue. I could very easily imagine some scenario in which the show stops, things become really violent and things spill out into the street. That it didn’t is a nice sidebar. It ended with music as opposed to what happened at the G’n’R show. Wagoner: There was no riot. It was chaotic, but it didn’t seem dangerous. Harnish: They came back and said they worked it out with the bouncers, and they were going to finish u their set rist Novoselic sang the intro to “Get Together” [by the Youngbloods], which I didn’t even know at the time [that] he does that on the album. I just thought, “Oh, cool. He was just inspired by, like, alright, we’re all together now.” I thought he was totally just winging that one. I had no idea it was on the album. Fritz Noble, Strangulated Beatoffs, White Suburban Youth: The bass player or the drummer had a couple of my band’s records trangulated Beatoffs urt as a big fan of Drunks with Guns, too. They were big fans of the Drunks & the Beatoffs. They had our record “Shake Your Dick,” and they loved that song. I was backstage scarfing their beers e ent back to their hotel with them. It was a nice hotel downtown across from the Arch. They weren’t like Mötley Crüe or Guns N’ Roses. I was like, “Let’s party with these guys. Where’s the groupies? Where’s the cocaine?” They just

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wanted to go to bed. I guess they were the birth of the antithesis of the overblown rock star.

the Boredoms out on tour. Taking the Raincoats out. Taking an ABBA tribute band. Wearing a Flipper shirt. They always helped champion the people they loved. They never forgot where they came from and always tried to bring everyone with them on the wild ride they never anticipated being on.

Utz: These were anti-rock stars, so no one was thinking they were going to become rock stars. The cultural impact of Nevermind may be hard for Gen Z to fully conceptualize. Thirty years later, Generation X alternative rock is viewed on a macro level as really nothing more than plain old classic rock now (or “Classic Alternative,” if that’s a thing?). In St. Louis, it is not far-fetched to hear “In Bloom” sandwiched between “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” by Ted Nugent and a Guns N’ Roses track on classic rock station KSHE 95. It’s a confusing paradox for the “Alternative Nation” icons to be anointed in the “Real Rock” pantheon. As the remaining band members prepare a massive 30th anniversary reissue of Nevermind, the group is simultaneously being sued by Spencer Elden, the then-baby on the album cover, who’s accusing the band of sexual exploitation despite partaking in the recreation of the cover multiple times during early commemorative anniversaries and having “Nevermind” tattooed across his chest. Dubious lawsuits aside, the album’s eit eist e e in ence (cover art included) is certainly worthy of a modern reexamination. Locally, the success of “Teen Spirit” certainly inence the ormation o erything Alternative” terrestrial radio station 105.7 the Point in ’93, giving a platform for local alternative legends like the Urge and Fragile Porcelain Mice. The Urge’s Steve Ewing even pays tribute to Nirvana’s legacy with a smiley-face logo T-shirt that quips “Smells Like Grilled Onions” for his popular restaurant Steve’s Hot Dogs. Smaller local bands like Sullen were clearly following in the footsteps of Nirvana and Sonic Youth at the turn of the century, and more recently, anarchist punks Little Big Bangs are directly inspired by their lineage. Utz: The thing I loved the most about [Nirvana] is they had their moment but they championed all their friends. Wearing Daniel Johnston T-shirts. Taking

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Patterson: Nirvana had a profound effect on mainstream culture by shattering the archetypes associated. But the mainstream was already changing because of the impact of Lollapalooza, college radio, 120 Minutes and even hip-hop. It felt like Generation X had a seat at the table and we were going to make a positive impact because we were changing the culture. The door as finally o en, and the freaks and weirdos were walking through. Compared to what the metal and pop scenes were pushing, the alternative crowd was more accepting and respected other people whether they were women, LGBT, people of color. There as definitely a social movement within this community to try to make positive changes regarding human rights, the environment, reproductive rights, nonviolence. Perhaps the most lasting legacy, though, was Cobain’s advocacy of female-led groups including the Slits, the Raincoats, the Breeders, L7, Bikini Kill and countless others. At the height of his fame, Cobain promoted bands led by women as superior to his own. A decade prior, hair-metal groups were singing songs like

ABOVE: A backstage pass from Nirvana’s sole St. Louis show should get you backstage to whatever show in town you want, if you ask us. | VIA JIM UTZ NEXT PAGE: According to some sources, this setlist may be incomplete, and the band may have also played “Lithium” and “Territorial Pissings.” | VIA ERIC EYSTER

“Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Cherry Pie,” and now the most prominent rock star on the planet was actively discussing feminism. This was quite a different approach. Of course, Cobain was married to the queen of punk rock, Courtney o e, ho ent on to fin her o n massive success in ‘94 with her band Hole’s album Live Through This t s fittin that hen ir ana was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame the group’s performance was led by some of the most prominent ema e fi res in roc o er the ast fi e eca es, including Joan Jett, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Annie Clark of St. Vincent and Lorde.

on icte s ccess an an audience that grew outside of college-rock intellectualism, Cobain wrote in the liner notes of the EP Incesticide: “If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of a different color, or women, please do this one favor for us — leave us the fuck alone! Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.” This was an ethos not common for major-label rock stars before and sometimes even after the Nevermind era. The 2021 HBO documentary Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage posits that the progressive in ence o a ternati e ro ps like Nirvana and REM in the early part o the s as efiniti e ended by the aggro-rage that res te in riots, ootin , fires an multiple sexual assaults at the festival at the tail end of the de-

cade. Metaphorically, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst’s tattoo of Kurt Cobain is the equivalent of reading the graphic novel Watchmen just for the costumed superheroes that kick ass, but completely missing all the grander context of the story. More still, Durst’s red baseball caps and “my way or the highway” ethos predated MAGA by a few decades, and it’s easy to imagine that some of the people that attended Woodstock ’99 were almost certainly at the January 6 Capitol riots look ing for something to break. It’s unfortunate to say that Nirvana’s sound certainly inspired the empty post-grunge sounds of sad gasm groups like Puddle of Mudd, but the band’s larger cultura l in ence is c oser to the eac h themed skate punk of Wavves, or the garage soul-baring of the late

Jay Reatard. More recently, Kid Cudi and Post Malone have even paid tribute to the grunge trio. Of course, Grohl carries the torch as well with Foo Fighters, and if that band’s center-left anthem “Times i e hese can someho in ence oe anchin to en the fi ibuster, more power to him. Wagoner: What Nevermind did ltraman’s final sho as t o months after the irvana sho We had never played to more than or eo le, and e sold it out as a headliner at Mississi i ights hat hole era from ’91 to ’96, a lot of people ere going to see bands that they ouldn’t have gone to see before ocal bands could lay for , people, or the Urge could sell out a cou le of nights in a ro Before

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that, they ere just local bands t as good for a hile Hagin: Immediately, [Nirvana] ere too big to be laying ississi i ights by the time they layed hey ere just honoring their contract Wagoner: In another couple ississi i eeks after the they could have ights sho played to 5,000 people or 10,000 eo le, but at this oint they ere not the biggest band in the orld hey didn’t have the ressure yet of hen they ere rich and famous hey ere still hungry, and they ere still ha y think that ould have been about the best time to see them One of the great rock & roll sins St. Louis has committed was tearing down Mississippi Nights in 2007. For rock fans, this was as grave a disappointment as tearing down the old Busch Stadium, the only place the Beatles ever played in St. Louis, to replace it with our current Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. Now, the only venue Nirvana ever performed at in St. Louis has been demolished to become a parking lot for the Lumière Place Casino and Hotel. The Landing’s youth-culture cred hasn’t been the same since. Fittingly, Mississippi Night’s bar and exterior sign’s inclusion in the t Louis Sound exhibit at the Missouri History Museum highlights the important role it played in St. Louis’ live-music scene. It’s remarkable, too, that the Mississippi Nights gig was just one of many legendary shows on the Nevermind tour. Three nights later in Dallas, Texas, Cobain famously was punched in the face by a ses rfin hi e cro ar c rit during “Love Buzz.” The moment was captured in the Nevermindera VHS video ive onight old Out! By Halloween, the band returned to Seattle for a legendary hometown show documented in Live at the Paramount. Then, by ’92, Nirvana played arguably its most iconic electric gig at the Reading Festival to a crowd of 50,000, cementing the group as the biggest band of its day. Unfortunately, there is very little documentation about the Mississippi Nights gig. en a efiniti e set ist is har to confirm, so this e en ar i exists only in the memory of the 1,000 that were able to attend. But for those lucky people who actually made it to the show that night, to paraphrase “Lithium,” they found their friends, or God n — or, at least, Nirvana.

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[REVIEW]

Bird Is the Word The secret to Chicken Out’s delicious success lies in its elegant simplicity Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Chicken Out Multiple locations including 6197 Delmar Boulevard, 314-384-1010. Sun-Sat. 11 a.m.9 p.m.

hen Mike Johnson set out to create the perfect chicken sandwich for Chicken Out, he had one driving principle: Make it simple. A plump, tender piece of meat that, when pierced, reveals its juices. Breading that is crunchy enough without taking over and subtly seasoned with a little something s ecial uffy, buttergriddled potato bun that is so soft you want to nuzzle up to it. Duke’s mayonnaise, the creamiest, most avorful around, and mild dill pickles sliced thick enough to retain their coolness and crunch, even when placed on a searing hot piece of chicken. There’s nothing complicated about any individual component, but when they all come together to form Chicken Out’s signature offering, you’ll think you’re tasting magic. It’s no surprise that Johnson was able to capture such chickensandwich lightning in a bottle. ince o ening ugarfire’s original Olivette location in 2012, Johnson has seen one success after another — multiple well-performing outlets across the country, too many barbecue awards to count, an outrageously delicious burger joint (Hi-Pointe Drive-In) and a genius takeover of the Boathouse at Forest ark that finally got the underperforming restaurant’s house in order f anyone as going to find a way to win the current chickensandwich craze, Johnson’s the guy. Except his plans for Chicken Out predate the current fried-bird trend, or even many of his other

Cheep & Cheddar, the Chicken Out and the Spicy Chicken Out sandwiches. | MABEL SUEN successes. For Johnson, a chicken restaurant has always been on the list of things he wanted to do — going back to not long after he launched ugarfire, and ell before he opened Hi-Pointe Drive-In four years ago. In fact, Johnson had originally wanted to turn the old Del Taco that now houses HiPointe into a fried-chicken restaurant, before tabling that idea in favor of burgers. He even had the outlines of his concept drawn out; the restaurant would take inspiration from two prominent eateries: In-N-Out Burger, the West Coast fast-food chain that is near and dear to his heart, and Chick-fil- , which, politics aside, he admired for the way it dominates the operations side of the business. However, as he watched fried-chicken restaurants pop up around town, he decided that the market was too saturated and figured he should wait until the timing was right. That time came last June when he o ened the first location of Chicken Out in the Delmar Loop. Located in the former Piccione Pastry, Johnson transformed the space into a vibrant orange-andred spectacle that oozes the sort of in-your-face fun his brand has be-

From left, partner Ben Hillman, chef and general manager LaRon Richards and partner Mike Johnson. | MABEL SUEN come known for. Whimsical murals — one, of a chicken playing a guitar, reads, “This joint keeps bawkin’ until the moon goes down” — decorate the shotgun space, and yellow, red and white tiles reminiscent of a vintage, pixeled style serve as the backdrop for the fast-casual spot’s order counter. A handful of banquettes

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and tables round out the small dining room of the restaurant’s agshi a second location just opened in Kirkwood this month). Johnson may have wanted to keep things simple with his sandwich, but he made sure to add in one important detail to elevate both the chicken and the fries at

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The Blind Date salad with grilled chicken, mixed greens, grape tomatoes, avocado, feta, whole grain croutons, dates and vinaigrette. | MABEL SUEN

CHICKEN OUT

Continued from pg 25

Chicken Out: chicken salt. As he explains, over his many trips to Australia, he fell in love with the condiment, which can best be described as a ramen-like powder mixed with salt and garlic. After getting brined, then dropped in the fryer, the chicken breast comes out and is liberally sprinkled with this magic dust while it’s still searing hot; the condiment gets baked into the breading that way, forming a deeply umami crust. It’s so subtle, you can’t really discern what is going on, but it is prominent enough to make you wonder why the sandwich is so outrageously good. Chicken Out’s menu is small and does not deviate from, well, chicken. The restaurant offers a spicy Nashville-hot-style version of its sandwich, the Spicy Chicken Out, based on a recipe Johnson obtained from the owners of the famed Hattie B’s in Nashville. Because it’s not saucy, you aren’t re ared for the aming hot burn that comes from the cayenne, brown sugar and oil that coats the breading. Hot sauce mayonnaise adds to the heat, but the crunchy dills cool things off a bit. It will leave you tingling in the best way possible. Chicken Out’s signature may be the classic fried-chicken sandwich, but the restaurant’s most dazzling offering is the cleverly named Mo Parm Mo Fowl, a version of a chicken parmesan sandwich that will have you hoping Johnson’s next concept is a redsauce joint. For this masterpiece,

two hunks of breaded fried chicken are covered in marinara sauce with enough heat to suggest spice but not so much as to take it over the edge, then stuffed between two slices of cheese garlic bread. t’s di cult to come to a lace like Chicken Out and not order the classic sandwich, but this sure makes the case for deviating from that plan. Chicken Out offers a few nonfried dishes, such as a Chicken Club, topped with bacon, and a delightful Fit Chick, which pairs a boneless chicken breast with creamy avocado-yogurt dressing and kale slaw. On one visit, the restaurant was also offering a cris y battered fish sand ich, dressed with lettuce and mayo; a subtle, malt-vinegar-y taste evokes classic ub-style fish and chips. Sides include zesty kale slaw, velvety mac and cheese, or cheese fries smothered in a silken, tangy cheese sauce, though really all you need are the regular fries — gorgeous, goldenfried crinkly beauties that are so perfect they were still delicious enough to nosh on even after sitting out for three hours (it was some stress-eating while watching that tragic Wild Card game; don’t judge). The key to those fries? Chicken salt, of course, though the secret ingredient of their deliciousness — and Chicken Out’s success overall — is Johnson’s ability to make magic out of even the simplest things.

Chicken Out The Chicken Out .................................... $7.50 Mo Parm Mo Fowl ................................. $8.50 Fish sandwich ............................................. $9

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SHORT ORDERS

Through boom times and bust, Al’s Restaurant has been a jewel of the St. Louis riverfront. | ANDY PAULISSEN

[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]

The Lay of the Landing Al’s Restaurant carries on the riverfront’s legacy, from its bustling days as a commercial hub to today Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

hen Pam Neal looks back at the old photographs from when her grandparents opened Al’s Restaurant, she is overwhelmed by just how different the river-

RIVERFRONT TIMES

front was in those days. Back then, in , you could find as many horses as people on the Landing and its environs, the dirt roads and cobblestone tailormade for their clopping hooves as they helped move people around the neighborhood. However, even more striking than the infrastructure changes, Neal can’t help but marvel at how much energy there was in the area. At the time, the riverfront was the city’s commercial center, a vibrant hub of people and businesses — a far cry from the scene today. “Back then, the riverfront looked so different than it does now,” Neal says. “It was thriving and bustling. There were so many cargo boats and steamboats and all of that. It really was the hub — where St. Louis grew out of, and its beginning. My grandparents were in the thick of things that started the growth of the entire city.” he riverfront’s buzzing com-

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mercial activity is what brought her grandfather, Albert Borroni, do n to its streets in the first place. A soda truck driver who had immigrated to St. Louis from Milan, Italy, with his wife, Louise, Borroni found himself making deliveries in the area almost daily. One of his stops was an old sugar warehouse — one of many that used to populate the riverfront — that also served as a dry goods shop and saloon. Over time, he got to know the warehouse’s owner, then- ire Chief ulius ogel, and would sometimes go there with Louise. One day, the three got to talking about ho ogel anted to retire, and a lightbulb went off in Louise’s head. “She thought, ‘This is perfect’; she had some brothers and sisters who maybe weren’t quite as ambitious as her, so this seemed like a great thing to take it over and employ her family members,” Neal says. “Plus, the business was

downstairs and there was a living area upstairs, so they would have a home too.” The Borronis had no plans to change up the business they acquired, but Louise’s cooking made keeping things the same impossible. Upstairs, in the residential kitchen, she would cook for friends and neighbors who would stop by in the morning to play cards over a cup of coffee. Her egg sandwiches became famous in the neighborhood, and as word spread, she’d get people coming by just to enjoy her food. In fact, there were so many hungry guests showing up on her doorstep that Louise decided to start offering meals at the saloon. Over time, she built a steam table, and turned the lace into a bona fide cafeteria “It was so popular at lunch,” Neal says. “It was a large cafeteria with whole hams, roast beef, turkeys, pastas and salads. It was a thriving business. Railroad en-

The restaurant is now officially a landmark. | ANDY PAULISSEN

In St. Louis’ heyday as a riverport, Al’s sold hundreds of lunches to workers. | ANDY PAULISSEN gineers would stop the train right there in front of the restaurant, come in and have lunch, get back on the trains and go on with the rest of their route. They were serving hundreds and hundreds of lunches a day.” That lunch business turned into early dinner business, and continued that way for years. Along the way, the restaurant became one of the city’s most famous places to dine, and celebrities who were in town performing at the Muny or

other theaters would make sure to stop in for a bite to eat, with Albert driving them to and from their hotels. That popularity continued even after Albert passed away, with Louise holding down the fort as the main chef and proprietor — a distinction that made her one of the first if not the very first omen business o ners in town. “She loved going to the symphony and the Muny, but in the restaurant business, you work 24/7

and can’t ever get away,” Neal says. “One day, she wanted to go so badly that she walked up to a woman washing dishes and said, ‘You know, I think I can teach you to cook and be a good chef.’ She trained her and was so happy because she could finally sneak off for a bit. It elevated the woman to a higher position, and I think it’s so great she chose to train a woman instead of a man. She ended up being the main chef for 65 years, and it’s her son who is our main chef today.” That decades-long throughline is what makes Al’s so unique, even if there have been significant changes to the restaurant over the years. The most notable happened as the result of a tragedy that occurred in 1960 when the St. Louis Bag Company building next door caught fire one anuary morning and toppled onto Al’s. Though some of the main walls remained intact, the incident caused extensive damage and prompted Neal’s father, l r , to think through what he wanted the next iteration of the restaurant to be. Running the restaurant after the death of his mother, the younger Al decided to rebuild as a more fine-dining-style establishment, getting rid of the steam tables, cutting out

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lunches and turning it into the elegant affair that it remains today. Neal’s father made sure to not change the place too much, though. Despite having to renovate most of the restaurant following the building collapse, several key features remain, including the cobblestones from the riverfront, an actual gangplank from a riverboat, a mural painted by a man who was a set designer for the Muny, and woodwork hand-carved by monks that gives the bar a riverboat feel. Two years ago, that historic preservation as o cially recognized by the City of St. Louis when Al’s was designated as one of the area’s 130 landmarks. Neal feels honored to carry forth that legacy, and feels that she has an obligation to both her grandparents and the City of St. Louis to keep such an iconic establishment thriving after all these years. She wishes she could say the same for the riverfront in general. When she thinks back on the area’s many different heydays — from the bustling days of the steamboats to the 1980s and ’90s nighttime energy of the Landing — she can’t help but feel down about the current state of affairs. However, what gives her hope is the handful of business owners who are putting in the effort to make the area a destination again; because her family has been around long enough to see the ebbs and o s of activity, she is optimistic that the riverfront will reclaim some of its former glory — and she is eager for Al’s to be a part of it for generations to come. “One of the reasons to keep on through all these generations is that, for a city to thrive, you really need diverse offerings to attract people,” Neal says. “There are new restaurants that are prettier and glitzier and fancier than us some people come in and don’t like the way we look, because we maintain the integrity and history. We’ve redone things, and it’s not ancient, but they want shiny. The overwhelming amount of people appreciate the feel and history, though. It adds to the landscape and vibrancy of the city. You need places like us and new trendy s ots, too hey all fit in ith the others to make things interesting and not the same, and create the unique experiences that people equate with St. Louis.” n

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WEDNESDAY, 10/20

SUNDAY, 10/24

KEVIN BUCKLEY 5-7PM SEAN CANAN'S VOODOO PLAYERS PRESENTS VOODOO JIMI HENDRIX 9PM

TBA 2-5PM THE EXTRA 3 9PM

THURSDAY, 10/21

MONDAY, 10/25

COLT BALL 5-7PM JESSE FARRAR (OF OLD SALT UNION) & FRIENDS 9PM

ERIC MCSPADDEN & MARGARET BIENCHETTA 5-7PM SOULARD BLUES BAND (OPEN JAM SESSION) 9PM

FRIDAY, 10/22

TUESDAY, 10/26

BUTCH MOORE 5-7PM JEREMIAH JOHNSON 10PM

ETHAN JONES 9PM

SATURDAY, 10/23

ALL ROOSTERED UP 12-3PM SAINT BOOGIE BRASS BAND 10PM

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ORDER ONLINE FOR CURBSIDE PICKU-9:3P!0PM

MONDAY-THURSDAY 11AM-3:30PM FRIDAY-SATURDAY 11AM0PM SUNDAY 11AM-8:3

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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[FIRST LOOK]

Shoot for the Stars Commonwealth brings globally inspired European cuisine to Grand Center Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

t. Louis has a new destination for globally inspired European cuisine in the again-bustling Grand Center Arts District. Commonwealth (634 North Grand Boulevard, 314-4053399), a new restaurant brought to life by executive chef Scottie Corrigan, opened this month inside the boutique Angad Arts Hotel, promising an inspired culinary experience like no other in town. Commonwealth replaces Grand Tavern, the restaurant that previously occu ied the first- oor dining space of the hotel. Though its location might tempt diners to think of it as simply a hotel restaurant, chef Corrigan is eager to dispel that conception and is confident the food and drinks ill speak for themselves to that effect. “You can’t get anything else like

this in St. Louis,” Corrigan says. “The hotel is one-of-a-kind, so we wrapped the concept around that. We’ve been given full creative freedom and believe this should be a memorable experience whether you come for date night or a business meeting e definitely ant to be put on the map.” Together with sous chef Sierra Eaves, Corrigan has worked hard to create a menu that will provide the level of dining experience to make Commonwealth a destination unto itself. Drawing inspiration from the avors found throughout the British Commonwealth, the restaurant traces culinary in uences to different countries on such continents as Africa, Asia and the Americas — and the acific slands he result of this effort is a menu that is divided into three different sections or the able, Beginnings, and “Mains) consisting of a variety of dishes, ranging from foie gras to confit duck ragout, and from roasted chicken breast masala to tandoori duck. Corrigan and Eaves put that same level of thoughtfulness into creating Commonwealth’s dessert menu, including the restaurant’s signature sweet offering, the Starry Night. This stunning dessert, which is sure to be one of the city’s most sought-after sweet treats, consists of a chocolate torte base topped with chocolate creme patisserie, blueberry gelée set in a tempered chocolate shell and topped with a iridescent mirror glaze.

The Starry Night is going to be a much sought-after dessert. | CHERYL BAEHR Leading the bar is industry veteran James Cassidy, who has created a cocktail list meant to pair with the food. Look for spins of classic drinks, such at the New World ashion and Black imlet, as ell as his o n creations, like the Berry Sour and London Fog. “We want the cocktails to be as inventive as the food,” Cassidy says. t just makes for a better meal The stunning setting, reimagined from the Grand Tavern days, has a vintage, art deco vibe with

[ACCOLADES]

The New York Times Honors Little Fox

Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

fter a year and a half defined by challenges, uncertainty and, at times, utter distress, Craig and Mowgli Rivard have reason to celebrate. Little Fox (2800 Shenandoah Avenue, 314-553-9456), the Fox Park eatery the husband-and-wife team opened together in December of 2019, has been named to the prestigious New York Times Restaurant List for 2021. “Through all of this you get really good at having unexpected things happen,” Mowgli Rivard laughs. “It’s nice when they go in this direction.” The New York Times published the annual restaurant list on October 12, placing Little Fox among “the 50 most vibrant and delicious restaurants of 2021.”

Little Fox is one of the country’s most exciting restaurants, says the New York Times. | MABEL SUEN According to the paper, the selected restaurants “reflect the rich mosaic of American dining,” representing both old

and new restaurants from a variety of culinary traditions. In making its claim for Little Fox to be

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marble tabletops, plush sage-green chairs and semi-circle booths, a black marble bar and peacockblue walls. The restaurant will also serve as an art gallery, showcasing the work of local artists; the current exhibition is dedicated to the concept of time and history. Commonwealth is now open Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to m and riday and aturday from 4 to 11 p.m. The restaurant also serves breakfast daily from 7 to 11 a.m. n among those 50 spots, author Brett Anderson describes the restaurant as being heir to the tradition of the great “corner bistro that punches above its weight,” noting that Craig Rivard’s cooking leaves you “convinced he’s making wise choices with the best ingredients he can find.” For the Rivards, the honor is particularly satisfying because it shows that they were successful in translating their vision for Little Fox into reality. “We wanted to be a modern neighborhood restaurant, and as short as the write-up was, it was clear that they got it,” Mowgli Rivard says. “That’s the most exciting part — knowing you put something out there and were successful in getting across what you wanted to be.” Though the couple are thrilled about what the honor means for their restaurant, they are also excited about how it reflects on St. Louis. In Mowgli Rivard’s mind, they share the nod with their fellow hospitality professionals who all do their part to make the city’s restaurant scene so ascendent. “This just adds to St. Louis getting more and more known for its restaurants,” she says. “That’s exciting for everyone.” n

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[SCOVILLE UNITS]

He’s Heating Up Local brand Anderson & Son Pepper Co. expands with new hot sauce Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

hings are heating up for Joel Anderson’s hot-sauce brand Anderson & Son Pepper Co. The locally based company released its latest offering, Granny’s Myth, last week, promising spice enthusiasts a unique experience sure to tingle the taste buds. “This one is vinegar-based with Granny Smith apples, jalapeños, garlic, onions, cilantro, cumin, sea salt and cinnamon,” Anderson says. “It has a little bit of tartness, but the cumin and cinnamon really warm it up a bit — if you didn’t know they were there, you probably wouldn’t pick up on it. It’s just a warm, back-

Anderson & Son Pepper Co. launched its Granny’s Myth label last week. | COURTESY OF ANDERSON & SON PEPPER CO. of-the-tongue spice. The cilantro really comes out, giving it some freshness. It’s really versatile; like all of our stuff, I think it’s really great on everything.” Granny’s Myth is the fourth product Anderson has brought to market since launching Anderson & Son Pepper Co. a little over

a year ago is first label, on’t Touch the Baby, was met with so much success that he decided to go all-in on the company, drawing upon his sauce-making prowess and background in advertising to create a bona fide hot sauce brand. Not long after, he created another variety, Baby addy Chi-

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otle ru e, and a dry seasoning blend called Reaper Ranch. He has also been actively building his brand through collaborations with several restaurants around to n, including i- ointe riveIn and Pie Guy, as well as one with PBR, which resulted in him selling 420 bottles online in 30 minutes. “I’ve been doing these a lot because I feel like it’s a great way for me to get my name and brand out there,” Anderson says. “Now, though, I’m excited to focus on what I need to do for the business to expand, which is expand my lineup.” For now, he’s still making every batch of sauce and seasoning blend himself out of a commissary kitchen at the culinary incubator STL Foodworks. Though he understands a co-packer may become necessary sometime in the future, he hopes to be handson in the process as long as he can and is working on scaling things slowly. “My goal for this year is to get into more retailers and farmers’ markets and do more collaborations and things that grow the brand,” Anderson says. “It’s been really fun, and this fills me ith energy for the future. There’s always something coming next, which is fun.” n

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

REEFERFRONT TIMES

[REVIEW]

In the Weeds What the hell is delta-8? Tommy Chims investigates Written by

THOMAS CHIMCHARDS

erhaps you’ve seen the strange set of symbols adorning advertisements slapped up on billboards or promotional signage outside your local purveyor of CBD. A cryptic pairing of a triangle and the number 8, presented with breathless excitement about its availability (exclamation point!), amounts to a veritable hobo code for area stoners unwilling or unable to get a medical card, as well as those without a suitable hookup for some black-market weed. We’re talking, of course, about delta-8. A psychoactive cannabinoid derived from cannabis, delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, or - C, is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, weed’s principal psychoactive ingredient, better known simply as THC. In recent years, delta-8 has become a hot topic in cannabis circles, owing to its legal status, with excitement about the substance quickly giving way to a fastgrowing subsection of industry. Though delta-8 has been studied since as far back as the 1940s, its newfound attention comes through a piece of legislation in the nited tates ecifically, the 2018 Farm Bill, which determined that cannabis with less than 0.3 percent THC is legally considered hemp, also removed hemp from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s schedule of controlled substances and determined that anything derived from it is federally legal as well. Since THC is just one of more than 100 total cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant, some enterprising folks in the hemp industry got to work extracting delta-8 and including it in a variety of products for sale on the web, or in a small (but growing) number of brick-and-mortar businesses.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Delta-8 is the latest cannabis-industry craze, even as it’s currently in a state of legal limbo. | TOMMY CHIMCHARDS Of course, that’s when things got complicated. In its August 2020 interim final rule, or , the attempted to assert that the substance was still banned, claiming that it is a synthetic cannabinoid and therefore illegal. The Hemp Industries Association hit back with a lawsuit against the federal agency, arguing that the Farm Bill legalized any product derived from hemp, and thereby legalized delta-8. The debate between the two sides rages on, leaving the status of the substance in legal limbo. But for some, the DEA’s view of the matter was enough, and eighteen states have since banned or restricted delta-8, including such typically weed-friendly locales as Colorado, Illinois and New York. Horror stories from the early to mid-2010s about synthetic cannabinoid-fueled “zombies” smoking themselves into a near-catatonic state via “herbal incense” blends

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like K2 and Spice only hastened its fast descent from new kid on the block to ne’er-do-well in the eyes of its critics. But is this concern warranted? And furthermore, is delta-8 even worth all this trouble? At present, Missouri has no laws on the books regarding the cannabinoid, so I picked some up at a local CBD Kratom outpost in an attempt to get to the bottom of things. Now, it should be noted at this point that I also have more than a passing familiarity with Spice/ K2, and could even be regarded as something of an early adopter. Back in 2008/2009, when Spice as first starting to make a s lash in the UK, but before it came to the U.S. in the form of K2, I found a seller based in Florida that regularly imported the stuff to the United States and sold it here online. At that time, Spice was being marketed as a powerful herbal

blend with a proprietary mixture of plants containing known psychoactive elements that, in tandem, worked to produce effects not unlike those of cannabis. The truth, of course, was far more underhanded: Spice’s manufacturers were blasting research chemicals — in those early days, s ecifically the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018 — all over whatever inert plant matter they could find, then selling it as an herbal incense” to skirt regulations and avoid liability. As with many who dabbled with Spice, I had spent some time being subjected to regular drug testing, and the fact that this stuff wouldn’t show up on those was enough to make me (foolishly) overlook its unknowns. It was also the first fake eed ’d ever found that actually produced any effects other than tasting like shit and making me cough a lot (which, to

be fair, it also did). I distinctly remember taking a hit off of a particularly potent batch once and waking up a minute or so later on the ground, my mind completely and utterly fried — I’d somehow fainted as a result of a so-called herbal blend. That was enough to make me rethink the stuff, and by the time the revelations came out that it’d just been researching chemicals the whole time, I’d long since made the move back to good old-fashioned weed. As the government acted to ban JWH-018, Spice’s manufacturers moved on to other synthetic cannabinoids brewed up in underground Chinese labs, resulting essentially in a game of research chemical whack-a-mole. This also led to the products becoming even more dangerous, with consumers wholly unaware what they were ingesting, let alone what proper dosage might look like. Soon, those zombies we heard the horror stories about were walking the streets among us. K2/Spice largely fell out of favor as a result of the crackdown and negative press — and with good reason, considering it’s terribly dangerous stuff — and the wellearned stigma against synthetic cannabinoids lingers, bringing us to today’s delta-8 legal limbo, inexact though the comparison may technically be. I purchased a quarter of Oregon Trail-branded delta-8 hemp o er, sold in a little glass jar and marked as Blue Dream, for $54.62 after taxes. The employee at the store told me that, unlike the regular, sativa-leaning Blue Dream cannabis I’m accustomed to, the delta-8 version would have more indica-like effects. This variation of the stuff is rated at 4.5 percent delta-8-THC and 11 percent cannabigerol (CBG), another cannabinoid derived from hemp that he explained would together result in a more relaxing body high. The dark-green buds in the jar mostly looked like some kind of bizarro weed — it resembled the cannabis I’m used to more than it resembled anything else, but there was still something just a little off about it. The buds had little crystals throughout, but these didn’t shine or sparkle like I’d usually expect, instead appearing more dull and pale. Upon opening the jar I was met with a fruity smell,

Delta-8 is nothing like Spice at all. Spice was madness; here we have a very relaxed high that borders on drowsiness, like you’re trying to read a book but having trouble keeping your eyes open. like candy, as well as some grassiness. On breakup it was exceptionally dry, with the consistency of hay, and it crumbled easily to dust in my fingers n inhale it had something of a sour bud taste to it that wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but which I marked in my notes tasted “better than something that shouldn’t be smoked” at least (Spice, I’m looking at you). As for effects, this stuff is nothing like Spice at all. Spice was madness; here we have a very relaxed high that borders on drowsiness, like you’re trying to read a book but having trouble keeping your eyes open. I felt clear-headed, but my body was buzzing and my limbs were heavy — this stuff is definitely best suited as a nighttime smoke. Further, delta-8 has a reputation for being a better option for eo le ho find regular cannabis to be somewhat overwhelming, imparting some of its enjoyable effects without being debilitating, and I found that this reputation is well earned. And unlike certain “incense blends,” this stuff is actually marked for consumption, which seems a good sign to say the least. Put plainly, if you’re a high-tolerance smoker, delta-8 will probably leave you wanting. But if you’re less experienced, or simply looking for a much more muted high, this might be the stuff for you. Get it while you can. n

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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CULTURE [ S TA G E ]

Sorry Not Sorry The Rep’s production of The Gradient grapples with whether apologies are enough Written by

JENNA JONES

he year is 2017, and leaves are crunching under your feet outside in late October as you unlock your phone. When you slide open Twitter or Facebook — or really any social media platform — you’re bombarded with apologies or accusations from friends or celebrities. The #MeToo movement is in full swing after a slew of sexual assault allegations against now-disgraced film roducer arvey einstein For a moment, it seems as though justice is finally being served But as the seasons changed into the summer of 2018, playwright Steph Del Rosso couldn’t shake the feeling that none of these apologies we were inundated with seemed like enough. That’s when she began her script for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ new play, The Gradient. “I just became obsessed with the fact that these apologies were not what I hoped they would be, and that bothers me. And when something bothers me, I write a play about it,” Del Rosso says. “So, I was trying to look at what would be enough. What would feel like true accountability for me? What ould be a su cient a ology When does an apology necessitate actual accountability and relief and catharsis?” Running through this Sunday, October 24, at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA (6880 Washington Avenue), the play follows its main character Tess at her new job, a rehabilitation center of sorts called the Gradient. With an algorithm, Tess works to change men — and other people, but mainly men, another character notes — who have sexually

The Gradient follows Tess as she navigates her new job: rehabilitating men accused of sexual harassment or misconduct. | VIA REPERTORY THEATRE ST. LOUIS harassed people or committed sexual misconduct. Tess is elated to be at the Gradient, praising the algorithmic solution to life’s messier, more di cult parts. As the story progresses, the play’s complexities tangle with what Del Rosso wondered in 2018: What would really be enough to prove someone has changed? Are apologies enough, or do we have to move further? Director Amelia Acosta Powell tells the RFT that seeing Tess’ journey makes her feel “great not just joy, but vindication.” “One of my favorite parts is to watch this powerful, smart female character come into her own power,” Powell says, “and give herself the permission and the validation that she may have been waiting for someone else to give her, and just seize that ownership of her own life and her own power.” Del Rosso explains that a lot of her plays are about women taking up space in a way she relates to, navigating a career in an industry that’s dominated by white men. Developing stories where women can take up space and deal with issues like sexual harassment but also find a catharsis through comedy is something important to Del Rosso. She never wants to retraumatize her audience, so providing moments of relief is key. The writer says she thinks “comedy is necessary to get people to pay attention.” If you’re laughing, you’re open to receiving, Del Ros-

so adds. At its heart, The Gradient is a complex comedy. Powell says she hopes the audience can see themselves — and other perspectives — in the story. “I think we all have ways in which we’ve been hurt and ways we want to feel worthy and feel seen and feel heard,” Powell says.

[MUSIC]

St. Louis Symphony Resumes Movie Concerts Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

rcheological treasures belong in a museum, but, in April 2020, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra canceled its season of live-scored classic movies — including Raiders of the Lost Ark — because people belonged anywhere but a crowded concert hall while the pandemic was rolling through society like a boulder through a Peruvian temple. More than a year later, the symphony is whipping back into its traditional live performances, including the classic Indiana Jones flick. Originally scheduled for May 2020, Raiders of the Lost Ark will finally get its orchestra-backed screening in two performances on February 18 and 19,

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“I also think that we all have ways in which we’ve hurt other people, and ways in which we need to do that work on ourselves in order to make sure we are really seeing and hearing and showing love and compassion to others in our lives.” When the hour and 40 minutes is up, there’s no one thing Del Rosso or Powell wants people to take away from the show, but they do want you to know it’s OK to laugh. Powell wants you to feel some sort of release while also finding something truthful in The Gradient. Del Rosso says as long as you’re not thinking about what to eat for dinner five minutes after seeing the show, she’s happy. She’d rather you dislike the play and it get under your skin than not feel anything after seeing it. If it encourages some sort of analysis or re ection, she’ll be ha y Maybe you’ll walk away questioning your own apologies, or maybe you’ll walk away questioning an apology given to you. Looking inward to answer the play’s questions surrounding forgiveness, and whether an apology is enough — that’s the opportunity The Gradient aims to provide. Buy tickets online at repstl.org. n 2022, with SLSO’s musicians providing John Williams’ iconic score to the classic adventure. They will also conjure their magic to live-score Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for three performances January 21-23. The upcoming symphony season features even more chances to let your cinema spirits soar, with the orchestra performing along to Disney/Pixar’s Up on January 2 and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi May 12-15. If cinematic scores aren’t your bag, SLSO’s symphonic tribute to the Beatles — also previously canceled in 2020 — still has standing-room and limited-view seats available for its October 22 show. A “symphonic experience,” the show is described as featuring accompaniment by “incredible vocalists and hundreds of rare and unseen photos” of the legendary band. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is located at 718 North Grand. Tickets range from around $35 and up. For specific show information, check out the full season schedule at slso.org. Attendees must bring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. n

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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FILM

Agathe Rousselle stars in Julia Ducournau’s latest, Titane. | CAROLE BETHUEL / NEON

[FILM]

Body Work Titane takes body horror into glorious, gender-bending overdrive Written by

EILEEN G’SELL

f you’ve ever wanted to fuck a fire truck, Titane is the movie for you. It’s the movie for you if you’ve ever savored the stench of pumping gas, the stir of shifting gears or the tremulous purr of a V8 engine. It’s the movie for you if you’ve ever found machines as erotic as they are e cient, as ins iring as they are destructive to our earthbound habitats. If you’ve ever wondered why men — and women — prefer a stick shift to a slush box. If you’ve found the term tor ue a turn-on, or “muscle car” conceptually (if not literally) compelling. If you’ve ever been appalled or confounded by the power of desire — or what even counts as desire and not crude, libidinous urge. n an early scene, to the beat of oing t to eath by the ills, the camera voyeuristically roves through a motor show for over

three hy notic minutes, t isting under, over and around car hoods, fenders and the omen’s bodies writhing up against them. et off me, asshole says a etite brunette in black leather accosted from behind ands off, sir, says the bouncer escorting him away. “Touch with your eyes.” The second feature from bodyhorror virtuoso ulia ucournau, Titane implores us to do the same — to be thrilled and repulsed in equal measure. At times one might easily forget that the movie is rench art-house fare, because its excessive violence and automotive conceit feel so utterly American. But with its hyper-stylized visuals and visceral investment in gender trouble, ucournau resents a critique of masculinity that feels very un-American — ultimately seeking to shock more than moralize. amed for the titanium late fitted to its protagonist’s skull after a childhood car accident, Titane follows a 30-something woman named le ia gathe ousselle , whose sexual attraction to cars is as all-consuming as her appetite for killing. When the body count at last draws attention from police, le ia ado ts the ersona of drien, a missing teenage boy whose face she sees displayed in the Marseilles-Provence airport. hat ensues is a gender-bending, genre-shredding mélange of horror, thriller and domestic drama

(think Drive, Boys Don’t Cry and a dash of the anish film Shelley). But for all of Titane’s resemblances to both American and European in uences a articular killing s ree, set to a bouncy Caterina Caselli tune, feels very arantino , the film as a hole is defiantly ucournau, and feminist, at heart If Raw, ucournau’s debut exploring cannibalism and female a etites, rom ted fainting in the theaters, Titane leads less to nausea than a state of electrified s ueamishness most heightened in scenes of Alexia’s body in frenzied states of female abjection and self-mutilation. As drien, ousselle’s lanky frame is convincing beneath an oversized hoodie, but her efforts to maintain such androgyny take on masochistic proportions. We are asked to consider Alexia’s predatory nature toward others alongside her brutality toward her own body, to reconcile her violence as a woman with her vulnerability as a erson resenting, for half of the film, as a terrified trans man At the same time that Alexia’s female body is under both spectacular and invisible assault, the male body is exposed as equally prone to self-destruct. Adrien’s father, incent incent ondon , is a lonely fire ca tain doggedly attem ting to reserve his hysi ue, bruising his own backside with testosterone injections. “Are you

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sick drien asks, his first ords spoken aloud after disrupting his father’s nightly bathroom ritual. o, incent res onds, just old s a figure of aternalism, incent is both a metonym for masculine power and a reminder of its fragile existence. Do we root for Alexia to kill him off too, or admire their growing bond with each other? Who is more at risk — father or son? Rather than rely on tired rape revenge tropes (Promising Young Woman, anyone , ucournau probes the darker compulsions at the cross hairs of heterosexuality and white supremacy. o ard the film’s clima , a simulated forest fire surrounds incent’s haggard body, reminding the viewer of the Bukowski quote tattooed between Alexia’s breasts: ove is a dog from hell ike the ainted ames that adorn the Cadillac hood she fellates in the film’s first act, desire is al ays dangerous, and hat counts as com assion nearly always combustible. If Titane came with trigger warnings, they ould scroll for longer than the end credits. Those uncomfortable ith bodily uids, maiming or motor oil will not last long in the theater — nor anyone expecting a mindless joy ride through adrenaline-charged violence. But for those of us who like to think while we s uirm, to reconsider hat makes us suddenly recoil, ucournau’s latest is a galvanizing trip. n

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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SAVAGE LOVE MIND THE GAP BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: Thirty-year-old trans woman here, Dan, and I have a question about what is surely one of your favorite subjects: the “age gap discourse.” About four years ago, I had a sexual experience that I go back and forth on whether to label as sexual assault. When I was 26 years old, I met a nineteen-year-old on a dating site and drove to a neighboring state to hook up with them. I’ll spare you the details, but when we started doing things we had mutually agreed upon, one of them didn’t feel right in the moment, so I withdrew my consent. They respected my boundary for about fifteen minutes, then tried it again. I said no again, they refrained for another fifteen minutes, then tried it again. The cycle continued until I just got worn down. The night ended with me trying to fall asleep so I at least wouldn’t be conscious for what they were going to do. It didn’t work. I’m friends with a lot of socialjustice-focused millennials, and as such, discourse about age gaps in romantic and sexual relationships occasionally appear on my social media. The consensus, as I understand it, seems to be that there is a vast maturity gap between someone who is nineteen and someone who is 26; therefore, someone in their mid-twenties has an affirmative duty to make sure nothing sexual happens with someone who is nineteen. It is also suggested that someone like me is a creep and a predator for even thinking about hooking up with a nineteenyear-old. It’s hard to not apply my own experience to the discourse, and boy, is it a mind fuck. Hearing people go on about how vulnerable teenagers are or how I occupied a position of power not only dredges up painful memories, but also makes me feel like a creep. Did I do something wrong? I’m leaning towards no. I didn’t have any institutional power over the other person, it wasn’t an ongoing relationship, nor is it a pattern of behavior. (Like hell am I going to trust a nineteen-year-old again.) I also tried to follow your campsite rule. Instead of ghosting them, I sent them

a message explaining why I wasn’t going to play with them again — the boundary violations — in the hope that they would do better in the future. I’m about 80 percent sure I have nothing to feel guilty about, but that other 20 percent just won’t shut up. Was I the bad guy here? Am Getting Exasperated “I feel for this woman and, it should go without saying, she shouldn’t feel guilty about having been sexually assaulted,” said James Greig, a London-based writer whose work has appeared in the Guardian, Vice and other outlets. “And to my mind, this incident shows that things are often more complex than the online ‘age gap discourse’ acknowledges.” Greig has written about the online age gap discourse for The Guardian, AGE, and while he feels the conversation is motivated by legitimate concerns about unequal power dynamics and their potential for abuse and exploitation, he worries the black-andwhite nature of the age gap discourse can lull people into a false sense of security. “People imagine that abuse is less likely to occur in relationships where both parties are the same age,” said Greig, “and in my experience, that’s not always the case.” Additionally, condemnations of relationships and or hooku s ith significant age gaps — the kind of puritanical “discourse” that has left you feeling so isolated — often fails to acknowledge, much less grapple with, factors besides age that can make a person vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. “Being a trans woman in itself can make you more vulnerable,” said Greig. “But it could be just about anything: wealth, status, even just disposition or temperament — some people are more domineering or cruel than others.” And some people don’t understand that only yes means yes, that no absolutely means no, and that withdrawal of consent doesn’t mean, sk me again in five minutes.” Sometimes a person guilty of the kind of consent/boundary/ physical violation you endured isn’t acting maliciously and is capable of learning from their mistakes — here’s hoping that message you sent that nineteen-year-old had an impact — but some people know what they’re doing when they

pressure a person to engage in (or submit to) unwanted sexual acts and don’t care. Those people can be nineteen and those people can be 99, AGE, and their victims can be younger or older. And if their last name is Trump, those people can be POTUS. “Life is too complicated for onesize-fits-all rescri tions like age gap relationships are bad’ to be of much use,” said Greig, “and that means we have to take these things on a case-by-case basis.” And in your case, AGE, neither of us think you were the bad guy. All that said, AGE, driving to a neighboring state to hook up with a teenager — yeah, the optics aren’t good, and a lot of people aren’t gonna be able to see past them. But just because some very online peole and some very o ine eo le will look at your respective ages at the time, do the math and label you a predator, AGE, you aren’t obligated to slap that label on yourself. You were consenting adults until you withdrew your consent, at which point you were the victim of a sexual assault. You may have to be selective with who you confide in about this, , but you don’t have to shame yourself. You lived, you learned, you’ve tried to do better. Here’s hoping the other person — now in their twenties themselves — learned something too and has also tried to do better. Follow James Greig on Twitter @JamesDGreig. Hey, Dan: No big stakes, but I want your opinion. Fortysomething straight man here, and I like shaving. My wife, to whom I’ve been married sixteen years, doesn’t. So, I shave myself, and she’s natural. She let me shave her once, she didn’t like the result, and we’ve never done it again. But last week while she was amusing herself down below, we were chatting (she’s talented, I tell you), and she noted that she’s not crazy about my shaved parts. She said it reminded her of prepubescent boys. She doesn’t like being shaved herself; similarly, she worries guys who like it are thinking of little girls. Also, the potential for nicks and cuts makes her queasy. For my part, I like the way the skin feels, and it makes me look bigger. And so much porn is shaved these days that this is probably in the back of my mind. Writing you this letter has been good therapy,

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Dan. Rereading it just now I can see a workable solution: two months on (shaved), two months off (natural). Am I the first letter writer who solved his own problem? Shaving Nuts Is Promising P.S. If you have anything to add, come right out and say it — no need to beat around the bush. ou’re not the first erson ho solved their own problem by the time they finished riting their letter — hell, half the questions I get are from people who already know what they need to do. They need to DTMFA or get into therapy or learn to tie knots — and they write in hoping I’ll give them a little push, SNIP, which I’m always happy to do. I have one thing to add: Sexually active, fully grown adult men and women have been shaving off their pubes for decades now — we’re well into the third decade of the modern pubic-hair-shaving discourse — and I’m losing my patience with people who claim they dislike hairless crotches because they associate them with prepubescent children. Unless you’re currently parenting a prepubescent child or you’re a pediatrician, you are far likelier to see fully grown adult humans with hairless crotches than prepubescent children. Really, people. Think about the last 100 hairless crotches you saw — were those children’s crotches or were they the hairless crotches of adult sex partners and/ or porn stars? When I see an adult man with a hairless crotch in gay porn, I don’t think, “THAT MAN WITH THE ROCK HARD EIGHTINCH DICK LOOKS LIKE A WEE BOY!” I think, “That man looks like other adult men I’ve seen in porn and sometimes in real life.” ook, it’s fine to refer artners with pubes — neatly trimmed or full bush — but a person should be able to express a preference for pubes without insinuating that people who prefer shaved crotches are pedophiles. An adult man who shaves his face is not trying to look like a child and does not look like a child. A woman who shaves her pits is not trying to look like a child and does not look like a child. Same goes for adult men and women who shave their pubes. Sheesh. questions@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.savage.love

OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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OCTOBER 20-26, 2021

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Riverfront Times, October 20, 2021

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