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August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

CONTENTS AUGUST 11-24, 2021 • VOL. 52 NO 03

Upfront .......................................7 Feature ..................................... 12 Get Out ..................................... 14 Stage ......................................... 19 Arts .......................................... 21 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Publisher Andrew Zelman Editor Vince Grzegorek Editorial Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Visual Arts Writer Shawn Mishak Stage Editor Christine Howey Editorial Intern Emma Sedlak Advertising Senior Multimedia Account Executive John Crobar, Shayne Rose Creative Services Production Manager Haimanti Germain Editorial Layout Evan Sult Staff Photographer Emanuel Wallace

Film .......................................... 23 Eat ............................................ 27 Music ........................................ 29 Savage Love ..............................30 Euclid Media Group Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP Digital Services Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon

Lenny Kravitz, hot now, hot back in 1996 when he graced Scene’s cover.

www.euclidmediagroup.com National Advertising Voice Media Group 1-800-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com Cleveland Scene 737 Bolivar Rd., #4100 Cleveland, OH 44115 www.clevescene.com Phone 216-505-8199 E-mail scene @clevescene.com Cleveland Scene Magazine is published every other week by Euclid Media Group. Verified Audit Member

Business Business & Sales Support Specialist Megan Stimac Controller Kristy Cramer Circulation Circulation Director Burt Sender

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Photo courtesy Cleveland Indians

UPFRONT

LOCAL LEADERS ANNOUNCE DEAL HATCHED IN PRIVATE TO PUMP MILLIONS OF PUBLIC DOLLARS INTO PROGRESSIVE FIELD CLEVELAND MAYOR FRANK Jackson, County Executive Armond Budish, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Indians owner Paul Dolan and others gathered at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland last week to announce a so-called “deal” that will continue to pump millions of public dollars into the facility where the baseball team plays. The team will officially become the Guardians next season. Under the terms of this deal, which was negotiated entirely without public input, the Guardians will remain in Cleveland for 15 years, until 2036, with two possible five-year extensions that could ultimately keep pro baseball in Cleveland until 2046. (The extensions were reportedly demanded by Gov. Mike DeWine as a condition for state aid, but are meaningless at this point and will undoubtedly be contingent upon additional public subsidy.) Though officials stressed repeatedly that there had been no explicit threats by team ownership of a potential move out of Cleveland, they also asserted that the “market” simply was what it was, and that

cities have to pay their freight if they want pro clubs to stay put. Virtually everyone pointed out that Cleveland was the smallest market in the U.S. with three pro teams. And so a combined $435 million will go towards various renovations, capital improvements and repairs at Progressive Field over the next 15 years. According to the proposed arrangement, the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County will pay the lion’s share at $17 million per year ($255 million total). The State of Ohio will chip in $2 million per year ($30 million total). And the team will pay $10 million per year ($150 million total), in what owner Paul Dolan said was a comparable investment to teams of the Guardians’ size. Local public money will come from an array of sources that may or may not be already spoken for. Cleveland will have to come up with $8 million per year, for example, from parking tax revenue at Gateway garages, a portion of the Progressive Field admissions tax, and the facility reserve that was created as part of the Q Deal. The County’s

roughly $9 million per year will come from the hotel bed tax, the sin tax on alcohol and cigarettes and the general fund. Though Armond Budish declared that the financial estimates were conservative and said there was plenty of money available from all of these sources, that’s simply not the case. Teams have been spending recklessly from the Sin Tax pot, and the county is already paying down debt on bonds it took out as an advance on future Sin Tax revenue. Paul Dolan acknowledged that the Sin Tax was no longer a sufficient source of revenue to cover capital repairs at the ballpark, which is why the public contribution in the current deal will go, in part, to cover capital repairs over the life of the extension. But unlike the Q Deal, in which renderings of the renovated basketball arena were unveiled at the public announcement, the scope of the Progressive Field improvements remain vague at best. Dolan mentioned a reimagining of the “left field experience,” a transformation of the “upper deck experience,” and a new

“dugout social space,” but said that these were only a few of the changes being contemplated, that the renovation would be “a process” and that the money would be spent based on the “wants and needs of fans and players.” Early design renderings were released after the press conference. Dolan also said that public contributions toward the stadium meant that the owners could allocate a larger share of their personal resources toward on-field expenses, i.e. players. The deal will now have to pass both Cuyahoga County and Cleveland City Councils. Cuyahoga County Council President Pernel Jones Jr. gave brief remarks Thursday, celebrating the spirit of publicprivate collaboration. Just like the Q Deal in 2017, the Guardians extension arrives during an election year, and just like the Q Deal, Cleveland residents won’t get a say. Unlike in 2017, the Cleveland mayoral candidates have lined up to voice their support for the subsidy with only minor, technical -Sam Allard qualms.

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

UPFRONT Campaign Finance Reports Reveal Sources of Revenue for Cleveland Mayoral Candidates Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones raised nearly $400,000 in the first half of 2021 in his bid to become Mayor of Cleveland, while attorney Ross DiBello brought in only $5,600. City Council President Kevin Kelley spent more, and has more on hand, than any of his six opponents, and Dennis Kucinich, who’s considered by many to be the race’s frontrunner, has spent less than everyone but DiBello. The seven Cleveland mayoral candidates submitted their semi-annual campaign finance reports to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections July 31, and though they remain unaudited, they convey much information about the candidates and their campaigns: in particular, who’s backing them and for how much. Kelley remains the race’s richest combatant — he has more than $500,000 on hand — but raised less than both Basheer Jones and Justin Bibb during the reporting period, which is likely to represent the bulk of fundraising for most candidates before the September primaries. Jones raised $363,000 and Bibb raised $242,000 compared to Kelley’s $213,00. The rest of the field was far behind these top three. Zack Reed, relying on old supporters, including Tony and Bobby George, Jason Lucarelli, and a number of representatives from the Perkins and Cifani families of Perk Construction, raised $137,000. Sandra Williams raised $96,000. Dennis Kucinich raised only $38,000. Kelley remains the favored candidate among Cleveland’s ruling class. Albert and Audrey Ratner each donated $5,000 to Kelley, as did Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam. The Indians’ Paul Dolan chipped in $500 for good measure. Dan Gilbert, Len Komoroski and other executives affiliated with the Cavs have donated to Kelley in the past. Kelley’s median contribution appeared to be highest among all candidates, with 18 individual contributions of $5,000. The largest single

donation, the maximum $7,500 for political action committees, came from the Cleveland Firefighters Association. Dan and Dona Brady, the former local political power couple who are indebted to Kelley for his orchestration of the recent Martin Sweeney county council maneuver, each gave Kelley $2,500 from their respective political action committees. If Kelley secured high-dollar donations from local elites, Basheer Jones did the same from contributors out of state. Jones actually eclipsed Kelley in the number of maximum individual contributions, with 20 supporters donating $5,000. Tony, Kristine and Bobby George and Jason and Sam Lucarelli were joined by immigrant developers Lemma Getachew and Guernet Indale as Jones’ local max contributors. But the rest came from much further afield: Rana Malas of Laguna Beach, California; Ihsan Saleem and Tathiana Tanzey of Atlanta; Kofi Rashid of Decatur, Georgia; Omar Karim and Mohammad Khokhar of Washington D.C.; Muhammad Jami, Job Rushdan, Ibrahim Elrayah and Troy Carson of Maryland — all donated the max. Jones also received numerous donations between $2,000 and $5,000 from out-of-state contributors, which helps explain his massive haul. Unlike Kelley and Jones, for whom contributions of $500 and $1,000 were the norm, Justin Bibb skewed lower, with a broader range of local supporters giving $25, $50 and $100. Many donated at that level on a monthly basis. Bibb received seven maximum individual contributions of $5,000: Fred Bidwell, the philanthropist and art collector who now calls Hingetown home; Jim and Susan Clifton of McLean, Virginia; Adelbert Marous of Marous Brothers Construction; Scott Mueller of Dealer Tire; Michael Cristal of Shaker Heights and Charles Cosgrove of Wadsworth. Bibb also netted contributions from multiple DiGeronimos of DiGeronimo Construction and from Bo Knez, the omnipresent housing developer on Cleveland’s near west side who also donated to Kevin Kelley. Sandra Williams received a number of small dollar donations, but the lion’s share of her fundraising arrived courtesy of labor unions and

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

Columbus-based political action committees. Williams enjoys widespread support from her colleagues at the Ohio Statehouse and her report reflected it. The Friends of Armond Budish and Medical Mutual PACs each donated $5,000, the highest contributions for Williams. Nina Turner gave Williams $1,000 in a personal contribution. FirstEnergy does not appear on Williams’ filing, but Duke Energy Corporation donated $500 via its PAC. -Sam Allard

PD/Cleveland.com Endorses Justin Bibb for Mayor, Warns Against Dennis Kucinich The editorial board of cleveland. com and The Plain Dealer has endorsed 34-year-old nonprofit executive Justin Bibb for Mayor of Cleveland. In an editorial printed on the front page of the Sunday paper — what it called a “rare step” — the board said that while Bibb was young and politically inexperienced, he had forged relationships with leaders across town and had worked harder than any other candidate to understand the city’s problems and think innovatively about solutions. “We endorse Bibb because of his ideas for fighting crime, with more efficient deployment of safety forces and better training for them before and after they are hired,” the editorial read. “We endorse Bibb because of his collaborative approach to building the Cleveland economy. We endorse Bibb because no candidate has worked harder to understand the challenges of the city or study solutions across the country.” The piece also noted an element of Bibb’s appeal that hasn’t been mentioned much: He is the most likely candidate, the board argued, to attract a “powerhouse cabinet” that will help extricate the city from the stagnancy of the Jackson years. It compared Bibb favorably to Mayor Michael R. White in that respect. Though the piece’s headline was an endorsement of Bibb, it expended equal ink and passion urging voters not to vote for Dennis Kucinich. “Whatever you do,” it pleaded directly, “don’t vote for Dennis Kucinich. As much as we believe

Bibb offers a grand hope for the future, we believe Kucinich is not relevant to our future challenges.” The editorial board criticized Kucinich’s fear-mongering and grandstanding on the campaign trail, but took special exception to his plan to use the city’s rainy day reserves to hire 400 new police officers. Given the existing cost of public safety, such a plan, the piece declared, was “ridiculous.” Editorials are unsigned pieces that represent the institutional stance of the publication and are distinct from the work of reporters. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that this piece could not resist celebrating City Council President Kevin Kelley, who by any metric beyond fundraising has run an anemic campaign. The editorial board said it nevertheless would have endorsed him if not for Bibb. It unironically referred to him as a “true public servant,” unaware or unconcerned that Kelley’s contempt for the public is the attribute most highly valued by his donor base: the corporate sector. Even now, Kelley has stalled and manipulated efforts by a grassroots coalition to allow public comment at council meetings. He will likely oversee a council vote on a minor rule change to allow public comment next week, but without provisions favored by advocates, including a sign-up process for committee meetings and an allowance of comments not directly related to items on the meeting agenda. The editorial board — just like Scene, for the record — said it was heartened by the quality of the candidates and the rigor of the public conversations in the leadup to the Sept. 14 primary. The piece found qualities to recommend in all candidates save Kucinich and Ross DiBello, who has declined all interviews with cleveland.com / The Plain Dealer. Though cleveland.com has been largely absent from campaign reporting until now, it drops its endorsement as it launches a series of interviews with the candidates on its weekday podcast, This Week in the CLE, with editor Chris Quinn and political writer Seth Richardson. The first two were with Zack Reed and Kevin Kelley. Mayoral forums, meanwhile, have dotted the calendar

through July and show no signs of slowing down in August. Tuesday evening, The City Club and Ideastream hosted the first of two official debates, with questions for the candidates sourced from Cleveland residents. The second will be next Tuesday. - Sam Allard

Shontel Brown Defeats Nina Turner in Race to Succeed Marcia Fudge Shontel Brown, a Cuyahoga County Councilwoman and Chair of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, won the special election to succeed Congresswoman Marcia Fudge last week. After the most expensive congressional primary of the year and an avalanche of direct mail and TV and radio advertising, Brown capitalized on nearly $2 million in PAC spending by the Democratic Majority for Israel and secured commanding victories in the east side suburbs to defeat her main opponent, Nina Turner. Turner had been the early heavy favorite in the race. Her national profile and substantial fundraising far outpaced Brown’s. She amassed key local endorsements as well, including from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. But last Tuesday, Turner’s modest wins in the City of Akron, the City of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights could not overcome Brown’s strong performance in her home suburb of Warrensville Heights; in Shaker Heights and University Heights; and in Beachwood, Orange and Pepper Pike, where she won more than 70% of the vote. Turner, in her concession speech, thanked her family and staff members and all those who volunteered for her campaign. She emphasized that her campaign was and would continue to be about advocating on behalf of the poor, working class and “barely middle class.” “Those of us fighting ... have been on a long justice journey through a desert of despair, indifference, inequality and racism,” she said. “Tonight, my friends, we have looked across at the promised land. But for this campaign, on this night, we will not cross the river. Tonight, our justice journey continues. And I am proud to

continue that journey with each and every one of you. We will continue this journey until every working person earns a living wage, including passing a $15 minimum wage. We will continue this journey until every person has health care as a right and not a privilege. We will continue this journey until children’s destinies are not determined by their zip code or the color of their skin. We will continue this journey until we have torn down racism, sexism, homophobia, religious bigotry and every kind of hatred and discrimination. We will continue this journey until justice is equal for every person in this country. And this journey will continue until we have ensured that this planet will be habitable for our children and our grandchildren.”

DIGIT WIDGET $261 million The Cleveland Clinic’s “fair share deficit.” The Clinic, in other words, makes $261 million more in tax breaks every year than it spends on the community.

1 The Cleveland Clinic’s “fair share deficit” ranking. Among all U.S. hospitals, it contributed the least toward charity care and community investments relative to its tax exemptions.

15 Criminal counts related to theft in public office for which Cleveland City Councilman Ken Johnson was convicted recently. He faces up to 10 years in prison and will be sentenced in October.

1979 Year in which Ken Johnson was first elected to Cleveland City Council. His federal felony conviction precludes him from holding the seat any longer. August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

UPFRONT Turner urged those gathered not to “leave sad.” She said that the movement was bigger than one person, one race, and vowed to continue fighting “with every fiber of her being.” “This ain’t over,” she said. Later in the week, she released a video teasing a forthcoming announcement. Brown, who secured highprofile political endorsements from Hillary Clinton and South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, thanked her supporters at an election night event in Bedford. She stressed her campaign’s central message: working with the Joe Biden administration in order to deliver resources to Northeast Ohio. “I do this work for the people,” she said in her victory speech. “That has always been my foundation. That has always been my moral compass. That has always been my guiding force in this work that I intentionally describe as public service because I know I work for you.” -Sam Allard

Cincy Mayor John Cranley Enters Ohio Governor Race with Legal Weed on the Platform

clevescene.com

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

After months of teasing that he’d make a gubernatorial run, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley is finally doing it. Cranley, 47, made the announcement early Tuesday in a video shared to his social media accounts, reminiscing about when the state led robust manufacturing and innovation operations. “For most of the last 30 years, state government in Ohio has been a rigged system led by one party,” Cranley says in a video voiceover. “In that system, Republicans get to stay in power as long as they push an agenda that favors the wealthy few. Welfare for big corporations, paid for by tax and energy hikes on you and me. And under that system, Ohio’s gotten worse.” Cranley’s campaign largely is framed around Cincinnati’s population and civic “comeback,” as he calls it, compared to Ohio’s downswing as a whole in recent decades. According to the video and his campaign

website, Cranley is running on a moderate platform around middle-class job creation, smallbusiness growth, human rights, and education and infrastructure improvements, among other issues. Key among his issues is criminal justice reform, which includes addressing wrongful convictions and finding solutions to poverty and mental illness rather than incarcerating individuals. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Cranley co-founded the Ohio Innocence Project in 2002 at the University of Cincinnati, which uses DNA to prove the innocence of wrongfully convicted individuals. The platform also includes legalizing recreational marijuana to fill Ohio’s tax coffers. Cranley long has been an advocate for weed and recently tweeted that he supported state and national Democrats’ focus on making cannabis a priority. “If we legalized marijuana, we could invest that tax revenue right back into our communities,” Cranley said on July 15. “We could rebuild our roads and fund public education. We could expand healthcare for our communities.” Cranley is running against a growing list of opponents both Democratic and Republican. Mike DeWine, Ohio’s incumbent Republican governor, has announced his plans to run for a second term, but he’s been attracting attention lately due to a former aide’s role in the FirstEnergy bribery scandal. A Republican, DeWine has been praised for pushing science-based protective health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of his fellow Republicans disavow his actions and are in favor of more personal freedoms. Cranley also is running against Democrat Nan Whaley, who is currently the mayor of Dayton. Whaley announced her candidacy in April and shares many of Cranley’s platform issues, which makes some Democrats nervous about an expensive primary battle. Whaley was in Cincinnati on Monday as part of her own campaign stop. Both Cranley and Whaley say they are friends. -Allison Babka

scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

COURTESY BREWDOG

KEEPING IT 0.00

Why more Cleveland restaurants and bars are beefing up their non-alcoholic beer and cocktail offerings, and why those that haven’t should get on board By Vince Grzegorek DURING A RECENT BIRTHDAY bar crawl stop on Tremont Taphouse’s patio, I happened to notice, only because a good friend stopped drinking last year and had been exploring N/A brands, that when two of the folks in our group ordered Brewdog’s Stout AF, they had ordered non-alcoholic beers. One, I later gathered from context, was sober. The other, who had a burly IPA at the previous stop at Edison’s, was not. But in both cases, whatever the reason they wanted one, Taphouse was there for them. And not only did they have the option to order an N/A beer (and a quite good one) instead of being relegated to a water or soft drink, they weren’t limited to one option or a single style. They could have alternately scored a dry-hopped Euro pale lager from Clausthaler or the Weihenstephaner hefewissbier, two other N/A options on Taphouse’s menu. “It used to be just O’Douls, and it was, don’t get me wrong, fine, but it’s a fizzy yellow lager, and that was the only flavor,” says Chris Lieb, owner and partner of the Taphouse and the Butcher and the Brewer. “It’s important because not everyone drinks but you still want to have a beverage with friends. And now, there’s just really good selection and variety with more breweries making

N/A beers.” And they got to order the beers by name off the menu, which sounded like any other beer, and not invite questions about why they weren’t drinking. Lieb says that’s a side benefit of the growing roster of non-alc brews. “A friend of mine quit drinking, for medical reasons, but for him, it was still a social thing to have a drink, and he orders the Weihenstephaner,” he says. “You still have a bottle of beer in your hand, and it sounds like you’re just ordering a beer, so no one pays attention. You don’t want to say, well, I’m not drinking because my pancreas will shut down.” Where Tremont Taphouse might have a few years ago been an outlier, it’s now part of a growing trend of Cleveland bars and restaurants that boast robust non-alcoholic beverage menus and cocktail programs to serve patrons who aren’t drinking, for whatever reason. Those reasons have always existed, whether someone’s moderating their intake, serving as a designated driver, on a medication that’s contraindicated for alcohol, pregnant, in recovery, watching their calories, or simply more comfortable with something that’s not going to affect their decisionmaking or behavior in the moment. Those people still want something

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

flavorful, something that signals they’re relaxing at dinner or a concert or a post-work coworker happy hour. Something special. And, in many cases, something worth drinking that doesn’t make them stand out. It’s obviously not universal, but for many, it’s uncomfortable and dispiriting to say, “I’ll just take a water,” or, “I’ll just take a Diet Coke.” And you know it’s both uncomfortable and dispiriting because they almost always say “just.” It’s a linguistic tick that means there’s nothing for me here. “Just” means they’re a lesser customer or will get a lesser experience. “Just” is an apology, to the server for not ordering something more expensive, to whoever they’re with for not drinking and maybe being less fun, and to themselves for being different, for making an order that might as well be a big neon sign alerting everyone to take notice. For a long time, “just” is what was available. But the market is now finally catching up and offering better low-alcohol or alcohol-free options – stouts that taste like stouts, IPAs that taste like IPAs, wheats that taste like wheats. After decades of O’Douls, the snozberries are finally tasting like snozberries. In recent years, the customer

base has expanded from those who simply aren’t drinking to include those who are drinking less, those who are adding N/A beers into their rotation because of fitness or lifestyle choices, not to mention those reckoning with and course correcting on overconsumption during the pandemic. Trends like Sober September and Dry January have also introduced so-called ‘sobercurious” drinkers into the market in larger numbers. Worldwide N/A beer sales grew 39% in 2019, another 38% in 2020, and is forecasted to be a $1.4 trillion market by 2025. Demand, largely ignored or vastly underrated in previous years, drove supply, with craft brewers like Brewdog branching out into nonalcoholic brews, entire breweries dedicated solely to non-alcoholic offerings such as Well Being and Athletic Brewing Co. forming and quickly expanding, and all the big names frantically attempting to carve out a slice of the growing market. Some are brewed to be nonalcoholic (technically less than 0.05%), and are generally lower in calories, while others are dealcoholized after brewing, which naturally leads to a slightly bigger caloric punch. Either way, you’re looking at something packing flavor and no boozy effects.

“Consumer trends around health and wellness, as well as drinkers seeking more mindful drinking occasions, are fueling the increasing popularity of non-alcoholic beer,” Danelle Kosmal, vice president of beverage alcohol practice for NielsenIQ, said in March. “The large-scale launch of a few new national brands is fueling growth, but smaller non-alcoholic craft beer brands are also growing in popularity. While still small, nonalcoholic craft beer grew by 278 percent in the 52 weeks ending Oct. 24, 2020.” Now, those craft N/A options are dotting Cleveland menus (though not enough) and even your friendly corner bar is likely to stock at least Heineken 0.0, which the company launched in 2019. “There’s been a massive trend in the N/A business going into bars,” says Rita Gaertner, director of marketing for Beverage Distributors. “Heineken 0.0 was a big focus for them this year. They brought it in, it was killing in the U.K., and we were like, ‘…Oh okay,’ but we’re having great success in our territory.” In the last 90 days, Gaertner says, they have a 45% distribution rate across their 2,500 alcohol-buying accounts in Cuyahoga County for Heineken 0.0. One year ago, maybe 300 accounts were stocking it. “We were a bit taken aback,” she says. “A non-alcoholic is your main focus? But we’ve more than doubled our distribution. They’re asking for it, we get emails asking if we distribute it.” Jason Edwards of Superior Beverage Group is seeing the same trends. “I can tell you it’s growing significantly, and at a much higher rate than the industry as a whole even though it’s still a very small base,” he says. And in off-premise sales too: According to IRI, which tracks data in the beer market, Ohio is on pace to do $7 million in N/A beer sales this year at a growth rate of 26%, according to stats captured from retail and grocery store sales. “I think part of the reason that the category is growing is because there are more offerings and there are more flavorful options than there were in the past. Before, you just thought of O’Douls,” he says. And, in many ways, the U.S. is catching up to what was already a better, more vibrant Scene across the Atlantic. “In Europe, it’s a much larger portion of the business.” (Which is why anyone on the hunt for diverse N/A beer selections has long known to head to Hansa Import Haus in Ohio City as

opposed to the grocery store.) Brewdog, the Scotland-based brewery that will soon open a brewpub in the Flats, might have made its first N/A beer, Nanny State, as a tongue-in-cheek jab at U.K officials who clamped down on a mega 17% imperial stout years ago. But Nanny State is now a top-five selling beer for the brand overseas and its striking success helped convince the brewery to expand its N/A offerings, which now include stouts, porters, hazy IPAs and seasonal one-offs. “We’ve been making N/A beers since 2011,” says James Mark, divisional sales director for Brewdog. “It’s not like it’s a new segment for us, but it’s a big category that continues to grow. The numbers are pretty staggering year over year. Month to date for July, we’re up over 80% for N/As. E-commerce has also allowed Brewdog to experiment with N/As in ways that it can’t easily do with its complete roster due to various laws governing the shipment of beer to states. The brewery launched Brewdog and Friends, a monthly subscription service to send some of its N/A beers to customers along with N/A beers from other breweries. While some are standard offerings from other companies that might not just be available in a customer’s area, the program also allows Brewdog to collaborate, which it will do with New Albion this year. “New Albion is the icon of craft beer, they kind of started the revolution in the 1970s,” Mark says of the OG craft beer with Cleveland ties. “It’s a partnership where we’re going to make the original New Albion Ale in September just in time for Cleveland Beer Week and adding a New Albion N/A beer that’s a different style.” Internationally, culture differences and stricter drunk driving laws have spurred N/A sales for Brewdog. Domestically, Mark sees more health-conscious decisions propelling the market, and advertising campaigns that target the demographic. “If you would have talked to a distributor when Heineken came out with Heinken 0.0, you’d be like, that’s nice, fine, kind of niche. But Heineken put a ton of marketing dollars behind it and it’s really what has made their business succeed over the last few years,” he says. “You have Formula One drivers making ads saying I can go to the bar and still drive home. You’re making it cool to have. It’s more of a lifestyle brand, like the way Michelob

Ultra has done. Go for a run, hang for some beers. It’s about the experience, compared to O’Douls or those brands. It’s not the alcoholic’s beer. It’s looking for that healthconscious option but having a lot of flavor.” That growing market of distance runners and fitness enthusiasts aside, the real boon of the growing selection and emphasis by bars and restaurants, Mark and just about everyone else Scene talked to, is a more welcoming experience for everyone who is for the moment or forever not having a drink. “I think the stigma of nonalcoholic is going away,” Mark says. “Before, if someone was having an O’Douls, you’d be like, are you in recovery? It’s that horrible stigma that’s going away. I think especially in a bar, you don’t want to be the person having a water when everyone else is having a drink. There’s an anxiety about being the one to stand out.” Social affairs are drinking affairs, be they work happy hours or birthday parties or a night out with pals. That’s more true in Cleveland than most places, for better or worse. And there are few more anxiety-inducing situations than being someone who’s not drinking surrounded by people who are drinking, offering you drinks, asking why you’re not drinking. “You have so many people now that aren’t drinking for so many individual reasons. And everything now is social. You want to fit in,” says Rita Gaerner of Beverage Distributors. “You don’t want to answer questions.” Having options clearly listed on the menu or displayed with the other beers at a bar alleviates the anxiety of having someone overhear you ask if there are N/A options available. It’s why Bottlehouse Brewery, even though it sells just a few cans of N/A beers a week, has them listed and presented along with everything else on its menu. And it’s why places like Market Garden will start doing so. Sam McNulty’s operations in the heart of Ohio City, one of Cleveland’s biggest entertainment districts and prime territory for the social occasions in which non-drinkers might feel the greatest anxiety and pressure, have stocked Well Being N/A beers, he says. But anyone visiting Market Garden or Nano Brewery or Bar Cento has had to ask a server or bartender to discover that fact. “Hearing about the experiences of others, we’re adding them to our beer, wine and cocktails list now, so people don’t have to ask,” he tells Scene.

“It sucks there’s this weird stigma,” says Eric Ho of LBM, which has not just offered but put an emphasis on non-alcoholic drinks since it opened in 2017. “In any other city, if you have a serious cocktail program, you have N/A options too,” he says. “A lot of these incredibly respected bars in Chicago or L.A. put just as much effort into their N/A programs.” LBM currently stocks Untitled Art and Athletic beers, but it’s also taking advantage of a burgeoning alcohol-free spirit boom including varieties of tequila, rum, gin and liqueurs that allow bartenders to build flavorful drinks that go far beyond what you’d expect from a mocktail. “It is more nuanced, and difficult to deal with making those drinks without the medium of alcohol. Trying to get those flavors and textures is a very interesting balance. But the flavor profile is great. The Ritual brand uses capsaicin so you also get that burn to it. Others are similar to gin, very botanical heavy, citruses and spices,” he says. “And what I like on our menu is when we do N/A stuff, it’s named. It sounds like any other drink and comes presentation-wise like any of the rest of them too.” Locally, LBM has been joined by places like Cloak & Dagger in Tremont that embody that commitment to spirit-free cocktails, which are appropriate in any number of situations. Ho mentions moderation — he’s been moderating his own intake with Heinken 0.0 recently: “I buy it by the 12 pack. It tastes like beer; it does flavor wise what I’m looking for it to do. It actually tastes better than Heineken” — but also examples like first dates or Tinder dates, when someone wants to have their full wits about them while meeting a stranger or making decisions. “You can make responsible choices and be cognitive but still look like you’re engaged.” People are paying attention: Non-alcoholic drinks are one of their biggest sellers, outpacing gin sales some weeks. But that’s a happy byproduct. The bottom line is actually creating an experience for everyone who happens to walk through the door. “It’s all about inclusivity,” Ho says. “Just because someone isn’t drinking doesn’t mean they can’t have a good time and have something delicious, something made with just as much care or effort.”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

GET OUT

Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks

Cleveland Museum of Art’s City Stages program returns with a performance by Angel Melendez and the 911 Mambo Orchestra. See: Wednesday, Aug. 18. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

WED 08/11 THU 08/12 FRI The 124th Annual Cuyahoga County Fair The 124th iteration of the Cuyahoga County Fair continues today at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. This year’s fair offers arts and crafts with craft demonstrations, a beer and wine garden, beekeeping exhibits including honey extractions, dog agility demonstrations, draft horse and pony hitch classes and a draft horse pull with lightweight and heavyweight competitions. And yep, there’ll be plenty of traditional fair food as well as “other culinary delights.” Check the fair website for more information about ticket prices and hours. The fair runs through Aug. 15. 19201 East Bagley Rd., Middleburg Heights, 440- 243-0090, cuyfair.com.

Frank Caliendo Donald Trump, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Bill Clinton are only a few of the many incredible impressions that Frank Caliendo has mastered. He is a comedic genius when it comes to impersonations, somehow capturing the exact voice, body language, and facial expressions of each character he performs. His ability to effortlessly switch from one character to the next keeps the audience mesmerized. Caliendo will perform tonight at 7 at Hilarities. Consult the Hilarities website for ticket prices. 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

08/13

Free Comic Book Day Superscript Comics and Games celebrates Free Comic Book Day and its one-year store anniversary with two days of events in partnership with Bottlehouse Lakewood. The celebration will kick off at Bottlehouse Lakewood tonight from 8 to 11:30 p.m. with live entertainment provided by local podcasts including Chatter Squadron, No One is Listening and Comics Generally as well as games hosted by Tabletop Board Game Cafe. The evening will culminate in a midnight release of the Free Comic Day titles at Superscript Comics and Games. There will be more than 40 free books available to choose from between midnight and 2 a.m. Tomorrow, Superscript Comics and Games will

open early at 10 a.m., and from 3 to 8 p.m., Superscript will host local comic creators and artists at Bottlehouse Lakewood, including locals Jake Kelly, John G., and Gary and Laura Dumm. Members of The Apollo Base of the Star Wars Rebel Legion will appear at Superscript from 3 to 8 p.m. 13361 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216712-6231, superscriptohio.com.

SAT 08/14 Happy Healing Art & Music Festival Kahrin, a local indie/folk singersongwriter, hosts today’s Happy Healing Art & Music Festival at her childhood home in Chardon. Acts such as Bethany Joy, Apostle Jones, Lea Marra & the Dreamcatchers, Stella Lumina & the New Age Voyager, Hannah Stak, Marina Strah and Madeline Finn are all slated to

GET OUT perform. Kahrin will perform as well. In addition, the festival will host CLVLNDS FINEST Pop-Up Artisan Market. Cleveland Candle Company, Doe Eyed Owl and Svona Studio are among the vendors that’ll be on hand. “I write music to help us heal,” says Kahrin. “This festival is my next step in creating meaningful, healing experiences for all us to rest in.” It all begins at noon. 12655 US-6, Chardon, kahrinmusicofficial.com/happyhealing-fest.

SUN 08/15 Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Tchaikovsky’s life was in disarray when he wrote his famous Fourth Symphony. He had entered into a marriage that only lasted six weeks, and he poured out his feelings into the composition to regain his sanity. He once described the piece as a way to “rejoice in the happiness of others and you can still live.” Tonight at 7 at Blossom, the Cleveland Orchestra performs the Fourth Symphony along with works by Antonín Leopold Dvorák and Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich. Check the Cleveland Orchestra website for ticket prices. Blossom Music Center, 1145 W Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, clevelandorchestra.com.

MON 08/16 Movie Mondays Every Monday, Cleveland Cinemas hosts $5 Movie Mondays, where film fans can catch up on the latest Hollywood flicks for significantly reduced prices. Bring your friends and family and make Movie Mondays a weekly tradition — many theaters even offer discounted concession stand items. Participating theaters include Apollo Theatre, Cedar Lee Theatre and Chagrin Cinemas. Additional charges apply for 3-D movies. clevelandcinemas.com.

TUE

08/17

duo Anime A percussion duo created by Andrew Pongracz and Mell Csicsila, duo Anime has presented programs for performing arts organizations such as the Musical Arts Association, the Logan Series at Behrend College, the Cleveland International

Piano Competition, the Cleveland Composers Guild, the Percussion Marketing Council and the Local 4 Music Fund. Expect to hear contemporary percussion works, transcriptions of classic music written for other mediums and new works written expressly for them when the group performs tonight at 8 at Cain Park. Tickets are free. Their current repertoire includes works by composers like Daniel Dorff, Bertold Hummel, Karl Kohn, Marta Ptaszynska, Wayne Siegel and Nancy Van de Vate. 14591 Superior Rd., Heights, 216371-3000, cainpark.com.

WED 08/18 City Stages Cleveland Museum of Art’s free City Stages concert series offers performances by acclaimed world music acts in a block party setting. The concerts, which take place in front of the Transformer Station, the museum’s sister contemporary art museum, were put on hold last year because of the pandemic. An abbreviated version of the program returns tonight with composer, arranger and trombonist Angel Melendez will lead the 10-piece 911 Mambo Orchestra in original arrangements of old-school salsa. The Transformer Station will remain open until 9 p.m. during City Stages. It’s currently showing New Histories, News Futures, an exhibition that showcases work by three contemporary Black artists — Johnny Coleman, Antwoine Washington and Kambui Olujimi — who engage both historical events and current discourse in their artwork. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. 1460 West 29th St., 216-938-5429, transformerstation.org.

THU 08/19 The Century of the American Motorcycle Exhibit Opening Beginning today, Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) will launch the Year of the Motorcycle at the Cleveland History Center, headquarters for WRHS and home of the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The Year of the Motorcycle opens with a comprehensive exhibit of American motorcycle evolution produced by The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. This is only the second time the collection of over 30 American made motorcycles have been on exhibit outside of the Barber Museum and is made

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

GET OUT possible with presenting sponsorship from Progressive Insurance, the #1 motorcycle insurer in the country and Dan T. Moore. The opening party takes place today at 6 p.m; remarks will start promptly at 6:30 with exhibit viewing until 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25, or $20 WRHS members. 10825 East Blvd., 216-721-5722, www.wrhs.org.

FRI

08/20

Zac Brown Band Known for live shows that often feature a slew of oddball covers in addition to original material, the versatile Zac Brown Band returns to Blossom tonight. On its last effort, 2019’s The Owl, the country/rock band dipped its musical toe into pop and EDM waters and worked with writer and producers such as Poo Bear, Shawn Mendes, Max Martin, Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder and Skrillex. As a result, songs such as “The Woods” feature more synthetic instrumentation, though Brown’s drawl remains intact. The show starts at 7 p.m. at Blossom. Singersongwriter Teddy Swims opens the show. He released his debut EP Unlearning earlier this year, and the soulful single “Bed on Fire” has become a smash hit. Check Live Nation’s website for ticket prices. 1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.

6050 Riverview Rd, Peninsula, heritagefarms.com/peninsula-flea.

SUN 08/22 Romantic Brahms Today at 7 p.m. at Blossom, the Cleveland Orchestra takes on two pieces by Brahms in a program dubbed Romantic Brahms. The orchestra will perform Brahms’s Third Symphony (the third movement was “borrowed” for the 1951 pop song “Take My Love” that was recorded and co-written by Frank Sinatra and is a favorite of Carlos Santana, who used it as inspiration for “Love of My Life”) as well as Violin Concerto. Consult the Cleveland Orchestra website for ticket prices. 1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.

MON 08/23 Yoga on the Plaza Every Monday this summer, the Rock Hall and Inner Bliss Yoga Studios present a special Outdoor Monday Night Yoga at the Rock Hall. The class fee is $20, and preregistration is required. Registration closes at 4 p.m. on the day of the event. In case of a weather-related cancellation (if it’s too cold or raining), the class would be cancelled by 4 p.m. on the day of the event. Continues through Aug. 30. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1100 Rock and Roll Blvd., 216-515-8444, rockhall.com.

SAT 08/21 TUE 08/24 Peninsula Flea It’s not just a city thing: Good fleas can be found beyond Cleveland’s city limits. To wit: The Peninsula Flea, which is held on the first Saturday of every month from June to September at the beautiful Heritage Farms, in the Cuyahoga Valley. The location provides a perfect escape from the crush of city life, perhaps best enjoyed by taking a hike in the surrounding Cuyahoga Valley National Park — the third mostvisited national park in the country. A slew of local vendors will be on the lawn, with indoor sales taking place in two of the barns on site. The flea is the perfect opportunity to get some antiques, handmade collectibles, local gear and delicious fresh food while taking in all that Peninsula has to offer. Shoppers are welcome from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

Trial by Fire 216 An all carbon fiber string ensemble that performs on instruments manufactured in the United States by Luis & Clark, the group Trail by Fire 216 has been performing exclusively on Luis & Clark instruments since 2010. Members of the ensemble regularly perform with The Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Akron Symphony, Akron Baroque, Fort Wayne Symphony, the Playhouse Square Theatre Orchestra, Blossom Festival Orchestra and Trinity Chamber Orchestra. They’ve backed artists such as Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Clay Aiken, Andrea Bocelli, Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The group performs tonight at 8 at Cain Park. Admission is free. 14591 Superior Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-371-3000, cainpark.com.

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

STAGE TESTAMENTS AND TESTOSTERONE Porthouse Theatre delivers Christian-rock vibes in ‘Altar Boyz’

Photo by Bob Christy

By Christine Howey

“JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I was out, they pull me back in.” So says Michael Corleone in the only memorable moment from the execrable movie The Godfather, Part III. But that’s a statement we all may soon be muttering as we stare down the barrel of another potentially hellacious autumn and winter, possibly rife with COVID infections of the nasty delta variety. So, share a thought for the poor theater administrators who at this moment, instead of preparing to fling open their doors with glee, are trying to assemble protocols for bringing audiences safely into their indoor spaces, sweating over their computers like bomb disposal experts afraid of cutting the wrong wire. With that in mind, it may be a good idea to seize this moment in balmy August and enjoy an outdoor show with nothing on its mind but singing and dancing. Of course, the musical Altar Boyz now at the Porthouse Theatre also has God on its mind since the title is also the name of the five-member Christianrock boy band whose “Raise the Praise” concert we are watching. Under the direction of Terri Kent, the show delivers some peppy pop-

ALTAR BOYZ Through August 15 at Porthouse Theatre, Blossom Music Center Campus, 3143 O’Neil Road, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223, 330-672-3884, kent.edu/porthouse

rock songs, a few hip-grinding dance moves, and enough laughs to grease the wheels of this lighterthan-air fare. Heathens take note: This is a safe space not just for those who adore religion-tinted material but also for those who would usually run screaming in the other direction. This is because the two most engaging characters in the show are Luke, a happily unredeemed druggie and Mark, a barely closeted gay boy who has his eyes on the group leader, Matthew. These guys who are named after disciples are joined by the Latin-x Juan and Abraham, a Jew who joins the group due to his facility for writing lyrics. As the concert proceeds, the Boyz keep referring to the Soul Sensor DX-12, an electronic marvel that scans the audience and detects lost souls yearning to be saved. It is their object to save every single one of them by the end of the concert with the power of their boyish charm and God-talk. Without

revealing the heart-pounding result (you’ll never guess!), it must be said that the cast pours all their energy into the effort. After relating how they were called to this work by Jesus — via cell phone and Twitter — the Boyz deliver the music by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker with style that’s enhanced by the not-so-pious choreography by Martin Cespedes. As Luke, the Boy who blames his glassy-eyed unreliability on “exhaustion,” Evan Waggoner demonstrates muscular stage presence and a loose, gangly affect. Brandon Schumacker is just as natural but prim and precise as Mark, a fey Boy who knows what he wants — and it’s Matthew. Unfortunately for Mark, Matt (a solid and studly Elijah Lee King) is clueless as he croons about the girl he loves who is so hot “you make me want to wait.” Antonio Emerson Brown gives Juan a poignant touch when he sings “La Vida Eternal,” about his parents, and Devin Pfeiffer

captures a sliver of the Neil Diamond vibe in the power ballad “Everybody Fits.” That said, there are a few spots in this mostly hot show that feel tepid. One is in the song “Epiphany,” sung well by Schumacker but written as a coy nod to tortured Mark coming out, but not in the way you might expect. The joke was no doubt a lot fresher when the show opened in 2005, but now seems a bit dense. Also, the climactic song “Number 918,” which is the group’s desperate last-gasp attempt to reduce to zero the number of tormented souls in the audience, is just a remix — musically and choreographically — of what has come before. The Boyz’ elaborate setup to the song, complete with a chest full of new wardrobe accessories, results in a number that squeakz rather than sizzlez. That said, it was a splendid season at Porthouse with three dynamic productions of small-cast shows. Let’s hope we can experience director Kent’s mastery of big-cast musicals next summer, when hopefully the pandemic in all its guises will be a distant, ghastly memory.

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

Photo credit

ART LITTLE, BIG

Mouse House Party exhibition lets more than 150 Cleveland artists explore the emotional toll of the pandemic By Shawn Mishak MOUSE HOUSE PARTY, A NEW exhibition from more than 150 artists who all used the same mousehole-shaped template to create works that serve as visual responses to the emotional toll of the pandemic, opened last Friday at Current Cleveland. The exhibition was made possible through a partnership between Liz Maugans and The Akron Art Museum and will be on view through Sept. 30. The idea was conceived during the height of the pandemic and came out of a commission for Liz Maugan’s work slated for the lobby space at the Akron Art Museum. That show got pushed back and delayed due to the pandemic, but the Mouse House idea was born. “For this project, we reached out to Liz Maugans, who is a convener of people. She expressed a desire to create a platform for radical healing after the pandemic,” said Seema Rao, the art museum’s deputy director. “This concept offers a space for creatives to collectively celebrate their own emergent perseverance, revitalization and reinvigoration perhaps honoring those who have struggled and emerged with renewed strength and in this time that has been filled, and continues to be challenging to so many of us,” said Maugans. Fans of Maugan’s work might notice that mouse holes have popped up before as portals to somewhere else as perhaps an escape route or and entrance way, maybe both, into the psyche of the artist and as a way to immerse and emerge all at once. “I have been using this arch form in my work for several years,” said Maugans. “It is a good shapeshifting simple form that I attach to a sunrise/set, an arch or portal of entry, a rainbow, a mountain, a

gravestone, and in this case a mouse hole. I think it is a metaphor here for us questioning our mortality in these trying times. A house party seemed appropriate as a counter narrative, since we are all getting out from dark confining spaces and connecting.” “The varied perspectives and range of media will present a truly inclusive and expansive exhibition, engaging audiences with the wide spectrum of ideas present in this region with the aim to connect and celebrate our collective energies,” said Britney Kuehm, Co-Founder of Current Cleveland. “Maugans was particularly well suited to spearhead this collective venture. Her past work lies at the intersection of contemplative practice and civic engagement, particularly in how artists can engage and connect collectively. Maugans continues to explore communion in public life with communities and organizations with a more-the-merrier-mantra.” Maugans created an open call

for artists with the prompt: “Fill the Hole.” The open call enticed artists to fill this mouse holeshaped frame with their work expressing something about filling the emotional holes felt during the pandemic and their emergence from it. Amy Morgenstern, a 3rd grade teacher in Elyria who is a jewelry metals artist, replicated a mousesized version of a blanket that she crocheted for her grandson during the pandemic. Gina Washington created one called “Home of our Hearts.” She wrote: “This year has been madness and joy. Filling one hole was challenging. However, I gathered images, snipped, and held to my promise that less is more as a song came through in my head. I have a wealth of music that pulls me through any and everything. The Psychedelic Furs are the inspiration for the piece. There is truth in the innocence of these words and memory of a year, a life past that

changed you, changed me: Heaven is the home of our hearts and heaven won’t tear you apart yeah heaven is the home of our hearts” “Artists lost shows, couldn’t schedule shows, they lost other creative income as arts and cultural institutions were closed. Even in the re-opening many were furloughed,” said Maugans. “I believe many artists felt creatively fatigued. I think this Mouse House Party, on a very small level, just made people look forward to something and feel a part of a larger fun, even silly moment…I hope artists sell their works and make some extra money! I hope other people meet artists whose works they like — maybe collaborate on something. I really like that an opportunity that came my way becomes a moment for others to bounce off one another. I hope we can have more parties like this that are fun and interactive.”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

FILM SQUAD GOALS

The Suicide Squad is most anti-Marvel D.C. movie yet, and it’s fun as hell IT’S CLEAR WITHIN THE FIRST 12 minutes of The Suicide Squad, which opened Friday in wide release and on HBO Max, that literally everyone except for Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is disposable. Not just the nameless South American soldiers, characters of which ilk tend to be dispatched via impersonal explosions, falling skyscrapers and/or bloodless gun battles in PG-13 superhero fare, but central characters too. The death count is higher (probably) than any “superhero” film made to date, and the violence itself is gleefully, inventively staged to produce maximum gore: Heads are blown off or sliced in half in what feels like every scene; bodies are ripped along unexpected axes; viscera are evacuated by exploding bullets (and are occasionally rearranged into title cards); flesh and tendons are nibbled by rodents and mutant fish, etc. I have misgivings about my own happy hooting at these bloodbaths, but the zany tone of the film is so over-the-top from the jump that you feel — or at least I felt — a bit freer to enjoy them without much moral inquiry. No tears will be shed for the likes of Pete Davidson. The plot bears only passing mention. A team of prisoners with special abilities is assembled for a guerilla mission on a fictional island. They must infiltrate a top-secret military facility to destroy evidence of experimentation with an alien life form, a pink-and-blue giant starfish that becomes the film’s final boss. Written and directed by James Gunn, the unabashedly male mind behind Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, The Suicide Squad successfully erases the execrable Suicide Squad (2016) from memory. So pleased is Warner Bros. to consign the original attempt to Hollywood’s dustbin that the current is marketed more as a reboot than a sequel. Note that it is not Suicide Squad 2. This one is far more assured in its purpose and far less solemn in its dealings with purported bad guys. (Jared Leto’s insufferable Joker, praise God, is nowhere to be seen.) David Ayer directed the first outing. He has gone on to make the 2017 Netflix

Jessica Miglio / Warner Bros. Pictures

By Sam Allard

film Bright and 2020’s The Tax Collector, my own viewing of which was one of the pandemic’s least pleasant experiences. The relationship is not quite 1:1, but The Suicide Squad shares more than just a director with Guardians. Familiar cast members, including Michael Rooker, appear in supporting roles. A curated soundtrack heavy on oldies is everpresent. The central team features an array of goofy misfits — with only a few carryovers from 2016 — including at least one nonhuman with limited verbal skills who’s likely to endear himself to audiences. In Guardians it was Groot. In Suicide Squad, its Nanaue, a walking giant shark whose monosyllables are voiced by Sylvester Stallone. Above all, the script allows for the bantery

Spotlight: Respect JENNIFER HUDSON IS SURELY one of only a handful of humans on earth who has both the acting and vocal chops to credibly portray Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul herself. In Respect, which opens Friday in wide release, Hudson channels Franklin in – beg pardon – a soulful performance that’s better and more electrifying than the film overall. It is equal to her Oscar-winning turn in Dreamgirls 15 years ago. The film is a straightforward 2.5-hour musical biopic that more or less covers the same ground as Franklin’s Wikipedia entry, but still manages to stumble upon the dramatic beats that audiences have

ensemble chemistry that made Guardians such a laugh riot. Harley Quinn remains the miscreant soul of the franchise. She earned her own film, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn), which was roundly celebrated in early 2020 for its social resonance but which I found about as watchable as Sucker Punch, which is to say not very. She shines in a supporting role here. Idris Elba assumes Will Smith’s leading man position — “Bloodsport” is technically a new character, though his special skill (sharpshooting) and his principal motivation for participation in the squad (a daughter), are identical to Smith’s “Deadshot” — and puts on a commendable acting display in early scene work, particularly with Viola Davis, who

reprises her role as the squad’s steely organizer, Amanda Waller. It’s worth speculating that the over-the-top violence may emerge from the sloppy foundations upon which the D.C. cinematic universe was constructed. There is basically zero emotional connection to any of these characters beyond Quinn. Gunn, then, with D.C.’s permission, has opted to go in the opposite direction of Marvel, which painstakingly developed its main characters over years of individual films. The Suicide Squad shatters that prerogative. Its goal is to introduce as many new characters as possible, and then kill most of them off for laughs. Given the misadventures of The Justice League and its offshoots, one rather admires the strategy.

seen in virtually every other musical biopic in existence. Would you believe Franklin had a terrible bout with substance abuse? Still, Franklin’s iconic songs, and Hudson’s powerhouse performances of them, anchor the film. Viewers will walk out of the theater hungry for YouTube videos of live shows in the 60s and 70s. Both the improvisations with the studio band in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in creating Franklin’s most famous hit and a complete performance of “Amazing Grace” are particularly memorable. Both these real-time musical finales and these studio scenes have both become hallmarks of the genre in recent years — looking at you, Bohemian Rhapsody

— but are executed seamlessly here. Directed by TV alum Liesl Tommy in her film debut, Respect is about as reverential as filmmaking gets. And while occasionally cliché, the script celebrates Franklin’s activism and her strength and resilience as a Black woman who was a victim of childhood trauma. Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans and Broadway legend Audra McDonald co-star. The most sensational supporting performance, though, belongs to Skye Dakota Turner, who plays the 10-year-old Aretha with a joy and panache that lights up the screen. -Sam Allard

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

EAT A HANDS-ON AFFAIR

Habesha delivers intoxicatingly delicious, social Ethiopian fare in West Park

When it comes to pandemicfriendly cuisines, Ethiopian food might rank near the bottom of the list in terms of sanctuary, above all-you-can-eat buffets but well below fast-casual take-out joints. More than simply offering a meal, Ethiopian restaurants are rightly beloved for the communal experience they cultivate, one that finds small groups huddled around a sprawling platter of shared food. The landscape that awaited Habesha Ethiopian & Eritrean Restaurant when it finally opened its doors in West Park last winter was less than ideal. But the support they received from neighbors and friends helped them survive until local vaccination rates climbed to the point where indoor dining returned and people once again felt comfortable enough to take a seat with friends inside a restaurant. I, for one, mourned the temporary loss of Ethiopian food from my life over the past year and a half. It’s not that the dishes do not travel well (most hold up remarkably well, in fact), but carry-out is no substitute for an unhurried meal with companions outside the home. So as soon as we had the opportunity to do so, we made plans to check out Cleveland’s newest destination for foods from the Horn of Africa. Partners Jamal Musa, an Eritrean refugee, Tigist Gebremichael, who hails from Ethiopia, and Hiriyti Weldesalsie, who is from Eritrea, had been endeavoring to open Habesha for more than a year. During that time the owners offered a taste of what was to come at various farmer’s markets around town – and they were encouraged by the response. After securing a permanent home in West Park, management spent a considerable amount of time updating the space before finally welcoming their first guests in late 2020. Habesha is a long, narrow space that is modestly appointed by modern restaurant standards. Apart from a few artistic adornments and a wall clock permanently stopped at 3:10, the restaurant is largely bare. What the room does offer diners is an everchanging potpourri of intoxicating aromas, from fresh-

Photo by Doug Trattner

By Douglas Trattner

baked ambesha bread and the justpopped popcorn that accompanies the coffee ceremony to the million and one herbs and spices that comprise berbere. If you’ve only enjoyed spongy injera at Ethiopian restaurants, that ambesha ($7) is a welcome

own or as part of a combination platter. Those platters can be comprised solely of vegan items, a mix of vegan and vegetarian dishes, strictly meat items or a blend of the above. Even being familiar with a fair number of Ethiopian standards and having personal favorites, I

HABESHA ETHIOPIAN & ERITREAN RESTAURANT 16860 LORAIN AVE., CLEVELAND 216-400-6539 HABESHACLE.COM

departure. A pie-shaped wedge is cut from a large round. It’s warm, airy and faintly sweet. It is paired with a mild, fresh cheese and awaze, the spicy berbere-based sauce that accompanies most dishes. Don’t sleep on Habesha’s stellar sambusas ($6). These crispy fried triangles come filled with either beef or lentils, but the lentil version is so savory, wellspiced and satisfying that I don’t see why anyone would opt for the meat variety. Diners at Habesha, as at most Ethiopian restaurants, are presented with myriad options with respect to vegan, vegetarian and meat-based dishes. Most can be ordered on their

always go the combo route because who doesn’t prefer variety. And if there’s a dish that you really love that doesn’t happen to be included in any medleys, it can always be added to the mix. The doro wot and veggie combination ($18) is a brilliant, colorful feast that veers from longsimmered chicken on the bone to chip-chopped collard greens. Doro wot is dark, deeply flavored and fiery from the berbere spice blend. Wisely, there are two servings of crisp, refreshing mixed salad to cool things down. Alongside those items are red and yellow lentil stews, a mild and comforting portion of

tender potato, carrot and cabbage and more of that soft white cheese. Those looking for something meatier should consider ordering the awaze tibs ($17), a stir-fry of beef or lamb flavored with garlic, ginger and rosemary and perfumed with heaps of exotic spice. All of the above is arranged like vividly hued oil pigments on a painter’s palette, but in this case the board is a wide platter lined with injera, the famous fermented flatbread made from teff. Foods are scooped and eaten out of hand using torn pieces of the tangy bread, more of which arrives in a near-bottomless basket. The rip-and-dip process is half the fun. Habesha is the first Ethiopian restaurant on Cleveland’s west side and one of only three in the entire city. Given that the food is wholesome, intoxicatingly delicious and more than reasonably priced, this cuisine should have made larger inroads in the region by now. Here’s hoping the westward expansion continues.

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

Photo courtesy Cleveland Kitchen

EAT BITES

Midtown-based Cleveland Kitchen rolls out new pickle products By Douglas Trattner CLEVELAND KITCHEN (formerly Cleveland Kraut) has rolled out another product in its fermentedfoods line. Dilly Garlic Pickles, sold as chips or spears, are described as lightly fermented, unpasteurized pickles “bursting with garlic and dill flavors.” Cleveland Kitchen Dilly Garlic Pickled Chips and Cleveland Kitchen Dilly Garlic Pickled Spears are processed in a way that leaves them crisp and flavorful. “Pickles are such a classic American food and especially beloved in the Midwest and we are very excited to be introducing our unique, healthy take on this well-known condiment,” says co-founder and CEO Drew Anderson. “We are proud to be adding our Dilly Garlic Pickles to our range of products as another delicious, crunchy, fresh offering for fans of Cleveland Kitchen and fans of pickles.” The pickles, available nationwide at Walmart stores, join popular sauerkraut products like Gnar Gnar, Classic Caraway and Whiskey Dill, and the recently added Classic Kimchi. Like all those products, the pickles support gut-health.

‘Save It For Sunday’ Series at Heart of Gold to Kick Off with All-Star Moxie Alum Event Heart of Gold (4133 Lorain Ave., 216-938-8711) in Ohio City typically is closed on Sundays, but the restaurant intends to host frequent special events that bring in outside chefs for progressive, collaborative meals. Titled “Save it for Sunday,” the series kicks off at 6 p.m. on Sunday, August 22, with a six-course plated affair featuring 11 chefs who all worked together at Moxie in Beachwood before it closed in 2019. “I wanted to cook with the people who I got my chops with,” explains Heart of Gold chef Adam Bauer. “Honestly, to this day they are still the most talented people I have ever worked with. They are the unsung heroes of the Cleveland food scene. They aren’t the guys on Instagram; they are the guys who do the work. They’re the talent.” The six courses will be prepared

by teams comprised of Sean St. Clair, Michael Tolosa, Don Triskett, Brandon Veres, Kyle Anderson, Rowan Murray, Bobby Sabetta, Alex Hrvatin, Jason Quiner and Alaina Oneill. There are just 40 seats available. The $120 fee includes passed apps, six courses and a champagne toast. An optional cocktail pairing is available for $50. There is no final menu yet but diners can expect a very progressive, avant-garde roster of dishes, notes Bauer. And, before you ask, there will be no all-vegan, all-vegetarian or all-gluten-free options. “We’re super excited,” says the chef. “We haven’t cooked together in years. This will be an evening of memories and amazing food and stories. It will be an interactive event with chefs in the dining room talking about their courses, telling stories.”

Courtyard on Coventry Joins Expanding Roster of Indie Business Collection in Coventry Village Coventry Village continues to expand its roster of independent businesses this summer, with more on the way in the coming weeks. The latest business to join the street is Courtyard on Coventry, which celebrated its grand opening in June. The club is described as an entertainment venue offering drinks, food, hookahs and live entertainment. It opened in the longdormant Burgers-n-Beer space at 1854 Coventry Rd. Suite C. Courtyard owners Sahabahddin Muhammad and Verntonn Smith grew up in East Cleveland but always sought out the diversity of entertainment and art attractions in nearby Coventry. “Courtyard will be a place for culturally diverse individuals and couples to come after a long day of work to decompress, have a great drink, and something good to eat,” Smith explains in a release from Coventry Village. “It will be a comfortable safe haven for young professionals to come, relax, be entertained, and enjoy: an escape from

the stresses of life with the hospitality we have to offer. We bring a warm energy. This is a place where people can also socialize and network.” Depending on the evening, guests might be treated to live soul, R & B or stand-up comedy. To eat, there’s American “soul-inspired” menu items like soul rolls, chicken and waffles, turkey chops with gravy, shrimp Alfredo and grilled turkey ribs. Courtyard also hosts a Sunday brunch. Coventry Village isn’t done growing, either. In the coming weeks, the doors will open to Taco Roosters, opening in the former Panini’s space, and Koko Bakery,setting up shop in the former Piccadilly Artisan Yogurt spot.

Antica Brings Contemporary Italian Food to the MarketPlace at Avon Cafe Piccolo, a popular Italian restaurant in Avon, closed its doors after three years at the start of the pandemic. Another business, Flair 22, announced plans soon after to take the space over but never made it to opening day. In January, Heck’s owner Fadi Daoud signed the lease and spent the next six months updating the space in advance of opening Antica Italian Kitchen (35568 Detroit Rd., 440-5170096), which he did in mid-July. “It’s completely changed,” Daoud says of the interior. “We wanted to give it a different look to match the concept. It was very heavy and classic but now it’s more open and comfortable.” Daoud, who owns Heck’s in Ohio City as well as a second Heck’s in the very same shopping center, says he likes the location because of its antichain stance. “I feel like people crave for a new space, especially in the Avon area,”

he says. “Where we are, it’s heavy on chains. The center we are in is a mostly local collection. It’s one of the only centers in Avon that’s all local.” Now, sitting alongside the likes of Heck’s, Mitchell’s Ice Cream, Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes and Melt is Antica. Daoud recruited chef Josh Septoski from Chicago, where he worked as an Italian cooking instructor at Eataly. The menu is described as “classic Italian with a modern take.” “Simplicity is key, just really, relly good ingredients, most of which are imported except for the local stuff,” adds Daoud. To start, there’s arancini, fritto misto, burrata with grilled focaccia, Kobe beef meatballs, and tuna crudo with olive oil, orange and red pepper flakes. Soups and salad choices include pasta fagioli, caprese and Tuscan kale with shaved brussels. The pasta section is flushed out with classics like spaghetti pomodoro, frutti di mare, gnocchi with pesto cream and rigatoni carbonara. For the main event, there’s whole roasted branzino, grilled Ohio lamb chops, grilled salmon and veal saltimbocca. All of those choices are joined by creative pizzas, seasonal vegetables and a few classic desserts. Daoud says that Antica is off to a great start and that Heck’s, which he purchased more than 15 years ago, is navigating these turbulent times as well. “Heck’s at both locations are doing great,” he says. “We had to figure out what needs to be done, what needs to be changed on the fly when the shutdown happened. When we opened back up it’s been a good ride so far. Just keeping it up to date, approachable, comfortable. I feel like that’s what people are looking for now more than ever.”

dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

MUSIC FEELING IRIE

Jason Mraz spreads positive vibrations with his new album

SINGER-SONGWRITER JASON Mraz says he was actually looking for a way to stay home when everything shut down because of the pandemic. “I do love touring,” he says via phone from his San Diego home. He performs with Southern Avenue at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 13, at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica. “Plus, the other crew members and musicians get to work when I work. But you’re also just chasing a carrot. In the back of my mind, I thought that it would be nice to sit down for a year and think about life. Hey, careful what you wish for. I got to sit down for a year and really think about life.” He says he still managed to keep busy even though the touring industry was put on pause. “I did a lot of creative work online and offline and a lot of stuff on the [avocado] farm here that I normally wouldn’t have gotten to do,” says Mraz. “I picked up roller skating, which I wouldn’t have done had I continued to tour. It was kind of a blast. Like many Americans, I got to stay home and watch the news and get an education as well. We all got our hearts broken wide open, and our eyes opened. I think that was a good thing. We needed that.” As much as his latest album, the decidedly upbeat and spirited Look for the Good, might seem as if it were created to combat the COVID blues, Mraz wrote and recorded the LP prior to the pandemic shutdown. “We did it in the summer of 2019, gearing up for 2020,” he says. “I had a hunch that 2020 was going to be a transformative year. We had an election coming up, and we hadn’t solved global warming, and we hadn’t solved equality. I thought 2020 was going to be messed up. I wanted to put an album out that helps us look for the good while we embrace necessary changes. Little did I know how necessary and immediate those changes would become. It almost meant we had to take a backseat and wait. We still put the album out [in 2020] because I wanted to have the album out there, but it’s really hard to promote a record in the middle of all that craziness. I didn’t think it was my

time to say, ‘Hey, it’s me. Look at me over here!’” A full-on embrace of reggae music, Look for the Good reflects Mraz’s longtime love of the style of music that Bob Marley and others made popular. The title track commences with a bit of acoustic guitar and Mraz’s signature smooth vocals before the reggae beats arrive, recalling the positive vibes of those Ziggy Marley & the Melody Maker tunes from the ‘80s. “In 2004, I went to Kingston, Jamaica and visited [Bob Marley’s] house, which is awesome,” says Mraz. “It’s a museum. I got to see how he lived and how he gave food and shelter to his band and crew when they were making albums and between tours. I was really inspired and informed through that trip. I bought a place in San Diego and modeled my home after that style.” At that time, Mraz wrote “I’m Yours,” a reggae-tinged tune that would become one of his biggest hits when it came out in 2008. “It was in the back of my mind that I would make more reggae one day and be my own side project and something to have at the merch table,” says Mraz. “I love [reggae] for how trippy it is and all the echoes

Photo by Shervin Lainez

By Jeff Niesel

were doing different styles in a way that people who love records would listen to the record and know that the bass line is a nod to this song and that guitar line is a nod to that

JASON MRAZ, SOUTHERN AVENUE 8 P.M. FRIDAY, AUG. 13 JACOBS PAVILION AT NAUTICA, 2014 SYCAMORE ST. 216-622-6558. TICKETS: $40-$95 LIVENATION.COM

and delays and how everyone is playing percussion. It’s so groovy. Lyrically, it’s always about love, spirituality or revolution.” When Mraz met producer Michael Goldwasser in 2018, it was Goldwasser’s idea that Mraz make a reggae album, so Mraz began to write some songs with that in mind. “By 2019, those demos were sounding very good,” he says. “We put a band together and made this record. We were influenced by Aswad from England; they’re a phenomenal postmodern reggae band, and ’80s era Aswad is what we modeled ourselves on. Michael [Goldwasser] is a reggae historian and made sure we

song. It was fun to put those Easter eggs in the album. There were a couple of Jamaicans in the band, and they said it was legit, and they were vouching for us.” The late Mr. Rogers inspired the title track that’s the album’s centerpiece. “When Mr. Rogers was a child and there would be bad stuff in the news, his mother would say, ‘Well, look for the hero. If there’s a fire on TV, look for the fireman. Look for the good in the situation,’” says Mraz. “That was the seed of the song. Michael G. sent me a basic track of a four-chord loop over the vibe of the song. He titled it ‘Look

for the Good.’ I said, ‘I like this.’ It was a collab with Michael G. and some of my friends in Raining Jane. It’s hard to make a song that says do good and be a good person. It’s hard to write happy songs that don’t sound too cheesy. It’s a tricky tune, but that’s the one that said we had a theme song. Every other song fits into that lens of looking for the good. Every song is optimistic.” For the tour that rolls into town next week, Mraz assembled an enormous 13-piece band. He says he wanted the band to be bigger, but there just wasn’t room on the bus. “We had to limit it, unfortunately,” he says. “We’re still coming out of the pandemic, so you don’t want to overcrowd the bus. We got everything to make the album’s sound. We got two keys and multiple guitars. We got multiple singers. We got horns. Everybody is a top-notch player, and it’s the stickiest ickiest sound I’ve ever made on stage. I’m so excited.”

scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene

August 11-24, 2021 | clevescene.com |

SAVAGE LOVE REUNION BLUES By Dan Savage Hey, Dan: I fell in love with my second cousin about four years ago at a family reunion. (I hadn’t laid eyes on him since I was a kid!) I was fifteen when we met, he was two years older, and we were in a long-distance relationship for three years. We ended things a year ago and I’m going to be seeing him for the first time since our breakup at another family reunion this fall. He’s bringing his new girlfriend. Do I have a responsibility to make her feel comfortable? Do I avoid him and risk family drama? I’ve done so much to work through this, Dan, and I’d love to see this as a healthy exercise in staying true to myself. —Cancel On Upcoming Shindig? I’m Not Sure! I’m hoping it was just the usual heartache you had to work through after this relationship ended — by which I mean to say, COUSINS, I’m hoping your ex-boyfriend (and current second cousin) wasn’t emotionally or physically abusive and you weren’t working through trauma. And I’m hoping you didn’t get too much grief about dating your second cousin from other family members. (First cousins can legally marry all over the world!) Assuming your ex was only guilty of breaking your heart (a risk we take when dating anyone), you should approach this family reunion like any mature adult who finds herself at a wedding or a funeral or a holiday party with an ex. You slap a smile on your face and say hello to your ex, you tell his new girlfriend it’s nice to meet her, and then you avoid both of them for the rest of day. If you’re worried about getting trapped in a conversation with either or both of them, COUSINS, and don’t have it in you to say, “I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me, I gotta go take a monster shit,” then deputize someone to run interference for you. Your designated interferer should stay by your side as much as possible, COUSINS, and if you get separated and they see you trapped in an extended conversation with your ex or his new girlfriend, COUSINS, it’s their job to swoop in and rescue you. And if family members gave you grief about dating your

second cousin — if you were subjected to more than some gentle awkwardness-acknowledging, tension-releasing ribbing about the situation — and that grief was the source of whatever you had to work through since breaking up with the guy who was essentially your high school boyfriend (a guy you were always gonna break up with at some point), COUSINS, then this reunion is an opportunity to tell those people to go fuck themselves.

Hey, Dan: Should I worry about my son who is 24 years old, straight, cute, has friends and is also a virgin? —Mulling Over Moments You can tell a mom not to worry but a mom is still gonna worry, MOM, so you go right ahead and worry. But if your son knows he can talk with you about anything and he’s chosen not to talk with you about this, MOM, and if your son isn’t upset about it or otherwise miserable, leave him alone. If he has friends — and you say that he does — then he has peers he can confide in about his love life, assuming he wants one, and open up to about his sexual inexperience, if he regards it as a problem, MOM, which he may not.

Hey, Dan: I’ve been reading you for many years. You have great language skills. But your use of “gonna” and “wanna” for “going to” and “want to” just comes across as adolescent and condescending. You’re too old to be using that sort of lingo, Dan. Please respect yourself and your readers. —Griping Over Nauseatingly Nonsensical Affectations You’re gonna hafta pry those “gonnas” and “wannas” outta my cold, dead hands, GONNA, if you wanna get ’em outta my column.

Hey, Dan: Three months ago, I came out as polyamorous in an email I sent to my immediate and my entire extended family, because I’m done asking one of my partners to pretend he’s “our roommate” when my parents or siblings come to visit, and it hurts me so much to exclude him from family events and holidays.

| clevescene.com | August 11-24, 2021

“I’m done asking one of my partners to pretend he’s ‘our roommate’ when my parents or siblings come to visit, and it hurts to exclude him from family events and holidays. (And it hurts him too.)” (And it hurts him too.) My whole family is getting together over Labor Day Weekend and all three of us are planning to go. Is there any way to avoid awkwardness? —Bringing All My Boyfriends Inside Nope. P.S. They’ll get used to you being poly, you’ll get used to them knowing you’re poly, and it’ll get less awkward over time. But there’s no way to avoid that first blast of pure awkwardness. Instead of trying to avoid it, BAMBI, try to have a sense of humor about it.

Hey, Dan: I was raised in a conservative batshit household and equally batshit church. The youth leader, who was my best friend’s stepdad and who I viewed as a father figure, was a sexual predator. When I was seventeen, he started asking me for sex and also told me he’d thought of me “that way” since I was twelve. I found out later he got a woman with a mental disability pregnant, and my childhood best friend has hinted to me that he assaulted her as well. Much to my rage, this guy’s wife, this church, and even my own parents never went after this guy legally or otherwise. Outrageously, he’s still a member in good standing of this same church. A few days ago, a different childhood friend died. He was my best friend’s cousin, and we all grew up together. Obviously, this asshole will be at the funeral. I’m determined to be there to support my friend but how do I interact with this predator without causing a scene? I don’t want to make this sad reunion about me, but I refuse to entertain this guy in any way. Any thoughts on telling him to go fuck himself? —Feels Uncomfortable Near Extremely Religious Asshole Lowlifes Your childhood best friend dropped hints about being assaulted by

this man — her stepfather — but she never actually came out and told you that. But you know for a fact that he preyed on a mentally disabled woman and that he sexually harassed you when you were a minor. And like so many sexual predators on altars, this asshole got away with it. There haven’t been any consequences, no accountability, and he’s still in a position — a position of spiritual authority — where he can (and probably does) abuse and exploit other vulnerable women and girls. Ugh. I’m pro telling this asshole to go fuck himself at the funeral — loudly — but there’s something you could do before the funeral. While you can’t control what your parents or this church have done or failed to do, FUNERAL, and while your childhood best friend’s story isn’t yours to tell — and you don’t know or don’t officially know the full story — you can tell your own story. You can report this asshole to the pious lowlifes who run this fucking church and file a police report at the same time. Oh, and make sure to let those church leaders know you filed a police report. While there’s no guarantee they’ll act against this creep after getting a report of sexual abuse (see: Catholic Church, sex abuse scandals), they’ll at least know they’re leaving themselves open to potential financial consequences if they fail to act (see: Catholic Church, sex abuse scandal settlements). I’ve been to a few funerals in my time, FUNERAL, and it’s not the people at the funeral we tend to remember — it’s the people who were there for us before the funeral and after. Head home, be there for your old friend, and feel free to skip the funeral if that asshole is gonna be there.

mail@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage www.savagelovecast.com

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