Creative Loafing Charlotte

Theater review: Avenue Q

Perry Tannenbaum — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:12:00 -0400

Concluding their 85th anniversary, Theatre Charlotte has a lot more to celebrate than longevity. For the past two years, production level has been enviably high.…

Five mayors = One 'thrilling' evening

John Grooms — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:23:00 -0400

Five former Charlotte mayors got together on stage Tuesday night at Central Piedmont Community College, and, as expected, nothing much happened. It was the kind of event Charlotte's elite luvluvluv - a patented, Old-School Charlotte "Let's get a few VIPs together and watch them ramble in vague terms about a variety of subjects, and pretend the whole thing is a valuable community meeting" kind of gabfest.…

This week's SketchCrowd cartoon (May 22)

Kimberly Lawson — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:15:00 -0400

SketchCrowd is the world's first crowd-sourced comic strip - that is, one created using submission by anyone and everyone. It runs weekly in Charlotte Creative Loafing, The Chattanooga Pulse and Augusta Metro Spirit.…

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Today's Top 5: Wednesday

Anita Overcash — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, May 22, 2013 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

* Connectivity exhibit at McColl Center for Visual Art

* Daniel Wallace to sign The Kings and Queens of Roam at Park Road Books

* BangBang at Dharma Lounge

* Wit & Whimsy exhibit at Lark & Key Gallery

* The Hot Gates at Snug Harbor

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Daniel Wallace has Bigger fish to fry

Anita Overcash — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400
Author discusses new novel at Park Road Books by Anita Overcash Daniel Wallace is still riding the waves of success from Big Fish, his 1998 novel-turned-motion picture and soon-to-be Broadway show in September. But the N.C.-based author, who teaches creative writing at UNC-Chapel Hill, has also penned a steady flow of other works since the best-seller.…
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Summer Guide 2013: Charlotte's best patio paradises

Lauren Blake — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Our favorite places to eat and drink al fresco by Lauren Blake From corn hole and crab-legs to cocktails and live music, take your pick of some of the most appealing outdoor spaces across town. "Let's take it outside" never sounded so good.…
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Summer Guide 2013: Summer films, flying high

Matt Brunson — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
16 titles that hold the most promise by Matt Brunson The 2013 summer movie season began with a heavy metal act (Iron Man 3, which opened May 3) and will end with a pop performance (One Direction: This Is Us, the boy-band documentary that's out Aug. 30). In between, Hollywood will emit a steady siren song that will ensnare moviegoers of all stripes.…
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Bright yet bittersweet goodbye

Mark Kemp — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Top editor looks back over last two years by Mark Kemp When I returned to Creative Loafing in 2011 after five years away from the company, I was shocked to see how hard it had been hit by recession and bankruptcy. An office that once bustled with adrenaline-fueled journalistic inquisitiveness and a heady sense of adventure — from the editorial department to sales, marketing and distribution — was quiet and funereal.…
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King of Pops woos the Queen City

Keia Mastrianni — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Popular popsicle brand has foodie appeal by Keia Mastrianni Sound the trumpets! The King of Pops has landed in the Queen City with a tasty decree: handmade popsicles for everyone.…
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Summer Guide 2013: More fun in Charlotte

Anita Overcash — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Including upcoming festivals, visual art exhibits, comedy shows and more by Anita Overcash FESTIVALS & OTHER EVENTS MAY…
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Party Pedlar adds twist to bar crawls

Ana McKenzie — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Man-powered trolley helps work those drinks off by Ana McKenzie The sky can't decide if it wants to produce rain or wind or make way for sunshine, so it settles on an uncomfortable mix. No matter.…
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Summer Guide 2013: The top summer concerts coming your way this season

Jeff Hahne — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
From amphitheatres to arenas, plenty of options to tune in by Jeff Hahne With so many music venues in the Charlotte area, new concerts are announced on an almost daily basis. What follows is in no way the be-all, end-all of summer concert guides, but consider it a primer or "appetizer" for all that will occur in the coming months.…
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Can 49ers turn Charlotte on to college ball?

Corbin Peters — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
UNC's new football team could transform Charlotte by Corbin Peters It was the morning before UNC Charlotte's first spring football game and I needed a grill. I paid thousands of dollars in student fees over the last three years to help fund this team and refused to tailgate with my roommate's George Foreman.…
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Summer Guide 2013: Electric Run mixes exercise, EDM

Brittany Gaston — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Speedway hosts rave-influenced race for charity by Brittany Gaston If anything can be learned from watching tired, played-out and annoyingly predictable horror movies, it's that if you run in the middle of the night, you will trip and fall so an axe murderer, whose pace is similar to that of a THC-ridden snail, will miraculously catch up to you and ... cue the gory details. In the real world, the likelihood that you may have a crazed killer out to get you on an evening jog is pretty slim.…
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Summer Guide 2013: Drinks go beyond frozen or fruity

Tricia Childress — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Try a round of sophisticated Charlotte cocktails by Tricia Childress Some say that the perfect summer drink is a cold beer. Others prefer drinks with rum or gin, or the trendier Latino liquors tequila and pisco.…
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Summer Guide 2013: Stage sizzlers

Perry Tannenbaum — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
"The best damn summer theater season the Q.C. has ever seen" by Perry Tannenbaum Was a time, way back when the Charlotte Repertory Theatre company was developing into a regional powerhouse, when summertime was the prime season in the Queen City. While Opera Carolina and N.C. Dance are done for the season — and Charlotte Symphony brings us orchestral lawn feed through the July 4 weekend — local and touring theater productions have the performing arts scene pretty much to themselves.…
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Summer Guide 2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
CL's annual guide to arts, music, film and other events happening this season by CL Staff Summer in Charlotte unofficially kicks off this weekend, with Speed Street taking over Uptown in honor of the Coca-Cola 600. NASCAR not your thing?…
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My Neighbor Totoro, One Hour Photo, Philadelphia among new home entertainment titles

Matt Brunson — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:40:00 -0400
This week's reviews of what's new on Blu-ray and DVD by Matt Brunson (View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what's new on Blu-ray and DVD.) LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945).…
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State finally sues Duke for endangering Charlotte's water supply

John Grooms — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:25:00 -0400

Apparently following the axiom that late is better than never, North Carolina is suing Duke Energy over carcinogenic pollution in Charlotte's major water source, Mountain Island Lake. Seven months after a Duke University study found high levels of arsenic in Mountain Island Lake - and two months after a much-publicized report from the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and the Southern Environmental Law Center on pollution in Mountain Island Lake - the N.C. Division of Water Quality says Duke's coal ash has resulted in pollution that could threaten Charlotte's water supply with carcinogens that can cause central nervous system damage.…
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Youth is served at the Blumey Awards

Perry Tannenbaum — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:19:00 -0400

For the record, South Mecklenburg High School's entry in the 2nd Annual Blumey Awards was their production of The Wiz. This will probably be news to most of the audience who packed Belk Theater to capacity for the Blumey ceremonies on Sunday night.…
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Today's Top 5: Tuesday

Anita Overcash — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:06:00 -0400

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, May 21, 2013 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

* Maz Jobrani at The Comedy Zone

* Sara Bareilles at Booth Playhouse

* Lights.…
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Live review: Paramore, The Fillmore (5/20/2013)

Alison Angel — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:26:00 -0400

Paramore
The Fillmore
May 20, 2013

A new album (the group's first in four years) and its first tour on American soil in far too long had Paramore's already ravenous fans literally clawing at the barrier separating themselves from the three original members left standing Monday night. And, no, the sold-out Fillmore wasn't only filled to the brim with tweens - though many had bright hair in an effort to imitate their idol.…
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Book review: James Salter's All That Is

John Schacht — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 -0400
Author's first novel in 40 years shines by John Schacht Midway through James Salter's new novel, his first in four decades, an editor at a small New York City publishing house has to turn down a novel from an aging writer still respected for a book or two early in his career. This latest novel, the editor/protagonist Philip Bowman says, is "done elegantly enough but past its time."…
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Dixie's Tavern closes, land to be used for park

Ana McKenzie — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:24:00 -0400

Dear Hangover,

I'm sorry to have to break it to you like this - if only there could have been more time! - but I have some bad news.…
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BREAKING: Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon to announce mayoral bid Tuesday

Ana McKenzie — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:56:00 -0400

Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon will announce his "political intentions" - aka his mayoral bid - noon Tuesday at Elizabeth Park. Cannon is seeking to replace Democrat Mayor Anthony Foxx, who will leave his position to serve in President Obama's cabinet as Secretary of Transportation.…
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