Happy News, Butts and Planes
Another Week Already Quote of the Week: “A man’s rear end is not for another man’s private parts.” — County Commissioner Bill James, waxing eloquent about sodomy during debate of a proposal to protect gays from discrimination. MONDAY, 5/16 The Observer printed a perky op-ed piece titled “How about a little good news from the…
Nine Inch Blog
Even 16 years after Nine Inch Nails’ debut album, those three words still conjure up very specific images: severed pig heads, split cow bodies and the band’s leather-clad creator, Trent Reznor, spinning while mysteriously suspended mid-air in the “Closer” video. Behold the atavistic power of Nine Inch Nails, a band whose name and symbol still…
The Blotter
Domestic Dysfunction: A divorced couple who still live together got into a fight when the man reportedly stayed out all night. Upon returning home from his night of alleged debauchery, he was confronted by his ex-wife/rommate. Instead of responding to his former flame, the man ignored her and donned a pair of headphones to listen…
Sit & Spin
Stereolab Oscillons From the Anti-Sun Too Pure For the casual Stereolab fan satisfied with a handful of the electronic pop group’s readily available full-lengths, this bargain-priced CD-plus-DVD box set is a revelation. For the obsessive ‘Lab stalker who’s depleted his or her bank account on impossible-to-find imports, these 35 rarities provide a painful reminder that…
See & Do
May 25 – Wednesday The Charlotte Knights take on the Indianapolis Indians today through Saturday at 7:15pm at Knights Stadium. The Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox has struggled early this season, enduring a string of painful losses and the loss of two players to steroid-based suspensions. There is good news, however. Their parent…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 5.25 Eastern Seaboard/Calabi Yau – An excellent cross-genre double bill here, with the touring acoustic avante-garde threesome (ES) and angular electric trio (CY) each pushing envelopes (manila, bubble-wrap, you name ’em, they’re pushin’ ’em) in their own diistinct fashions. For more info, see our See & Do section. The Room (Schacht) Martha Wainwright -…
Stargazer
Gemini The Twins (May 20 – June 20) Your mind will be quick and your attitude persuasive. You are loaded with ideas, so remember to give others the option to speak also, if you want to be heard for the next few weeks. You may be deeply involved in a creative project. Love life and…
Soundboard
Wednesday, May 25 Amos’ Southend Thee Unright w/ Fret Breakfast Club DJ Boney B Double Door Inn Annette & Keith Cash & Friends The Evening Muse Martha Wainwright Excelsior Club Michael Porter Trio Fire & Ice Lounge Ladykiller Founders Hall Kent Steel (noon) Gateway Village Madelin Zero The Gin Mill Wizard’s Road Show House of…
The Rebirth Of Rousso
Paul Rousso serves as an apt metaphor for his home city of Charlotte. He’s a reinvented man in a city endlessly tinkering with itself. Rousso’s an artist who has recently rediscovered his calling, released his caged beast, shed his ill-fitting, suburban middle-class mask, or reactivated his inner Energizer Bunny. Looking at his paintings on display…
Welcome to the Jungle
The lion may be comfortably ensconced as king of the jungle, but when it comes to the thick brier of popular culture, it’s the penguin who reigns supreme. First, there was Opus, the lovable penguin star of Berkeley Breathed’s classic comic strip Bloom County. Then came Sparky the Penguin, the acerbic, conservative-bashing protagonist of Tom…
Charleston’s Glorious Speed Bump
We have our Panthers and our Bobcats, our banks and our churches, our ubiquitous Spam and our urban sprawl. But we’re still desperately striving for our niche. So we’re jerry-building a whole new Uptown carnival, filling the streets with the cheer of beer and the sizzle of bratwurst, showcasing our mightiest Nextel Cup gladiators and…
On The Right Track
It just wouldn’t feel like summer in Charlotte if the Main Library wasn’t hosting its annual hot-weather showcase for classic motion pictures. All Aboard!!: The 2005 Summer Film Series will be held most Mondays starting June 13 and running through August 15. The unifying theme is that – you guessed it – all movies prominently…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Piccolo Spoleto Preview Concert The Oratorio Chamber Singers of Charlotte and the Festival Singers of Carolina Voices present their third annual Piccolo Spoleto preview concert. Thu., May 26, 7:30 p.m. $5-$15. Myers Park Baptist Church, 1900 Queens Rd. 704-972-2000. Comedy Big Chill Queen City Comedy. Hosted by Chris “FunnyMan” Robinson. Wednesdays, 9pm. 911…
View From The Couch
THE AVIATOR (2004). Despite his standing as the architect of some of the greatest motion pictures of the past 30 years, it often feels as if Martin Scorsese’s most significant contribution to cinema isn’t as a moviemaker but as a movie fan, most notably his tireless efforts with film preservation. Thanks to The Aviator, the…
The Hungry Hobbit
Last September when I wrote about the small 40-seat New Zealand Café Seafood Grill & Sushi Bar on Sardis Road North, New Zealand cuisine was new to the area. Then in late November 2004, Queenstown Bistro, a 174-seat full service restaurant also featuring New Zealand cuisine, opened in the university area. Why two New Zealand…
Film Clips
New Releases UNLEASHED “Poignant” and “touching” aren’t words usually associated with a Jet Li flick, but Unleashed isn’t your standard action yarn. That’s not to say Li has completely gone the Sense and Sensibility route: Rest assured that fans of martial arts mayhem will leave satisfied with the bone crushing, rib cracking and face pounding…
Tar Heel Wines
One popular vacation destination is a trip to the wine regions of the West. In addition to the tasting rooms and outstanding restaurants, an entire tourist industry has emerged complete with hot air balloons and wine trains. That was not the way it was three decades ago, when Robert Mondavi pleaded with passersby to try…
Welcome, Race Fans!
Since the clueless Florida legislature decided not to support Daytona’s bid to host the official NASCAR Hall of Fame and Museum, only three cities are realistically still in the running: Charlotte, Atlanta and Kansas City. Of course, South Carolina legislators could have made a valid case for their state since it’s the home of the…
Sauce on the Side
The biggest grilling weekend of the year is here – have you checked on the basics? Forget the charcoal and the buns for a moment. I’m wondering about your sauce. First of all, do you have any? Don’t lie to me. You gotta have some sauce, baby, whether it’s a marinade, a dipper or a…
Round and Round They Go
It sounds like a sitcom treatment: New York-based writer and his photographer wife spend life savings on a motor home, decide to follow NASCAR stock-car circus across the country and, during rare down time, live at a Wal-Mart SuperCenter in North Carolina. This being the age of reality TV, though, Jeff MacGregor didn’t dream up…
Food At The Speedway
People who have not yet gotten on track with the NASCAR phenomenon tend to imagine a day at those races as an ear-splitting experience replete with sweaty grandstand denizens spewing tobacco juice and smoke, tossing out chicken bones and tossing back beers. Sure, there may be some of that going on (it’s not the Kentucky…
Why Cannon Backfired
For weeks, the rumors had been circulating. Patrick Cannon was looking for a graceful way out of the mayor’s race after struggling to line up the money and support he needed. The official reason he gave for ending his campaign last Wednesday was the deaths of two relatives and the need to refocus on his…
Going Postal
Soon, we may have wine falling from the sky – or at least from a UPS truck. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled on the interstate wine shipment issue, specifically on two court cases in New York and Michigan. Like many states across the nation, New York and Michigan have a three-tier distribution system, in…
News of the Weird
LEAD STORY: Eating disorders have such a hold on many young women that some Internet sites glorify anorexia and bulimia as a quasi-divinity, using religious language to command obedience to a goddess of thinness known as “Ana,” according to a May story in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune. Said one Minnesota college freshman, “Ana is definitely a…
Wine List
Wine Classes California Central Coast – It’s Not All Sideways. Thu., May 26, 7:15-8:45 p.m. $20. Southern Spirits, 9989 Charlotte Hwy. 704-607-3079. Wine Classes The interactive classes will explore the essentials of wine and food pairing, tasting techniques and trends in winemaking. Wed., 7pm. $25. Maggiano’s Little Italy, 4400 Sharon Rd. 704-916-2300. Wine Classes for…
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish
Lots of people in Charlotte will be delighted this is my last column for Creative Loafing. Judged by some of the unpleasant e-mails I receive, the only better news for Charlotte’s conservatives would be if I were to leave the country! I am departing these shores, but only for a short vacation; I will return,…
Take A Bow, Flip
We should thank fundamentalist zealot Flip Benham. We should thank him for the hours of selfless and indefatigable public service he provides to art lovers everywhere. For helping infuse a little excitement and diversion into a city that can be a little lackluster in the entertainment department. As Charlotte theater continues to be the target…
Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 6434-F West Sugarcreek Rd., 704-598-6863; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. A hint of the tropics; rotisserie chicken with Jamaican jerk sauce, ribs, Paradise Island fish special, curries, and Caribbean styled greens. $$ Azteca, 116 Woodlawn Rd., 704-525-5110; 9709 Independence Blvd., 704-814-9877; 1863 W. Franklin Blvd. (Gastonia), 704-866-7574. A favorite of…
No Watchdogs Among Press Lords
Some of America’s press lords (and a couple of Creative Loafing guys) gathered last weekend at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Florida. The topic: “Creating a Watchdog Culture.” Publishers and editors were urged to wake up from somnambulist trances and re-discover investigative journalism. You know, like being a little skeptical toward…
Fake Salvation
Lary wants to be saved, which is news to me because I thought he was happy with his hell-bound self. “I thought you wanted to be left behind to battle the big lizards of Armageddon, or whatever,” I say. I really don’t know if there will be big lizards, I just remember hearing there’ll be…
Lone Ramone
Loud fast rules. If there’s a user’s manual for punk, that phrase would be entry No. 1. The Ramones wrote it in 1976, then played it and lived it for the next 22 years, carving out a permanent niche in rock history that will survive long after the band members have passed on – which,…
Who cares about rape victims?
Let me get this straight. There’s enough money in the Charlotte city budget to pay for 60 additional officers to work arena events free of charge to billionaire Bobcats owner Bob Johnson. But there’s not enough money to test DNA evidence that could bring rapists to justice? What exactly is the intrinsic message here? Rape…
Breaking News
UK’S THE SUN FOLLOWS UP ON SADDAM UNDERWEAR PHOTOS WITH MORE “DICTATORS IN THEIR SKIVVIES” SHOTS. “I got your weapon of mass destruction, right here.” BRITS FIND SILENT MAN ON THE BEACH. HE TURNS OUT TO BE A GREAT PIANIST. Has anyone seen Tom Constanten lately? REV. FLIP BENHAM OF OPERATION SAVE AMERICA SAYS, “ONLY…
Blood Bros. refine their noise
It’s been a long time since noise has sounded this good. The Blood Brothers’ intricate spazz-core veers from a frenetic cacophony to an ominous dirge, with space in between for moments of strange delicacy and grace. Then the band plunges right back into its abrasive but compelling sonic shit-storm. Within the Blood Brothers’ screeching guitars,…
Letters
Unclear conscience I was struck by the hypocrisy of the “conscience” bill for pharmacists (“‘Conscience’ Bill Unclear,” by Karen Shugart, May 18). First of all, let me say that I am opposed to abortion. I am not opposed to emergency contraception, because it cannot end a pregnancy, only prevent one from taking place. If the…
