Mar 3-10, 2009

Mar 3-10, 2009 / Vol. 23 / No. 1

CL Flickr

Stare and drool. That’s what foodies do when they come across mouth-watering food photography. We figured that Charlotte foodies and CL lovers might want a place to show off their wonderful and luscious food-related photos taken in Charlotte restaurants, kitchens, dining rooms and beyond. So we created a Flickr group where you can share your…

Creative Loafing unveils new food blog

The Web version of Creative Loafing has, lately, been launching tons of new features. So, what’s the latest new thing to hit Charlotte.creativeloafing.com? A new food blog — dubbed Eat My Charlotte! Available at www.eatmycharlotte.com, Eat My Charlotte is CL’s first big foray into the world of food blogging. Eat My Charlotte is helmed by…

Amazing Race Bar Crawl, 3/7/09

Competitors ran amok in uptown Charlotte for the Amazing Race Bar Crawl Saturday. The event, hosted by RAIN (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), required teams of 5 to do a bar crawl with clues and challenges as they made their way through 7 bars. Photos by Rhiannon Bowman.

Cheap date alert

If you don’t go to Charlotte’s monthly gallery crawls, you’re missing a prime opportunity to meet new people. You don’t even have to like art. Last Friday night, I ventured out to NoDa’s gallery crawl. It was a beautiful night and the streets were packed. In this economy, going to gallery crawl is a cheap…

Today’s Top(less) 5: Monday

Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Mar. 9, 2009— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Check out the art of the belly dance. • Be a dead head at Tyber Creek. •…

Concert announcement

Nickelback has announced their tour dates and they include a stop at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on July 31. Supporting acts are Hinder, Papa Roach and Saving Abel. Tickets go on sale on March 14. Nickelback fan club members can purchase tickets beginning March 9.

Meet Charles Jenkin, cooking show host

Not only is Charles Jenkin a producer for WBT’s Charlotte Morning News segment, he hosts his own radio show, This Show is Cookin’. In addition to talking about food, he writes about it for local publications like Charlotte Living, Charlotte Weekly, Union County Weekly and the Mint Hill Matthews Weekly. Jenkins also makes time to…

This just in from Peek-A-Book Couture

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 6th from 10 a.m.- 5p.m. they’re having an unbelievable SIDEWALK sale!  Everything is 60 percent off the lowest ticketed price (over 500 pieces to choose from). Peek-A-Boo Couture Charlotte’s Premier Children’s Clothier 1315 East Blvd. Suite 150 704-332-5338

Daily consumer dish: March 6

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping. • Wal-Mart same store sales soar, others best views: CNNMoney.com • With a new administration, fur is in fashion in Washington: WSJ.com • Bowflex recall, repair kits for owners: TalkingShopping.com • Amazon announces game trade-in program to compete with GameStop: Consumerist.com

Today’s Top(less) 5: Friday

Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Mar. 6, 2009— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Rocky Horror Friday at the Estate. • Take a date out for Zen. • Check out Cowboys…

Weekender

Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. Friday, March 6 Art: At Ciel Gallery’s new exhibition, titled Sticks and Stones you can gaze upon art created from all natural elements. Who knew art supplies could be found right outside? Be…

To Freecycle is to get free stuff

Like free stuff? Have piles of things you’d like to donate to charity, but are too lazy to load your vehicle and haul it all away? Then Freecycle is for you. With 4,691 groups and almost 6.5 million members, you’re bound to find something you like in your area. The Charlotte group, alone, boasts over…

Joining in on the Michelle madness

The most-watched woman in America in regard to fashion seems to be First Lady Michelle Obama. This month, she graces the cover of Vogue. Sleeveless, of course. (You’ve no doubt heard all the hubbub about this, right? The next issue of People — hitting stands on Friday — will include a feature on several pieces…

Today’s Top 5: Thursday

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, March 5, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • A Night At The Movies at Booth Playhouse • Sam Quinn and Japan Ten, and Jimmy Brown at Visulite Theatre • Dress in the Queen City: Hayden…

Concert announcement

Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails will be performing at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on June 12 according to pollstar.com and janesaddiction.com. Jane’s Addiction is going on tour with the original lineup, while Nine Inch Nails is saying this will be its last tour for at least a long while. No word on ticket sales.

Update from the Home Depot Design Center

Back in January, we posted that the Home Depot Design Center in Midtown was closing. Well, after a little more than a month, the store is looking pretty bare. Signs plastered on the windows let us know all merchandise is marked 30 to 60 percent off. Many of the knickknacks have been sold, and merchandise…

El Diablo

Banished at birth from the garden for dirty deeds done below market value, “El D” grew up on the wrong side of the River Styx with several future members of the Bush Administration. He eventually infiltrated a notorious left-wing journalism program, where he learned how to hate freedom while pretending to uphold it through the…

John Schacht

John Schacht was CL’s Music Editor from 2003-2005, and is now Editor in Chief of Shuffle Magazine. He has written about music for national publications (more of them insolvent every day) like Harp, Paste, Blurt, iPod Monthly, Popular Music & Society, and more weeklies than he can legally recall. His articles have also appeared on…

Today’s Top 5: Wednesday

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, March 4, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Charlotte Jewish Film Festival presents a screening of Beau Jest at Charles Mack Citizen Center in Mooresville • David Sanborn at McGlohon Theatre • Epic Wednesdays at…

Daily consumer dish: March 4

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping. • Southern Spring Show opens today: CharlotteObserver.com • Panther player’s home for sale on eBay: CharlotteObserver.com • Britney Spears to promote Candie’s line at Kohls: Forbes.com (AP) • Forever 21 to launch plus-size line: Los Angeles Time

Sale of the Day: Wednesday

At CD Warehouse, get a free disc with the purchase of any four discs. Offer expires March 31. Midtown 601 S. Kings Drive 704-333-3472 Carmel Commons 7651 Pineville-Matthews Road 704-542-7778 Independence 7309 Independence Blvd. 704-532-9143

Today’s Top(less) 5: Wednesday

Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Mar. 4, 2009— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Learn to kick some ass at a Kung Fu class. • It’s guy’s night out at the…

Prehistoric cakes

Love it! Use this dinosaur cakelette pan (made by Nordic Ware) to create mini cakes for a children’s birthday party. How cute would a chocolate cake stegosaurous be?

Oatmeal at Jamba Juice

Jamba Juice is jumping on the breakfast bandwagon and is now offering oatmeal. For just $1, you can get a cup of organic oatmeal made of hearty steel-cut oats. (At Starbucks, they charge $2.45 for a cup of oatmeal.) The only Jamba Juice in Charlotte is at the Charlotte Douglas Airport in The Atrium, so…

Samir Shukla

Samir Shukla is a long-time freelancer with Creative Loafing. He has written for many publications and edited several magazines over the years. He currently works as the editor for Saathee magazine. email: cometriderx@yahoo.com Samir’s Complete Vibes Archive

Brittney Cason

Brittney Cason is a Charlotte based writer that authors QC After Dark for Creative Loafing and Sex and the Queen City for Elevate. Brittney is also a contributing writer for AOL.com, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, and pretty much any publication that pays her. To support her writing habit Brittney hosts a racing show called “3 Wide Life”…

Jeff Hahne

Like many bands that play simply for the love of music before getting the high-profile gigs, Jeff spent six years music writing without pay for a newspaper in Greensboro, N.C., before landing in Charlotte in the spring of 2007. While his start in journalism and music writing began at Auburn University in the mid-90s, his…

This week’s new releases (3/3/2009)

Here’s a quick list of some of the artists releasing new albums today: Neko Case Middle Cyclone Raul Malo Lucky One Phish The Clifford Ball (DVD) The Prodigy Invaders Must Die U2 No Line on the Horizon

Thriving Ivory cancelled tonight

Tonight’s Thriving Ivory show at the Neighborhood Theatre has been cancelled. No refunds are currently available as they are trying to reschedule. If you are unable to attend the new date, refunds will be issued at that time. We’ll keep you posted when we hear about the new date.

GOP keeps on kissing Rush’s ring

It’s become apparent lately that the GOP has only one Godfather — one and only one man for whom every Republican office holder must bend over and kiss his, um, ring. That would be Rush “I Want Obama to Fail” Limbaugh, he of the endlessly repetitive talking points, Oxycontin addiction, and unparalleled arrogance. On three…

Tim and Eric in Charlotte

To coincide with this week’s cover story, we found some clips of Tim and Eric — of Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! — while they were in Charlotte last month. Some of the sound sucks, but the shit is funny:

The Wack List: March 3

Five people, places and things we really ain’t feeling today. • The Bachelor • Anyone who feels sorry for this guy • Blackwater • Unemployment in the Carolinas • Living without power — especially when it’s cold as hell

Horoscope for March 4-10, 2009

Pisces The Fish: (Feb. 18-March 19) Your unconscious mind has been stirring and brewing on a new product for several weeks. Although the Inner Critic will be agitated, you need to give priority to some meditative, contemplating time to allow this to surface. When it is time for rest and we don’t listen, sometimes the…

Young Sons songs see light of day despite group’s breakup

Hearts, Inc., the one-and-done full-length from short-lived Charlotte act The Young Sons, doesn’t fit the rock-fable template of What Might’ve Been because it’s wound up being more of a cautionary tale about What Really Never Was. Led by two strong-willed songwriters whose similar musical interests could only mask for so long a turbulent relationship and…

Diary of a freaked out wine tasting hostess

Shit, people will be here in an hour, and I still haven’t showered. The husband is mesmerized by Battlestar Galatica and probably wouldn’t be much help anyway. This in-home wine tasting will be the death of me, but I always seem to have fun … probably too much fun actually, since tomorrow will likely hurt.…

Anti-abortion follies in the heartland

A couple of weeks ago, while most of us were busy watching the nation’s economy circle the drain, the North Dakota House of Representatives voted to grant personhood, including full legal rights, to fertilized human eggs. That’s right — citizenship and rights, for things that are only one two-hundred-fiftieth (1/250) of an inch wide. The…

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of March 4

Current Releases CORALINE Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas was actually Henry Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, given that it was the latter who actually directed the film. Here, he displays his mastery again, helming an eye-popping animated extravaganza he adapted from Neil Gaiman’s best-selling book. Dakota Fanning provides the voice of Coraline, a lonely…

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Survivor Baby: A woman called police to report that she was in possession of a lost child. She told police that her neighbor had contacted her after finding a 2-year-old child roaming the streets and the woods behind her house on an evening when the temperature dropped below 35 degrees. Show a kid one episode…

Out to kill: Cedric Gaston goes free

Two years ago, I predicted that if someone didn’t stop Cedric Gaston, he would kill someone. Nine months later, he and his friends appear to have tried. Eric Sprouse, owner of Dilworth Billiards, still bears the scars from the .40 caliber bullet holes he received during a late-night robbery in December 2007 as he closed…

MUSIC: Sam Quinn and Japan Ten, and Jimmy Brown

It’s always difficult to weed through the up-and-coming artists worth checking out and those music-making duds you never want to hear again after just one listen. Luckily, indie/folk rocks acts like Sam Quinn and Japan Ten (featuring Sam Quinn and Josh Oliver of the everybodyfields, Megan Gregory of Meridian Fame, and Brandon Story of Catbird…

THEATER: Before It Hits Home

The Afro-American Cultural Center and Carolinas Black Pride Movement have teamed up for a production that touches on the AIDS epidemic through the life of one man (Wendel Bailey). In Before It Hits Home, Bailey, an African-American bisexual man in his early 30s, contracts HIV/AIDS, and his health spirals downward. Using his will power and…

Former Airspace guitarist Jimmy Brown goes solo

Most musicians spend a majority of their time on the road, traveling as far as they can in the hopes of being heard. For some, this is through the blazing speakers of music venues or the airwaves of radio stations, but for others it’s through the thoughts and feelings they strive to conjure up in…

SPORTS: Charlotte Roller Girls vs. Classic City Roller Girls

The Charlotte Roller Girls are the Q.C.’s only all-female flat track roller derby league. And their new season is starting soon. It it just me or do you shudder at the thought of a team of women — some who might be PMSing — aggressively chasing each other around an oval track in roller skates?…

FILM: Beau Jest

The Charlotte Jewish Film Festival winds down with a closing night screening of Beau Jest at Ballantyne Village Theatre on March 8. This feature-length film is about a nice Jewish girl who invents the perfect Jewish boyfriend to please her nagging parents. Producer Daniel Newton will be in attendance. For more information, visit www.charlottejewishfilm.com. 7…

CL previews upcoming concerts (March 4-9)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 David Sanborn Veteran saxophonist Sanborn can be eclectic, intriguing and, in moments of genius, amazing, but he has also recorded his share of run-of-the-mill, predictable soft jazz noodles. But there’s no denying his influence on jazz for the past four decades, including infusing his trusty sax on countless recordings. His most recent…

DANCE: The Art of Bellydance, featuring Bellydance Superstars

In recent years, the sensual, seductive dance form know as belly dancing has become increasingly popular. Today, if you want to learn to belly dance, all you have to do is look for classes offered by fitness centers, dance studios or private instructors. Like any dance form, however, belly dancing takes a whole lot of…

Obama’s coalition of the unwilling

President Barack Obama met recently with the prime ministers of Canada and Britain. This week’s meeting with Britain’s Gordon Brown, who was pitching a “global New Deal,” created a minor flap when the White House downsized a full news conference to an Oval Office question-and-answer session, viewed by some in Britain as a snub. The…

COMEDY: Comedy For Cancer, featuring Ken Evans and Shaun Jones

Laughing is important to your health, both physically and emotionally. So when a comedy show is going down, it’s some serious business. Lake Norman Comedy Zone presents Comedy For Cancer on March 10. Featuring two comedians — Ken Evans (who has appeared on NBC’s Ed, Law and Order, and Last Comic Standing) and Shaun Jones…

MUSIC: Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco is one righteous babe in the music world (In case you didn’t know, her own record label is called Righteous Babe Records). Since 1990 the singer/songwriter/guitarist has whipped up countless song concoctions for her very lengthy catalog of albums. Her most recent, titled Red Letter Year, was released in September of ’08. For…

Against the grain: Flannery O’Connor

In her unique, off-putting novels and short stories, Flannery O’Connor crossbred humor, horror and piety; her output had such hybrid vigor that she virtually established the genre of the Southern grotesque. Her first novel, Wise Blood, critiques Southern religion by way of homicide, self-mutilation, mummies and gorilla suits. Her famous, oft-anthologized short story “A Good…

Catching up with Savage Dragon

Savage Dragon No. 145 Published by Image Comics. Story and art by Erik Larsen. The Deal: OK, if you haven’t read Savage Dragon in a while, here’s a newsflash: The Dragon has joined the police force again after a 12-year absence. Now, if you were never a big reader of the Dragon’s comic, you probably…

What is the ‘God particle’?

I recently saw a special on the Large Hadron Collider, which, among other things, hopes to find evidence of the “God particle.” Since physics is not my strong suit, I’ve tried to understand this particle through the library and the Web but everything I find makes my eyes glaze over. Cecil, please explain the God…

Charlotte loses an all-star

Charles Hairston, who sang with the Monday Night All-Stars at the Double Door Inn for 13 years, died on Feb. 23 after a long battle with cancer. A service and musical celebration will be held in his memory on March 8 at 4 p.m. at the Neighborhood Theatre. Among those in attendance will be the…


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