Marigny, 11/21/10
DJ Scratch did his thing at Marigny Sunday night. Photos by Debra Renee Seth
Butter, 11/19/10
The first installation of The Indoctrination Experiment—SHE—a mixed media representation including both physical art and spoken word took place at Butter Saturday, Nov. 20.
Night review: DJ Scratch at Marigny
Well-known spinner DJ Scratch rocked the one’s and two’s with a tribute to 90s music at Marigny on Sunday, Nov. 21.
The Familiar Stringdusters?
The New Familiars team up with Infamous Stringdusters for a cover of “Baba O’Riley.”
Free milkshakes are all gone
Thanks, everyone, for participating in the Eat My Charlotte Chick-fil-A milkshake giveaway. Winners have been notified by email this afternoon.
Listen to the woman — she knows more.
When it comes to sex, older women know what they’re doing and are very confident about it.
Night review: Tilted Turkey Open Bar party
The “Social Flockers” met at the “3 in 1 spot” to have some “Flocker “ fun.
American Music Awards winners list
Sadly, Justin Bieber was the night’s big winner.
Former DHS head Michael Chertoff paid to push ‘porno scanners’
The Transportation Security Administration has managed to do something no one thought was possible these days: find something that both the right and the left agree on. We’re talking about the outrageous invasions of airline flyers’ privacy by TSA’s porno scanners and junktastic pat-downs. But have you wondered how the government — not exactly known…
Halo, 11/20/10
It was one-cent drink night at Halo Saturday, Nov. 20. Photos by Jeaumane McIntosh
Astrologers predict holiday chaos
Brace yourselves: Mercury will be retrograde through the holidays.
We must take nature’s economic value into account
The natural world is priceless, which is exactly why we should coddle it, not destroy it.
The day JFK died — a godawful anniversary
Nov. 22 can’t go by without at least reaffirming what an earth-shaking, nation-changing, godawful damned day this date was in 1963
Bar Charlotte, 11/19/10
Bar Charlotte was full of its usual shenanigans Friday night.
Hackers and scientists love Microsoft’s Kinect
A lot of bright minds working on new technology create, well, bright technology.
Suite, 11/19/10
The Guys and Dolls Fundraiser was held at at Suite Friday night.
3 questions with Chris Spotts, catering chef
Let’s talk turkey. Are you the one with the daunting task of preparing the gobbler this Thanksgiving? Worried your bird will come out dry and dissatisfying? Why go through all of the holiday hassle when you could have a satisfying Thanksgiving dinner prepared for you — and the best part is? No one has to…
Twiztid coming to Amos’ — win tickets
Another group of clowns is headed to the Q.C.
Tilt, 11/19/10
It was the Tilted Turkey Open Bar party at Tilt, hosted by the SocialFlockers Friday, Nov. 19.
Today’s Top 5: Monday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
The Noises 10 tonight (Nov. 22) at The Comet Grill
Smooth and easy listening is going down tonight (Nov. 22) at The Comet Grill.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Monday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
2013 Wolves at the Milestone tonight (Nov. 21)
Take a glimpse into the future of rock as 2013 Wolves heat up the CasseroleFest.
Ben Folds tonight (Nov. 20) at The Fillmore Charlotte
Viral sensation Ben Folds brings his solo act to the city.
Southern Christmas show finds
My goal: To find holiday gifts (in particular, jewelry) for a couple of friends
Fair Game: The Plame truth
Solid drama takes down Bush Administration evildoers.
Harry Potter 7.1: Hallows be thy name
Two-thirds of a strong film, but middle section drags.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest often misses target
Middling final film in trilogy doesn’t live up to its predecessors.
Unstoppable jumps the tracks
Average thriller can’t maintain its breakneck speed.
Dance Charlotte! left in the lurch
There was nothing wrong with Dance Charlotte! 2010 that a few more dancers and a few more dances couldn’t have cured. Staged at Booth Playhouse last Friday and Saturday, the seven-piece program clocked in at a shade over 55 minutes, including bows and pauses. A 20-minute intermission helped stretch the program but not the personnel,…
Local Leak: Deniro Farrar’s Feel This
Charlotte emcee, Deniro Farrar, drops his first mixtape, Feel This.
Concert announcement: DJ Scratch
DJ Scratch performing at Marigny.
Poodle brigade of UniverSoul Circus invades city
The UniverSoul Circus is finishing up its 10-month long tour this month, and luckily for us, Charlotte is one of its final stops.
GOP was dead wrong on GM bailout
It is often astonishing what the mainstream media chooses to cover or not cover. A case in point is the recent news from General Motors. Considering the flaming, angry uproar that greeted Pres. Obama’s plan to bail out GM, you’d think the concrete results of the bailout, two years later, would be really big news.…
Upcoming: Red Engine Trunk Show
The ladies at Black & Blue are always looking out for their customers, and here’s another event that promises to do just that.
10-in-10 CD reviews
Each Friday we review 10 recently released CDs in 10 words each.
This weekend’s nightlife events (Nov. 19-21)
What are you doing this weekend?
Live review: Eric Benet
Eric Benet (opening for Fantasia) Ovens Auditorium Nov. 10, 2010 By Cheris Hodges If you arrived at Ovens Auditorium Wednesday night only to see Fantasia’ s performance, you missed out on a sensual treat from R&B crooner Eric Benet. Let’ s move on from the fact that he’s Halle Berry’s ex-husband, because he has what…
VIDEO: Robbie Knievel pops wheelies at the N.C. Music Factory
We managed to catch some of his act on video.
Live Review: Fantasia Barrino
Charlotte’s own Fantasia Barrino hit the stage at Ovens Auditorium.
Trampled By Turtles and Ghost Town Revelry tonight (Nov. 19)
It only sounds like a spooky reptilian takeover. Tonight (Nov.19) two great acts play in Charlotte.
Today’s Top 5: Friday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Friday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
Mother of six Juquina Harris killed in Silver Fox parking lot
Had this been a mother of six, working at McDonald’s and killed during a robbery, wouldn’t she get more sympathy?
Weekender, Nov. 19-21
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend.
Free shakes from Chick-fil-A
Win a coupon good for a free small hand-spun milkshake from Chick-fil-A stores.
Halo, 11/17/10
FACELIFT tour feat PAUL OAKENFOLD & CHUCKIE was presented by Sugar Society at Halo Tuesday night. Photos by Jeaumane McIntosh
Today’s Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Study: States’ movie biz subsidies are a waste
A new study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in Washington, D.C., questions whether various states’ public subsidies of the film industry are worth the expense. The study, titled “State Film Subsidies: Not Much Bang for Too Many Bucks,” says too much money goes to moviemakers while not enough of it is spread…
Recess Fest coming in December
On the weekend of Dec. 10-12, Recess Fest will be held at a variety of venues around Charlotte. All access passes are just $10. Here’s the schedule: FRIDAY, DEC. 10 Valley Maker, Amy Godwin, Veda Woolf – Century Vintage, 7 p.m. Andy the Doorbum, Wild Wild Geese – Yauhaus, 10 p.m. SATURDAY, DEC. 11 Grids,…
Holiday gift idea: Gloves for your iPhone/iPad
Fivepoints Gloves allow you to work any touch-screen device and keep your hands warm.
Sarah Palin’s classy family show their asses again
Where did Sarah Palin learn her child-rearing skills — from actual grizzly bears? While some were keeping an eye on Bristol Palin’s moves on Dancing With The Stars (including the guy in Wisconsin who was so pissed off at her performance, he shot out his television), Bristol’s 16-year-old daughter Willow was launching homophobic insults and…
Dooming smokers to failure
Today is the Great American Smokeout. Good luck.
Last chance to comment on EPA’s coal ash regulations
Think of it as voting for clean water.
Plastic bag rap
Paper or plastic?
Southern bears, Jesus and LSD
Have you ever been to Fuel Pizza after 2 a.m. sober?
Jimmy Herring Band, Dave Barnes and Packway Handle Band all play tonight (Nov. 18)
Three great acts heat up the stage tonight in Charlotte.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
Opening Friday
What’s new in theaters this weekend.
Epic Proportions at Dharma
Culture Initiative presents a free show with graffiti and music at Dharma Lounge.
Cage the Elephant’s “Shake Me Down”
Band releases an unofficial video for new single.
McCrory racist? Nah, he’s dorkist
We’re kind of enjoying the local hoopla over the war of words waged by former mayor Pat McCrory and Charlotte NAACP leader Kojo Nantambu. McCrory didn’t like the sound of “No justice, no peace,” as chanted by protesters at recent school board meetings. McCrory said the chant amounted to “violent words” and were intended to…
Move over Civil War, the Cold War is now our never-ending war
Should we start practicing hiding under our desks and running to our bunkers again?
If the Marshall Islands can do it, America can, too
Wake the fuck up, people, get your heads out of your asses and the shit out of your ears.
VIDEO (plus a review): Official Green Lantern trailer
Not too sure about this flick y’all …
Delta saves passengers from certain death-by-tattoo
Never mind the TSA’s porno scanners and grope squads — here is just how really crazy the airport security nonsense has become: Saturday, a man was detained on a Delta flight for having tattoos on his fingers that spelled, “Atom Bomb.” Well-known food stylist/photographer, Adam C. Pearson, was sporting the tattoos, which a fellow passenger…
Michelle Shocked and Fantasia tonight (Nov. 17)
American Idol winner Fantastia Barrino takes the stage at home while Michelle Shocked plays the Neighborhood Theatre.
Skype used to marry a same-sex couple … Awwwww
E-marriage is the next step for same sex couples seeking wedded bliss.
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Young, Springsteen “Whip My Hair” on Fallon
Jimmy Fallon, performing as Neil Young, and Bruce Springsteen, playing a younger version of himself, sang Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” last night. Let me first say, although she’s only 10, “Whip My Hair” has to be one of this year’s most incredibly annoying songs. That chorus is like nails on a chalkboard. However, Fallon…
Dharma Lounge, 11/12/10
DJ Vikter Duplaix rocked the music at Dharma Lounge.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
Murder Mystery Dinner Nov. 18
Good Eats and Meets Charlotte is teaming up with The VanLandingham Estate and About Town Tours to present their first Murder Mystery Dinner.
Free samples of ice cream cake
Today between 5 and 8 pm, Cold Stone Creamery will be giving out free 3 oz. samples of Eight Layer Cake.
Best bets in Charlotte comedy, Nov. 16-20
Here are a few of the best places to find comedy events in Charlotte this week.
Corporate welfare grows despite budget woes
Congrats to the two latest area beneficiaries of corporate welfare: SPX and Infocrossing Inc. SPX, an industrial manufacturing company that’s already based in Charlotte, stands to collect more than $9 million, just for expanding its headquarters. Granted, SPX will provide 180 new jobs, but does this deal seem odd to anyone else? Let’s consider what…
Night Review: Black and White Gala
The Young Affiliates of the Mint held the Annual Black and White Gala at the Mint Museum Uptown on Friday. Nov. 12.
Ticket giveaway – Pop Evil
Want to see Pop Evil this Friday at Amos’ Southend? Also playing are Seasons After, Atom Smash and New Medicine. We’re giving away a few pairs of tickets. Just leave a comment here with a valid e-mail address and let us know your favorite song by the band. That’s it. We’ll notify the winners on…
This week’s new releases (11/16/2010)
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in stores this week: Girl Talk All Day Josh Groban Illuminations Norah Jones … Featuring Norah Jones Annie Lennox A Christmas Cornucopia Pink Greatest Hits… So Far! Rascal Flatts Nothing Like This Rihanna Loud Kid Rock Born Free Bruce Springsteen The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of…
Ultimate Spaghetti Sauce
The sauce is kind of ridiculous because you simmer four whole links of Italian Sausage in tomato sauce for four hours before chopping them up and throwing them back into the sauce.
Megabus rolls into Charlotte with $1 fares
Good news for folks who like to travel on the cheap
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
How are Americans so hungry, yet so fat?
What can you do to make things better?
National UnFriend Day is tomorrow
It is possible that we’ve forgotten what friends are?
A sexy cartoon launch by Lena Hopkins-Jackson
A sexy party to launch a sexy cartoon.
Do you have ‘cyberchondria’?
With so many uninsured, it’s no wonder people are turning to the Internet.
Today’s Top(less) 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date.
Dreamgirls strikes some flat notes
The signature moment in the new Dreamgirls happens deep in Act 2, after the cover version of “One Night Only” by Deena Jones & the Dreamettes overtakes the original Effie White version on the pop charts, putting an abrupt halt to Effie’s comeback hopes. Finally seeing her manager/husband for what he truly is — a…
CD REVIEW: Lucky Five’s La Resistance
THE DEAL: Charlotte quintet Lucky Five releases eight-song, 33-minute album. THE GOOD: The album comes out of the corner swinging with the upbeat “Something In Your Head.” The songs are propelled by the vocals of singer Marques Nash, but that’s not to downplay the instrumental talents contained here. Guitar work by Shago Elizondo and Jonathan…
Exhibit: Recycled Art
Recycling has social, economic and environmental benefits. Rather than throwing away items, we can re-use them and reduce more damage to the planet. Central Piedmont Community College had all this in mind for its latest exhibition, Recycled Art. The show includes a variety of art (like Jacey Britton’s “St. Christopher,” pictured) which puts recycled pieces…
More store closings hurt Charlotte’s literary community
“I cannot live without books.” — Thomas Jefferson My name is John Grooms, and I’m a book addict. There, I’ve said it. Like our nation’s third president, I can’t live without books; if it’s 50 or more pages between two pieces of cardboard, I’m interested. When I travel to a new city, one of my…
Exhibits: Deliberate Acts & InnerSights
Check out the McColl Center for Visual Art for solo exhibitions by its 11-month affiliates. Daniel Allegrucci, best known for woodcuts of explosions and other intimations of force (such as “Explosion 15,” left), is jumping out of his comfort zone and adding installations to his repertoire in the show Deliberate Acts. Patricia Steele Raible is…
The Best of the Blotter 2010
When people figure out that I’m the guy who writes The Blotter — Creative Loafing’s weekly column about Charlotte’s most bizarre crimes and criminals, taken straight from the files of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department — they have one of two reactions. Most readers love it; they tell me that it’s their favorite part of CL…
Does using a gasoline-powered lawn mower produce as much pollution as driving an SUV 300 miles?
Are gasoline-powered lawn mowers really all that bad? I keep reading that cutting my grass with one is roughly comparable to burning a tire in the backyard or driving an SUV for 300 miles. Is there any truth to this? My mower holds about a quart of gasoline, and it uses less than half of…
Fantasia puts past to rest with new tour
Fantasia Barrino is not who the media and critics make her out to be. Painted by some as a downtrodden, clueless victim, the American Idol and Grammy-winning singer who calls Charlotte home is quite the opposite. Despite recent troubles (like allegations of an affair with a married man and being hospitalized after an apparent suicide…
Weekly horoscope Nov. 17-23
Scorpio The Phoenix (Oct. 23-Nov. 20) Many admire your ability to stick to a project until it is completed. You have a remarkable capacity to focus on a long-term goal. But sometimes this goes over the edge into rigidity and unwillingness to switch gears as needed. If an attitude or the past is troubling you,…
CMS vs. the suburbs
Twelve years ago, the school board declared war on the suburbs. That war would eventually break the county financially, destabilize the school system and launch middle-class flight. Last Tuesday, the chickens finally came home to roost. At a school board meeting that at times threatened to turn violent, minority parents accused school board members of…
Obama casts a military cloud over Indonesia
If a volcano kills civilians in Indonesia, it’s news. When the government does the killing, sadly, it’s just business as usual, especially if an American president tacitly endorses the killing, as President Barack Obama just did with his visit to Indonesia. As the people around Mount Merapi dig out of the ash following a series…
Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Nov. 17
CASE 39 Case 39 is one of those unwanted Hollywood bastards, a production that was completed years ago and has even been released in other territories but is only now making its stateside debut. Just how old is this picture? Let’s just say that when filming began, David O. Selznick was still combing the country…
THEATER: The Elephant Man at CAST
Carolina Actors Studio Theatre’s latest performances of The Elephant Man is a good example of the old saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This drama by Bernard Pomerance tells the famous true story of the hideously deformed Joseph (John) Merrick who is discovered and rescued from a freak show by surgeon Frederick…
Paths of Glory, In/Significant Others among new DVD releases
BACK TO THE FUTURE: 25TH ANNIVERSARY TRILOGY (1985-1990). In 2002, Universal released Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy, a superb box set that contained all three titles in the popular film franchise as well as over 10 hours of bonus material. Last year, the studio saw fit to re-release the movies on disc, retaining…
SPECIAL EVENT: Beaujolais Festival
Charlotte is just one of 16 lucky U.S. cities given the opportunity to host an official uncorking French wine tradition. Beaujolais Festival celebrates the tasting of “les premieres vendanges” or better known in English as “the first grapes harvested that year.” Sample the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau, a very light, fruity wine, as well as other…
Morning Glory: Working girl
Morning Glory is basically Working Girl for dummies. (Or Broadcast News for dummies; take your pick.) But even dummies need movies — and better ones than genuine rotgut like Due Date or The Bounty Hunter — and this comedy has enough charm, poise and class to satisfy viewers of all IQs looking for something lighthearted…
MUSIC: Ben Folds
Ben Folds has teamed up with English novelist Nick Hornby for his latest album, Lonely Avenue (for which Folds provided the music and Hornby the lyrics). You may have already heard the track “Your Dogs,” as it’s the theme song for the new CBS’ show $#*! My Dad Says. With Lady Danville. $41.50. 8 p.m.…
Megamind could use more smarts
We’ve seen this duality at the multiplexes before, of course. Battling Christopher Columbus dramas in 1992; competing toon flicks about ants in 1998; dueling Truman Capote biopics in 2005-2006; and so on. Now, 2010 brings us a pair of animated features centering on a supervillain who eventually discovers his long-buried humanity and must face off…
FESTIVAL: The Carolina Renaissance Festival
Today’s your last chance to step back in time during The Carolina Renaissance Festival. In its 17th year, the festival is a medieval amusement park, featuring a variety of live performances, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament, food and more. It’s also a great place to people watch. $18 for adults; $7 for…
Where to find it: Native Foods
The American ancestry of the sweet potatoes has never been called into question, although there is much confusion about the name: Is it yam or sweet potato (or its actual one-word name, sweetpotato)? In fact, yams are from Africa and sweet potatoes are from here. Spanish explorers found that Native Americans grew sweet potatoes in…
MUSIC: Spindrift with Babyshaker
Mondays suck, but they are all the more bearable when you have something to look forward to. Luckily, Revolver Mondays at Snug Harbor offers up a rockin’ form of entertainment. This Monday, West coasters Spindrift will perform with local act Babyshaker (featuring front man Scott Weaver who will also DJ between sets). $7. 8 p.m.…
Taco Mac specializes in Buffalo fare
Was it only yesterday that restaurants opening in the tonier locals of the city packed their menu with chef-driven dishes with locally procured ingredients and prodigious wine lists? Those days have evaporated and now we have new places to play. One of these is the cavernous 345-seat Taco Mac, the Charlotte store of a 31-year-old…
NIGHTLIFE: Epic Proportions at Dharma Lounge
Music and art come together during the Culture Initiative’s Epic Proportions at Dharma Lounge. The party will feature graffiti/low-brow art on XL canvases, as well as live exhibits by regional artists like John Hairston Jr., Joe Dobson, XL Human, Patrick Harris, Cedric Umoja, John Pundt, Ishmael, Victor Knight, Sean Kernick, Bart Cusick. Treasure Fingers provides…
3 questions with Danny Safrit, cattle farmer
When topping off our shopping cart at the local market, most of us don’t think twice about the origination or quality of the prepackaged livestock we place next to our ripe mangos and vintage bottle of wine. But Danny Safrit, co-farmer of DNA Farms in Concord, is mindful of where his dinner comes from. Safrit,…
ART: Rust in Peace
Unimportant objects past their prime usually end up in landfills. This includes means of transportation like old airplanes, boats, motorcycles and trains. With that in mind, artist Bethany Hadden is giving life to the disregarded slabs of metal through her latest collection of paintings. You can see them all, including “Deserted” (pictured) at the Rust…
Future Islands create genre for itself
Sam Herring speaks in tongues. Although he uses his own lips, the Future Islands front man has been accused of borrowing the tongues of singers including Jim Morrison, Tom Waits, Meatloaf and The Simpsons’ sea captain, Horatio McCallister, voiced by Hank Azaria. “A lot of it is because I can’t sing like a normal person,”…
Book review: Charles Burns’ X’ed Out
Charles Burns is so highly respected among graphic novelists, he’s practically an icon of the genre. He got there by creating fascinating, cryptic, and seriously creepy stories in comics form that mine the human subconscious as powerfully as any “regular” writer of fiction today. He works slowly (it took Burns a decade to finish what…
CL previews upcoming concerts (Nov. 17-22)
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17 MICHELLE SHOCKED Since her out-of-nowhere debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes (it was recorded on a Sony Walkman tape recorder, er, around a campfire in Texas) and 1988’s Short Sharp Shocked, which earned her a sizable pre-NPR Song of the Day/Starbucks listenership, Shocked hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, you’d be…
Book review: Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong
Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout. One of last year’s best books is now available in paperback. Most music historians agree that Louis Armstrong was the single most influential American musician of the 20th century — which is saying a lot, considering American music’s influence on world culture. He brought innovations that…
Nightlife profile: Karina Roberts
Karina Roberts is an established actor, bartender and director living and spreading her creative genius throughout Charlotte for several years now. Her multifaceted talents coupled with her unique wit and invariably dry sense of humor make her the ideal bartender for an experiential theater company like the Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST), where she performs…
Comic review: Halcyon No. 1
The Deal: Big-time TV/film writer Marc Guggenheim — joined by Tara Butters and artist Ryan Bodenheim — launches the new Collider imprint at Image Comics with a superhero title that asks: “What happens to superheroes when there are no more bad guys?” The Good: Before I start talking about this title’s story or anything writing-oriented,…
CD REVIEW: Belmont Playboys’ Complicated Life
THE DEAL: Local rockers Belmont Playboys release latest, long-awaited album, produced by Mark Lynch. THE GOOD: If you ask singer Mike Hendrix, this new album is about 10 years in the making. And for loyal fans, it was definitely worth the wait. The Playboys have been the greaser rock staple in the Charlotte area for…
