Occupy Charlotte officially breaks up with itself
Splinter group forms ‘The People’s Coalition of the Carolinas’
Expert: Voter ID law in N.C. is toast
Last week, we wrote that the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to block South Carolina’s recently passed voter ID law was probably good news for North Carolina’s voting-rights advocates. Now Bob Hall, director of Democracy North Carolina, writes in a column in the Elizabeth City Daily Advance that supporters of a N.C. voter ID bill…
Cee-Lo v. John Lennon: To “religion” or not to “religion”
Was changing a line to “Imagine” disrespectful or simply a continuation of a longstanding folk- and pop-music tradition?
Kasey Kahne: Douche Nozzle of the Week
A few years ago, Creative Loafing ran a cover story on the “new, young hotties of NASCAR,” featuring a profile and cover shot of driver Kasey Kahne (pronounced “Cane”). I was editor at that time, and so it’s my duty today to apologize for ever having given publicity to someone as obviously prone to douchebaggery…
YouTube clip ridicules Bank of America into action
Ken and Meredith Williams of Georgia finally got a home loan, but it took a Youtube video and some creative social-media maneuvering to nudge Bank of America out of its sloth. The couple had to draw attention to BofA’s nonchalant attitude and notorious all-around pokiness to get the bank to close on the loan, according…
UPDATED: Occupy Charlotte may split following flag-burning incident at campsite Friday morning
Is this the end for Occupy Charlotte — or a new beginning?
Democratic National Convention 2012 Notebook: GOP contest captures headlines, Democrats take a breather
You don’t have to travel to Iowa to glean the latest on the Republican contest for the presidential nomination. GOP politicians in the Carolinas are weighing in, trying to prove their relevance before the nomination is sewed up and endorsements no longer matter. Democrats look to control the narrative, in North Carolina anyway, as preparations…
Matrimony signs with Columbia Records
Folk-rock quintet working on album for 2012.
Today’s Top 5: Friday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Overmountain Men return to the Milestone (Dec. 30)
David Childers fronts project from Avett’s Bob Crawford.
Cedric Burnside returns to Charlotte tonight (Dec. 30)
Cedric Burnside Project performing at the Double Door Inn.
Namesake’s alterna-rock at Amos’ (Dec. 30)
Pop-rock combo set to hit Amos’ Southend.
Side By Side livens up onstage performances
Band plays Snug Harbor tonight, Dec. 30.
Take a hike!
North Carolina State Parks help encourage exercise resolutions on New Year’s Day.
Weekender, Dec. 30-31
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend.
Saveur editor predicts North Carolina (and other states) wine will be popular in 2012
On the Today show, James Oseland, editor-in-chief of Saveur, predicted the food trends for 2012.
Musto on 2011: Global economic meltdown makes Mike merry
A little levity for the Queen City from the Queen of Gossip, courtesy of the ‘Village Voice’
Live review: Treephort
Band shocks while entertaining through music at the Milestone.
Matrimony to showcase their developing sound
Charlotte quintet will perform at the Visulite Theatre on Dec. 29.
Carrie Rodriguez brings country flair to the Muse
Artist performs at the Evening Muse tonight, Dec. 29.
Today’s Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
New Year’s sales
Now that you’ve shopped yourself silly for others, it’s time to splurge on yourself.
Justice Department aggressively challenges unjust Voter ID laws
One horror story involves denial of a voter ID to a 93-year-old woman who cleaned the Tennessee Capitol for 30 years.
UPDATED: City Councilman discusses Occupy Charlotte, compares it to the KKK
Councilman Andy Dulin visited Old City Hall occupation site and had much say about it to everyone, including his social media followers.
The Connells open for Blue Dogs tonight (12/28/11)
They’re not just a college band…
The Movement tonight at the Visulite Theatre (12/28/11)
Genre-mashers bring positive, energetic vibe.
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Best bets in Charlotte comedy, Dec. 27-31
Here are a few of the best places to find comedy events in Charlotte this week.
Right-wing fear-mongers hot on the hype trail over N.C. Racial Justice Act
State Republicans and D.A.’s warn of death-row inmates running wild
Preacher says gays being slapped around should remain ‘civil’
The Rev. Mark Harris, senior minister at Charlotte’s First Baptist Church, is also president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. The state Baptist convention supports the anti-gay marriage discrimination amendment (officially called the Marriage Protection Amendment). Harris is leading the group’s push to pass the amendment, which N.C. citizens will vote in May.…
Live review: 25 Minutes to Go
It’s all in the family as band rocks the Milestone’s bar stage.
Save the date: Runway for the Ballet tickets on sale
The date has been set and tickets are now available.
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Don’t eat the fish from Charlotte drinking-water supply
Oh, but officials say the water’s fine. (Isn’t that comforting?)
Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Dec. 28
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN Finally, here’s one seven-year itch that can be scratched. When 2004’s The Polar Express made film history as the first animated movie to be created wholly by employing the motion-capture process, we instantly recognized that we were in the presence of something ghastly. Awkward and unsightly, the ersatz innovation rendered all…
Heavenly Creatures, Rise of the Planet of the Apes among new home entertainment titles
CONTAGION (2011). An entertaining if unwieldy cross between a PSA and one of those all-star idiocies from the 1970s — those disaster flicks involving hijacked planes, hurtling meteors or towering infernos — Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion tracks the entire cycle of a disease that begins with one person and ends with the deaths of millions of…
2011: A raucous year in the Charlotte food industry
Krazy. That’s the best way to describe 2011. The range of the 42 restaurants reviewed in 2011 spanned from several dedicated to serving pristine local and organic products to one serving fried sushi rolls. During the year, I watched an extraordinary Master Pastry Chef from Taiwan crafting brilliant Dim Sum at the Grand Asian Market…
3 questions with Amy MacCabe, owner of Savory Spice Shop
What’s the best way to make sure a new business has a chance to thrive? Give the people what they want and don’t have. When Amy MacCabe and her husband Scott left the Windy City in 2001, a search for milder weather brought them to Charlotte, where they settled down with jobs at Bank of…
Emotron family values
The Emotron is evolving. Kyle Knight’s solo show, equal gross-out dance party and inbred comedy routine, no longer features him crapping on the floor. He went through a phase of putting rubber bands all over his face, and then a six-month tour in which he writhed on the floor and wouldn’t use his legs. Now,…
Nightlife profile: Craig-Brandon Stephenson
The ’90s club scene was good to Craig-Brandon Stephenson. The Maryland native graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts and moved to Charlotte at the approach of the new millennium, working in a variety of creative industries as a wardrobe stylist, fashion editor and, now (thanks in part to wisdom gained during those rambunctious…
CD REVIEW: Brain F≠’s Sleep Rough
The debut LP from Charlotte quartet Brain F≠ is 10 tracks of fast-paced, punk-infused rock that rifles past the listener in less than 25 minutes. The band charges through the opener, “V-2,” as guitarist Nick Goode and singer Elise Anderson share vocal duties in an attitude-filled sing-talk style — drums crashing while guitar riffs swirl…
CD REVIEW: Kieran Hebden, Steve Reid and Mats Gustafsson’s Live at the South Bank
Kieran Hebden, Steve Reid and Mats Gustafsson all have amassed deep and varied catalogs. As Four Tet, Hebden draws deeply from the worlds of jazz, electronica and experimental rock. And his five-year musical partnership with Reid — who, before dying last year, had backed the likes of Miles Davis and James Brown — was a…
Bradley Manning and the fog of war
Accused whistle-blower Pvt. Bradley Manning turned 24 Saturday. He spent his birthday in a pre-trial military hearing that could ultimately lead to a sentence of life … or death. Manning stands accused of causing the largest leak of government secrets in United States history. More on Manning shortly. First, a reminder of what he is…
Top local news in 2011
Well, that was a bitch of a year, huh? No doubt, 2011 has been one seriously news-heavy, tumultuous 12-month period for Charlotte and, for that matter, the whole state. So much tumult and craziness, in fact, that our annual look at the passing year had to be stretched to two parts. This week, a recap…
On Q Productions turns the corner With Baldwin
In the middle of a season that they have themed as “The Sound of Music,” On Q is doing something strange – a three-act play by James Baldwin, The Amen Corner. Didn’t these African Americans know that Baldwin’s 1955 drama had been turned into a Broadway musical in 1983? As a matter of fact, they…
Why Larry Kissell may be the political story of 2012
Beyond the re-election campaign of America’s first black president, the Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte, and a rematch in the governor’s race, the most intriguing political story in 2012 could be a congressional race right in our own backyard. In the 8th congressional district, Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell begins an uphill journey for re-election…
Exhibit: A Survey of Paintings and Collages
This is your last chance to view this showcase of works by Esteban Vicente. Part of the first generation of abstract expressionists, Vicente exhibited in Madrid, Barcelona and Paris before crossing the pond to the states, where he settled down in New York in 1936. The untitled piece that’s pictured is composed of collage and…
Special Event: Kuumba celebration at Gantt Center
In celebration of Kwanzaa and its sixth principle Kuumba (creativity), The Gantt Center is hosting a day of activities. Folks are invited to learn more about the holiday through experiencing drum calls, candle lighting and a libation ceremony. African dancing and arts and crafts are also on the agenda, as well as a screening of…
Glitz and glamour: Searching for the perfect New Year’s Eve dress
Ladies, there’s certainly no shortage of festive celebrations to attend this time of year, and looking your absolute best when shouting those three magic words on Dec. 31 is of extreme importance. Whether you’re swamped in a crowd of people at the club or chilling with friends at an intimate house party, it’s time to…
New Gallery of Modern Art has big plans for 2012
When New Gallery of Modern Art had its soft opening in August, it announced an outsized mission of exhibiting modern masters, international contemporary artists and accomplished artists from the region. Although the breadth of New Gallery’s offerings may sound daunting, “where it all comes together is the quality of the work — it will all…
One writer’s eight favorite books of 2011
This wasn’t a stellar year for books, but 2011 did see a number of fine works, including a few that should stand the test of time. The book industry itself is in transition, with “old-school” publishers taking it on the chin (except for such mega-selling literary litter as James Patterson and Danielle Steel). The e-books…
Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files
Holiday spirit: A 42-year-old woman filed a police report after her teenage son took $735 from her before leaving for school last week. She went to the school to confront the boy but was unable to recover the money. The cash was supposed to pay the woman’s December rent. Happy holidays, mom. Naughty or nice?:…
CL’s list of New Year’s Eve events that don’t blow
Thanks to the realm of eschatology and prophecies deciphered from the Mayan calendar — together with other mythological sources like Nostradamus, Baba Vanga, the Bible and Harold Camping — doomsday is lurking just around the corner. This means 2012 is your final chance to bring in the new year, and your frantic search for party…
Stargazer’s Annual 2012 Horoscope, Part I
Overview for All Signs The years 2008 through 2015 are a challenge for the average person. The cosmic arrangement over these years is almost a replica of what astrologers call “The Depression T square” of the 1930’s. The road to recovery requires significant patience and adaptability from each of us. It is already altering our…
New Year’s Eve 2011 Party List
Check out CL’s massive list of shenanigans for New Year’s Eve.
Occupy Charlotte targets Bank of America in first area protest
Next rally: Oct. 8 at 3 p.m., Old City Hall.
