Oct 10-16, 2012

Oct 10-16, 2012 / Vol. 26 / No. 33

Cover Story

Face the ‘Nation’: Louis Farrakhan

In July, inside the gold and white opulence of Chicago’s Mosque Maryam, a man speaks to a sea of fashionably dressed congregants like family. He imitates imagined critics: “They say, ‘That Farrakhan is a racist!’ Why? ‘Well, you talk bad about white people.'” He punctuates his statements with a broad, ironic smile, and the crowd…

Emiene Wright

Tricks and treats: 5Church makes a statement

If director Tim Burton designed a restaurant, it would look something like 5Church. The new Charlotte eatery is a cross between Burton’s darkly whimsical style, a la Edward Scissorhands and Nightmare before Christmas, and home furnishings store Restoration Hardware. 5Church is at once fun and quirky. A metal tree provides the backdrop to the entrance,…

Tricia Childress

Where to find: Sweet or Hot Italian Turkey Sausage

A recent transplant asks where she can find house-made sweet Italian turkey sausage in the Charlotte area. The Meat House, in Ballantyne, has two recipes to make Italian Turkey sausage: one hot, one sweet. Either sausage requires a 24-hour notice to the butcher and sells for $6.99 per pound. Additionally The Meat House will make…

Tricia Childress

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (Oct. 11)

Hold Me: A police officer brought more charges against a disruptive drunk man he was arresting last week after the officer said that the man assaulted him. The officer wrote that he was removing keys from the suspect’s belt loop when the man held his hand and squeezed it. Must have been some grip. Reckless…

Ryan Pitkin

DVD Review: La Casa Del Ritmo: A film about Los Amigos Invisibles

Los Amigos Invisibles’ story is every bit as astounding as their acid-disco stew of techno, merengue and funk. Happenstance has charted their course just as much as raw talent and serious woodshedding. They went from being Venezuela’s good time dance band to international sensation, simply because the Talking Head’s David Byrne liked their manga-styled album…

Pat Moran

Argo: Screen capture

ARGO ***1/2 DIRECTED BY Ben Affleck STARS Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin How dedicated is director Ben Affleck to capturing 1979 in his splendid new film, the political thriller Argo? He makes sure that the Warner Bros. studio logo that fills the screen at the beginning isn’t the glossy WB shield that’s instantly recognizable to today’s…

Matt Brunson

Here Comes the Boom: Kingdom of Kevin

HERE COMES THE BOOM ** DIRECTED BY Frank Coraci STARS Kevin James, Salma Hayek There’s a pleasant surprise involving the new comedy Here Comes the Boom. No, it’s not particularly good — that would rank as a miracle more than a surprise — but it does showcase Kevin James in his most appealing turn since…

Matt Brunson

Taken 2: Two too much

TAKEN 2 *1/2 DIRECTED BY Olivier Megaton STARS Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace Is there a more authoritative presence in movies today than Liam Neeson? The Irish actor has always had stature on screen, but ever since his character laid out the rules to the Albanian dirtbags who kidnapped his daughter toward the beginning of 2009’s…

Matt Brunson

Let the races begin

Joking about race can be a dicey affair. It’s a sensitive topic, a hotbed for bigotry; jokes can be easily misunderstood or misinterpreted. Is the comic perpetuating a stereotype or turning the stereotype on its head? But what if it weren’t so complicated? What if we could just simply laugh at our own cultural differences…

Anita Overcash

CD review: Actual Proof’s Wavelength

Ah, the old cliché — all good things must come to an end. For Charlotte jazz-jammers Actual Proof, the band is signing off with a new album. Since 2007, AP has undergone lineup changes and minor identity crises all while building a steady fan base in the Carolinas. Now, as the band settles into its…

Jeff Hahne

This week’s concert listings (Oct. 11-Oct. 17)

** Bullet points indicate CL’s critics’ picks** Thursday, Oct. 11 Blues/Roots/International Bayou Butch Lucas (Villa Antonio (Ballantyne)) * Bonnie Raitt (Ovens Auditorium) Donna Duncan (Comet Grill) Latin Thursdays (Dream Nightclub, Matthews) Classical/Jazz/Smooth Beats and Keys (Encore Bistro and Bar) John Alexander (Blue Restaurant & Bar) Country/Folk * Jim White (Evening Muse) Open Mic w/ Brett…

Crossing borders: Spain’s Jarabe de Palo

“It is a beautiful, romantic love story,” says Pau Dones of Jarabe de Palo’s 1996 break-out hit, “La Flaca.” The true story recounts a trip to Cuba that leads to romance with a slight, dusky-skinned beauty — “a hundred pounds of skin and bone, forty kilos of salsa.” Dones, a prolific songwriter, guitarist and vocalist,…

Pat Moran

Good grief!: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

With CPCC’s production of Godspell in its closing weekend while Children’s Theatre of Charlotte fired the first volley of their new season, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, local theatergoers had their choice between two musicals with notable affinities. Both works incubated in the ’60s, both did better in their off-Broadway premieres than in their…

Perry Tannenbaum

The real voter fraud

It was pretty funny last week seeing state GOP leaders scurry away from the voter registration company they had hired. Suddenly, the party that’s spent the better part of the past year squawking about a phantom voter fraud problem had its own, very real voter fraud mess to deal with. It happened after Strategic Allied…

John Grooms

Weekly horoscope (Oct. 11-17)

Libra The Scales (Sept. 22-Oct. 22) This Saturn cycle asks you to more clearly define your values. You may have fewer resources available now, whether that refers to money, energy or time. Discrimination will be necessary to maximize efficiency. You are likely to voluntarily forego expenditures on immediate pleasures for longer range objectives. For All…

Vivian Carol

Beyond basements: Screaming Females

Editor’s Note Just before press time, Screaming Females announced they had canceled their Charlotte show due to an illness in the band. Screaming Females are in motion. They’re in the van, somewhere in Pennsylvania, headed to Chicago. Drummer Jarrett Dougherty is driving, vocalist and shred lord Marissa Paternoster is taking a nap and bassist “King…

Corbie Hill

Peace, love and misunderstanding

Over the weekend I did something I had never done before and never imagined I would do: I was the lay service leader at my church on Sunday morning. The reason I never thought I would do something like this is because I never expected to be so intimately involved in a church. I don’t…

Mark Kemp

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