JANUARY 29 – THURSDAY
Tribute bands are a dime a dozen, but Dark Star Orchestra is a “head” above the rest. Known for performing replicas of live Dead shows, each band member takes on the persona of his or her Grateful Dead counterpart. From the set list to the amps and the placement of the microphones, the band creates a time warp to San Francisco 0ct. 20, 1978, or one of more than 850 other Dead shows they reproduce. DSO adds a hint of suspense to their performances by waiting until the end to announce which show they’ve just played. If you never made it to a Grateful Dead show or if you want relive one or if you can’t remember it, DSO will be at the Visulite Theatre tonight at 10pm. Tickets cost $20. Call 704-358-9200 for details. (Grossman)
Best known for collaborating on one of Broadway’s mega-hits, Fiddler on the Roof, the triumvirate of librettist Joe Masteroff, composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick first converged on She Loves Me. Based on the same play, Parfumerie, that inspired Hollywood’s You’ve Got Mail, the 1963 musical tells the tale of two bickering co-workers who are secretly amorous pen pals. Theatre Charlotte’s production brings together two local musical favorites, Susan Roberts Knowlson and Lisa Smith, to gild the merchandise. Offstage, the forecast is equally sunny with Ron Chisholm directing and Bill Congdon conducting. At the Queens Road barn through February 15. Call 704-334-9128. (Tannenbaum)
JANUARY 30 – FRIDAY
Juan Williams, he of the smooth, authoritative voice and wealth of knowledge on NPR, will speak at Spirit Square’s McGlohon Theatre. The broadcast newsman is also a biographer of civil rights pioneer and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and he’ll be speaking as the opening salvo of the Levine Museum of the New South’s exhibit, Courage — The Carolina Story that Changed America. The exhibit concerns the historic Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools. Single tickets for Juan Williams’ appearance are $20. For tickets, call 704-372-1000. For more information, call the museum at 704-333-1887. (Grooms)
Usually, when you hear about jazz in a dance context, we’re merely getting reassured that we won’t be assailed with ballet. But the new Queen City Jazz Company isn’t merely modernistic. They’re serious about jazz. In their debut performance at Booth Playhouse, An Evening of Short Works, the QCDC will dance to two recognized classics, Paul Desmond’s “Take Five” and Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning, Heartache.” You’ll also find modern pieces set to the music of Afro Celt Sound System and Radiohead while artistic director Melanie Sullivan Coyle contributes the joyful “Renewal” to the music of Steve Reich. Call 704-372-1000. (Tannenbaum)
The long established DJ Icey sits at the top of the heap of funky breakbeat dance music generators. The Orlando-based DJ has scratched out his own style and production values while laying on the funk with added flavors of electro and Big Beat for some time. Last year’s release, Different Day (System), gives a taste of his polished production of dance and chill-out music. Also appearing before and after Icey are Hyper, Nik Fedele, Super Funkey Space Monkeys and more. It takes place at Mythos; a limited number of $10 advance tickets are available at www.groovetickets.com or $15 at the door. For further details call 704-375-8765 or visit www.mythosclub.com (Shukla)
JANUARY 31 – SATURDAY
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision which made racially segregated public schools illegal. Not too many people know that the case actually began in South Carolina — in Clarendon County, to be exact, with a lawsuit filed by a preacher named Rev. J.A. DeLaine and his neighbors demanding an end to separate, unequal schools for their kids. The Levine Museum of the New South is commemorating that historic, wrenching time in the region’s and nation’s history with a new exhibit, Courage: The Carolina Story That Changed America, created by the museum’s historian Tom Hanchett, along with Darcie Fohrman, who designed the acclaimed “Daniel’s Story” at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Today will feature a day of panel discussions on the legacy of Brown. Panelists will include historian John Hope Franklin and the children of Rev. DeLaine, among others. The exhibit will be up till August 15. The Museum is downtown on Seventh Street. The cost of today’s panel discussions is $5; a lunch program is an additional $5. Call 704-333-1887 for more information or tickets. (Grooms)
FEBRUARY 1 – SUNDAY
In case you’ve been living under a rock recently (hello, Saddam), this is the night that our city’s own Carolina Panthers play in the no-shit-are-you-kidding-me Super Bowl! The Cardiac Cats will take on the mighty New England Patriots, who won the big game only two years ago. Charlotte gets its big close-up tonight at around 6pm on CBS affiliate WBTV (if the Panthers pull it off, expect pandemonium downtown). In addition to the game, you can also see a pre-game show featuring Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, Beyonce Knowles singing the national anthem, and a halftime show featuring Janet Jackson, Nelly, Kid Rock, and P-Diddy. Of course, there’s also the famous Super Bowl commercials — expect loads of ads from companies with big lobby groups, but none from PETA or Moveon.org, who recently had proposals axed by CBS bigwigs. Screw all that, however. The Panthers are in the freaking Super Bowl! Woo-hoo! What’s next, light rail? (Davis)
FEBRUARY 3 – TUESDAY
After an adventurous January foray into Gabe Faure’s Piano Quartet, Chamber Music at St. Peter’s remains frisky in February. Their monthly First Tuesday Concert, offered at 12:10 and 5:30pm, celebrates the life of American composer/ poet/calligrapher Lou Harrison — a year and a day after his death. Series director Alan Black performs on Harrison’s Suite for Cello and Harp opposite Charlotte Symphony harpist Betsey Sesler. The free lunchtime and after work concerts at St. Pete’s Episcopal will also include Harrison’s Varied Trio performed by violinist Jane Hart Brendle, pianist Bill Congdon, and percussionist Peyton Becton. Free parking at TransAmerica and Seventh Street Station. (Tannenbaum)
This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2004.
