April 14 – Thursday
Nicholas Sparks, the highly popular author of Message In A Bottle, The Notebook and more, writes dolled-up romance novels posing as literature, in the “tearjerker” vein popularized by Bridges of Madison County. They’re what some call “fast reads” — short sentences, few words over two syllables and fairly simple plots, delivering a strong tug at the hearts of hopeful romantics. There’s nothing wrong with Sparks’ books, just don’t call ’em art. Sparks will sign his latest novel True Believer. Thu., today at 7pm at Barnes & Noble at the Arboretum. For more information, call 704-341-9365. (Grooms)
There is a waiting list for the Taste of the World tonight from 5:30pm until 9:30pm. Those who sign up for this waiting list will be given preferential ticketing for the summer dinner event. Taste is an idea from the Asian Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber’s Charlotte East Area Council and the Eastland Area Strategies Team (E.A.S.T.) and local Latino leaders to introduce Charlotteans to the incredible diversity of restaurants in East Charlotte. Tickets are $25 per person, including a welcome reception with wine and entertainment at the Charlotte Museum of History, a shuttle bus, and dinner samplings from five restaurants. Beverages are extra. Reservations by phone: 704-347-8793. For additional information: www.charlotteeast.com. (Childress)
April 15 – Friday
With a fullness of voice as seductive as her album covers, Jane Monheit is the real deal among the new generation of slickly packaged jazz sirens. Sure, her swinging forays don’t always venture far enough from strict time — and her ballads sometimes plunge into American Idol cliché — but the precision of her phrasing and her uncanny feel for dynamics can pierce your heart. Besides, it’s refreshing sometimes to hear the notes that Ellington and Gershwin really wrote! So Monheit’s two-night stand at Belk Theater with the Charlotte Symphony is the highlight of the orchestra’s Pops season, despite the presence of effusive conductor Albert-George Schramm. Tickets prices for Monheit’s Charlotte debut range from $15-$64. At 8pm on Friday and Saturday. Call 704-972-2000. (Tannenbaum)
Club Shows of Note: The Avett Brothers school the folks at Winthrop in the fine art of punk-grass…bluesman Jimmy Thackery & the Drivers wail at the Double Door Inn…Cajun wizards BeauSoleil bring their Big Easy sound to Neighborhood Theatre…Ahleuchatistas rock the Milestone…
April 16 – Saturday
Carolina Pro Musica has been keeping the flame of pre-Romantic music alive almost single-handedly in Charlotte since 1978, and a sampling of the quartet’s excavations is likely to convince you that their cause is worthy. Spanish Splendor, presented at cozy St. Martin’s Episcopal Church on 1510 E. 7th St., offers the music of Scarlatti (1685-1757) and his disciple Antonio Soler (1729-1783). Also included are musical shards from Peru and early specimens of the zarzuela, a form of Spanish lyrical theatre in which song is mingled with spoken dialogue — something like low-budget opera. Splendor begins at 8:15pm with tickets priced at $15, or $7.50 for students and seniors. Call 704-334-3468. (Tannenbaum)
The Mint Museum of Art’s newest exhibit is Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration is a 30-year (1972-2002) survey of the creative processes and technical collaboration between one of America’s most important living artists and the master printers who together have challenged the boundaries of traditional printmaking. The retrospective illustrates the artist’s range of invention in etching, aquatint, lithography, handmade paper, direct gravure, silkscreen, traditional Japanese woodcut, and reduction linocut. The exhibit opens today and continues through August 7. For further details on the exhibit call the Mint at 704-337-2098 or online at www.mintmuseum.org.
Club Shows of Note: Don Dixon, Jamie Hoover and Jim Brock pop off at the Double Door…Malcolm Holcombe offers his unique take on acoustic folk at the Evening Muse…Texas’ the Von Ehrics headline a top-notch rock & roll show at the Milestone…Puckett’s Farm Equipment hosts the second annual (Johnny) Cash Bash.
April 18 – Monday
A mythical African village copes with challenges to community standards as the Celebration! Congo Choir, in its debut American tour, brings Bomoko to Booth Playhouse. Conceived as “An African Story of Unity in Rhythm and Song,” Bomoko communicates joy and spirituality with a fusion of traditional Afro rhythms, harmonies, and instruments in contemporary Western arrangements. A marriage ignites the turmoil of the story in this one-of-a-kind musical theater piece created by the members of the Kinshasa-based troupe. Laden with colorful costumes and throbbing with percussion, Bomoko shakes the Booth for two evenings, Monday and Tuesday, beginning at 7:30pm. General admission tickets are $25. Call 704-372-1000. (Tannenbaum)
April 20 – Wednesday Consider da noise and da funk to be brought in. For one night only, Savion Glover’s Improvography II tour dances into the Belk Theater with heart-stopping choreography and brilliant improvisation. Accompanied by his six-piece band, Glover blends tap with the sounds of jazz, hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul, rock and funk. Glover made his Broadway debut at age 12, starring in The Tap Dance Kid. Since then, he’s gone on to other Broadway shows and films and he’s won a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, two Obies and two Fred Astaire Awards, and was named Choreographer of the Year by Dance Magazine. Tickets for tonight’s 8pm performance are $22-$45, and are on sale at the Performing Arts Center Box Office. Call 704-372-1000 or visit www.BlumenthalCenter.org. (Vespa)
His resume reads like a compendium of American music styles over the last quarter-century: from the rockabilly power of the legendary Blasters, to the guitar craftsmanship of punk pioneers X, and the country twang of side project and alt-country precursor The Knitters, to his current status as Americana icon and blues-guitar maestro. Yes, Dave Alvin is steeped in American music history, but this is no museum piece or nostalgic act — Alvin’s material has proven as vital as any artist working in the burgeoning Americana scene. Known for his scintillating live act, which usually spans his whole career, this acoustic show tonight (with Chris Miller on guitar) is a rare treat that will put the spotlight on his top-notch fretwork and one of the best voices in rock & roll. For more information on this rare treat, go to www.theeveningmuse.com. (Schacht)
Somewhere along the line the snot-nosed brats of Dookie evolved into the pop-punk masters and social commentators of “American Idiot,” Green Day providing one of last year’s most surprising and mature releases. The trio cut their teeth in the unforgiving proving grounds of the East Bay’s Gilman Street venue, emerging in the early 90s with infectious hooks and a work ethic to put their peers to shame. With a knack for tongue-in-cheek ribaldry and yet capable of touching moments, Green Day find themselves veterans of the second wave of punk; their live show suggests that they’re not quite ready for grandfather status. Check them out at Cricket Arena tonight beginning at 7pm. For more information, call 704-522-6500 or www.ticketmaster.com. (Schacht)
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2005.
