I pulled up to the Bojangles' Coliseum for the T.I. and Young Jeezy concert as the symphony concert at the neighboring Ovens Auditorium was letting out. On the way in, we passed families in black-tie attire and a little child prodigy pianist in a bow tie... and we were going to see T.I.
There were cops everywhere surrounding the arena and auditorium... I bet they were there to make sure the crowd coming out of the symphony didn’t act up, right?
T.I. is on his farewell tour because he is going to Yale — I mean, jail... But if you think about it, jail is kinda like the Ivy league of street smarts, so T.I. is going to Yale in a sense, sorta.
T.I. had a DJ instead of a band; I thought I was at a heavy metal concert at one point. T.I.’s head banging would’ve put Axl Rose to shame.
He said he was in Charlotte a while back and, when he was, he got “locked up in Mecklenburg County.”
T.I. packed the BoRound, or Bojangles Coliseum rather... or maybe it looks like a giant chicken biscuit for some reason, with 4,000 people, and about 500 of them were on the stage. I’d say they were the hype men, but they just kinda stood there. I thought I might catch a contact high in the dome with the smoky air. Just to remind you, it is illegal to smoke marijuana in general... let alone in public.
The festive CIAA fans have the party stamina of Michael Phelps (I mean in regards to swimming) because they party until 4 a.m. and then they get right up and do it again, with day parties starting before lunch. I mean, can we go all out like this for the ACC tournament?
For a lunch break of a bash there’s the Fish Fry at Tempo and Digital Divas at Blue….
I couldn’t believe how many people were at the bar at Blue at 2 p.m. on a rainy Friday afternoon. DJ Daddy D was playing some of my old school faves that I used to dance to in high school.
I think the bartenders went into the freezer in the back to get high or something, because we stood there at the basically unattended bar for a good 10 minutes to sample the “Digital Diva” specialty cocktail (Alize Rose & Ginger Ale). When the 'tenders finally came back to the bar we had to repeat the elementary order four times to one bartender before he just handed it off to another. But the Digital Diva Alize was a tasty lick nonetheless.
CIAA technically stands for Center Intercollegiate Athletic Association, but it can also mean Charlotte Is having A lot of After Parties! And I do mean A LOT of parties...
This year's multitude of CIAA parties popped off at Pop Life at Apostrophe Lounge ... and The Bee Man Candles Co.
Apparently, in these hard economic times people aren’t buying enough candles to keep the Bee Man in the honey money, and so now Apostrophe Lounge has expanded (just for CIAA) ... and just in time. Because even with Apostrophe doubled in size, there was a line out the door(s). It was like two totally detached lounges with two separate entrances, yet the same venue divided by a mere apostrophe... or wall rather (which, sadly, could not be knocked down).
And there's a lot more going on there and all around town.
When my friend told me she wanted to go to the Common Market for a girls night out I asked her if she was on crack.
“You’ve never been?” she asked.
“Yeah, in the afternoon to get lunch or stock up on my hippie snacks,” associating the Common Market with a cool convenience store-slash-deli... but as it turns out, it’s also a -slash bar — CM After Dark, if you will.
I walked into the Common Market at 10 p.m. on a weekend night to a DJ playing Boys II Men, a bartender serving wine, a cooler reading, “cold and cheap beer” and an entire cooler of Sparks (which excited me by the way).
Meanwhile, you can go and select your own beer out of the cooler from $2 Tecate to the rarest of imports, pay the cashier and sit down at the bar — Swig and drink it. It’s like the Willy Wonka Hop Factory — there’s even chocolate beer...
Valentine’s Day, other wise known as the “Hallmark and other fine retailers make a profit day,” is more of a holiday for the economy than anything else. For couples, it’s an excuse to go out to eat, exchange presents and have sex. But for single people, it’s the best night to go out — especially for guys looking to get laid. What?... I’m just being honest. It weeds out all those in a relationship so it’s a free-for-all — and a solid opportunity to meet other single people.
If you don’t want a prefix three course meal at an expensive steak house when you don’t even eat meat, well don’t worry because there is plenty to do otherwise.
I present to you the “Fuck Valentine’s Day” party menu...
Mobile
