When I first moved here, I had to beg my friends to stop going to B&B, as they called it, because it's the only place they went (granted, it was one of the only places to go), but, now, I feel bad because come Tuesday Brick and Barrel is sealing the barrel and shutting their doors.
I guess that's what happens when the EpiCentre takes half of your staff and pretty much all your customers. I am slightly surprised no one is trying to sue them for a monopoly — or just challenge them to a game of it or something.
But they'll be blowing out the Barrel with a blow-out bash all weekend long before they blow the doors off on Tuesday.
Hey, when one bar closes, another door opens...
Meanwhile, Murphy's off Woodlawn also closed. To be honest, the only reason I ever went there was for one random night of karaoke, and to partake in the Charlotte SkeeBall League — which has since relocated to Hef's and Blondes ... had some good times there. Moment of silence, please.
Out of business that is.
Apparently Babe Ruth doesn't just create curses in baseball, but in bars as well because it's game over for George Hermans in the French Quarter. The baseball bar struck out and had to close it's doors. When I asked why, the response I got was: "The EpiCentre."
R.I.P George Herman's
OK so, Charlotte is not a big enough market to get an actual, real deal, movie premiere - not even for movies like Leatherheads and Talladega Nights, which were filmed here. But that doesn't mean we can't have our own red carpet gala in our plush new EpiCentre Theater, equipped with a red carpet entrance lined with the Transformer cars - and an after party with Las Vegas' D.J. Five following at Mez. The point is to make our own market bigger so that we're seen as one ... and as with red carpets and celebrities - if you roll it, they will come.
So why don't you come, cheers with cinematic cocktails!
Transformers comes out in theaters today, but the premiere event is this Friday, June 26 ... and I have V.I.P passes for the 7:10 p.m. showing to the first person that e-mails me at brittney.cason@creativeloafing.com wins ... extra points for anyone that humors me by saying I look like Megan Fox - just so I can pretend. (That was a joke)
... is this weekend
Synergy Nightclub is synergizing nightlife at the lake and putting the sin in synergy.
The grand opening celebrations for the new club started last night with their country night, and tonight is George Acosta and Saturday DJ Rush.
And every Thursday is the lake's one and only country night hosted by the one and only Big Sexy from WSOC. Last night Tim Hall & Buffalo Country rocked and honkey tonked. If you missed out, sucks for you ... well, not too much because next week is Brian Davis.
Synergy Nightclub is located where NV Lounge use to be
20924 Torrence Chapel Rd. (Shops on the Green)
Cornelius, NC 28031
704.896.6982
Also celebrating their Grand Opening this weekend at the lake is the Dirty Martini - get the "dirty" here .
Go shorty its yo birthday, we gonna party like its your birthday ... Jacinda!
ASaturday, my girl Jacinda, from Brotha Fred's A.M. Mayhem on 96.1 The Beat, is celebrating her birthday ... and you're invited.
Last year for Jacinda’s birthday, all she wanted to do was go rollerskating, but Kate’s closed early and we ended up back-up dancing to karaoke at Murphy’s instead. Well, this year they planned ahead …
Saturday is an adult skate party at Kate’s Skate in Indian Trail starting at 11 p.m.
Beer and wine will be served (good luck remaining vertical) and old school music will be played — the kind of skate party us adults use to have when we were kids ... as if we ever actually grow up! Now we just hire a babysitter so we can go act like kids.
Proceeds of this skate soirée will benefit Cystic Fibrosis.
The Garden and Gun Club got shot down, and Halo has been planted in its place.
Apparently some lawn jockey magazine in Charleston called the Garden and Gun threw a hissy fit about the Garden and Gun Club sharing its name — and with a slap of a gavel, the Garden and Gun Club had to change its name … to Halo.
Well, to me it’s irrelevant because the whole time it was open I for some reason kept referring to it as the Gun and Garden Club.
Anyway, same scene, same music, same cool patio … but now you can hear the Uptown Amphitheatre from it, starting with The Fray this Saturday.
Aside from a revamped interior, the only difference is now they’re going to have benefit parties and Burlesque shows — the La Petit Mort Burlesque Revue to be exact.
Halo is having its grand opening this Friday for the Global Fever 4 International Party with DJ Nickankis and DJ Kosta X. And right next door is the Fillmore that opens next weekend with Corey Smith.
By Brittney Cason and Sarah Coombes
Another parade was rained on in Charlotte when the water cycle got stuck on the precipitation dial again, raining out opening night for Dammit Janet … dammit! Yet the place was still packed for the VIP grand opening party this past Thursday, even the rain came … in the building as it leaked through the roof above the dance floor. But no worries, people just started dancing in the rain. Oh, what a glorious feeling …until it rains on the sound system. Owner Jeff Lowry announced he’d take us back in time by using mixed cds rather than a DJ system … now that’s a time warp.
Dammit Janet has a bar in a barn appeal — like a keg party in a small town in rural America, and it mimics a bigger version of The Thirsty Beaver. The novelty décor of the '70s-themed venue includes a Jaws fin and an escaping boat, a peeing statue (with suggestive cherries and bananas), a Beatles yellow submarine DJ booth and a live art showcase — and by live art we mean an actual living person.
Lowry said the premise will change frequently, while the opening party featured a man in a prison cell, next weekend it may be a girl in a bath tub. Lowry may be basing the art in his NoDa bar on its '70s (and '60s) theme, but he also wants to stay true to the theme of the hood by incorporating art.
Not as in Patrone XO, but as in the kinda-sorta-new tapas lounge in Lake Norman that just re-opened after getting a make-over and new management. Meanwhile, NV Lounge has new synergy. As in, the owner of NV is now an owner of XO and NV is now called Synergy.
XO kinda reminded me of Soul Gastrolougne in Plaza Midwood – it has a similar tapas menu and sparkling sake. But it’s more of a leather couch kinda lounge. It’s upscale, but not uptight. I rolled through in my swimsuit fresh off the lake and although I was out of place, I wasn’t made to feel that way. I xoxo the staff.
Wednesday is the grand opening, which will include a wine tasting. Speaking of wine, try their red wine ice cream.
By Sarah Coombes
When I first heard of Dammit Janet, all I could think about was that song from Rocky Horror Picture Show… “Dammit Janet, I love youuuuuu.” … as it turns out, it’s the name of a new '70s club opening in NoDa.
Dammit Janet actually has nothing to do with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it has everything to do with the '70s - and not just the funky fresh music, but the prices too. Whereas Flashback Fridays at the Latta Arcade can help me save a few dollars on lunch, Dammit Janet benefits the beer budget. Specials include $1.50 domestics and $2 imports, and not just on Fridays, but everyday — cheers to that!
Jeff Lowry, the owner of Dammit Janet, says he’s looking to create an affordable place to have a good time, and in our economy, affordable is a green light for nightlifers. Speaking of which, there’s also no parking fee and the cover charge is a mere $3.
The '70s era is famous for its disco fever, but Dammit Janet will be a variety of all the '70s-from punk to reggae and Motown to rock. And don’t worry, the dress code isn’t bellbottoms and platform shoes.
I’m going to leave the décor as a surprise for the opening, but I will tell you that a Jaws set and recycled records are only part of what Lowry has in store.
The club will be hosting a VIP party catered by KC of Fat City on June 4 and opens to the public on June 5. As a reader appreciation, I have two passes for the VIP night this Thursday. Each pass gives the cardholder and a guest a blast to the past... and you don’t need a DeLorean to get there. All you have to do is email scoombes@uncc.edu — the first two people to email me win the passes.
So, if you’re feeling a little night fever, but your wallet is in the E.R., boogie down to Dammit Janet, where you can bust a move and the recession.
It’s not breaking news that parking in Uptown is a bitch, but as of late it’s an even bigger bitch. The Park It Nazis and garage owners are cracking down and making the commute to Uptown an even bigger pain in the ass.
It used to be that you could tell the attendant at the 6th Street Parking garage that you were going to Stool Pigeons or the 7th Street garage attendant that you were going to LaVecchias and get a ticket for validation with the attendants leaving at midnight thus not actually requiring validation.
Well, to get your ticket validated it has to be scanned at the validating venues, and the time scanned is indicated and read by a machine. At the EpiCentre, even the employees have to pay the $10 parking fee, and don’t even bother trying to pull the “I’m going to the theater” line to get free parking because your ticket stub is required for validation.
Cason-Point: Carpool or cab your ass Uptown.
Since I don’t believe in the allocation of our tax money to decorate said garages with hundreds of thousands of dollars in mirrors, murals and stupid noise making columns, I don’t believe in paying to park in them.
So, I am going to share with you the tricks of the trade so you can allocate your money to something more worthwhile ...
* If you’re going to Buckhead Saloon you can get a “Buckhead card” and get your ticket validated to park for free in the garage attached to it on 5th Street.
* You can park in the lot across from Wachovia on 3rd and Tryon after 7 p.m. because the attendant is gone and no longer monitoring the lot.
* You can park along 7th Street between Davidson St. and Dixie’s
* You can park in 5th and Poplar garage in a retail spot before the Harris Teeter closes.
... and if you really want to get gangsta with it, there’s an opening you can sneak out of in the EpiCentre parking garage if you do tell them you’re going to the theaters to get in without offering the cash upfront.
They are building a new parking garage across from the Arena so hopefully we can find a way to sneak into that one.
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