Cover Story
Host City for sale: Did Uptown boosters sell a sanitized Charlotte to the DNC?
If Whole Foods were to sell a city, the proposal might look like how local booster Dan Murrey pitches Charlotte. In his telling, this business-savvy city has the soul of a nonprofit — big on diversity, deep into renewables and deeper into do-gooders. Charlotte may be known as the “Wall Street of the South,” but…
The Zoltars play Milestone tonight (4/17/12)
THE ZOLTARS If you hear in Austin’s Zoltars elements of early Velvet Underground drone, Wreckless Eric’s snark punk or the contemporary garage minimalism of, say, Wounded Lion, they’re there for a reason. Lead Zoltar Jared Leibowich was a struggling filmmaker when he picked up his guitar and began writing songs with a knack for, as…
Shpongle plays Neighborhood Theatre tonight (4/17/12)
Shpongle Shpongle plays around with psychonautic scholar Terence McKenna’s “stoned ape” theory of evolution. In short, early man ingested magic mushrooms that opened the hominid mind to religion, language and music. Whether you buy the idea or not, the psyc-ambient duo of self-styled “hallucinogenius” Simon Posford and magic flautist Raja Ram take the notion and…
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Tupac resurrected at 2012 Coachella Music Festival
Hologram used during Dr. Dre’s set.
RE:Public, 4/14/12
Photos from Saturday night, with Big Tigger playing host.
Bar Charlotte, 4/13/12
Photos from Friday night’s Barkini contest.
TEDxSummit in Doha: Day 1
I’ve landed in Doha, Qatar and there’s a ton of interesting stuff going on!
Dharma Lounge, 4/13/12
Photos from the monthly Su Casa party
Today’s Top 5: Monday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Rain: A Beatles Tribute performs at Belk Theater tonight (4/16/12)
RAIN: A BEATLES TRIBUTE Countless bands pay tribute to The Beatles, but few manage to make their audience forget they are just that: a tribute band. RAIN: A Beatles Tribute takes subject matter on the verge of being overdone – let’s face it, tributes to the fab four have become a dime a dozen -…
Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters play Snug Harbor tonight (4/15/12)
DAMON MOON AND THE WHISPERING DRIFTERS From the moment Lungs, Dirt & Dreams began drifting through the speakers in all its magnificent Southwestern menace, I was gloriously, deliriously smitten. Some Peyote-crazed shaman had cobbled together desert-baked bits of everything awesome about the West – Castanets’ ghost-town foreboding, Willie’s red-headed outlaw tales, Black Heart Procession doom…
A herbal remedy
Author Holly Bellebuono discusses her new book and how it can help cure ailments.
Caltrop at Snug Harbor tonight (4/14/12)
CALTROP Caltrop is one of those bands that can be forgiven for going four years between releases. The Chapel Hill quartet’s material can be emotionally and technically complex enough to take that much time to properly unpack. New LP Ten Million Years and Eight Minutes, which is an intriguing challenge in the same way a…
Junior Brown at Neighborhood Theatre tonight (4/14/12)
JUNIOR BROWN Picking, tapping, slapping, sliding and bending strings to his own will, Brown’s been taking country music back to its pre-pop ’50s and ’60s glory for a couple of decades. His instrument, the guit-steel, a funky device that he created, combines an electric guitar with a lap steel that can make the crowd sway…
Donna the Buffalo play Whitewater Center tonight (4/14/12)
Donna the Buffalo As the U.S. Olympic trials for canoe slalom wind down and an orange glow descends over the rapids, Donna the Buffalo will cap off the weekend’s events at the U.S. National Whitewater Center before a finale of fireworks hit the sky. DtB have been infusing their brand of soulful roots music with…
The Don of animation
Don Hertzfeldt is in Charlotte for a lecture and screening of several of his works.
Alive After 5, 4/12/12
The weekly after-work happy hour has returned.
The Chop Shop, 4/12/12
Photos from a recent benefit concert featuring a slew of bands.
Mega club ‘LABEL’ to open at N.C. Music Factory
A 16,000-square-foot big budget entertainment venue will open soon.
Tag along with CL’s @dbirdy in Doha, Qatar
Keep up with Desiree Kane as she travels to the Middle East.
Weekend Film Reviews: The Cabin in the Woods; The Raid: Redemption; The Three Stooges; Tyrannosaur
Here’s what’s newly covered on the cinema scene.
Floyd Collins explores CAST
Based on the true story of a cave explorer.
Live review: Math the Band, The Milestone, 4/10/2012
Math the BandThe MilestoneApril 10, 2012 From the moment Math the Band took the stage, the chiptune-electro-punk duo had no problem controlling the Milestone’s vibe. The male-female duo performed with the energy of woodland creatures high on pixie sticks while contagiously commanding the crowd to follow in the band’s footsteps. Video-game nerds may be a…
Cage the Elephant to rock Amos’ tonight (4/13/12)
Cage the Elephant Kentucky garage rockers Cage the Elephant return to Amos’ Southend on Friday the 13th to help the Charlotte venue celebrate its 21st anniversary. Cage’s punk-infused songs have gotten them plenty of radio airtime, but it’s the band’s live shows that truly stand out. They’re currently on the road in support of their…
Natalie Cole plays Ovens Auditorium tonight (4/13/12)
NATALIE COLE With nine Grammy wins and 30 million albums sold, Natalie Cole could just rest on those laurels and the name of her legendary father, Nat King Cole. Instead, the songstress – whose career has spanned five decades now – is still trying new things. Cole will perform her jazz, blues and soul standards…
Duke Energy CEO (er, Jim Rogers) doesn’t support Amendment One
He won’t speak on behalf of his company, but that doesn’t mean he won’t speak at all.
DNC Notebook: Youth Is Served, and Serves
Local and national groups encourage young voters to participate in September’s convention.
Perpetual Groove at Neighborhood Theatre tonight (4/13/12)
PERPETUAL GROOVE Perpetual Groove has plenty of the hallmarks of a classic jam band – an exhaustive touring schedule, fans who follow them to a different city every night and meandering, genre-melding grooves. Hailing from Athens, Ga., they’re known for putting on a fine light show in conjunction with their blend of original songs and…
Geek out Uptown
Discovery Place offers outdoor science-themed event.
Today’s Top 5: Friday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Bruegger’s eases your tax day blues
Bruegger’s is offering a discount on its Big Bagel Bundle.
The Cabin in the Woods: Chopping down expectations
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS ***1/2 DIRECTED BY Drew Goddard STARS Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Five college kids head to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, hoping for some r&r. Instead, something evil starts picking them off one by one … Unless you’ve spent your own…
The Raid: Redemption: Indonesia’s all-out action assault
THE RAID: REDEMPTION *** DIRECTED BY Gareth Evans STARS Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim In 1948’s The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Alfonso Bedoya’s bandit sneered a classic snatch of dialogue at Humphrey Bogart’s prospector: “Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!” While…
The Three Stooges: More yuck than nyuk
THE THREE STOOGES *1/2 DIRECTED BY Bobby & Peter Farrelly STARS Sean Hayes, Will Sasso Can anyone who isn’t a Stooge fan possibly enjoy The Three Stooges? More to the point, can anyone who is a Stooge fan possibly find merit in this Farrelly misfire? As a longtime groupie of the comic trio of Moe…
Tyrannosaur: Misery loves company
TYRANNOSAUR *** DIRECTED BY Paddy Considine STARS Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman The gritty British drama Tyrannosaur opens with a scene in which the drunken Jacob (Peter Mullan), in a fit of rage, kicks his dog to death. And he’s supposed to be the most likable of all the men who trample through this film’s lower-class…
Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake
This dish is perfect for breakfast or for a healthy dessert.
Dharma Lounge, 4/11/12
Photos from Le Bang Wednesday.
Suite, 4/11/12
Photos from Level Wednesdays, featuring a fashion show from Morris Costumes.
Taste of the Nation Charlotte, 4/11/12
Photos from the annual food lover’s dream of a charity event.
Trayvon Martin-inspired discussion addresses local issues of racism
Panelists and audience members discussed the implications of the African American teen’s death during “Can We Talk About Trayvon Martin: Why is what happened so disturbing?” in Charlotte on Wednesday.
J. Cole releases video for ‘Sideline Story’
One of the tracks from Cole World: The Sideline Story gets a visual.
RiverRun revs up
14th annual fest will be held April 13-22 in Winston-Salem.
Big Tigger back in Charlotte
Support Johnson C. Smith University this weekend by hanging out at the club.
Today’s Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
You know you haven’t had sex in a long time when …
We got responses like this one: “You become ambidextrous just to spice things up.”
Opening Friday
What’s new in theaters this weekend.
Live review: Safetysuit, Ovens Auditorium, 4/9/2012
Opening band at Daughtry concert leaves lasting impression.
Demonstration group will announce DNC plans on Friday
The Coalition to Protest at the DNC will also host a conference on Saturday.
Going once, going twice: Win a date with one of Charlotte’s most eligible bachelors
Distinguished gentlemen take over the 8th annual Bachelor Auction.
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
George Zimmerman’s lawyers quit
Attorneys say they haven’t spoken to the man who allegedly shot and killed Trayvon Martin since Sunday.
LOL: Comedy in the Q.C.
A roundup of CL‘s top picks for comedy shows in Charlotte this week.
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Capsule reviews of films playing the week of April 11
THE ARTIST Although its cribbing from Singin’ in the Rain, A Star Is Born and more means that this black-and-white silent picture sometimes runs short on invention, it easily makes up for it in style, execution and a cheery disposition that’s positively infectious. Jean Dujardin plays silent screen star George Valentin, whose chance encounter with…
Corman’s World, A Trip to the Moon among new home entertainment titles
CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL (2011). At one point in this joyful documentary, Jack Nicholson discusses the countless cheapies produced by Roger Corman and cracks, “By mistake, he actually made a good picture every once in a while.” This statement is said not with malice but with affection, as Nicholson is just one…
Where to find it: Still looking for a Muffaletta
With the recent NCAA basketball championship in New Orleans, a longing for those delicious dishes of that city is renewed. One of the most notable NOLA creations is the humble, yet addicting, muffaletta sandwich. The muffaletta from Central Grocery, an Italian deli on Decatur Street, is impossibly good. Their muffaletta, which was invented in this…
Sly and simple: Leroy Fox
Arguably, fried chicken is the quintessential dish of Charlotte, and the preferred method of preparation is fried. Let’s face it: The North Carolina piedmont has been perpetually the land of the crispy. After all, fish camps (a restaurant genre featuring fried fish) started along the nearby banks of the Catawba River, and fried foods such…
Mestre Esquilo brings music-infused Brazilian martial art to Charlotte
When he was 10 years old, Bruno Melo went to the martial arts studio in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil, to look for a Kung Fu class. “I wanted to be like Bruce Lee,” he says, “but when I arrived they were doing Capoeira. As soon as I saw how they incorporated music…
CD Review: Lost in the Trees’ A Church That Fits Our Needs
“Villain (I’ll Stick Around),” the lush, creepy eighth song on Lost in the Trees’ A Church That Fits Our Needs, opens with spoken word. “Is there anything you need in your life that you don’t have?” a woman asks before singer Ari Picker enters with his most fragile, quavering vocal. The fuzz-drenched voice is that…
CD Review: Plants and Animals’ The End of That
In 2010, Montreal’s Plants and Animals released their sophomore LP, La La Land, a dark and boozy paean to sex, drugs and R&R that staggered and slurred from knock-it-back bar rock to drunken hook-up balladry. Now, with The End of That, P&A’s chief songwriter Warren Spicer sounds like he is headed toward the inevitable next…
Black in White Plains: The police killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
“My name is Kenneth Chamberlain. This is my sworn testimony. White Plains police are going to come in here and kill me.” And that’s just what they did. In the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, U.S. Marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. accidentally hit his LifeAid medical-alert pendant, presumably while sleeping. The 68-year-old retired…
You call that a fight? GOP candidates could do better
To listen to some of the local media, you’d think former state Sen. Robert Pittenger and Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Pendergraph were having a knife fight in an alley. Please. The two GOP candidates for Sue Myrick’s District 9 congressional seat have bumped heads, but so far their conflict has been pretty trifling. If these…
Violins of Hope brings inspiration, lessons to Charlotte
Two generations and thousands of miles from the Nazi concentration camps and East European Jewish ghettos they once occupied, 18 special violins are finding revitalized purpose and inspiring new listeners with their music. The Holocaust-era instruments, restored by Israeli master violin maker Amnon Weinstein, comprise the Violins of Hope exhibit making its North American public…
Farcical Duke at the Duke: Don’t Cry for Me, Margaret Mitchell
You’re not in The Twilight Zone when you see an ace screenwriter, kidnapped in a drunken stupor, pour two scalding cups of coffee down his gullet without yowling in pain or snapping awake. You’re not in the realm of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! if that same writer instantly achieves wakefulness and sobriety when told…
Tribal tribulations: Fashion should never be offensive
Two of the strongest looks swaying down the runway this spring are rustic tribal and breezy safari. Both conjure images of beautiful, unique designs heavy in gold and earth tones, sometimes even venturing into the brightly colored, but both also run the risk of being entirely offensive. It’s not just tacky offensive you have to…
Exhibit: Memory & Metaphor
This new exhibit features works by painters Honora Jacob and Duy Huynh and potter Jennifer Mecca. Filled with visual symbolism, imagery and feminine inspiration — you can see it in the painting at right, Jacob’s “Momentary Meditation” — these pieces grace the gallery for you to ponder — and maybe even purchase if you’d like…
STYLE Week Charlotte returns for second year
As soon as the first of the 75-degree days tease the city, residents wake up noticeably cheerful, ditching their dull winter garb for sunny day threads. Last April, Charlotte was buzzing with even more than the usual excitement in anticipation of the first ever STYLE Week Charlotte, celebrating the city’s burgeoning fashion and style industry…
Exhibit: The Original Odyssey
Charlotteans have a thing about wanting to claim Romare Bearden as one of our own. Even though Bearden moved to New York when he was a wee toddler and stayed up north until his death, he was born in Charlotte. The newest exhibit at Central Piedmont Community College features Bearden’s original works — including watercolor…
The N.C. Governor’s Race: Bob Etheridge Q&A
This is the third and final installment of our series with the Democratic candidates running for governor of North Carolina. This time we go one-on-one with former Congressman Bob Etheridge. Etheridge has been a county commissioner, state legislator, state superintendent of schools and was on Capitol Hill from 1998-2011. Most recently he has been head…
Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (April 11)
Anonymous Alcoholic: Police went to a Food Lion on Albemarle Road last week for what they believed to be a routine alarm call. They met with the store’s manager, who had already checked the security cameras. The manager told officers that he watched a man on the video break into the front of the store,…
Weekly horoscope (April 11-17)
Aries The Ram (March 20-April 19) Hooray! Your ruling planet is Mars and it is turning direct. It will take a few weeks to clear out the briar patch that it has caused, but at least you can begin to move forward now. One double-Aries I know said to me, “Vivian, I have never worked…
Boys and Girls
Gender was not going to be an important factor in how I raised my children.
