Apr 8-14, 2015

Apr 8-14, 2015 / Vol. 29 / No. 7

Cover Story

The Big Reveal: What’s replacing the Penguin?

In the corner of Thomas and Commonwealth avenues, at the pulse of the eclectic Plaza Midwood neighborhood, stands The Penguin — empty, gray and lifeless. The faded church pews lining the storefront look out onto a sea of litter, mostly alcohol bottles and crushed cigarette packs. Inside, restaurant equipment still bears the grease of its…

Keia Mastrianni

While We’re Young: The age of enlightenment

WHILE WE’RE YOUNG***DIRECTED BY Noah BaumbachSTARS Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts There was a time when the movies convinced us that the gap in the so-called generation gap covered roughly the distance from the earth to the moon. Films such as 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause and 1967’s The Graduate painted both the kids and the…

Matt Brunson

Bizarre crime from Charlotte police files (April 9)

Hulk Smash: A 56-year-old woman called police to her SouthPark apartment to report a few crimes. She told police that sometime in the first week of March someone took the porcelain birdbath that was propped up against the back of the residence and “smashed” it into pieces. One week later, she says that a mop…

Jeff Hahne

Weekly horoscope (April 9-15)

For All Signs: As I explained last week, the last of the seven exact squares between Uranus and Pluto is over. However, these two planets remain close enough to each other to represent periodic upheavals going through March of 2019, when Uranus moves on to Taurus. The Uranus/Pluto square will be triggered whenever the closer,…

Vivian Carol

Surviving a year of bad dates

The July sun is just setting, and I am standing outside the Neergaard Pharmacy on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 10th Street in Brooklyn. Sweat pools on my lower back. My eyes are watery and red. A thin trail of snot drips from my nose and rests in the corner of my mouth. The…

Erica Ciccarone

Langhorne Slim’s sobering strength

The first time Sean Scolnick got drunk, he was just a high school teenager. He sat in a Philadelphia-area basement with his sweetheart, knocking back a few Yuenglings. Scolnick had already smoked some pot and tried other drugs in his young life, but as he tipped back another beer, he looked at his girlfriend and…

Jeff Hahne

CD review: JJ Grey & Mofro’s Ol’ Glory

Florida-based JJ Grey & Mofro first caught my ear with a swamp-infused style of Southern rock I would have sworn was from the depths of Louisiana. The band managed to merge elements of soul, blues and funk into their sound. Over the years, however, that sound has slowly morphed. Ol’ Glory, the band’s ninth studio…

Jeff Hahne

CD review: Blues Traveler’s Blow Up The Moon

In 1999, Santana released its 17th album, Supernatural. In addition to winning nine Grammys (and three Latin Grammys), the album topped charts around the world and sold millions of copies. Supernatural paired Santana with plenty of guests, which helped the album cross genre lines and win over a variety of music fans. With its 12th…

Jeff Hahne

Ruling Obamacare unconstitutional will cost lives

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a central tenet Christians and Jews are instructed to abide by in their faiths. One of the ways that’s best displayed is making sure citizens have quality, affordable health care. Yet a lot of Republicans have spent the last few years bitching about…

Jerry Klein

Change is creeping in to the west side

Chris and I are riding home from church when I bring up local politics. I’m interested in what he thinks about the creeping development that is beginning to put some pressure on the edges of Enderly Park, our neighborhood. “Have you noticed those huge houses they are building just across the tracks from us? What…

Greg Jarrell

Andy the Doorbum declares an art war on Charlotte

Last week during lunchtime, a crew clad in hooded black robes with their faces painted like tribal warriors drove through the streets of Uptown playing drums in the back of an old military vehicle. Their strange appearance was jarring to some in their vanilla, business casual surroundings. The group’s leader, Andy the Doorbum, stood with…

Erin Tracy-Blackwood

Meet the men behind the meat at Moo and Brew

Good food and good beer are two important aspects of Charlotte living. Breweries are expanding and specialty food trucks keep popping up. For culinary snobs and moustache-wielding beer aficionados alike, there’s a lot of flavors to appreciate. To celebrate, Creative Loafing debuts its Moo & Brew Fest this weekend. The festival features more than 40…

Kaila Burtch

Longtime drag star leaves the ‘Queen’ City

There’s a ring to the name Roxy C. Moorecox. It’s witty and gritty, reflective of a dirty-mouthed drag queen with attitude and attention-drawing charisma. But five weeks ago, drag performer Clay Smith traded this longtime stage name for a sweeter, safer form of identification. The new drag alias, Delighted Tobehere, offers a touch of Southern…

Anita Overcash

Recent

See all

Gift this article