Aug 10-16, 2010

Aug 10-16, 2010 / Vol. 24 / No. 24

Fighting ‘ignorant fascist bastards’ with humor

A few years ago, Garrison Keillor was asked why he wasn’t more political on his radio show, Prairie Home Companion, especially since he’s never been shy about his liberal Democrat roots. His answer was that he wanted the show to be entertaining “to people of any political stripe, my people and also ignorant fascist bastards.”…

John Grooms

Tutto Mundo, 8/13/10

Photos from Takeover Friday at Tutto Mondo, where folks partied for the last time before the venue closed its doors for the last time. Photos by Victoria Creasy

Priscilla Tsai

Village Tavern, 8/13/10

Village Tavern hosts parties featuring live music from 5 to 10 pm on select Fridays each month until September. Here are pics from Friday’s party. Photos by Rhiannon Bowman

Priscilla Tsai

Chima, 8/12/10

Charlotte’s fashion elite gathered at Chima’s Brazilian Steakhouse for their Beautiful People Fashion Networking event on Thursday night.

Priscilla Tsai

Stupidest Thing of the Year: “Terror Babies”

Friday is usually the day for the Stupid Thing of the Week, but this time around we’re proud to present the Stupidest Thing of the Year (So Far): the utterly unhinged “terror babies conspiracy.” Some Republican members of Congress from Texas have apparently let their fears of terrorism, illegal immigrants and anchor babies morph into…

John Grooms

Going Gatsby for a good cause

Thanks to the Great Gatsby Gala — happening Saturday, Aug. 14, at 8 p.m. at The Atrium in Uptown — no time machine is necessary to step into the “roaring ’20s.” The flapper-friendly setting offers heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, alcohol (beer and wine), a cash bar, jazz music (by Tyrone Jefferson and A Sign of…

Web Editor

Even Bush thought Bomb-Iran idea was laughable

Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg has just published a story on the prospect of Israel launching a military attack on Iran. In that article, Goldberg reveals that Vice President Cheney urged Bush to attack Iran, but that Bush vetoed the idea, and also “discouraged the Israelis from carrying out the attack on their own.” Not only…

John Grooms

Kalu, 8/10/10

Young Affiliates of the Mint hosted their monthly happy hour event at Kalu last night. Photos by Renaul Hill, Charlotte Vibe Photography

Priscilla Tsai

Serial killer benefited from racial bias

Irony seems to be in the very air we breathe these days. The latest example of irony piling on top of irony is the case of Henry Louis Wallace, the Charlotte serial killer who, between 1992 and 1994, killed nine young African-American women in the city. Most of Wallace’s victims were raped and strangled. He…

John Grooms

Addicted to Yoforia

With over 10 flavors to pick from at any one time, you swirl out the yogurt from the wall-mounted machines yourself, and then sprinkle (or pack) on your toppings of choice.

Priscilla Tsai

Live photos: Goo Goo Dolls

Goo Goo Dolls w/ Switchfoot, The Spill Canvas Road Runner Mobile Amphitheatre Aug. 10, 2010 Goo Goo Dolls hit Charlotte last night for a concert full of hits and pop-rock. The night got started with The Spill Canvas, was followed by Switchfoot — whose lead singer found time to run out into the crowd to…

Jeff Hahne

Whisky River, 8/10/10

Kiowa Gordon, who plays Embry Call in the Twilight series, made a special appearance at Whisky River Tuesday, Aug. 10. Photos by Jeaumane McIntosh

Priscilla Tsai

This week’s new releases (Aug. 10)

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in stores this week: Black Label Society Order of the Black Bourbon Crow Highway to Hangovers Mike Posner 31 Minutes to Takeoff Street Sweeper Social Club Ghetto Blaster EP

Jeff Hahne

EXHIBIT: Reflect, Educate, Inspire

Looking at the image to the right — titled “We Are First Ward” — you might not be able to see that the piece, by fine arts photographer/community activist Dustin Shores, collects 192 photos of “community members who have made a difference in First Ward over the last 25 years.” The work is one element…

Carlton Hargro

Fun with statistics

A state-ordered study of the death penalty recently found that defendants are three times more likely to receive capital punishment in North Carolina if they kill a white victim. The study, funded by taxpayers, will now be used by many of the state’s death row inmates to argue that they can’t be executed because that…

Did the Australian army once wage war on emus?

Recently my roommate, an unusually trustworthy fellow, told me about the 1932 “emu war” in Australia. He said 1932 was a dry year that made 20,000 emus restless, causing them to invade a residential neighborhood en masse. The Australian military had to take them out with heavy artillery. Is this true? — Evan, Greensboro, N.C.…

Cecil Adams

Why Charlotte’s recycling initiatives work

I am loving Charlotte’s recycling program these days. My heart skipped a beat when I learned that our 18-gallon red recycling crates were being supersized to 96-gallon green bins that could hold a lot more. And I appreciate the city making a greater effort to make recycling easier and giving us the resources to maximize…

Nsenga Burton

Luck not be this lady

  Given my odds, I tend to not gamble. After all, I’m the lady who gets stuck in the elevator of an Uptown parking garage late at night. See why I don’t gamble? But apparently a lot of people in Charlotte do play their odds. I first noticed this trend when I went into an…

Brittney Cason

CD REVIEW: How to Destroy Angels

THE DEAL: Debut EP from Trent Reznor and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig. THE GOOD: Fans of Reznor who were worried they’d never hear from the Nine Inch Nails front man again have to be pleased that the industrial rock veteran is still making music. These songs sound like Nine Inch Nails, but with Maandig singing…

Jeff Hahne

Where to find fresh lamb

Lamb consumption in the U.S. is generally less than one pound per person per year. While lamb is an important meat in many cultures, it has never regained the foothold it had once in the South before much of the livestock was destroyed during the Civil War. Raising sheep for meat consumption is making a…

Tricia Childress

CD REVIEW: Jimmie Vaughan’s Plays Blues Ballads and Favorites

THE DEAL: Jimmie Vaughan’s greasy, back-porch blues rock makes you want to move to Austin, eat BBQ and soak up this stuff by the bucketful. THE GOOD: Texas guitarist Jimmie Vaughan started the Fabulous Thunderbirds in ’74 with vocalist/harpist Kim Wilson. The T-birds became the quintessential bar band, twisting up gut-bucket blues with twangy rock…

Grant Britt

Riding into the Sunset Grille

Restaurants die. Like humans, restaurants have life cycles. Some expire in infancy, others have a long run. Some eateries seem perpetually in a state of adolescence, while others mature and morph into community mainstays. One restaurateur’s idea may be premature for the community, or is instantly successful only to spawn a legion of clones, thus…

Tricia Childress

Scrap the 14th amendment

No one knows exactly how many children of illegal immigrants live in Mecklenburg County. And estimates we got from agencies that deal with immigrants’ needs varied from “probably no more than 50” to “as many as 500.” No matter, though, because if Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte, or Sen. Lindsey Graham, from the enchanted land…

3 questions with Bryan S. Emperor, executive chef

Bryan S. Emperor is not a fusion chef, despite what you may think. Sure, he’s an American who specializes in Asian cuisine, but he has received extensive training from some of the top masters of Asian cuisine in the world, won an array of honorable awards in the industry and opened several restaurants across the…

Victoria Creasy

Why did Obama fire Dan Choi?

“As we mark the end of America’s combat mission in Iraq,” President Barack Obama said this week, “a grateful America must pay tribute to all who served there.” He should have added “unless you’re gay,” because, despite his rhetoric, weeks earlier the commander in chief fired one of those Iraq vets: Lt. Dan Choi. Choi…

Amy Goodman

FILM: King Kong vs. Godzilla

The Light Factory’s Attack of the Summer Film Series continues today with a screening of the 1962 monster flick King Kong vs. Godzilla. Directed by Ishiro Honda, this was the first time both fiends starred together in a color film. Of course, the effects are far from impressive, but the fact that this movie remains…

Anita Overcash

Crumb, Errol Flynn collection among new DVD releases

CRUMB (1995). Can art literally save a life? That’s the question posed — and answered — in Terry Zwigoff’s fascinating documentary about Robert Crumb, the famous (or should that be infamous?) cartoonist who gave the world such counterculture touchstones as Fritz the Cat and the “Keep On Truckin'” images. More than just a character study,…

Matt Brunson

NIGHTLIFE: Tutto Mondo’s Final Takeover Friday

And another one — a nightlife spot, that is — bites the dust! Tutto Mondo, a local lounge that’s been in operation for 12 years, has announced it’s closing shop. To celebrate before its doors are closed forever, Takeover Friday, a mobile party of vast proportions, will descend on the place Aug. 13. Bartenders and…

Anita Overcash

Nightlife profile: Roxy C. Moorecox

Famous for hosting Tuesday night trivia at Petra’s Piano Bar, Roxy C. Moorecox is one of Charlotte’s most recognizable names in drag. Originally Clay Smith from Greenville, S.C., Roxy began doing drag with a group in Atlanta called The Armorettes, which raises money for people living with HIV/AIDS. The full-time entertainer remains an advocate for…

Laura Camilo

FESTIVAL: Charlotte Irish Summer Festival

Go green during the Charlotte Irish Summer Festival. In its 4th year, the fest offers an alternative to the long wait for St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Get a feel for Ireland through the many bands (Ceol na Gael, Clanndarragh, Fighting 86’s, McLean Avenue, Trad at Heart, Vertigo) and dance groups (Rince na h’Eireann School of…

Anita Overcash

CL previews upcoming concerts

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 11 LITTLE RIVER BAND Remember “Cool Change”? “Reminiscing”? If you’re of a certain age — or have ever perused Jack FM on a road trip — your answer is undoubtedly in the affirmative. But concertgoer beware: this LRB is only tangentially — and then some — related to the original sultans of soft…

MUSIC: Heart at Road Runner Mobile Amphitheatre

After a 1976 concert, a reporter asked Anne Wilson about her and her sister Nancy’s made-up “lesbian love affair.” The enraged songstress went to her hotel room and began writing the lyrics that would become “Barracuda,” and the rest is history. With a career spanning four decades and more than 35 million records sold, the…

Chris Triplett

Charlotte’s Transmission Fields eases into new lineup, label

Gathered around a picnic table on the patio of Thomas Street Tavern, the five members of Charlotte indie-rock band Transmission Fields are joking with each other and knocking back a few beers. The guys are relaxed — maybe not what you’d expect from a group that underwent a minor lineup change earlier this year and…

Jeff Hahne

ART: Unfiltered exhibit at The Light Factory

Today, The Light Factory unveils the latest in its “In Our Own Backyard” series. The exhibit, titled Unfiltered, features photography by Steve Perille. Perille, who currently resides in Charlotte and has worked as a photographer for The Chicago Sun-Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Charlotte Observer (among other publications), uses his lens to capture the…

Anita Overcash

SPECIAL EVENT: Speed-Dating Party

The idea behind DateandDash.com’s Speed-Dating Party’s is pretty darn clever. Considering it’s hard to meet folks these days, the organization has made it easy across the U.S. — and will in Charlotte on Aug. 17 at Crave Dessert Bar. Here’s the concept: Folks mingle and meet other singles (professionals with college degrees between the ages…

Anita Overcash

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

No. 2 Pencil: A woman was rushed to the hospital after attempting suicide last week. The reporting person stated that she tried to kill herself ingesting several pencils and an entire bottle of hairspray. If she ever gets a hold of one of those little cameras that doctors use, she might find tiny hieroglyphics written…

Ryan Pitkin

MUSIC: The Original Wailers

Bob Marley and the Wailers are legendary reggae masters. So despite Marley’s absence, it’s exciting to see some of the original members of the band — along with some new additions — have reformed as The Original Wailers. Featuring Al Anderson and Junior Marvin, this is the kind of show where you can “get together…

Anita Overcash

Weekly horoscope Aug. 4-11

Leo The Lion (July 22-Aug. 22) During the next seven years of Uranus in Pisces (2003-2011) you’ll be introduced to a much greater perspective on the world of finance. You are also likely to grow through exposure to those who can teach you more deeply about yourself, psychologically, sexually and spiritually. Issues around birth, death…

Vivian Carol

Comic review: Baltimore: The Plague Ships

Baltimore: The Plague Ships No. 1 Published by Dark Horse Comics. Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Art by Ben Stenbeck. The Deal: Last seen in a prose novel by creators Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, the peg-legged vampire hunter Lord Henry Baltimore is now in comic book format with a brand-new adventure. And…

Carlton Hargro

The Other Guys: Cop out

It makes perfect sense for a film like, say, An Inconvenient Truth or Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room to end with some sort of plea to our sense of activism or with a mountain of hard data about the evils of unchecked capitalism. But what to make of The Other Guys, featuring closing…

Matt Brunson

The green-eyed monster returns in Othello

Verdi’s operatic distillation of Shakespeare’s Othello — not to mention run-of-the-mill stage productions — can lead us to forget that there are more than two or three fascinating characters in the Bard’s darkest love tragedy. The Collaborative Arts presentation at McGlohon Theatre, capping its fifth annual Charlotte Shakespeare Festival, reminds us that there are six…

Perry Tannenbaum

Local film screening: Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary

The Light Factory and the North Carolina Dance Theatre have teamed up to present a one-time screening guaranteed to put some bite into the summer movie season. Not since Francis Coppola’s sharp take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula has there been a vampire flick as deliriously off the wall as Guy Maddin’s 2002 Dracula: Pages from…

Matt Brunson

EXHIBIT: Unfiltered

On Aug. 16, The Light Factory unveils the latest in its “In Our Own Backyard” series. The exhibit, titled Unfiltered, features photography by Steve Perille. Perille, who currently resides in Charlotte and has worked as a photographer for The Chicago Sun-Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Charlotte Observer (among other publications), uses his lens to…

Anita Overcash

Uptown nightspots accused of being racist … again

 (Editor’s Note: As of Tuesday, Aug. 10, Therapy Cafe is reportedly closed. More here: http://www.qcitymetro.com/news/articles/therapy_cafe_has_closed021625416.cfm.)   Feb. 1, 2006, Creative Loafing published an article titled “Party Politics,” which examined if nightclubs, bars and lounges in Uptown Charlotte were welcoming to people of all races. Now, a little more than four years later, the question of…

Cheris Hodges

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