Sit & Spin
Del Go All Night Light Year From the looks of the press packet, Charlotte native Del is as interested in stardom as he is in music — expect him to go far. And expect his “Charlotte native” status to last as long as the average Green Card marriage. The Miami-born performer declared our dance-friendly city…
Heaven’s Lobby
“Why don’t you run some samples out to PTL,” my boss suggested. “What’s PTL?” I asked, with “Pass The Lighter” as a possible explanation blinking in my head. He gave me this look I’d seen before that said, “Doesn’t this girl know anything?” and really, when it came to North Carolina, I didn’t. It was…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 8.18 The Dead — Bobby Weir, Phil Lesh and Co. attempt to keep the Grateful Dead spirit alive without their de facto leader, the long-since-deceased Jerry Garcia. See our story in this issue. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Davis) Mission19 — Ryan McConeghy (vocals, lead guitar) and Joe Nolan (vocals, guitar, mandolin) formed Mission19 in Fort…
ANTiSEEN & Herd
After you’ve been in a band for some 20-plus years, you learn how to make an entrance. Rob Halford used to take the stage on a Harley to start Judas Priest shows. U2, no stranger to grandiose entrances, sometimes began their show by descending from a giant lemon (no, we’re not talking about Rattle and…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Aug. 18 Amos’ Southend 2 Live Crew Big Al’s Pub, Cornelius Open Mic w/ Gabe B Blue Melinda Hansen, Royce Guin, Korey Dudley & Rob Knox Breakfast Club DJ Boney B Bricktop Lounge DJ Brigmunton and Christian Buckhead Saloon Mission19 The Evening Muse Jen Foster The Gin Mill Wizard’s Road Show Hawthorne’s NY Pizza…
Word On The Street
Reggie Plymm CPA “I like the butts-hanging-out-of-their-bikinis volleyball, but if that’s an Olympic sport, they should include marbles and go-karts too.” Sally Jablonski Librarian “The part where Muhammad Ali lights the torch, but I guess I missed it this year.” Corine McDonald Employment Counselor “I don’t pay attention to the sports, I just like the…
What Dog Days?
Thirty minutes into Garden State, and it’s fairly obvious that this is the best comedy of the summer. Eighty minutes into the film, and it seems apparent that it’s the best drama of the summer. One hundred minutes into the picture — or, more precisely, at that moment when the end credits begin their upward…
The Blotter
GOOD EXAMPLE: An employee at a local shoe store observed two women, both with young girls in tow, remove four pairs of athletic shoes from their boxes and stuff them inside backpacks the kids were wearing. The kids then ran from the store, with the dishonest monster matriarchs close behind. The whole crew jumped inside…
View From The Couch
DUEL (1971) / THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974). Before emerging as the most successful director of all time, Steven Spielberg cut his teeth on TV shows like Night Gallery and Columbo before being handed the reins on Duel, a made-for-TV movie that was so popular, it ended up receiving theatrical distribution overseas. Duel was followed by…
See & Do
AUGUST 18 – WEDNESDAY No longer “Grateful,” The Dead — former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, along with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and two new guitarists, Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring — will perform at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at 6pm (doors open at 4:30pm — the parking lot, of…
Film Clips
CURRENT RELEASES THE BOURNE SUPREMACY Taken together, both Bourne films feel like consecutive episodes of a mildly entertaining television drama that can’t touch Alias in its attempts at trickery and, more importantly, character development. Here, Matt Damon’s ex-CIA assassin Jason Bourne is even more tight-lipped than before; without girlfriend Marie (Franka Potente, former co-star reduced…
Ask the Advice Goddess
All Is Not Sauced I had Sunday brunch plans with a guy I’ve been dating for a couple weeks. It turned out he’d had too much to drink at a wedding the night before, and he called me hours after he was supposed to be at my place to pick me up. He did apologize…
The 2004 Fall Arts Preview
Suffering for one’s art is a cliche because it’s true. From dancers, who torture their toes until they swell and bruise, to visual artists, who live on canned beans because all their money goes to art supplies, the fact remains: Making art ain’t easy. But when the compulsion to create overrides a desire for creature…
Stargazer
For All Signs Jupiter, planet of hope and expansion, is making a favorable aspect to Saturn, planet of reality, for the second time this year. For the majority, this cycle is most readily visible in the career or outer world’s work. Jupiter represents hope and optimism while Saturn represents pessimism and contraction. These planets have…
Visual Arts Fall Preview
Art endures. Art allows escape. Art is a sensible drug of choice. The Charlotte art world naps each summer; in September, the city wakes to a new tide of exhibits, lectures and films. The tide rises higher each year. Charlotte is giving us more reasons each season to explore the visual art landscape. Need a…
Down On The Bayou
All his life, Gus Weill has been distracted by a restless mind incapable of sticking to one subject for long. That peripatetic nature led to turns as a political consultant, an advertising executive, a gubernatorial adviser, TV and radio host, poet, biographer and now, at last, full-time novelist.Weill, 71, arrives this month with a ribald…
Performing Arts Fall Preview
OK, so the 2003-04 arts season didn’t pan out exactly as planned. A couple of the kingpins on the Charlotte performing arts scene went through some headline-making upheavals. Symphony musicians balked at a salary cut, walked out on strike, and spooked their season until Halloween, heaving the orchestra’s first nine concert dates down the crapper.…
Arts Agenda
Comedy Bayou Kitchen Comedy. Extreme Improv performs every Friday and Saturday night at 8pm, featuring audience interactive comedy; Psychotic Pooch performs bizarre sketch comedy at 10pm (704-502-8423). www.extremeimprov.com www.psychoticpooch.com. $10. 1958 E 7th St. 866-467-7681. The Comedy Zone Upcoming Performances. Aug. 18-21: Joe Morrison & Roger Keiss. www.comedyzone.net. 516 N. College St. 704-348-4242. Tyber Creek…
Novello Festival Highlights
Abracadabra: An Evening With Author Sid Fleischman Thu., Oct. 7, 7 p.m. Free. Spirit Square, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. Creative Loafing Carolina Writers Night Co-sponsored by Novello Festival Press, Sharyn McCrumb and Bland Simpson headline CWN this year. Tue., Oct. 26, 7 p.m. $15. Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. 704-372-1000. A Novello Evening:…
Crash Course In Charlotte cuisine
True Grits Certain foods become a place. Lobster is Maine. Baked beans are Boston. Chiles are Southwestern and grits are definitely Southern. While Charlotte does not have the exclusive rights, grits certainly have a presence here. If you tasted the often watery, bland mush passed off as grits in some breakfast spots, you haven’t had…
Fall Arts Events
Artoberfest The free festival will feature fine artists and craftsmen, live entertainment, food and a hands-on art area. Oct. 9, 12pm-7pm in historic NoDa. www.noda.org. ArtFest Artists and Craftsmen from around the Southeast are selected to participate in this juried show. Sept. 25, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sept. 26, 1-6 p.m. Free. Matthews Community Center, 100…
Abject Zinner
Although my strict diet of summer whites and roses forbids it, I binged on red zinfandel. A nearby zinfest tempted too much, so I ditched the diet to down some big, beautiful, fruity red. This bender bent all imagination — over 50 wines in attendance, and not a one sucked. Really. For two hours, I…
See Dick & Jane Run
Bells will be ringing the sad, sad news once again this school year. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools are expending roughly the same amount of energy and funding to fill classrooms as last year, but it’s clear that teachers are still quitting.It’s also clear that community apathy isn’t the problem, especially judging from readers’ passionate reactions to…
Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. A hint of the tropics; rotisserie chicken with Jamaican jerk sauce, ribs, Paradise Island fish special, curries, and Caribbean styled greens. $$ Azteca, 116 Woodlawn Rd., 704-525-5110; 9709 Independence Blvd., 704-814-9877; 1863 W. Franklin Blvd. (Gastonia), 704-866-7574. A favorite of many, Azteca offers a lengthy…
O-for-Twelve
In last year’s “Why New Teachers Quit” story, a group of teachers proposed several changes that, as experienced professionals who are “on the ground” every day, they believe would help lower CMS’ retention rater. We asked CMS Public Information Officer Jerry Haigler which of these ideas Dr. Pughsley and his staff attempted. Haigler gave the…
Dead Reckoning
Mention the Grateful Dead to people, and you’ll usually get an instantaneous response. Your cultural conservatives will usually hit upon the drug angle, dismissing the group as an Acid Test anomaly that happened to click with other habituates of hallucinogens. Mention the band to a music critic, and you’ll find yourself answering to complaints of…
Black Monday
The rumors had been flying at News 14 Carolina, and many of the employees I’d spoken with in the last few days feared the worst. Monday, it happened. In an afternoon staff meeting, Time Warner Cable managers told newsroom staff that of the 90 employees, only 26 were still employed, and the rest were let…
Buckner On the Move
It’s been said a change of scenery can work wonders on your outlook. That’s been the defining characteristic of Richard Buckner’s musical journey over the last decade. From busking the streets of San Francisco to the frozen frontiers of Canada, and from the dusty hot summer plains of Austin, TX, to the sidewalks of Brooklyn,…
Ban Video Cameras!
Ahhh! Sweet baby Jesus! The Muslim terrorists have infiltrated Charlotte! Kamran Akhtar, a Pakistani citizen (from Pakistan! In the Mideast! Sort of!) was arrested July 20 while videotaping several Charlotte buildings. While he is being held without bond in the Mecklenburg County jail, the streets of Charlotte remain likewise held captive by his shocking act…
Burritos Serve Up Whole Enchilada
A burrito is only as good as its ingredients. But when you’re using only the finest ingredients — say, Flying Burrito Brother “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow on pedal steel, the Band’s Garth Hudson on keys, and Charlotte’s Carlton Moody singing lead, playing guitar and mandolin — then you’ve got a Burrito Deluxe. The music on the…
Dropping Like Flies
This week, school started again and a small army has been dispatched to tackle a crisis no one wants to talk about. They’ll be overwhelmed and outnumbered, like they are every year. If they manage to raise Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ graduation numbers slightly, like they did last year, no one will want to talk about it,…
