Aug 24-30, 2005

Aug 24-30, 2005 / Vol. 19 / No. 25

This takes the cake, Part II

Last time, I began my adventures in unearthing the best chocolate cake ever. After tasting a gorgeous hunk of the “Very Good Chocolate Cake” from The Gift of Southern Cooking (by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock), I had declared it the best I had ever eaten, but I still wanted to know if it would…

Kim O'Donnel

Real Life Top 5

Other parts of the country are beginning to see what we’ve known here in the Charlotte area for a long, long time: Concord indie-pop-grass avatars the Avett Brothers are one of the best live acts going. Like so many other trios before them — from the Osbourne Brothers to the Jimi Hendrix Experience; the Bee…

Scott Avett

Visual Arts Fall Preview

Toss the beach book, shake the sand from your hair and cover those scary legs. Summer’s gone, your hiatus from culture is over, and the beast welcomes you back. The visual art world is here to gently remind us why we continue to ride this rough beast of a city slouching toward a distant world…

Scott Lucas

Performing Arts Fall Preview

Time out! Yellow flag! Tailgaters, gearheads and Okafor fanatics all need to huddle up for a reality check: Sports isn’t the only game in town, and the new arena is not the only Grand Opening scheduled for the Center City this fall. Sure, the new home of the Bobcats has twisted Fifth Street and grabbed…

Perry Tannenbaum

Fall Arts Listings

Visual Arts: Ongoing Actor’s Theatre Connatser, Cook, DiNello & Starr. A group exhibition. Through Sept. 650 E. Stonewall Street. 704-342-2251. B. Brown Gallery, Matthews Gallery Splash. An exhibit of new works. Through September. 131-C Matthews Station St. 704-321-0999. Bank of America Plaza Within Our Walls. A group exhibition of contemporary artwork. Aug. 16-Nov. 1. 101…

Still Flying

Ask Terry Gilliam if he hasn’t ever wanted to try his hand at a realistic little slice-of-life movie, and he flashes you a big grin. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. My films are realistic slices of life,” replies the 64-year-old director of such other-dimensional outings as Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)…

Bert Osborne

Kitsch-o-Rama

It’s your American duty to shop, OK? So get your fat butt out there and buy stuff, dammit. If you’re morbidly obese and can’t leave your chair, here are some hot linx to kitsch for all occasions. If you want to know where your money’s going (besides China), check out that last one. Kitschy Koo…

Little Shiva

Fall Arts Listings

Arts Events ArtFest of Matthews 20th annual juried fine arts and crafts show. Downtown Matthews, McDowell St. www.matthewschamber.com. Sept. 24, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sept. 25, 1-6 p.m. 704-847-3649. Calle Cinco Latin Street Festival The festival promotes cultural diversity by promoting the Latin-American culture through music, dance, food, wine and art by creating a bridge to…

A Rising Red Tide

Primetime success would only scuttle the underdog status of Seattle grunge veteran Vendetta Red. Despite benefitting from emo’s trendiness and major label backing, the quintet still toils outside the rock mainstream. To wit: the band’s dark, caustic frame of reference and its music’s epic scope don’t garner the hype of emo’s pallid, lovelorn poster boys…

Chris Parker

Fall Arts Listings

Classical Music Al Jarreau The Charlotte Symphony Pops presents Al Jarreau. Jarreau has won five Grammy Awards and is the only singer ever to have won a Best Vocal Grammy in three separate categories. Oct. 28, 8 p.m.; Oct. 29, 8 p.m. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-972-2000. Amy Grant A Charlotte…

Gone With The Vroom!

Dear Scarlett, this is Charlotte. Hello, Darlin’. You know you can’t win. We shall have the NASCAR Hall Of Fame, and Atlanta will, well, not burn again. How I do recall the Charlotte Pop Festival of ’74, at yon Speedway, and once again, I am moved to consider what Mr. Chuck Berry means by “motorvation.”…

Don Allred

Novello Festival Highlights

A Novello Evening with Andrea Mitchell Her memoir, Talking Back:…to Presidents, Dictators, and Assorted Scoundrels, is her first book. Sat., Oct. 22, 7 p.m. $15. Dana Auditorium, Queens University. 704-333-8983. A Novello Evening with Chris Bohjalian Bohjalian’s novels include Water Witches and Once You Know Kindness. Fri., Oct. 21, 7 p.m. $15. The Wachovia Playhouse…

Want a free lawyer?

Down at the county courthouse it’s raining lawyers. Pull up to the circle in front and they’ll throw a public defender into your car. OK, it’s not that bad, but it isn’t that far off, either. At present, virtually anyone accused of a crime who is willing to fill out an affidavit is given a…

Fall Arts Listings

Comedy Charlotte Comedy Theater Live Improvised Comedy. Features Charlotte’s top improv comedy ensembles in a high energy, interactive show (Rated R). www.charlottecomedy.com. Friday and Saturday, 9pm. $10. 1111 – D Hawthorne Ln. 866-467-7681. The Comedy Zone Upcoming Performances. Sept. 1-3: Pat Godwin Sept. 7-10: John Joseph; Sept. 14-17 Jason Stuart; Sept. 21-24 Hypnotist Ricky Kalmon;…

Spins

Brad Paisley Time Well Wasted Arista Nashville There’s enough sonic shoutouts and prominent guest turns on Brad Paisley’s uneven but engaging latest to float a slew of Diddy releases: George “Possum” Jones, Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton, onetime Elvis ax man James Burton. Bonus track “Cornography” brings the disco-twang “beats.” Paisley also trips into Jam Nation…

So What’s New?

So far, the Scott Gardner Act has paid big political dividends for Congresswoman Sue Myrick. In the past two weeks, she’s seen her face plastered across newspapers and TV screens from the mountains to the coast. After Scott Gardner was killed and his wife severely injured last month in an automobile accident caused by an…

The Blotter

Melon Mishap: An elderly woman had her purse stolen while shopping for fruit at a Charlotte grocery store. Apparently the opportunistic thief snatched the handbag from a produce table when the woman bent down to pick up a watermelon. Hey, it coulda been worse. Knife-Wielding Chic: A woman walked into a Charlotte retail store and…

Sam Boykin

Liquid Steel Bike Series

Rev up those motorcycles and head on over to Concord as riding fanatics from all over converge for the 2nd Annual Liquid Steel Bike Series, a three-day event featuring live music, more than 130 vendors and some of the most famous custom-bike builders on the planet. Bands performing include Nantucket, Slowhand (an Eric Clapton tribute…

Stargazer

Virgo The Virgin (Aug. 22 — Sept. 22) You probably have important conversational points to make at this time, but the “other” seems slippery or unavailable in some way. Do not seek your security in the heart of another now. You are meant to develop it on your own. Wear running shoes if you are…

Vivian Carol

Film Clips

New Releases THE BROTHERS GRIMM The final gasp of Miramax Pictures (disbanded by parent company Disney, with the Brothers Weinstein heading off on their own) brings more than just Grimm tidings; among the handful of shelf-warming final releases is at least one unmitigated disaster. There’s still enough summertime left for another financial mega-flop to clear…

Matt Brunson

View From The Couch

BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING (1932). If Creative Loafing ever decides to adopt a movie as its mascot, Jean Renoir’s Boudu Saved From Drowning would doubtless be as good as any. That’s because of Michel Simon, whose performance as an inventive tramp is a work of unbridled comic genius. Fed up with life, Simon’s Boudu jumps…

Matt Brunson

Line ’em up

The big brew-haha around here recently was that NC has raised the limit on beer from 6 percent to 15 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). That means beer drinkers can now buy malt beverages like craft beers, ales, lagers and stouts that are stronger and have fuller flavor. While the new 15 percent ABV limit…

Linda Vespa

Letters

How many more times? What the hey? What’s with the fear mongering? It’s like the cover of your paper is a George W. Bush campaign poster (“Is Your Child Safe?” by Tara Servatius, Aug. 17). Must be a slow week when you reprint information you could have directed us to with an internet link. Ed…

Recent

See all

Gift this article