Cover Story
The People of the People's Convention
When we heard convention organizers were billing the DNC as “The People’s Convention,” we thought everybody was invited. Silly us. What organizers were actually referring to was the funding structure: The Democratic National Convention is being paid for mostly by individual donors — people — not corporations or lobbyists. Still, CL wanted to find out…
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Political drinking games for the DNC
Get drunk on politics and buzz words.
Kem at Ovens Auditorium tonight
He’s got vocal stylings reminiscent of jazz great Al Jarreau and a delivery as smooth as his clean-shaven head.
Soul Khan at Chop Shop tonight (9/5/2012)
Brooklyn MC has the smarts, heart and cojones.
Eat With Your Dollars: Genetically modified organism-free dining in Charlotte
In one blogger’s investigation, there were only two Charlotte eateries 100-percent free of GMOs. Heads up, DNC delegates.
Putting on the party platforms
Divas do it right during DNC Week.
Obama versus Romney: Who might have a better iPod playlist?
In which an editor and a reporter debate over the musical choices of the candidates.
Photos: Resurrection: A Forum on Sustainable Fashion
The lesson of the evening was simple: Recycle your clothing.
Politics for breakfast
State politicians warm up at morning delegation gathering.
DNC in photos: An impromptu Monday night protest
Demonstrators marched around the city late Monday night trailed by a force of police on foot, in patrol cars, on motorcycles, on bicycles and in a helicopter.
Fantasyland on Broadway
Reviews of Broadway’s Ghost The Musical and Peter and the Starcatcher.
Photos: CarolinaFest
If you stayed home from CarolinaFest yesterday, you missed a good event. You also missed the rain.
DNC 2012 Notebook: Southern-fried pessimism intrudes on the party
Meet the new South, which has some of the same problems as the old South.
DNC invades Charlotte restaurants, bakeries
While you can be sure you won’t find any price specials at restaurants around town, what you can find are special additions to menus in celebration of the DNC.
Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Aug. 31
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Perhaps it’s best to think of Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man and Marc Webb’s 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man as the cinematic equivalents of Coke Classic and New Coke. Despite some alterations to the source material (hey, where’s Gwen Stacy?), the Raimi take earned the trust of most purists, offering a near-perfect Peter Parker…
Southern workers show solidarity during DNC
Workers and laborers from across the South met in Charlotte on Labor Day to discuss their plight
Live review: Camp Freddy, N.C. Music Factory (9/3/2012)
Rock “supergroup” rifles through the covers.
Kiss My Baby, Win Elections campaign
Did you know that kissing a baby gives you an instant five point boost in the polls?
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Political Playlist 2012
Here’s a round of music dedications for the 2012 political campaign.
Video: Searching for healthy food during the DNC
Or, our editor in chief goofing off during yesterday’s CarolinaFest in downtown Charlotte.
Janelle Monáe rocks the body politic (and covers Hendrix and the J5)
Democratic National Convention block party lifts off.
Hip Hop Caucus town hall targets voter-ID laws
Civil-rights leaders explained how voters could fight against the discriminatory legislation
Jesse Jackson appears only “distracted” by police incident
Former presidential candidate stumbles upon CMPD arrest during DNC activities.
Rock the Red relocated
The devil went down the toilet.
N.C. delegates had a glitter-tastic party
From a marching band to Janice Covington, the first openly transgender delegate at the DNC, Sunday night’s party was as fabulous as it gets.
Photos: Unity Through Community Party, 9/2/12
The LGBT welcome party for the DNC took place at the NC Dance Theatre
The who and what at the DNC
Look for rising stars, the next presidential candidate, and whether Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will shine
March on Wall Street South a success
Protesters smiled. Cops shook hands. Whoda thought?
Today’s Top 5: Monday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
10 great political quotes in movies
“You politicians have stayed professionals only because the voters have remained amateurs.”
3 questions with Craig Barbour, food truck owner/caterer/chef
When Craig Barbour decided to leave the mechanical-engineering track in school, it had less to do with physics and more to do with food. The former University of Maryland student decided to switch gears after he began selling his culinary concoctions for cash. Both his passion for cuisine and fear of a future desk job…
Eat (and drink) like a Charlottean
We natives try to stick to the four main food groups: fried chicken, fried pickles, fried okra, and barbecue. And, yes, Charlotte also has a large number of cardiologists and vascular surgeons. At right is a list of some of the more popular foods and drinks in Charlotte, and where to find them. (You’ll find…
DNC 2012 Media Welcome Party
How could we possibly turn down a party invite?
Heat and rain don’t deter DNC protesters from first day of activities
Activists, from locals to those fresh from the RNC in Tampa – and even a Charlotte city councilman – showed up to Saturday’s Festivaliberación
The Saloon, 8/31/2012
Swimsuit USA held an International Model Search on Friday night.
Knife Fight set for DNC Week
Free event will be held Wednesday, Sept. 5, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Protesters negotiate with city to camp at Marshall Park (PHOTOS)
Also, the first group of RNC demonstrators began arriving last night
Voting begins at Mint Museum Uptown
“Vote for Art” and decide what goes in the Mint’s permanent collection.
Out In The Streets remembers DNC in Chicago
Photographs of the infamous event.
American Gods exhibit at Genome
New mixed media works by Chris Watts.
Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (Aug. 30)
Bone To Pick: Objects that were used as weapons last week include a longboard, a piece of exploded firework and a pack of gum. In an unrelated matter, police in the University area responded to a call reporting “a large bone of an unknown type” in the middle of Gandolfo Court. Scatalogical Bop: Police responded…
CarolinaFest schedule announced
Local and national performance times released.
Rising up during DNC Week
The Charlotte art community is ready to garner national attention.
Party crasher/felon expected at the DNC
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman will hit up the convention just a week before he’s supposed to report to prison. Someone buy this guy a shot!
Common Market, 8/30/12
Photos from a random patio night in South End.
The Full impact
The Invisible War is just one of the films that will be screened as part of the Impact Film Festival during both the DNC here in Charlotte and the RNC in Tampa. Below is the complete Queen City schedule. HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE — This documentary centers on the activist group ACT UP and…
Leader of the Packers: Lombardi
There’s a striking, brutish defiance in the name: the Green Bay Packers. Big-time professional sports teams always bear the names of big cities. They’re linked to the titles of noble or adventurous professions, colossal forces of nature, fearsome animals, or birds of prey. Green Bay is a wee town amid the nation’s Goliaths, proud to…
Today’s Top 5: Friday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
The Bronzed Chorus at Snug Harbor tonight (8/31/2012)
These guys’ tonal range has a healthy low end.
Bombadil at the Evening Muse tonight (8/31/2012)
Bombadil uses acoustic folk and Americana styles as springboards into some intriguingly nontraditional pop.
The dirt on Yard Art Day
The politically charged guests visiting Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention can poke the noses of their rented cars outside the Central Nervous Center downtown to discover the NoDa Brewing Company, Phat Burrito, Lang Van and hundreds more small-world charms beyond the glitter and pomp of tittering political theater. Along the way, the lucky will…
Weekly horoscope (Aug. 30-Sept. 5)
Virgo The Virgin (Aug. 22-Sept. 22) This is a particularly complicated week. Your calendar must be booked to the limit. Your mind is leaning toward the creative throughout this period. Meanwhile, on the weekend your mind may move into fuzz mode, due to too much input. Give yourself a mental break. For All Signs: On…
The Invisible War: The war at home
THE INVISIBLE WAR ***1/2 DIRECTED BY Kirby Dick STARS Kori Cioca, Myla Haider To state that the U.S. military has no rules or guidelines when it comes to combatting rape within its own ranks isn’t entirely accurate. As Sgt. Myla Haider states at one point during The Invisible War, “All the things that they put…
Red Hook Summer mostly a bummer
Red Hook Summer, the latest Spike Lee joint, is cinematic sleight of hand: Just when you’re immersed in a coming-of-age story, he T-bones you with a doozy of a twist. Flik Royale (newcomer Jules Brown) is a middle-class 13-year-old kid from Atlanta, forced by his otherwise indulgent mother to spend the summer with a total…
An interview with Harvey Gantt
Though our votes were still too close to call when newly elected President Obama walked onto that stage in Chicago in November 2008, there was an enormous sense of justice and relief in North Carolina as volunteers and voters stood glued to the television, eyes filled with tears. For some young voters on college campuses,…
Rape: the GOP’s favorite four-letter word
Don’t let Ann Romney’s plea to women fool you – Republicans could care less about us
DNC 2012 Notebook: The GOP’s in Tampa. Really?
Steve Kerrigan hasn’t been paying much attention to the RNC, but he has noticed one way it differs from his party’s convention
Recipe: Adding protein to your smoothie
How can a person choose between a Peaches ‘n’ Cream Smoothie or a Cherry Lime Smoothie?
Today’s Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Woody Pines at Double Door Inn tonight (8/30/2012)
The Asheville combo rips into old-timey country blues, ragtime, jazz and New Orleans street-corner music.
The Roots provide the metaphors for a modern DNC
Redford Stephens is the semi-fictional protagonist from The Roots’ 13th and most recent studio album, Undun. Recorded as a concept album, Undun tells the story, in reverse, of a 25-year-old, inner-city black man whose death is the common result of choosing a life of crime over honest hustles and smarter endeavors. The Roots’ renowned drummer,…
Should we be glad we can’t see the big DNC performers?
That buzz you hear is the sound of cars and planes bringing thousands of politicians, delegates, party leaders and members of the media to the Democratic National Convention. Either that, or it’s the sound of thousands of Charlotteans getting the hell outta Dodge. Probably both. Even though the convention is upon us, parties continue to…
Money talks during political conventions
Barack Obama steamrolled into Denver in the summer of 2008, vowing to change the very nature of American politics as a four-day celebration coronated him the Democratic nominee for president. The entire affair, give or take a few bucks, was brought to you by corporate America and the 1 percent. Three quarters of the funding…
The Green Party
Democratic National Convention organizers are mindful that, demographically speaking, they should expect a young, diverse crowd in September. So it makes sense that “environmentally conscious” is much the buzz leading up to the event. The Uptown booster crowd, including Charlotte Center City Partners, the Chamber of Commerce and the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Authority, to…
Forward thinkers: DNC upgrades activists’ game
Two years ago, Scottie Wingfield, 36, moved from Washington, D.C., to Charlotte, where her partner had been offered a teaching job. In D.C., Wingfield was used to a robust activist community. She had marched against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as part of the anti-globalization movement a decade earlier. When she found…
This week’s concert listings (Aug. 30 – Sept. 5)
** Bullet points indicate CL’s critics’ picks** Thursday, Aug. 30 Blues/Roots/International Bayou Butch Lucas (Villa Antonio (Ballantyne)) Latin Thursdays (Dream Nightclub, Matthews) Woody Pines (Double Door Inn) Classical/Jazz/Smooth Beats and Keys (Encore Bistro and Bar) John Alexander (Blue Restaurant & Bar) Country/Folk Matt Stratford (Leroy Fox) Open Mic w/ Brett Greer (Tommy’s Pub) Speakeasy Thursday…
Unions aren’t big in Charlotte …
Jenni Hembree remembers how demanding the guests were when she worked at the Holiday Inn Express in Charlotte, near Independence Boulevard. One required five towels, four pillows and three blankets for every day of the stay. But what Hembree remembers most is her hourly wage of just $10. In 2009, the 30-year-old started working second…
Pick up a sign, dammit!
Though papers in a filing cabinet might suggest otherwise, I’ve never been an American. I’ve certainly felt like one, but not often. The first time was on Sept. 11, 2001, the morning that I and my potty mouth sat in our regular 7th grade haunt: the principal’s office. Pink referral in hand, I waited in…
No more Mr. Nice Guy, Mr. President
When Barack Obama steps up to the podium amid all the noise and glitz inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte this week, we expect to see the tougher President Obama — the one who famously said back in May, “Let’s go get ’em. It’s game time.” We expect to see the Obama responsible for…
Face of a generation: Sam Spencer
Sam Spencer is a burly but energetic political dynamo, always at the forefront of Tar Heel politics. This year, the 27-year-old will get his turn on the national stage. As president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina, Spencer has helped usher in an unprecedented number of youth delegates for the upcoming Democratic National Convention.…
7 people to spot at the convention
Obama will be the guy in dad jeans kissing babies, and Biden will be the white-haired fellow whispering obscenities under his breath. How do you spot the other 34,998 people expected at the Democratic National Convention? Here are a few hints. Mostly, look for lanyards. Lots of lanyards. THE CONVENTION DELEGATE Easily the happiest people…
Local Discovery: Monk’s Groovy Beans
Drink coffee, do good? Sounds like my cup of tea, er, I mean, coffee.
Photo shoot: Pradigy GT in style
Edgy, charismatic, smooth, rebellious, trendsetting, and never afraid to push the envelope.
Republican National Convention 2012 in photos: Day 3
Photos courtesy CL-Atlanta photographer Joeff Davis.
La Grande Illusion, Pocahontas, LOTR trilogy among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD.) THE ARISTOCATS (1970) / THE RESCUERS (1977) / THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER (1990) / POCAHONTAS (1995). Before the disastrous Aughts, was there a worse decade for Disney animated features than the 1970s? Even the relatively bare ’60s had the…
Opening This Week
What’s new in theaters this week.
Republican National Convention 2012 in photos: Day 2
Protests, street parties, protests, Ron Paul supporters, oh my!
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Global thinker: Jim Rogers
WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Convention is a pivotal event for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, his single biggest opportunity to recapture momentum among the party base and ensure the voter turnout in November that can push him over the top. But beyond the president, few people have as much riding on the convention’s success…
Recipe: Adding Greens to Your Smoothie
Here’s my challenge to you: Try one green smoothie this week.
DNC party announcements begin
Foo Fighters to play the Fillmore on Sept. 5.
