Cover Story
Kamasi Washington pushes beyond the borders of jazz
For years, Kamasi Washington was involved in music’s version of the corporate gig. He was a member of the backing band for some big names in the music biz — Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, Raphael Saadiq, Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Nas — but while jobs like that pay the bills, they do little for creative…
First Drip (8/12/15): CMS police officer arrested for indecent liberties with a child
The news you need to know today.
Live photos: Incubus & Deftones, PNC Music Pavilion (8/9/2015)
A look at Sunday night’s concert.
Meet the parents
The dos and don’ts of family time.
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
First Drip (8/11/19): Lawsuit says Duke board cultivated ‘culture of lawlessness’
The news you need to know today.
Today’s Top 5: Monday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Live review: Christina Perri, The Fillmore (8/7/2015)
Singer’s attitude playfully contradicts her songs of heartbreak.
First Drip (8/10/15): Men arrested after bringing gun to church, acting suspiciously
The news you need to know today.
Live review: Kamasi Washington, Chop Shop (8/6/2015)
Jazz collective stuns at Charlotte debut.
Irrational Man an erratic movie
IRRATIONAL MAN ** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Woody Allen STARS Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone If someone close to you murdered an utterly evil person who possessed no redeeming qualities whatsoever — someone like, say, Rupert Murdoch or Dick Cheney or Rush Limbaugh — and you were the only person who could send them to…
Ricki and the Flash: A mixed set
RICKI AND THE FLASH **1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Jonathan Demme STARS Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline Meryl Streep sprints past the ABBA songbook to tackle a wide range of infectious tunes in Ricki and the Flash, a middling seriocomedy that works better when its emotions are raw than when its scenarios are rigged. Streep…
Fantastic Four: Doom watch
FANTASTIC FOUR *1/2 (out of four) DIRECTED BY Josh Trank STARS Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan The title “Fantastic Four” doesn’t actually appear on screen until the end of Fantastic Four, which makes me suspect it’s simply wishful thinking on the collective part of the suits at Fox. “The first three films were lame? Don’t…
First Drip (8/7/15): Testimony continues at Kerrick trial
The news you need to know today.
Opening Friday
What’s new in theaters this weekend.
The best of #DebateQuestionsWeWantToHear on Twitter
Our favorite questions people want asked at tonight’s Republican debate.
First Drip (8/6/15): Dash cam footage in Ferrell killing released
The news you need to know today.
Vote for the Best of Charlotte
From the Best Local Beer to the Best Doggie Daycare, we want your thoughts!
Bizarre crime from Charlotte police files (August 6)
No Buffing That: An allegedly frugal 32-year-old man had to make a costly trip to the body shop last week after someone, perhaps some digruntled lover, vandalized his car. Officers arrived to the scene of the crime to find the victim’s GMC Denali keyed, with “cheap ass” scratched along the passenger side and “fuck you”…
Weekly horoscope (August 6-12)
For All Signs: Jupiter, planet of expansion, remains squared off with Saturn, the planet of contraction. I wrote about this combination last week. It is important in the larger scheme of things, so I am pointing out this challenging aspect again. It really won’t be over until after May of 2016. Historically Jupiter/Saturn squares point…
Talking death over breakfast with my mother
“Why wouldn’t you want to make me into a diamond and wear me?” my mom asked. The very thought made my stomach lurch, but I calmly sipped my coffee, trying to gauge if she was offended, hurt or both. Maybe she was kidding? It had been a weird breakfast so far. She was shoving her…
The Crimson Cult, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., My Beautiful Laundrette among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) THE CRIMSON CULT (1968) / MADHOUSE (1974). Over the course of 35 years, close friends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing appeared in 22 pictures together (admittedly, they didn’t share any scenes in a…
Today’s Top 5: Wednesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
CD review: Grace Potter’s Midnight
Though two of the Nocturnals are still with her — drummer Matt Burr and guitarist Benny Yurco — Midnight is Grace Potter’s solo debut, shedding the Grace Potter and the Nocturnals monicker. Longtime fans of that band will have a bit of adjustment here as the name isn’t the only change. Potter also breaks free…
CD review: The Old Ceremony’s Sprinter
With Sprinter, The Old Ceremony’s sixth album and second for Yep Roc, Chapel Hill’s purveyors of indie noir expand their stylistic sweep while holding true to the group’s giddy sense of unease. Kicking off with electronic effects, which recall Ennio Morricone’s eerie “Man With a Harmonica,” disc opener “The Sprinter” seems to be settling into…
Ajbani Moroccan Cuisine opens in Plaza Midwood
Living in northern Africa taught me many valuable lessons. Among these is the taste of camel meat, the permutations of falafels, and the uniqueness of Moroccans with their distinct dialect of Arabic, and their cuisine. While we classify European cuisines separately — Spanish, French, Italian and German, for example — Moroccan cuisine is lumped into…
Three questions for chef Barry Francois
For Chef Barry Francois (foodbyfrancois.com) cooking should be as easy as it sounds. He wants to share his knowledge of food and cooking with the general public in fun ways. His non-profit, Queen City Mobile Market — which received $12,500 in funding from SHAPE Charlotte, a business starter competition, in 2012 — was started with…
Can independent business owners hold on as the boom continues in South End?
On a sunny Friday afternoon in July, hundreds of residents from Charlotte and beyond flocked to a dirt lot at the corner of Park Avenue and Camden Road where food trucks were gathered to serve the masses, as they have year-round since February 2012. Diane McLaine drove down from Huntersville with her family and her…
New coalition wants to bring solar energy into all Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools
About 40 members of a coalition called Repower Our Schools showed up to the July 28 CMS Board of Education meeting to deliver a petition with almost 1,200 signatures urging board members to make a commitment to going 100-percent solar in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. The group, formed in January, is made up of about 30 environmental…
Rock of Ages rocks the Actor’s Theatre
Asked what drove them to make music, I’m absolutely certain that neither Liszt nor Lennon, Mozart nor McCartney, Elgar nor Ellington, Beethoven nor the Beach Boys would ever say they were aiming to melt your face off. Yet that is the explicit promise flung at us by our narrator, Lonny, as he takes us back…
South End is hot for Donna Scott Productions
Sometimes when Charlotte theatre veteran Donna Scott drives past Charlotte Jr. Gym, a fitness center for tots in South End, she feels nostalgic. That’s because she produced her first show under Donna Scott Productions in what was then just a simple warehouse. The building, once a home for community theatre (Barebones Theatre Company resided there…
CD review: Carolina Crushers’ One Eye Open
Local singer-songwriter David Childers has done plenty over the years to get himself permanently ensconced in the Charlotte-area music scene — not only as a player, but as an influence. From his time with the Modern Don Juans to his solo releases to his gospel-inspired Serpents of the Reformation, Childers has showcased a breadth of…
