Built To Last
Last month Tift Merritt made a guest appearance in town at a fundraiser for WNCW, and for 15 minutes she was downright electrifying. Now this country-pop chanteuse from Carolina has a debut CD titled Bramble Rose, a charming concoction of new and old — rootsy and heartfelt yet still contemporary. The release however, while well…
The Blotter
Keep Rolling: While shopping in a local grocery store, one customer got a little ahead of herself and wheeled a basket full of merchandise right out the door … without paying. After selecting several items, including six packages of rib eye steaks, a whole chicken (rotisserie) and a few “health and beauty” products, this thief…
Sibling Showcase
People following Charlotte’s music scene in the 90s knew that when a Busch sibling put on a show, it was usually worth checking out. Tara Busch (formerly of Sheva) and her brother Todd (currently in The Flyweb) never felt it necessary to bow to popular tastes in the making and playing of their music. Which,…
News of the Weird
Ribbed for their pleasure: British Army officers examining highly motivated potential recruits in the Commonwealth’s Pacific island of Fiji reported in November encountering an alarming number of the men with marbles sewn under the skin of their penises, apparently to heighten pleasure during sex. According to an Agence France-Presse report, Capt. Sarah East said that…
White-bread Christmas
Maybe it’s impossible to record a Christmas CD and keep the schmaltz factor low. After all, how does one stay edgy when singing about jolly old St. Nick? But this year’s batch of new holiday baubles comes off as almost oppressively square, especially when compared to recent arrivals. Last Christmas delivered decent new recordings from…
Providence Cafe
The Evolution of Providence Cafe Eatery becomes a true neighborhood place BY TRICIA CHILDRESS In November 1992 Providence Cafe, owned by Harding Stowe and designed by Don Ellis, opened in Myers Park. This stunning facility brought people into the dining room to admire the exquisite design. The bar area in those early years was always…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 12.18 Christmas Songwriter’s Night — Jeff Williams has put together this showcase of local talent for a few years now and each year the roster grows bigger and bigger. With that being said, it would almost be easier to list the bands that won’t be performing this year, but with it being the season…
Sole Spanish Grille
Sole Survivor Owners of new restaurant have history in neighborhood BY TRICIA CHILDRESS It is far more difficult to clone a successful restaurant than it is to copy that business plan at the copy shop. But when a restaurant opens in a neighborhood with not only a proven customer base, but an elephant-like memory, chances…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Dec. 18 Amos’ Southend One Year Later Austin’s on Branchview, Concord The Catalina’s Bonterra Restaurant & Wine Bar Daryle Ryce Books N Beans, Concord Lauren & Friends Double Door Inn Christmas Songwriters’ Night w/ Jeff Williams, Jay Garrigan, Rodney Lanier, Pyramid, Bellglide, Deanna Lynn, Fudd & more The Evening Muse Alan Edwards, Mike Strauss…
See & Do
DEC. 18 – WEDNESDAYFour adolescent students, at the dawn of their sexual awakening, immerse themselves in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet — at a regimented Catholic boys’ school. That was the daring concept when Joseph Calaro brought R & J to New York in 1998 and created an off-Broadway sensation. Now Chickspeare brings the same audacious…
Unwrapping The Reels
The year-end holiday releases are still arriving at a rapid clip, yet the seasonal surprise is that, for all the big-budget, high-profile titles in this week’s crop, the best of the bunch turns out to be a small, unassuming documentary that’s literally music to the ears. Hardly the comprehensive Motown documentary that many music fans…
World’s Worst Stocking Stuffers!
The insanity of Christmas buying is winding down and all that’s left are those pesky stocking stuffers — the silly filler gifts bought simply to give Christmas morning that extra bulk. Usually, it’s an excuse to unload extra candy, cheap “party favor” type gifts, or something someone assumes you need (like mace — seriously, I…
DVD Domain
MINORITY REPORT This dazzling adaptation of the 1956 short story by Philip K. Dick may not quite belong on the same exalted level as past Steven Spielberg classics, but it’s so markedly superior to most everything else released theatrically in 2002, it instantly reduces the competition to also-ran status. Set in Washington, DC in the…
Christmas Video Visions
No matter our buying habits or even our religious affiliations, most of us will be on the receiving end of gift giving this holiday season. Gifts during the holidays take on a variety of themes: sentimental, extravagant, meaningful, expressions of love and affection, need, and that good old-fashioned treat, the self-serving gift. We all know…
Film Clips
CURRENT RELEASES ADAM SANDLER’S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS Any critical goodwill Adam Sandler earned for Punch-Drunk Love will be negated by his participation in this animated feature for which he co-wrote the script, served as a producer, and voiced three of the central characters. Basically a frat-house version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this shows how…
Stargazer
For All Signs Economic conditions will continue to be unpredictable through the second quarter, although the overall trend is improving. This is primarily due to general anxiety, alternating with optimism over global and business conditions. From mid-July forward the trends will be more clear and people will have more faith in the future. This year…
Bloodlines
Although I doubt that Billy Graham would ever claim me, that’s never stopped me from claiming a kinship with him. We are third cousins, and unlike some other Southern cousin claims, this one is valid. Billy and my grandfather were first cousins. My entire family — at least 150 relatives of any and all bloodlines…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: At the beginning of this semester when we were both moving into the dorm, my roommate saw this guy who lives on the floor above us and was like, “He’s such a hottie.” I thought the guy was cute also but not really what I typically go for. Anyway, we met the…
Just Waiting To Happen Again
If you thought the amount of debris on the ground after last week’s ice storm was something, you’re right. But it’s nothing compared to what’s still hanging over Duke Power’s power lines. While folks debated whether Duke Power should bury its lines in the wake of an ice storm that left large areas of Mecklenburg…
Chix Take Bard To Boarding School
Over the years, Chickspeare has marched their all-girls-all-the-time mission over a wide range of the Bard’s comedies and tragedies. All those Elizabethan works, as Shakespeare In Love reminded us, were originally written for an all-male theater company back when acting was becoming a viable profession.Recently, the Chix have branched out into contemporary repertoire, bringing us…
Traversed Afar
Christmas seemed out of joint when I was eight years old. The weather was unusually warm throughout December, making the decorations and carols seem out of place, and creating the illusion that the holiday was taking forever to come. But what I remember as even more disorienting than Salvation Army bells ringing in 70-degree weather…
Who Ya Gonna Call? Headbusters
In the 90s, and even now post-millennium, nutjob paranormal memoirs are a dime a dozen. Ravenne Starlicker has nightly out-of-body experiences, and you can too — just buy her book. Maybe your sockets are sore from rolling your eyes at books like this on the shelves of your local bookstore, but say you find a…
Some of My Best Friends Are. . .
Sally and Johnny used to be the coolest white couple around. They claim to have figured out the secret recipe for being “down” with African Americans and they’ve got a Web site loaded with pictures to prove it. Just visit blackpeopleloveus.com and you’ll find the preppy duo chilling with their impressive posse of black friends.…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Jazz & Classical Essentials Sunday Brunch Borders will be playing jazz and classical music from their essential catalogs. Coffee and pastry provided. Sundays, 1-3 p.m. Free. Borders, 3900 Colony Rd. 704-365-6261. Leonard Bearstein Symphony Orchestra Leonard and his animatronic ensemble entertain families with their 45-minute program of traditional and original holiday songs. Daily…
Subpar
In November, when a former CBS executive resigned his membership from Augusta National Golf Club, it became appropriate to roll out the latest evidence that “Charlotte” and “world-class city” is an oxymoron. Not only will two Charlotte members of Augusta National not resign over not admitting women, they support the club’s circling of the wagons…
Holiday Wine Deals
Has your credit card experienced a total meltdown during this holiday season just trying to keep warm during our most recent Duke Powerlessness? Has the hotel or generator bill diminished your holiday spending budget? Or do you need a thank you gift for your friend who let you in at 3am when your house was…
Exclusively Yours
Christmas, like America, is fascinating. For one thing, what should be the most inclusive of all holidays can turn exclusive pretty quickly.While doing my Christmas rounds last week, I noticed just as many folks being naughty as nice. Want to take a tour of homes all decorated to celebrate the birth of the Christian savior?…
Apple Nirvana
I’ve been eating apples for the past two weeks. Not the wax-coated pretty-as-a-picture supermarket type. These are craggy looking, with ruts and off-colored spots from growing wild, and they’re delicious. I’ve eaten them raw as a snack, I’ve had them in my cereal, and I’ve had them on sandwiches with cheddar cheese and mayonnaise. And…
Letters to the Editor
Servatius gets an “F” Re: The “Thanks Dan McCorkle” Article: A number of things amuse me about Ms. Servatius using what I thought was a private e-mail between her and I as the basis for her article called “Stump A Politician” (December 4) in which thin-skinned Tara calls me a “schlep.” I find it extremely…
Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 400 S. Tryon St., 704-339-0303; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. All locations have different owners. 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.…
Just Say “We’re Sorry”
Duke Power, you owe this community an apology. The sappy public relations radio ad with the elevator music and the praise for the heroic efforts of the linemen who restored our power will not suffice. If they wanted to keep their jobs, those linemen had no choice but to come here from all over the…
