Need a last-minute gift idea?
Stratocaster 1:3 Scale Guitar Replica GMP The Deal: Limited edition die cast Fender guitar replicas. (12” x 4” x .75”.) The Good: GMP’s Stratocaster guitar replica fits on your desk without mashing up all your CDs, wrinkling up your sheet music or knocking over that stack of napkins with 30 years of song lyrics you’ve…
The Falls
Get ready to get a little wet on this one. The woman is instructed to kneel in a tub half full with warm water, lean forward so that her man can sneak behind for dog style penetration. While the woman holds one side of the tub for balance, she either runs the water from the…
Tell me something I don’t know, Time magazine
By Vladmir Putin I, Vladimir Putin, am Time’s Man of The Year! Rightly so, as it has been quite a year for me. From impregnating women for the benefit of Russia’s national birthrate to photographing my powerful chest and perfectly shaped nipples in order to inspire our homeland with a sense of pride in their…
Have you seen this guitar?
Reposted from MySpace: Illicitizen was robbed! No. Literally. Someone or someones broke into our house Monday (12/17) while we were off trying to pay for it at our jobs. We lost some guitars, some a/v equipment. Mostly we are glad that our pets did not get hurt. Keep an eye out for a Red Fender…
Back in the saddle again
“What fame’ll get you is eight hours a day and a very small paycheck,” says Acoustic Syndicate’s Steve McMurray. Since 1992, guitarist McMurray and his cousins; Byron on banjo and brother Fitz on drums, along with bassist Jay Sanders and saxophonist Jeremy Saunders, have been stirring up the acoustic circuit with their eclectic mix of…
Going the distance
On a recent, overcast Sunday afternoon, music producer Eric Valentine is sitting inside a dimly lit recording room at Charlotte’s CHP Studios. He’s tapping his foot, bobbing his head and the music’s cranked up loud. Behind sliding glass doors to his left, a band’s doing their best to incorporate some suggested changes to one of…
Peal’s Drumming Orbit
Something about solstices seems to stimulate Stan Peal’s musical instincts. For the third time in recent years, the diminutive playwright-composer-director-actor-singer-drummer-set designer will be staging A Mad, Mad Madrigal just in time to make a mockery — and a pagan sacrament — of the holiday season. “And of course,” adds Peal, “we’re inviting the audience to…
Local music for a good cause
La Vida Local
A Split Second
Moodswing
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19 Andy the Doorbum People have been known to refer to ‘ol Andy as a Daniel Johnston-type – not that that’s a bad thing, ‘less you mean mental-health wise – mostly because he writes horribly (yet gloriously) lo-fi songs about subjects like anesthesia-inventing dentists with chloroform habits. There’s also cheap Casio-bleep, shards of…
Well, butter my biscuit
The toddler hurled a piece of pancake past my table. The mother, barely stopping her conversation with the woman across the table, signaled her server: “Don’t worry. I’ll clean it up before I leave.” To the mutual astonishment of my side of the dining room — the side where junior was chucking his dinner –…
The Blotter
BROS BEFORE HOES: A 37-year-old woman said she got in an argument with her husband over his brother while she was driving her car on Idlewild Road. The argument became very heated, and he started hitting her in the face and upside the head. The woman said she ducked down to avoid his blows, but…
No sex (shop) on Statesville Road
Board blocks Central Avenue Video move
Comic Proportions
This week, we’ll be skipping the usual batch of reviews to bring you a special edition of Comic Proportions that’s all about squarebound comics. This being the holiday season and all, I thought now would be a good time to highlight a few comics that would make great (and generally inexpensive) Christmas gifts. So –…
Let’s embarrass the landlord
A news brief
Coming Attractions
THURSDAY, DEC. 27 Today is Day One in a three-day tournament hailed as one of the Top Five high school basketball tournaments in the nation. Boys and girl teams from all over will compete against Charlotte’s best for the Bojangles High School Basketball Shootout trophy. This tourney’s altruism will spread a little love to the…
From Oil Wars to Water Wars
Breaking the Sound Barrier
Letters to the Editor
Journalism from the Recliner In the past I have admired Tara Servatius’ investigative articles. She has scooped the Charlotte Observer on more than one occasion. But this time (Citizen Servatius: “A World-Class Jesus,” Nov. 21) she mailed it in. She writes with disdain of the “right people” and the “country club” crowd, of the “moneyed,…
Pregnant with Possibility
RESERVATIONS ARE required for the first 15 minutes of Juno (***1/2 out of four). And by reservations, I don’t mean the type involving a phone call and the expected number in your party; I mean reservations as in the withholding of expectations and opinions, as this indie effort takes a moment to get its bearings.…
You’re Smarter Than That
Boomer with Attitude
Office Party Tips
It’s Christmas time in the Queen City and your corporate office has decided to throw a party. But the holiday party isn’t the time to act like you’ve lost your damned mind. • Don’t pass up the invitation to an office party; not attending could hurt your reputation. And when you attend, do spend at…
The Year In Music
A look back at the best live performances of 2007
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: My girlfriend is great at a lot of things, but paying bills is not one of them. In my relationship, I am always the one on top of paying our bills and meeting deadlines. Whenever I leave a bill for her to pay, half the time she just drops the ball on…
Reeeeeeeewind
The Common Denominator The hip-hop artist known as Common treats the audience to a gang of old and new songs. (Amos’ Southend, Sept. 27) Soul For Real The legendary hip-hop crew De La Soul puts their soul into keeping the audience pumped — so much that the group actually passed the mic out so folks…
Social: Winos Unite
It’s a Thursday night, Will & Grace is over, and Grey’s Anatomy is on repeat thanks to the writer’s strike. So, why not kick back and pour on the wine. The Lake Norman Wine Meetup Group says it’s about time for a Wine Tasting. Learn the ins and outs of the grape and how its…
Checking it Twice
The N Word
Country Time
The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) recently named No Country for Old Men the Best Picture of 2007 in its 16th annual voting. The powerful crime thriller, based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, earned a total of four awards, its other victories coming in the categories of Best Director (Joel & Ethan Coen), Best Adapted Screenplay…
Theater: A Midwinter Night’s Dream
Who wouldn’t want Ebenezer Scrooge dropping lines like “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate …” Welcome then, Dickens and Shakespeare fans alike. Kathy Feininger has created an all-new holiday event, A Shakespeare Christmas Carol. Three actors perform the traditional Scrooge tale, interspersing passages from the world’s…
Cathinka Chandler
Profile
Raise Up!
Rule No. 475 of “How to be a rock star” is throw your guitar in the air like a god of rock. Obeying the rules are The Avett Brothers (The Echo Project, Atlanta, Oct. 12-14), Daath guitarist Emil Werstler (Ozzfest, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Aug. 28), Ankla guitarist Ramon Ortiz (Ozzfest, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Aug. 28),…
Sports: Brokeback and the Cats
Carolina Panthers PSL owners have sold their tickets to the legion of Dallas Cowboys fans for tonight’s game. The Panthers, who will be watching the playoffs from expensive sofas this year, will face one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses led by quarterback Tony Romo. And then there’s T.O., who doesn’t have too many dull…
Racial Whiplash
Everywhere I go lately, people have had just one question for me: How on earth did Nick Mackey wind up sheriff? It’s all they want to talk about. The racial nastiness that has surrounded the sheriff’s race has left folks of both races around here shell shocked and resentful. Including me. Nothing about the contest…
Ready For Your Close-Up?
A lot can be said for some instruments and the hands that play them. Sting’s bass shows years of wear and tear (Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tenn., June 14-17); Tom Morello’s acoustic bears a simple, meaningful message (Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tenn., June 14-17); John Butler’s nails help him hit the right notes (Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tenn., June 14-17); Derek…
Theater: Seraphim-in-Waiting
The Tarradiddle Players present a holiday favorite. CTC’s production of The Littlest Angel tells the story of Heaven’s newest arrival and the troubles adjusting to the way of things beyond those “pearly gates.” All it takes is a little understanding and mementos of a life gone by to get the little fellow in line. For…
Stargazer
Capricorn The Goat: (Dec. 21 – Jan. 19) The sun returns “home” to your sign this week. You likely will find it to be energizing. Now is the time to focus on new plans for this next full year of your life. Take a fresh look at where you want to direct your energy. This…
Huh?
MuteMath drummer uses tape to keep his headphones on while playing (Amos’ Southend, Oct. 26); Brazilian Girls singer dons a bunny costume for the first few songs (The Echo Project, Atlanta, Oct. 12-14); Lordi guitarist undergoes hours of makeup before each show (Ozzfest, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Aug. 28); Coheed and Cambria singer/guitarist shakes a headful…
Film: Hope Train
It’s December. Time to crank out every movie that even implies it’s holiday-related. However, Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express is a different kind of Christmas movie. For one, Tom Hanks plays three characters and one looks just like him, thanks to a pioneering performance capture technology. The main character called “Hero Boy” is at a…
Film Clips
Current Releases BEOWULF For the record, this isn’t a review of Beowulf. It’s a review of Beowulf in Digital 3D, and I have to assume that might make some degree of difference. Director Robert Zemeckis, whose 2004 The Polar Express felt like an animated feature that had been embalmed, again employs the “performance capture” technique…
Holiday: Skating on Thin Ice
Ice skating is really harder than it looks. Not everyone can aspire to be Michelle Kwan. But of course, you’re going to be stubborn and try to do it anyway. In that case, check out WBT Holiday on Ice at the Green Uptown, Charlotte’s only outdoor ice-skating rink. January 6 is the last day it’s…
Playing favorites
Picking my favorite wine is like picking my favorite cat — really tough, except when one of them pees on my husband’s beloved computer games … then he becomes the chosen one. For me, deciding favorites depends precariously on mood and circumstance, so I measure my favorite bottles with my wallet — what did I…
Holiday: O Holy Night: As the Rose Burns
Take a whiff. You smell that? The sweet smell is coming from the burning flowers over at the Holiday Lights at the Garden. “Horse-drawn carriage rides and a 30-foot ‘Tree of Light’ on the Four Seasons lawn will add dimension to the other visitor favorites including the Orchid Tree and miniature mule team cart rides.”…
What the puck is going on?
QC After Dark
