Soundboard
Wednesday, Dec. 3 Baoding Robert Fernandez Blue Carl DiPonziano Buckhead Saloon Mission 19 Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band The Evening Muse Trip Rogers w/ Rick Spreitzer, Michelle Swan The Gin Mill Kenny Floyd Graduate, Dilworth Free-Form Jam w/ Chris Sheridan, Scoot, Scott McCloud & Micah Davidson JB’Z Thudge Burns Main Street, Gastonia Tommy Hudson…
Attack of the WooGirls
It’s easy to jump to conclusions when you write a column like this. You see a lot of human nature in action every week, and, after a while, a sort of template (some might argue “stereotype”) develops. Any “scene” has its own particulars, the uptown bar scene among them. Wednesday evening, I set out a-drinkin’…
Xmas Marks The Spot
You’ve got the chestnuts on the open fire, the stockings on the chimney, the wreath on the front door, the mistletoe in the hallway, the turkey in the oven, the Very Special Christmas CDs in the disc changer, and Terminator 3 in the DVD player. Something doesn’t seem quite right with this picture. . .…
Surreal Security, Part 1
Having two big doses of “security” crammed down my throat in the past week has left me feeling queasy and confined. The first round came from those high temples of human control, the airports. This was my first passage through their warped world since 9/11, so I knew the intensity level would be upped, but…
Dances With Swords
Dominating every last one of his scenes in The Last Samurai, he strides across the screen completely sure of every aspect of his character — his intelligence, his sensitivity, his physique, his machismo. Watching him, you can’t help but marvel, “Now that’s a movie star!” Tom Cruise? Nope, sorry: Ken Watanabe. That’s not meant as…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I’ve recently experienced some of the most mind-blowing sex of my life — with completely the wrong person. For two years, I’ve been seeing the same guy, “Ron.” His fraternity brother, “Danny,” hangs out with us, about half the time we see each other, usually bringing along some stupid sorority bimbo to…
View From The Couch
THE GREAT GATSBY (1974) In the same year that Francis Coppola was writing and directing both The Godfather Part II and The Conversation, he also set aside three weeks to whip out the screenplay for this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel (after Truman Capote was fired for turning a couple of major…
See & Do
DECEMBER 3 – WEDNESDAY Sheesh. Some people can be so sensitive! Take David Gold, the hero of Off-Tryon Theatre’s production of Twilight of the Golds. Here’s a young gay man who should be perfectly happy. But when his twin sister Suzanne decides to abort a fetus with the same “affliction” as his, David gets the…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES THE HAUNTED MANSION Lest the whopping success of Pirates of the Caribbean sends every Hollywood producer combing the nation’s theme parks for their next film adaptation, they might want to take a look at this flat-footed endeavor based on the 34-year-old Disneyland attraction — coupled with the earlier flop The Country Bears, it…
Ask the Advice Goddess
How To Whim Friends And Influence People My girlfriend of two months has some sort of control streak. For example, she called while away on business to say she was all dolled up and all the guys were swooning over her. Sarcastically, I thanked her for telling me. “It’s not like there’s a ring on…
Let your Fingers do the Shopping
Shopping competes with NASCAR and college basketball as Charlotte’s favorite sport. Just witness the media feeding frenzy every time a major new mall opens — and Nordstrom’s opening next year has people doing backflips. So what’s the Charlotte couch potato to do? Catalogs and Internet shopping are one way to avoid, as a friend of…
Stargazer
For All Signs Readers have asked me how to understand their horoscope message if I refer to a “significant other” and they do not have a lover. Astrologically, a “significant other” can be a spouse, a lover, a business partner, an important consultant, or one’s closest friend. References to the “significant other” can also include…
Police State
The morning of Thursday, November 20, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz was standing quietly near a golf cart on Biscayne Boulevard, one of the prettiest stretches of asphalt in a city that is among the poorest in the nation. With his coiffed hair and pressed Cuban shirt, he was a picture of casual elegance. At one…
Readin’ Around The Christmas Tree
Bookstores are overflowing with “gift books” this time of year, most of them filled with beautiful and expensive fluff: the joy of golden retrievers, scenes of Provence or New York, gorgeous home interiors, the magic of tulips, you name it. But, as the New York Times recently noted, publishers also produce gift books “for people…
64 Leads 10pm News Pack
I got out the magnifying glass to search for clues (and see the tiny print) as the November Nielsen ratings ended and came my way. I know you couldn’t care less about how much advertisers charge for TV spots, or how one rating point equals so many viewers. But it’s interesting to track news winners…
America Through Elfin Eyes
Beneath the jolly Santas saturating the malls, the lawns, the marketing promotions, and the TV specials of the season, can there be a dark underbelly to Christmas in America? Perhaps not. But readers of David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries know that there’s an impish, subversive, and utterly realistic alternative to the saccharine jollity. Legions of…
Letters
Polluted FutureOh yeah, it’s going to get a whole hell of a lot worse (“It’ll Only Get Worse,” by Sam Boykin, Nov. 19). Especially if the 18-to-30-year-old segment of the population of this country drops the ball next year in the presidential election like they did in 2000. The average age of voters in that…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Combined Choirs and Symphonic Wind Ensemble Tue., Dec. 9, 8 p.m. Free. University City United Methodist Church, 6100 W. Sugar Creek Road. ProvidenceChamber Music Series Providence United Methodist Church, corner of Providence Rd & Sharon Amity. Sun., Dec. 7, 5 p.m. Free. 704-333-9536. Rejoice Presented by N. Mecklenburg Community Chorus. Dec. 1, 7:30pm,…
Homegrown Threats
With all the tensions and traumas in the world at large, some days it’s hard to focus on Charlotte. When other cities in the world are being ripped apart by bombs and their streets littered with the body parts of the dead and dying, our squabbles seem so petty. We’re lucky to live in a…
Gifts for Gourmands
Wanna find the perfect gift for the gourmands and gourmets on your list? This year, we found everything from handy dandy gadgets to stunning lead crystal cocktail glasses. Let’s have a look. Need to dazzle someone? At Swarovski you’ll find gorgeous lead crystal cocktail glasses designed by Steven Weinberg. They’re a bit pricey at $285…
Twisted priorities at CATS
Margie Suggs has done a lot of walking in the last two years. To get to work every morning, she walks a mile and a half down Highway 49 to the bus stop in the heat, rain, sleet and snow. There’s no sidewalk, so, like the dozens of other people who make the same three-mile…
Grapes for Holiday Grazers
Unless you’re hankering for a hangover, wine just isn’t a guzzling drink. There’s a reason people on the street swilling Mad Dog tend to look a bit raggedy — because too much of one good thing (or bad thing, in the MD case) is really just too much. But if you drink wine with food,…
Happy and Secure Holidays
President Bush pardoned the national Thanksgiving turkey early last week, marking the 56th anniversary of the annual Rose Garden tradition. It also marked the first known instance of one of the Bush brothers not availing themselves of an opportunity to “fry themselves a prisoner,” though the fact that the turkey was white-feathered, rich in protein,…
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.…
The Blotter
HOT OFF THE PRESS: A bank employee had to work the Saturday shift recently. His dull morning took a turn for the weird when he noticed a small fire right outside the front door. The blaze was quickly put out. What was the burning item? The Charlotte Observer. Yes! DAMN YOU, ZORRO!: Having your car…
Tunin’ In to Music Gifts
It’s that designated time of year again when everyone must … buy … stuff. The music staff at Creative Loafing has a few suggestions about some of the more interesting music-related items we ran across this year — new or classic — that seem like worthwhile things to blow your money on. Hey, at least…
Being for the benefit of Mr. Escovedo
Recently, the folks up in the Triangle held a large-scale benefit for Alejandro Escovedo, who is suffering from Hepatitis C. Now, Bob Graham, who you probably know from the Spread Your Wings benefits held at the Neighborhood Theatre the last couple of years, is putting together a Charlotte show in the same vein. On Sunday,…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 12.3 The Talk / The Star Spangles — The Talk play oh-so-catchy melodic rock, the sort that hammers home the notion that guitars will never go out of style. The recent release, No, You Shut Up (on Charlotte’s MoRisen Records), showcases the raucous rock sound. The Star Spangles are upstate New Yorkers transplanted to…
