The Panthers’ Stocking
— Cartoon by Jim Hunt
Oprah Drew the Crowd
By Cheris Hodges I’ve been to Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., before. But I’ve never seen anything like Sunday’s Oprah Winfrey rally. I mean Barack Obama’s rally. The South Carolina Democratic primary is Jan. 26. Obama, who is running for president, is courting voters all over the country with the help of the Queen…
Is this Green Day?
The Internet is buzzing with rumors about Green Day. While the band is said to be working on the followup to “American Idiot,” there’s a lot of speculation that the band has released six songs under the name Foxboro Hot Tubs. The singer definitely sounds like Billie Joe Armstrong, but it hasn’t been confirmed that…
F*** Terrorists — We Have to Watch Out for Emo Kids with Firearms
By Samuel L. Jackson I was watching CNN when the news broke about the mall shootings in Omaha. My first thought was, “Oh shit, them terrorists finally decided to make Homeland Security happy,” but as we know now, it ain’t terrorists we need to be afraid of. It’s standard-issue emo kids with firearm access. This…
Concert announcement
Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood will perform at Charlotte Bobcats Arena on April 18, 2008. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, Dec. 15.
And the nominees are…
Nominations have been announced for the 50th Grammy Awards — on TV Feb. 10. One of the big surprises is that Bruce Springsteen’s album isn’t on the list for album of the year, despite a lot of love from critics and fans. For the complete list, click here.
The Pearl
This position begins with the man seated cross-legged with (hopefully) an already very erect penis. The woman then carefully guides her yoni and straddles him with a very deep, close, and intense penetration (at least in theory). On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate position (1 as horrible, 10 as sexual…
New releases (12/4)
You’d think more artists would try and get CDs out this time of year to help people with holiday shopping ideas, but that’s not the case. It’s been pretty slow, with about the only noteworthy album released this week being Wyclef Jean’s latest, Carnival II. Hopefully, the drought won’t last much longer.
Film Clips
Current Releases AMERICAN GANGSTER American Gangster is yet one more tale about a confident crime figure who rises to the top before taking that inevitable plunge down the elevator shaft. Yet for all its familiar trappings, director Ridley Scott and writer Steven Zaillian invest their tale with plenty of verve, even if they frequently soft-pedal…
Without a Trace
Citizen Servatius
You Light Up My Life
The holiday season is upon us. And the folks over at the James H. Lynn Planetarium were wondering about all the traditions. How did they start and why do so many involving setting things ablaze? A new program entitled Season of Light will answer all these questions and more. Covering subjects as broad as the…
View from the Couch
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007). The third time’s the charm with The Bourne Ultimatum, the best in the series of films based on the Robert Ludlum novels. Admittedly, I wasn’t as great a fan as everyone else when it came to the first two entries in the series, 2002’s The Bourne Identity and 2004’s The Bourne…
CL Previews Upcoming Shows
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5 Silverchair Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins were obvious namedrops when this Aussie rock trio hit the airwaves in the mid ’90s. But over the past decade, they’ve made some nice original rawk. Their newest recording, Young Modern, is laced with piano, electronic effects and composed, mature writing that can shoo away most younger…
Helping Santa Get Over the Hump
Scandal! That’s the name of the game when Santa goes on trial for sexually harassing one of his antlered “friends” in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. But, of course, that’s not the end of it. As this hiccup in the normally, smooth-run Christmas machine gets bigger, each reindeer must have his/her turn in the spotlight. No…
Liquid Offerings
Mouthful
A wonder-ful Week
All in the Family Stevie Wonder stands with his daughter, Aisha Morris, at the start of Wonder’s concert at Charlotte Bobcats Arena on Nov. 28. Wonder rifled through hits for two-and-a-half hours. For a setlist, go to qcvibes.com. For a review of the concert, head to the Vibes section of this paper. Star Power…
Where in the World?
Did you ever wish you could turn your college hobby into a career? Although it’s just a dream for most of us, that’s exactly what the men of Rockapella did. Although now a quintet, the four original members were Brown University alumni who just liked to sing. Now this famous group is bringing their exciting…
Nothin’ but a drag thing
QC After Dark
Comic Proportions
In this week’s (online-only) edition of Comic Proportions, I’m skipping my usual reviews to present out a list of a few comics I actually read on a regular basis. So this time around, you won’t be seeing my take on what’s bad — only the good. Here goes: Fell (Image Comics): Written by Warren Ellis…
Viva la vie Boheme
Don’t forget your bohemian side this holiday season! The starving artists need holiday cheer, and you need gifts to buy. Therefore you should forget about giving corporate America any more of your dough and come support the local artists in Plaza Midwood. The Merchants of Plaza Midwood and Central Avenue will be presenting their winter…
Want to Avoid Buying Gifts This Year?
It’s the most nauseating time of the year. Bright lights are twinkling, everybody has their hand out and family thinks that because you share the same DNA, you’re obligated to buy them a gift. Well, not this year! I’m not celebrating Christmas. I’m not going to help trim the tree, and I’m not hanging stockings…
Scylla, Charybdis and Outwater
Mozart is one of the things that Charlotte Symphony Orchestra does best — when their maestro, Christof Perick, is wielding the baton. If you need convincing, pick up the complimentary CD that CSO handed out at the beginning of the season, UBS Celebrates Great American Orchestras: Volume II. On track 3, our orchestra steams through…
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.…
At Least the Price is Right
It’s a fact: The economy is in the toilet these days. With people looking to pinch a penny wherever they can, and the holidays less than a month away, why not save money buying gifts if you can? A dollar store — that ubiquitous brand of retail shops that sell everything for around $1 –…
When White Folks Mess Up
The N Word
Tis the Season
You’ve waited all year to hear Christmas music, and now that the season is finally here, you can’t get enough. So why not add a little class to your musical selections this year? Lead by Alan Yamamoto, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the Oratorio Singers present Magic of Christmas. This musical yuletide spectacular features caroling…
All I Don’t Want for Christmas is …
If you believe in astrology, then you know that Capricorns are doubly screwed. Not only are we the Richard Nixons of the Zodiac — analytical, conservative, rigid, etc. — we get shafted on birthdays. Well-meaning friends occasionally skimp on the presents, and we even get swindled out of their time and attention. If you don’t…
The Art of Reporting
Performing Arts 52Arts Agenda 5454
The People Speak of River
The Catawba River has gone through some changes lately. As have nearly every body of water in the world, thanks to global warming. The Light Factory Comtemporary Museum of Photography teamed with York County’s Culture & Heritage Museums to give us a project focused on the Catawba River. River Docs: A Catawba River Narrative is…
Holiday See & Do
DEC. 5 — And you thought your Christmas was crazy? Ring in the holiday season with the zany and hilarious A Tuna Christmas. This is the second installment in the trilogy of plays by Williams, Sears and Howard, which focus on the citizens of the tiny, fictional town of Tuna, Texas. As the happiest time…
Katie Mattson
Profile
The soul of the wetlands
Betta Listen
Rocking in a Hard Place
Film Clips 46View From The Couch 4746
A Prime World Premiere
Performing Arts
CD Review: Michael Reno Harrell
La Vida Local
Gift Ingredients for Your Food Lover
Mouthful 72Corkscrew 74Good Eats 7772
The Demoncrats ‘Fear Up Harsh’
Breaking the sound Barrier
The Blotter
MEAL TO GO: An employee at a Circle K on Sugar Creek Road said a man walked into the store, grabbed two meals from the frozen foods section and proceeded to heat them in the store’s microwave. After he warmed the meals, he removed them from the microwave and walked out of the store without…
Old-school Style
Few bands use a cello in their music, let alone center the entire band around one, but that’s just one way that Rasputina is breaking the music mold. The band, which started in 1992, is a trio whose music has been difficult to categorize. While the use of a cello may lend itself to be…
My 2007 Christmas Wish List
Boomer with attitude
Deck the halls with music
TURN ON, TUNE IN
Holiday Guide 2007
A great many of the 300,000 or so people who read this paper every week are under the impression that we, Creative Loafing’s editorial staff, are some incredibly jaded folks. Maybe it’s because, in our quest to find the best films, theater, music, food and events for you each week, we tend to verbally maul…
Burning down the house
Moodswing
Blue Line Blues?
Following its opening weekend of free rides and fanfare, the Charlotte Area Transit LYNX Blue Line Train is feeling a bit of the blues already. • Riders are complaining about the ticket options: CATS only offers daily, weekly or monthly passes. Some passengers want longer options for passes. • One passenger said she was 30…
What Makes An Art Crawl?
Plaza Central merchants thought the area’s October art crawl was a success when more than 900 people showed up. This Saturday, organizers are hoping to more than triple that number. But they’ll be doing it without one neighborhood gallery owner. At issue? Kevin Starr, owner of that gallery, which bears his name, feels the crawl…
Maggie Sargent’s Top Five
Culture Surfing
Party For Your Write
The Plug Wednesday Thursday: CL and The Sol Kitchen present Pop Life. Dec. 12: Music by Stacey Blackman. Time/place: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Prevue (2909 N. Davidson St.) Thursday: CL columnist Brittney Cason is the hostess with the mostest at Creative Lounging. Time/place: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Tilt on Trade (127…
Wager
The Deal: Roughing up John Prine, mountain man style. The Good: Malcolm Holcombe’s voice is like a punch in the face. He sounds like the survivor of a fight between Prine and Tom Waits. There are only five cuts on the North Carolina native’s latest, Wager, but that’s enough. Holcombe is so intense that he…
Stargazer
Sagittarius The Archer: (Nov. 22 – Dec. 20) During the last 12 years you have been learning the art of personal presence and power. At this point when you enter a room people generally take notice. (A potential error of this project is the temptation to become grandiose.) Now you can use the personal power…
Coming Attractions
FRIDAY, DEC. 14 You remember how exciting it was to go to see The Nutcracker every year when you were little. Well, who says you have to stop? The North Carolina Dance Theater presents Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s new take on the time-honored Christmas tradition. In The Nutcracker, Clara’s new gift turns into a handsome prince just…
As I Am
The Deal: Piano songstress returns with mature effort that’s steeped in a theme of love – lost and gained. The Good: Alicia Keys deserves a good amount of credit. Instead of going for a more pop sound that would have appealed to the masses, she sinks deeper into a more heartfelt range. The album’s a…
Jargon 101
Corkscrew
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I have a ritual with six of my friends. None of us are particularly close with our families, so we all get together on Thanksgiving and proceed to go through several cases of wine. To be honest, doing so isn’t all that different from a typical Saturday night in our little group,…
Charlotte Bobcats Arena
The Deal: Motown legend stops by Q.C. on first tour in 10 years. The Good: For two-and-a-half hours, Stevie Wonder entertained the crowd with his personality, music and sense of humor. Even after messing up the first few notes of his first song, Wonder said, laughing, “Well, it’s not like I can get fired.” He…
