Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2015

Feb 25 - Mar 3, 2015 / Vol. 29 / No. 1

Cover Story

10 things to know about CIAA 2015 (besides the parties)

1. This is the 10th consecutive year Charlotte has hosted the annual Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament. The city almost lost the event, which brings in tons of revenue, last year, but managed to negotiate a new contract to keep it here at least until 2020. 2. In the past, visitors in town for…

Kimberly Lawson

Out of Focus

FOCUS**DIRECTED BY Glenn Ficarra & John RequaSTARS Will Smith, Margot Robbie We all know that Will Smith has effortless charisma to burn and acting ability to flex, so let’s focus on Margot Robbie, Smith’s co-star in the new film Focus. Robbie made a splash as Leonardo DiCaprio’s wife in 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street,…

Matt Brunson

Weekly horoscope (Feb. 26-March 4)

For All Signs: Cosmic energies favor new design of old or outmoded business or organizational systems. Financial or business pressures may be the motivator. It is time to update and modernize, especially if you are working with a method out of old habit. Constructive and fresh ideas will flow freely and you may wonder why…

Vivian Carol

The Birth Business

I’ve always had awful dreams. They’re common in my family — we call them “Mossmares.” We wake up screaming, yelping, gasping for air, usually because we’re missing something — exams, graduations, weddings — due to some convoluted chain of events such as being held at gunpoint while our shoes are cemented to the floor. On…

Marissa R. Moss

Bizarre crime from Charlotte police files (Feb. 25)

Wrong Turn: Responding officers stopped people walking down the street in the Plaza Midwood area carrying street signs. Is that how the intersection of Queens and Queens happened? Sticky Fingers: Someone walked into a northwest Charlotte Walmart and shoplifted 50 bags of candy from the store. Um, Halloween was four months ago … A Friend…

Jeff Hahne

Desert Noises breaks out

Kyle Henderson and his bandmates in Desert Noises love being on tour. I mean, really love it. They’ve been on the road almost nonstop for the last four years ­— they were home for a total of about 45 days in 2014. For the Utah-based indie rock band, they wouldn’t have it any other way.…

Jeff Hahne

CD Review: Father John Misty’s I Love you, Honeybear

Joshua Tillman has already had a lengthy career, though this is only his second album under the Father John Misty monicker. Starting in 2003 as J. Tillman, he released eight albums of somber folk tunes before reinventing himself in 2012 when he left the band Fleet Foxes. Since that time, Father John Misty has grown…

Jeff Hahne

Bilal discusses his albums, collaborations

Bilal has shared his brassy croon on dozens of soul and hip-hop hits throughout his 15-year career. The Philadelphia singer has collaborated with chart-topping stars including Beyoncé and Jay Z, award-winning indie MCs including Common and Talib Kweli, and everyone in between. But neo-soul devotees see Bilal as much more than a sideman — the…

Kyle Mullin

Heart of Darkness exhibit puts the spotlight on colonialism’s past

Performance artist Andre Singleton sits on a peacock chair on top of a staired pedestal during his role as an “oracle” in artist Heather Hart’s “The New Numinous Negro” installation. But his placement is temporary. The New York-based Singleton can only travel occasionally to make Hart’s piece come alive. While in Charlotte for the opening…

Anita Overcash

CIAA 2015: Tournament Week Party Flow

MORE DETAILS 1. Kitchapalooza. Free with RSVP. Feb. 25, 9 p.m. Label, 900 NC Music Factory Blvd. More info: thesolkitchen.com. 2. Frolic: The Social Climb. $15. Feb. 25, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sports One, 521 N. College St. More info: talkofthetownent.com. 3. Best Damn Day Party. $35 and up. Feb. 28, 12 p.m.-7:30 p.m.…

Spider-Gwen’s new web

For Marvel, 2014 was the year of the super women. Popular releases with female leads such as Ms. Marvel, Black Widow and Thor took the market by storm. Marvel continues the trend into 2015 with Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Star Wars: Princess Leia and, by popular demand, Spider-Gwen. Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman was introduced last year…

Kaila Burtch

The Empire strikes

Do not even think of calling or texting me on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. That is my standing date night with my main girl Cookie, the urban diva and queen of the new series Empire. Fox’s TV drama rekindles the on-screen chemistry between Terrence Howard and Tariji P. Henson from Hustle and Flow. It…

Charles Easley

Duckworth’s opening soon in Uptown

As amazing as it’s been to watch certain regions of Charlotte embrace craft beer, not all areas of town have been as fortunate. NoDa and South End have experienced a meteoric rise in breweries and craft-beer-centric bars, but our city’s center has historically lagged behind. While real estate prices and city ordinances ensure no brewery…

Jonathan Wells

CLT Coffee Crawl is not your typical mug shot

A thick, warm, familiar scent hugged me as I entered the coffee lab at Boquete Mountain Coffee in NoDa. It was a scent that reminded me of my unfortunate disinterest in the dark brewed stuff. Yet, there I was about to chat with one of Charlotte’s most knowledgeable and influential coffee aficionados, David Haddock. I…

Sara Workman

CIAA 2015: Our picks for this year’s basketball teams

Should you find some down time between sobering up after a day party or pre-gaming for a bash after dark, there’s a little basketball tournament going on at Time Warner Cable Arena. As with every CI, the teams we expected to see in the finals can be thrown out the window if one kid decides…

Mike McCray

Uber, Lyft and Yellow Cab ­— how do they compare?

After the Hornets’ crushing loss to the Pistons earlier this month, some self-medication was in order, so I set my course for the bar. I had to walk a few blocks to get to my Uber, but was surprised to find my driver waiting with snacks and refreshments in a fresh Hyundai Equus. Heated rear…

David Aurelius

Theater reviews: Stick Fly, What You Will

Black History Month or not, you can watch Lydia R. Diamond’s Stick Fly and get the impression we’re living in an age when the struggle for civil rights is triumphantly over and that we’ve crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land of a post-racist America. Or fleetingly, in the Actor’s Theatre production through March 7,…

Perry Tannenbaum

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