Jan 17-23, 2012

Jan 17-23, 2012 / Vol. 25 / No. 47

Cover Story

CL’s 2012 Health & Fitness Issue

We get tons of e-mails at Creative Loafing that read something along the lines of, “Hey, Creative Loafing: I’m a lazy bastard, but I really want to look good. I know you guys just sit around all day and do nothing but come up with creative ways to loaf. How can I, too, get fit…

Night of country for a cause at Coyote Joe’s (Jan. 24)

5TH ANNUAL STOUT PULL It’s in no way their strongest lineup, but the annual Stout Pull at Coyote Joe’s offers a laid-back night of country music with multiple artists on stage at the same time — all for a good cause. This time around it’s Chris Cagle, Uncle Kracker, Josh Thompson and Kip Moore trading…

Jeff Hahne

Highway tree destruction, brought to you by the GOP

There’s an old joke about a guy who brags that he’s the greatest lumberjack of all time: “Why, I was the lead ‘jack in the Sahara Forest.” His companion: “You mean the Sahara Desert.” Lumberjack: “Yeah, now . . .” A proud N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis may be telling that joke a lot in…

John Grooms

You can’t make this up: Santorum launches C.U.M.

As Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend blog succinctly describes it, “This comes from the land of ‘You can’t make this shit up.’” Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is the rabidly anti-gay presidential candidate who placed third in Saturday’s S.C. GOP primary. He has already been the subject (aka the butt) of sexual jokes, most…

John Grooms

Weekend Nachos powers up The Milestone (Jan. 23)

WEEKEND NACHOS Though heavy forms go in and out of vogue — and are currently in a bit of an indie resurgence — there’s nothing effete or cute about Weekend Nachos. The Chicago band brings slobbering powerviolence roars, runaway hardcore breakbeats and rattling, downtuned guitars that flirt deliciously with sludge. It’s nakedly aggressive, rage-driven stuff:…

Corbie Hill

Super Ape bring out the funk at Visulite Theatre (Jan. 21)

SUPER APE The Charlotte electronic quintet creates their fury by combining samplers and turntables with your classic, guitar, bass, drums and keys rock lineup. Since 2009, they’ve been consistently dropping new music on 7” vinyl (and digitally) and made the Viz a home field of sorts with multiple live shows at the venue. Catch some…

Mike McCray

Shame: Cock of the walk

SHAME *** DIRECTED BY Steve McQueen STARS Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan Michael Fassbender went all James Brown on us in 2011, as the hardest working man in show business – or at least in film – starred in no less than four motion pictures. Fassbender was compelling as Rochester in Jane Eyre, as Carl Jung…

Matt Brunson

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: 9/11 Chic

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE ** DIRECTED BY Stephen Daldry STARS Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock The 9/11 melodrama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close has been dubbed Extremely Long & Incredibly Dull by industry wags, but in all fairness, it doesn’t especially feel overextended (even though it runs 130 minutes) and it manages to retain some…

Matt Brunson

Contraband: No need to search for it

CONTRABAND *1/2 DIRECTED BY Baltasar Kormakur STARS Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale A remake of a 2008 Icelandic thriller, Contraband is yet another in a long line of ignoble duds tossed out to help open a new movie year while the previous year’s films are still busy collecting all the accolades. As far as January releases…

Matt Brunson

Mat Kearney rocks Amos’ tonight (Jan. 20)

MAT KEARNEY The raspy-voiced Kearney is settling comfortably into his blended folk-pop and hip-hop. The singer/songwriter clearly understands the groove of rap when he drops rhymes over shuffling beats and at the same time channels the fun of retro-rock like a veteran. He can also be a formidable Elvis Costello-like rocker, twisting pop into bouncy…

Samir Shukla

The Legacy Committee live at Mez (Jan. 20)

THE LEGACY COMMITTEE Sometimes you just have to go all out. Instead of your standard video premiere and album release party, this Charlotte pop-rap crew pulled out the stops and got a movie theater to debut Orion’s video “Watch You Fall” followed by a live performance by the entire crew. DJ Red is also on…

Mike McCray

Annuals play Snug Harbor tonight (1/20/12)

ANNUALS It’s a long way from major label-dom and Next Big Thing-ism to a Friday night at Snug, but that’s not a bad thing, per se. Heaped with viral praise after 2006’s debut, Be He Me, and signed to Sony for their follow-up, this Raleigh act got dumped just as speedily when the blogosphere moved…

John Schacht

King Harry Jones amuses crowd with talk of his’ “spiritual growth”

If there was any doubt that Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones is a legend in his own mind, that doubt was erased at last night’s County Commission meeting. Jones has essentially been on a part-time schedule since announcing that he has an undisclosed illness for which he has begun intensive treatment. From his attitude last…

John Grooms

Rebelution play The Fillmore Charlotte (Jan. 19)

REBELUTION This California quartet plays reggae with a sunny disposition and jamb band ethos. Clean vocals are tossed over dub and acoustic treatments while the infusion of sax, cello, and keys add sultriness to the mix. What makes them intriguing is their ability and predilection for experimentation. There’s a deluxe version of their new recording,…

Samir Shukla

Genre-bending songwriter Eilen Jewell plays Visulite Theatre (Jan. 19)

Eilen Jewell has a sweet subtlety that makes its way through her lyrics regardless of the genre you might try to pigeon-hole it into. Merging elements of Americana, country, honky-tonk, blues and rock, Jewell’s style is one all her own, giving enough retro feel to harken the old days while containing enough bite to stop…

Jeff Hahne

Paint Fumes rock The Milestone tonight (Jan. 18)

PAINT FUMES One of the bright young lights in Charlotte’s rambunctious garage scene, the Sewercide denizens just signed with Slovenly Recordings, home to fellow travelers like Subsonics and The Spits. They’ll drop their debut, Uck Life, this spring, while the release of their debut 7-inch — featuring “Egyptian Rat” b/w “Waste of Time” and “Panic…

John Schacht

Dylan Gilbert, Ben Henry set to discuss songwriting tonight (Jan. 18)

Though he’s busy with his latest band, Hectorina, that doesn’t mean Dylan Gilbert has put his solo days aside. He’s been a consistent songwriter for years, often recording in his home studio, and appears as comfortable with an acoustic guitar as he does with an electric behind a board full of pedals. He and Ben…

Jeff Hahne

Romney campaigns on MLK Day with anti-immigrant bigot

GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in an interesting way: by campaigning in South Carolina side-by-side with anti-immigrant extremist Kris Kobach. Romney hooked up with Kobach to show the enlightened voters of South Carolina which Republican is the roughest and toughest on those pesky Latinos. Kobach,…

John Grooms

The Iron Lady: Rue Britannia

THE IRON LADY *1/2 DIRECTED BY Phyllida Lloyd STARS Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent Taking Meryl Streep out of The Iron Lady and replacing her with just about any other actress would be akin to removing the meat out of a beef stroganoff dinner and replacing it with a Hostess Twinkie. The result would be a…

Matt Brunson

Carnage: The discreet harm of the bourgeoisie

CARNAGE *** DIRECTED BY Roman Polanski STARS Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet “The book was better” is a common refrain that’s been uttered at the close of many a movie adapted from a literary work, but “The play was better” seems to have the upper hand during this particular winter window. While earning largely positive reviews…

Matt Brunson

Exhibit: William Partridge Burpee and Thomas McNickle

Jerald Melberg Gallery is featuring two prominent landscape painters in its upcoming exhibit: William Partridge Burpee (whose pictured painting captures the intense coastal setting of Owls Head, Maine) and Thomas McNickle (whose nature paintings were forged by watercolors). Jan. 21-March 10. Jerald Melberg Gallery, 625 S. Sharon Amity Road. 704-365-3000. www.jeraldmelberg.com.

Anita Overcash

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (Jan. 18)

All Bark: A 56-year-old woman called police after being threatened by an unknown suspect at Clanton Park last week. The woman, who works at the park, told officers that she approached a man who was letting his dog run free without a leash. The woman informed the man of the local leash laws and he…

Ryan Pitkin

Weekly horoscope (Jan. 18-24)

Aquarius The Waterbearer (Jan. 19-Feb. 18) 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 year of your life. Take a fresh look at where you want to direct your energy. This is the annual…

Vivian Carol

A new hope in The Chinese Dynasty

Aficionados of Chinese cuisine in the U.S. can be divided into two camps. The first, larger camp prefers the sweet heavy sauces of Americanized Chinese dishes. General Tso, the dark lord of this empire, and Jabbaesque lo mein are examples of these Americanized dishes. With astounding force, this version of Chinese cuisine has almost obscured…

Tricia Childress

3 questions with Courtney Valvo, with Charlotte Connoisseur

Courtney Valvo didn’t get the nickname “Her Hopness” overnight. After slinging drinks at Pizza Peel and other bars around town, she ventured into hosting farm-to-table dinners with boyfriend and, more importantly, chef Jamie Lynch [of Barrington’s]. Other endeavors, such as her work with local artist organization Culture Initiative and the freshly opened NoDa Brewery —…

Anita Overcash

Steep Canyon Rangers get a profile bump from work with Steve Martin

There’s nothing funny about the banjo, but when the hands on the fretboard belong to Steve Martin, bluegrass gets a humor infusion — and a Brevard, N.C., band gets a trip around the world. The Steep Canyon Rangers connected with Martin through his wife, Anne, a writer for The New York Times. Anne befriended the…

Grant Britt

Guantanamo at 10: The prisoner and the prosecutor

Ten years ago, Omar Deghayes and Morris Davis would have struck anyone as an odd pair. While they have never met, they now share a profound connection, cemented through their time at the notorious U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Deghayes was a prisoner there. Air Force Col. Morris Davis was chief prosecutor of…

Amy Goodman

Interview: Teraysa Grasty and her fabulous faux fur hats

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your weight and height?” It’s not something I expect a woman who designs faux fur hats to ask. But when I tell Teraysa Grasty that I’m not sure what size hat I wear, this is the question she poses to me. Using my information (you didn’t think I’d…

Kimberly Lawson

Interview: Dana Sidberry

Interview: Dana Sidberry A marketer for beauty and beyond It’s not often a diva doubles (or triples) as a bail bonds lady, a hair stylist, and the owner of a marketing firm. But there aren’t too many Dana Sidberrys in the world. Acquiring a knack for marketing before her first diploma, the young businesswoman concocted…

Lauren Blake

Would consolidation work for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County?

In 1962, when the city of Nashville and county of Davidson, in Tennessee, chose to merge its governments into one, the area boomed. Today, the Nashville region’s city-county consolidation is considered a model of efficiency, with its single administration and 40-member legislative body overseeing two tax districts. Charlotte has long looked at Nashville’s success at…

John Grooms and Cheris Hodges

Theater review: CAST’s Jack Goes Boating

Hillary Clinton notwithstanding, things are simpler in a village than they ever are when you’re living in the heart of New York City. Without readily available elders or sages, youthful dreamers are likely to attach themselves to anyone who might give them the time of day for personal guidance and advice. Likewise, in an urban…

Perry Tannenbaum

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Jan. 18

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN Finally, here’s one seven-year itch that can be scratched. When 2004’s The Polar Express made film history as the first animated movie to be created wholly by employing the motion-capture process, we instantly recognized that we were in the presence of something ghastly. Awkward and unsightly, the ersatz innovation rendered all…

Matt Brunson

Exhibit: Earth Exchange

Garinger, Olympic and Hough high school students recently visited The Light Factory to learn how to use photography and art as a means of expressing their relationship with the environment. As a result, the exhibit Earth Exchange is an outlet of works inspired by the project (including a piece by Hough High School’s Graham Merrifield,…

Anita Overcash

Aaron Sigmon playing Marigny tonight (1/15/12)

AARON SIGMON This Charlotte-based DJ has made himself a name in the national breakbeat conversation. Between his remixes and club residencies, his following continues to grow, but his attention to detail has not and it’s evident in his mixes. Frenzy, Will Love, Shade, ND Skyz, Nurotik, Slipmatt+Khanflik, DJ Boothe, DJ Kardiak and Jabari are also…

Mike McCray

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