This week’s new releases (1/15)
Here’s a quick look at some of this week’s new releases: Kottonmouth Kings “Greatest Highs” – Gee, you think these guys smoke weed? Yep, that’s about it… Locals The Lights, Fluorescent are releasing their debut EP at The Milestone on Jan. 19.
Beards are beautiful
On Jan. 11, the finale for the Beards Because fundraiser was held at Amos’. For two months, men grew beards to raise money and awareness for the Battered Women’s Shelter of Charlotte. Here are a couple of photos from the trimming. (photos by Jeff Hahne) To see photos of the bands that performed that night,…
Movie trailers for this week’s film reviews
There Will Be Blood \\\\\\\\\\ _____________________ Mad Money \\\\\\\\\\ _____________________ 27 Dresses \\\\\\\\\\
Obama’s latest endorsement
— Cartoon by Jim Hunt
Beards Because
Beards Because at Amos’ Southend on Jan. 11 offered the chance to donate money to a good cause and see some good music while you were there. GCDC opened up the event with some bluegrass. Truckstop Preachers hit the stage next as singer Nathan Palmer tried his best to shave while performing. The Belmont Playboys…
More concert news…
Serj Tankian, singer of System of a Down and current solo artist, will hit Amos’ Southend on Feb. 12. Head over to Amos’ Southend for more info.
Cleopatra’s Delight
The woman is instructed to stand above the male on some sort of elevated surface, such as a couch, bed, two chairs, Mini Cooper hood, etc. With her legs spread wide, she gradually lowers her torso, so that her “yoni” is within reach of the man, who is standing on the floor just below her.…
Try a little something new
If you need a little change of pace from your usual Saturday night dinner spot, there are a couple of new places to choose from. Several restaurants have opened in the past six months … perhaps one of them is in your neck of the woods. Southend As of October 2007, you can enjoy good…
Hearing But Not Listening
by Pat Robertson Recently, I divulged some predictions for 2008, predictions I’m sure you’ll find no less accurate than some of my earlier endeavors. I did, however, express some uncertainty and reluctance, so let me clear the air. First, I know the outcome of the presidential race like I said. But I’m a little worried…
New Slates from CFS and PLCMC
The Charlotte Film Society’s Second Weekend Series returns with a movie a month now through May. Here’s the schedule: Jan. 11-14: What Would Jesus Buy? (2007). Documentary about a reverend (of the Church of Stop Shopping) who tries to lead Americans away from consumerism and back toward the real meaning of Christmas. Feb. 8-11: This…
Radiohead is coming!
While they haven’t announced a date or venue, Radiohead has confirmed that Charlotte is on their list of places they will play on their upcoming tour. Stay tuned!
Run, Pat, Run!
Hello, dear readers. It’s time for a new edition of Columnists Are Human (note: as always, Charles Krauthammer and Tom Ashcraft not included). As you know, this is where we look at how good columnists take their gut reactions to the news and transform them into the clear, reasonable works of journalistic art you readers…
Chaos Outside, Business As Usual Inside
He may not officially be the next Mecklenburg County Sheriff, but Chipp Bailey is the man in charge until further notice. That means if there is a need for a major promotion, Bailey has the power to make it, though there aren’t any of those on the horizon. Bailey also says projects like the temporary…
Film: Thou Shalt Not Splurge
Starting the second Friday of the month, the Charlotte Film Society presents its brand-spanking new Second Weekend Series through Monday, making for a four-day weekend of movies. One film will be shown per month, representing the quality that CFS has become known for bringing to Charlotte audiences. The program kicks off with What Would Jesus…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I ran into an old friend from high school days. We’re talking about a person who I knew 15 years ago and who I haven’t seen in the past five. He had gained a lot of weight since the last time I saw him and he has also lost most of his…
Contraception Conversation
State-funded teen-pregnancy prevention programs could soon be required to disclose what most N.C. sex education classes can’t: what condoms are and how you can get them. “It only makes sense,” says Kay Phillips, executive director of the of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina. “It’s serving the students.” The proposal reflects changing Medicaid…
Music: Request A Friend Live
MySpace is the place to see and be seen. It sure helped launch Tila Tequila’s career. A Shot of Love, anyone? It’s no wonder that it should venture out into parties. Profiles marks Charlotte’s foray into the online party scene. Sponsored by Jack Daniels, The IT Factor, and Mikseen, this event features DJ Row$hay in…
A Fascinating Specimen
My floor buffer and I are in battle. Well, it’s not exactly my floor buffer. I rented it from Home Depot during a moment of characteristic indecisiveness. “Are you completely refinishing your floors or just polishing them?” the associate asked. Lord Christ, what does he mean by completely refinish? I hate to do anything completely.…
New Laws for the New Year
It’s a new year and you know what that means? It means that — with the host of new laws that took effect on Jan. 1 — if you’re not paying attention then you’re probably breaking the law. • Plan to smoke? Not in the state’s buildings you don’t. All smoking is outlawed in buildings…
Bridal Show: The Long Walk
You know the old adage “always a bridesmaid, never a bride”? It feels that way every day, up until the day of your wedding. Just ask Jane, Katherine Heigl’s character in the new romantic comedy 27 Dresses. Always helping with everyone else’s wedding, then her sister walks away with the “man of her dreams.” Her…
At the Movies
It’s that time of year again — awards season. The Golden Globes, Grammys and Oscars are all set to happen, despite the protracted writer’s strike, the rotten economy and the war that will not end. Hollywood will try hard to help us forget the real world, like taxes and post-holiday poverty, by shifting our focus…
It’s Raining Men!
Make Some Noises The Noises 10 singer Jason Scavone sings to a packed house at the Visulite Theatre on Dec. 29. Makes Me Wanna Holler Bilal sings — or perhaps screams — a few new tunes during his appearance at Tempo Sat., Dec. 29. 10 … 9 … 8 … The Avett Brothers’ Scott Avett…
Nuggets Bob and Weave
With a record of 11-19, the Charlotte Bobcats keep plugging along. Still, they are fourth in the Southeast behind Orlando, Atlanta and Washington. And, yeah, so they blew a 12-point lead to lose to the Chicago Bulls to start the new year. It’s still a new year, a new chance to show that talent we’ve…
Ramona Holloway
Profile
Hollis invades Charlotte
Author and CL columnist Hollis Gillespie is set to bring her Shocking Real-Life Writing Academy to Charlotte on Jan. 20. According to Gillespie’s Web site, the one-day seminar is “designed to help you unleash your inner memoir” and will “offer her candid critiques, suggestions for selling your work, and answer all your questions about breaking…
Continue the Dream
This year marks the 79th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest men in American history. And in befitting someone of his stature, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and Wreath Laying Ceremony will again take place in his honor. Now, Charlotte is a city of young professionals who were not around…
Let’s Throw a Going-Away Party
The streets of Mecklenburg County just got a little safer. Judge Phil Howerton has retired. Howerton’s contempt for crime victims and the taxpayer’s money was exceeded only by his desire to process people through his courtroom fast enough to get home early. Howerton was Exhibit A of everything that is terribly wrong with our court…
Coming Attractions
Thursday, Jan. 17 If you can’t poke fun at America, who can you poke fun at? That’s the kind of mindset behind the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s take on the Complete History of America (abridged). “From Washington to Watergate, yea verily from the Bering Straits to Baghdad, from New World to New World Order,” nothing is…
Exhibit: 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…
Stargazer
You can see this is not the usual fare for the CL Stargazer column. Perhaps you have never read the “For All Signs” paragraph. Today I hope you will at least scan it. Important changes are upon us and it is simply too much to synopsize in just a few lines. (Annual sun sign projections…
Keep on Searching …
Psychic Mary Beth Wrenn: “Charlotte is a new thriving Mecca. It’s the new green city.” Wrenn moved to Charlotte’s rival in the South, Atlanta, last year. But she started the New Year moving right back to the Queen City (that’s Charlotte, not Cincinnati.) Herb White, editor of The Charlotte Post: “Charlotte is a town that’s…
A Royal Return
The Skinny on Emily Skinner
Film Clips: The Bucket List, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Orphanage, more
New Releases THE BUCKET LIST If Morgan Freeman and Judi Dench ever made a film together, would the world simply explode? After all, Freeman always plays the smartest character in his movies and Dench always plays the wisest character in her pictures, so wouldn’t this fall under some sort of “irresistible force meets immovable object”…
Searching For Charlotte
The Q.C. may be booming, but when it comes to an identity, some say our fair city is drawing a blank
Wine resolutions
“Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, makes weariness forget his toil.” — Lord Byron As a society, we’re in a dazed state of stress. Consider the crazed mall zombies flurrying about during the gift-buying season. Wiis flew, iPods sang and credit cards wept. I tame my tension with daily wine rations…
The Sequel
If duplication were easy, every restaurateur would do it. Rarely though does a restaurant find a formula that works a second time within the same town without turning to the cookie cutter “we’re going to be a chain” mentality. Chain restaurants replicate success with identical proportions; A shrewd restaurateur realizes that with an existing establishment…
Ringing in the New Year
QC After Dark
Lucky ’07
The best (and worst) movies of the past year
Yo la Tengo goes chat-and-play
Betta Listen
BUILT TO LAST
Hick’ry Hawkins stands strong after 16 years of performing
Facial hair for a good cause
La Vida Local
Live Review: Lindy Dobbins and the Red Velvet Manx; The Lights, Fluorescent
The Deal: Two of Q.C.’s best female vocalists (and their bands) show their talent. The Good: Having seen Erika Blatnik as a solo artist in an acoustic format, I wasn’t sure what to expect when she was paired with a full band – The Lights, Fluorescent. Her quick-hit singing style is intact, the band is…
Dawn Of The Dud
Advice Goddess
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9 Alex Radus The Philadelphia singer-songwriter recently released his solo debut, LoveMeLikeYouHateMe, after spending the earlier part of the decade touring with folk duo Duende. The disc covers a variety of genres – blues, folk, country – and Radus performs with a band, The SadBastards, as well as solo. These dates are scheduled…
Wine Tasting: Tale of the Vine
We know what you did for New Year’s, and we ain’t mad at cha. How about keeping the party going with a little wine? The Morehead Inn Wine Series is the place to fall into … learn all you can about the wonderful world of the vine. Tonight’s event, entitled “A Wide Spread of Reds:…
Comic Proportions
The holidays may be over but the comic book industry is still suffering from a “holiday hangover.” If you buy comics on a regular basis, you probably know that shipping schedules have been off for the last few weeks, pushing delivery dates from the normal Wednesday to Friday. As a result, my review schedule is…
A Wink and a nod to honky tonk
QC Inferno
Live Review: Synthetic New Year
The Deal: Electronic/Gothic Charlottean bands Anders Manga and Angels On Acid perform at Single Cell Productions’ New Year’s party. The event also featured five DJs and some fetish demonstrations. The Good: As it was my second time seeing Angels On Acid live, I ended up being even more impressed than the first time I saw…
Our Man in Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto and her supporters who died with her during the suicide attack on Dec. 27 are the latest victims of decades of dangerous U.S. support for Pakistan’s military regime. The country’s dictator, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has held his grip on power despite increasing popular unrest. The Bush administration got nervous, turning to Bhutto to…
The Blotter
BLOOD ISN’T THICKER THAN CASH: A 49-year-old woman said she placed an envelope with $67 in it on a nightstand next to her bed and later noticed it was missing. She said she didn’t give anybody permission to take the money. She had family visiting from out of state and suspects it was one of…
Live Review: The Avett Brothers
The Deal: The Avett Brothers return for annual New Year’s Eve show in front of sell-out crowd of more than 2,000 fans. The Good: In summary – Festive hats. Fancy clothes. A solid set by opener Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles providing their own lively music in the same vein as the Avetts. Crowd…
