Live Review: DJ Jazzy Jeff
Amos Southend July 21, 2007 The Deal: The Magnificent spins in Charlotte for his only Carolina appearance with Skillz holding down the MC duties. The Good: It’s hard to exceed high expectations, but Jazzy Jeff did just that. I’ve never seen someone spin old school Jackson 5, The Fugees, KRS-One, T.I., A Tribe Called Quest,…
Josh Groban Rescheduled
The July 18 Josh Groban concert at Charlotte Bobcats Arena that was canceled due to illness has been rescheduled for Sunday, Sept. 2. Tickets purchased for the original show will be honored on the new date.
Listen to the Voices
Local photographer David Johnson will be at Borders in Southpark, Saturday, July 28 from 2-3 p.m., to promote his new book, Voices of Sudan, in which all proceeds go to benefit Darfur projects. Check out his Web site for more details.
Afterlife Memberships
— Cartoon by Jim Hunt
Flip Benham’s Noise Machine
Operation Save America camped out in Birmingham last week, harassing women and protesting at the city’s two abortion clinics. Fearless leader Flip Benham was arrested on charges that he violated the local noise ordinance. Here’s a brief story from the Birmingham NBC affiliate. The owner of Charlotte’s Family Reproductive Health has often complained about the…
Live Review: 311
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre July 20, 2007 The Deal: Original rap-rockers show they’ve still got it. The Good: The band sounded as tight as they did when I saw them in their hey day 10 years ago. It was a good mix of songs from all albums. They broke out “Hostile Apostle” for the first time…
Hypocrisy Alert
I’m no fan of Larry Flynt, nor do I generally don’t favor “outing” people, but I’ve got to appreciate his efforts to expose politicians whose sexual practices are at odds with their rhetoric. And it looks like North Carolina could provide fodder for his crusade. Witness the arrest of former state legislator and current Cabarrus…
Side Dishes
Name of Kama Sutra Position: Side Dishes (Pressing, Churning, The Boar’s Blow and Sparrow Sport) Position: Contrary to what these names imply, nobody should get hurt in either of these positions. They should be considered exclamation points during sex play. They could be used to wake your partner up if they have fallen asleep, but…
Groban cancelled
I just got a call from Angelique Kidjo’s publicist saying that tonight’s Josh Groban concert at the Bobcats arena has been cancelled. The arena has confirmed this. Apparently, Groban is sick/having throat problems. Refunds can be made at the point of purchase beginning on Friday. They are working to reschedule the show.
Comic Proportions
Countdown No. 43 Published by DC Comics. Script and plot by Paul Dini, with Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Pencils by Manuel Garcia with David Lopez. Inks by Jimmy Palmiotti with Don Hillsman. The Deal: Presenting the latest issue of DC’s weekly epic Countdown. Countdown picks up where DC’s last weekly comic book, 52, left…
Stargazer
For All Signs: Venus, goddess of love, turns retrograde on the 27th. Most of us are feeling the shift in energy already. This event occurs approximately every 18 or 19 months. She remains retrograde until Sept. 8. During her ebb periods we reflect on our personal needs with respect to partnerships. Meanwhile it is common…
Wheels
The Deal: Former Sound of Mine and Black Market Radio frontman releases solo debut. The Good: The Charlotte native’s vocals and songs are reminiscent of John Mellencamp’s early days. He works with a handful of Carolina talent including Jamie Hoover, Mark Stallings, Audley Freed, Andy Seets, Don Dixon and Jim Brock. He’s got a comfortable,…
Best Video/Dvd Rental Selection
Various Locations.
The Lemons-Out-Of-Lemonade Award
A lot of people in Hayes’ district were crushed by news that Phillip Morris was leaving the building, taking with it more than 2,500 jobs and a substantial chunk of Concord’s tax base. Hayes, however, had a golden parachute (of sorts) that most workers would envy: The heir to the Cannon textile fortune owns more…
Local Issue That Needs More Attention
Charlotte has less downtown green space than nearly any other American city of comparable size. If the downtown baseball stadium deal is put into effect, we’ll have even less. Marshall Park will be gone, and the planned park in Third Ward will be a fraction of its originally intended size. That is an issue we…
Best Place To Buy Cds
Most employees at typical big box music stores are folks either nearing senior citizen status and have never heard of Wolfmother, or some high school kid whose musical knowledge doesn’t go beyond 1990. That’s what makes Manifest so great. Not only do the groovy guys and gals who work there obviously love and know music,…
Best Diner
Burgers, foot-longs, barbecue, fried pickles, martinis and a long line. A Charlotte favorite.
Best Pizza
Various locations.
What’s new in the Q.C.
SATURDAY, JULY 28 – It’s about time for a Charlotte music showcase to make big! Bring the family and take a listen when the Charlotte Music Awards presents an Americana Showcase featuring some of the Carolina’s finest exemplars of music, including the Bill Noonan Band, Low Willie and South 85. Consider this night of mellifluous…
Down and Dirty
When you grow up playing classical music, you learn to play clean. It’s all about precision — you try not to miss any notes. But when you take that training to New Orleans and bust out into funky jazz, the notes get a little scuffed up. “At the beginning of the band, we were all…
Anonymous
The Deal: Band’s third album reinterprets uncredited songs by North America’s indigenous people. The Good: To put it bluntly, the band could have pissed off a lot of people by recording a lot of culturally important music. Instead, for the most part, they kept most of the feelings and vibes intact (“Red Fox” is probably…
Biggest Waste Of Tax Money
Talk about living in a “throwaway culture.” The destruction of the 17-year-old Coliseum on Tyvola Road was government waste on a breathtaking scale — as was the building of its replacement downtown, but that’s another issue.
Best Place To Get Back To Nature
Charlotte is blessed with a bounty of great public parks and nature preserves, but when it comes to getting away from it all, you can’t do much better than Latta Plantation Nature Center and Preserve. This 1,343-acre oasis in northwestern Mecklenburg offers everything from educational programs, fishing and boating facilities, horseback and hiking trails, picnic…
Best Place To Find A Present For Someone
There’s simply not another store in Charlotte as eclectic and inventive as Paper Skyscraper. Whether you’re buying something for your cross-dressing uncle or sweet old grandma, you can find just the right gift here. The store has everything, including cards, bath and body items, candles, stationary, journals, home accessories, glassware, and games for kids and…
Best Lawn & Garden Shop
Various locations.
Best Asian (Other Than Chinese Or Indian)
This is a bare-bones eatery which produces exemplary Vietnamese dishes: pho, crispy quail, curry spiked with shrimp, yellow rice flour pancake filled with shrimp, hot pots, and charbroiled chicken in lemon grass.
Best Ice Cream
Various locations.
No Child Left behind
Breaking the Sound Barrier
Chicks with Swords in Eden
Arts Agenda 41Comic Proportions 44
The Return of the Magnificent
The Deal: The new album by Will Smith’s former partner, acclaimed hip-hop producer DJ Jazzy Jeff. The Good: People who only know DJ Jazzy Jeff as Will Smith’s sidekick truly don’t understand this guy’s impact on the music industry. He’s a music insider responsible for launching the careers of cats like The Roots and Jill…
Best Display Of Clueless Arrogance
Specifically, Mayor McCrory raising a glass in celebration of the implosion of the Coliseum. What was the toast: “Here’s to Charlotte citizens — we couldn’t have thrown away all that money without them”?
Local Issue You’re Sick Of
Shut up, already, please? Sure, immigration and the economics behind it are Very Important Issues. But the Sheeple-like animus toward anyone whose knowledge of Latin culture is more nuanced than a Taco Bell menu is so, like, 2006. Get over it already. And while we’re on the subject, here’s how we could “solve” local immigration…
Best New Artist
Dowell is one of those painters who appears never to have “learned” anything — she appears to just brilliantly paint what she likes, what she finds interesting, what can engage her long enough to commit the thing to canvas. Mostly, she paints cityscapes — buildings, phone wires and fire escapes. Her talent lies in making…
Best New Store (Opened In Last 12 Months)
Various locations
Best Italian
No onion rings here. This is the real deal.
Free-thinking Son of the South
Boomer With Attitude
The seven deadly sins of kid culture
When I hear other parents talk about kid’s entertainment, they typically use terms worthy of a sudden drop through Dante’s nine circles of hell. Comedians, commentators and chronicles of parenting, such as Neal Pollack’s recent book Alternadad, describe the likes of Baby Einstein videos and the Wiggles as lesser demons, with Barney the Dinosaur occupying…
Local Hero
A former Sixties radical and mayoral candidate (he ran against Mayor John Belk), Englander, owner of Charlotte Energy Solutions, is on a mission to make homes more environmentally and socially conscious. His products allow homeowners to heat their houses with oil (no pollution, no reliance on Middle East oil and conflict), flush their toilets with…
Best Candidate To Lead Stress-Relief Classes For CMS Teachers
Arrested and fired after he reportedly locked himself in his elementary school classroom with heroin, McDonald at first glance isn’t the most ideal role model for a teacher. But as stress-relief tactics go, he may be on to something. Hell, his techniques probably work better than the tips anyone ever learned in teacher’s college.
Best Place To People-Watch
Tired of watching bankers and frat boys chugging brews at the regular hot spots? Then check out the sights at this popular BDSM event, where you might catch Goth types sporting vampire fangs, guys (or girls) leading their companions around on dog leashes, VIP customers enjoying light spankings, girls taking whirls on the centerpiece swing…
Best Performing Arts Group
They still don’t have the following in Charlotte that their exploits in New York should command, but NC Dance Theatre is one of the most accomplished troupes anywhere, equally adept in classic ballet repertoire and cutting-edge modern dance. A typical NCDT season features Balanchine classics performed at the highest level alongside new choreographies by Dwight…
Best European (Other Than Greek Or Italian)
Break out the lederhosen and prepare for an evening of fun, beer and sensational German cuisine made by CIA-trained chef-owner Thomas Meier.
Finnegan Bell’s Top 5
Culture SurfingFinnegan Bell’s Top 5
Lois Witham
Profile
Local Zero
It’s hard to condemn efforts to weed out serious criminals. Fortunately, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph’s enforcement of federal immigration law isn’t any such effort. It gives local deputies power to initiate the deportation process on anyone arrested, even on such offenses as running red lights and even without a guilty verdict. He’s found an…
Best Local Athlete
When G-Dub got here, as an expansion draft pick, it’s because no one else wanted him. If only that were the case now: At press time a free agent, Wallace is gonna get some big-time scratch from someone this off-season. Formerly a YouTube all-star, Wallace developed into damn near the real thing last year, filling…
Best Chain Bookstore
With three Charlotte locations, as well as stores in Hickory and Huntersville, it’s hard to beat the sheer ubiquitous volume and convenience that Barnes & Noble offers. Whether it’s books, magazines, music, movies, toys and games, you should be able to find it at the Barnes & Noble store nearest you. Various locations.
Best Shoe Store
Various locations.
Best Mexican
Their weekend special is lamb barbecue made the traditional Mexican way: a splayed whole sheep cooked over a wood-burning fire (they use a gas grill) and covered with maguey cactus leaves. The result is spectacular. A pound of barbecue comes with five housemade corn tortillas and a mix of chopped cilantro and white onion, a…
She Knows
Moodswing
Sox It to Me
Kitchen Witch 56Corkscrew 58Good Eats 61
Best Activist (Individual Or Group)
An activist by tragic circumstance, Lipford has been consumed by the death of her 20-year-old son, U.S. Army Pfc. Steven Sirko, who was found in his barracks on April 17, 2005. Lipford, who believes her son was murdered, has pressed military officials for answers and joined antiwar protests. With the help of friends, she staged…
Local Boy Or Girl Made Bad
The former FOX newsman (and Davidson College alumnus) is by most accounts an amiable guy. That he’s battling cancer makes bestowing this dubious award less easy. But, God, being a stooge for the Bush administration?
Best Day Trip
Only about 90 miles from Charlotte, Spantanburg’s Hollywild Animal Park is home to over 500 rare and exotic animals, many of which have appeared in movies and commercials (no autographs, please). Visitors can hand feed and have personal contact with many of the animals, as well as participate in the “Outback Safari” guided tour of…
Best Used Bookstore
Mainstream novels, health and fitness, business, alternative, children, self-help, etc. — you can probably find the used book you’re looking for at RealEyes. They also have a great trading policy and will pay cash for some books.
Best Hair Salon
Various locations.
Best Restaurant For Vegetarians
While Woodlands isn’t the only vegetarian game in town, it has been a flavorful staple for the die-hard veg-heads of Charlotte for nearly five years. And for a restaurant with a vegetarian-only menu in the heart of barbecue country, that’s saying something! Cozy up in a booth with an opening order of samosas, admire the…
Film Clips
New Releases YOU KILL ME Perhaps not since Jack Nicholson in 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor has any actor so solidly struck the funny bone portraying a hit man as Ben Kingsley does in You Kill Me. The film’s premise initially makes it sound like a cutesy variation on the type of pseudo-hip crime flicks churned out…
Charlotte’s Sexiest Man
A manager at the Charlotte bar known as Cans, this hot dude can be recognized by his bronze, Mediterranean-kissed skin and indigo-hued mane. Need another seal of approval? He was featured in Creative Loafing’s Lust List this year, for God’s sake!
Best New Band, Formed In Last 12 Months
A mix ‘n match collab featuring Brent Bagwell (reeds) and Ben Kennedy (cello,violin), both formerly of Pyramid, bass badass Ron Brendle, Carrie Shull of pulsoptional (oboe) and reed madman and sometime Raleigh native Crowmeat Bob, Project Bluebird’s shows are a study in deconstruction. The group work out their music both in “rehearsals” and via the…
Lodi Rules
Corkscrew
When Harry Met Hairy
Film Clips 32Films In A Flash 34
Best Local Charity
The YWCA may be about as mainstream as mainstream gets, but don’t confuse the organization with its stodgy, conservative cousin. It’s less about gyms and more about, as its slogan states, “Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women.” The YWCA now is building transitional housing for families — housing Charlotte sorely needs. (See also “Best Health Club” in…
Best Museum
This is a great place to explore what Charlotte was all about before it was tagged as the second largest banking capital in the country. Through comprehensive and interactive exhibits, the museum looks at how the Queen City evolved from a farming community to a mill town to a thriving and diverse metropolis.
Best Local Band/Artist
Formerly a two-man band (literally — Justin Faircloth played keys and a snare, while his brother, Matt, played guitar and worked bass pedals), The Houstons have dropped the “brothers” from the end of their name, but boast a slew of new songs, all of which finally get the full-on treatment they deserve. These days, the…
Best Health Club
Various locations.
Best Gourmet/Specialty Food Store
Various locations.
Summer’s Sandwich
Kitchen Witch
At Warped Speed
Hit & Run Reviews 76Music Menu / Soundboard 79
Best Local TV Newscast
Car wrecks, domestic disputes and excruciatingly detailed weather reports. Sorry, even considering NBC6’s occasional investigative piece, the serious media critics are right: “TV news” has practically become an oxymoron. The formerly proud craft has been trivialized, bloodied up, and cheapened so badly, it hardly even qualifies as news anymore.
Best Golf Course
If you like hitting a ball with a crooked stick then chasing after it — a sport also known as golf — this is the best place in which to do it. And don’t just take our word for it: PGA Magazine named it one of the “Great Golf Resorts in the World.” The five-star…
Best Local Songwriter
Best forms one half of the talented songwriting duo in experimental rockers Pyramid along with Joey Stephens — though it’s probably more accurate to say he’s one-eighth of the songwriting octet. But it’s a damn fine fraction, whatever it is. Best’s songs simmer with haunting intensity until they erupt like summer storms, perfect audio settings…
Offering up A Side of Blues
Michael “Wolf” Ingmire is relatively new to the Charlotte music scene (he moved here in 2004), but he’s been cooking up blues riffs for decades. The Norfolk, Va., native’s first inspiration came at age 11 after attending a Jimi Hendrix concert where Ingmire says he “totally got corrupted.” He then got into Robert Johnson and…
Meeting in the Next Room
By now, you should know the drill. Where is the Love? is back getting folks out and talking about the issues that bug them. Topic: “The Unspoken Power.” T-Pain refers to that “unspoken sexual power” in his hit “I’m Sprung:” “She got me doin’ da dishes/Anythang she want for some kisses/ I’m cookin’ for…
Best New Slogan For Charlotte
Runners-up include “Where Small Town Mentality and World Class Pretensions Meet” and “We Will Build It; We Just Hope They’ll Come!”
Best Local TV Personality
Crump, a veteran of the TV news trade, brings little-told stories to life in such independent documentaries as Before Rosa: The Unsung Contribution of Sarah Mae Flemming, Forgotten at the Finish Line and Louisville’s Own Ali. Whether he’s reporting for WBTV or putting history to video, Crump is a Charlotte gem.
Best Local Male Vocalist
Take away the campy costumes, the silly stage antics and the goofy (albeit clever) lyrics and you won’t have nearly as good of a time, but you’ll still have some absurdly talented sons of guns and Mike Mitschele’s uncanny falsetto and amazing versatility … not to mention his undeniable charisma. Seriously, the guy has more…
Best Audio/Video Store
Various locations.
Sunday funday
Sunday is the most neglected day of the weekend … it’s not the finish line for the weekend, it’s actually a day within, so why not utilize all the days you don’t have to work? My friend Sean and I were planning on throwing an engagement brunch for some mutual friends who caught the marriage…
Folicking Through the Garden
Those lovable ragtag characters from the Book of Genesis are queuing up at Halton Theater for Children of Eden, the finale of CPCC Summer Theatre’s 2007 season. Adam and Eve are just part of this epic beginning, stretching all the way down to the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japeth. With a few guest shots…
Best Local TV Sports Anchor
Another repeat winner, Little has been serving up tasty sports coverage in Charlotte since 1989. A guy who obviously enjoys his job, Little is enthusiastic and well versed in all things sports, whether he’s discussing a local high school team, the NBA or NASCAR.
Best Chain Bookstore
Various locations.
Best Local Female Vocalist
Milestone owner Neal MF Harper has called Blatnik one of the most promising female singer/guitarists in Charlotte, and we agree. Her name is constantly popping up at shows around the Queen City — from small gigs at SK Net to Mayhem at Milestone. She shows that simplicity works with her soothing vocals and acoustic guitar.…
Best Computer Store
Various locations.
CL Previews Upcoming Shows
Wednesday July 18 DMX Dark Man X, the sensitive, God-loving thug from Yonkers AKA Earl Simmons is back! He saw a few hiccups, incurring two arrests this year for pulling a “Paris” (driving with an expired license) and assault while under the influence (weed, not crack). His Dog Days of Summer Tour is in support…
Washed Up
Here ye! Here ye! For those who enjoy pushing their bodies capabilities to new limits, who relish in the afterglow of sore forearms, throbbing biceps, and aching backs and shoulders, this is the event you’ve been waiting for. Beginning in North Carolina at the Holiday Inn with a Team Leaders meeting, the Junior Wildwater World…
Best Member Of Local Government
We considered giving this award to County Commission chairman Jennifer Roberts for the second year in a row, but thought earnest Councilman Foxx merited mention for his efforts in support of regional transit and his interest in the displaced Mecklenburg Mills residents.
Best Local TV News Reporter
See “Best Local TV Newscast.”
Best Club/Party DJ
DJ Jah-Sun Rising (aka Jason Herring), last year’s winner in this category, manages to create a cool vibe whatever his surroundings, and that’s usually a good indicator of a DJ who knows his craft and how to connect with the audience. A musical explorer never afraid of uncharted territory, Jah-Sun taps into the mood and…
Best Place To Buy Cds
Various locations.
Best Bagels
Various locations.
gogoPilot goes pop
“I always thought bombing the Grammys would be a good idea,” laughs gogoPilot’s Jeff Williams, “but the problem is, right behind those assholes is a new level of assholes that are probably even worse.” For the humor-impaired, the 41-year-old veteran of the Charlotte music scene makes music, not Grammy bombs, in his home studio. But…
Mouth-Watering Goodness
Get in on the ground floor of the first annual Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ Festival. Fill your complementary glass with one of 60 craft-brewed beers, sip on fine bourbon and sample North Carolina’s best BBQ while enjoying live music. Kids under 12 get in free, and a portion of the proceeds goes to WCD Foundation…
Best Local Newspaper Reporters
Their stories of 11-year-old Kayla Ramirez showed a young girl snared in the bungled mess that is U.S. immigration policy. “What Will Happen to Kayla?” was a achievement of compassionate, detailed reporting that brought readers into the complicated lives of Kayla and her family as they struggled for a better life. Coto has since moved…
Best New Store (Opened In Last 12 Months)
Helping to further bolster SouthEnd’s rep as one of Charlotte’s hippest shopping destinations, Glamour Puss bills itself as the “Ultimate Diva Boutique!” So, if you’re a diva, or a diva-in-training, and are into wigs, shoes, handbags, fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, waxing, makeup and hair, what are you waiting for? Get your high-maintenance tushy over there pronto.
Best Place To Buy Dvds
Various locations.
Best Gourmet/Specialty Food Store
Who doesn’t love Tommy George’s pastas and all the rest of his provisions?
Fear of a black Uptown
The N Word
Ask the Editor
Q: Hey I can’t find my favorite columns in the paper — Savage Love and the Advice Goddess. Did you idiots cancel that good stuff? A: No, we didn’t cancel that good stuff. Readers used to seeing Savage Love and the Advice Goddess in the Arts section of the paper, don’t fret. We moved…
Got Your Vans?
If you like eXtreme games in eXtreme heat, the Vans Warped Tour 2007 is eXactly what you’ve been waiting for. The full-day summer show returns, along with showcases from experienced street athletes, chances to get up close to your favorite musician through the tour’s “no backstage” approach, plus a DIY-Fest tent with workshops, screenings and…
Best Local Columnist
Love her or hate her — and there are many in each camp — Jameson’s one of the few columnists around who really provokes people instead of telling them what they want to hear or offering wishy-washy pablum. Of course, that’s not hard when it comes to any mention of race or sexuality. No one…
Best Shoe Store
Whether you love shoes and could shop for them all day, or you just want to get a cheap pair of sneakers as quickly as possible, Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse has you and your feet covered. With several Charlotte locations (including one on the way in Ballantyne), these folks stock between 30,000-50,000 pairs of women’s…
Best Health Food Store
The Ballantyne store offers a wide range of natural and organic products, including my favorite chocolate milk made by Homestead, a dairy farm in the Virginia Blue Ridge, sold in a glass bottle.
Best Desserts
Various locations.
Joe “Robo Cop” White Gets Tough
Citizen Servatius
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I am not someone who believes drugs are evil or anything, but I was recently faced with a hard situation and I don’t know if I did the right thing. It was 10 a.m. on a weekday and I was leaving a Wal-mart in a part of town that’s still “transitioning.” In…
Schmooze It or Lose It
Pucker up, its time for some serious ass kissin’! Get those sweet sugary lips ready for the Charlotte Chamber Center City Summer Schmooze. Over 300 schmooze cruisers will be out and about for the networking event of the summer to enjoy good grub and entertainment. This year the NASCAR theme is “Fueling Success” so there…
Worst Member Of Local Government
Make that County Commissioner Dan “The Lump” Bishop. Until he recently woke up to denounce the terrible practice of providing adequate money for schools, the most animated we had seen Bishop was when he claimed that banning discrimination against gay county employees was “a serious dagger at the heart of marriage” (huh?). Usually, our man…
Best Place To Jog
Whether you’re a serious athlete training for a race or a couch potato momentarily inspired from watching an old Rocky flick, McMullen Creek Greenway is a great place to get your jog on. The entrance is located off Pineville-Matthews Road, and the shady four-mile trail — with markers every 1/4-mile — has both dirt and…
Best Tattoo/Piercing Parlor
Sadu opened in 1998 as just a little booth and display case in the back of the now-defunct Milestone Records. Today, it’s the place in Charlotte to get tattoos, tongue studs, belly rings, nose hoops or — guys, brace yourselves — a frenum ladder, in which several metal studs are inserted through the skin from…
Best Barbecue
The Carter family’s enterprise is the only place in town — maybe the region — where diners can actually watch and smell pork shoulders slowly cooking in a barbecue pit right in the main dining room. If you like — or know — what outside brown is, Old Hickory is your kind of place.
Best French Fries
Various locations.
Politics + Money = Corruption
A ton of scandalous things seem to be going on in N.C. politics — most of them swirling around Jim Black. He was sentenced to prison last week on a public corruption charge. We crunched some of the fraud factors to see what you get when you combine money and politics. (Hint: common denominator =…
CL and The Sol Kitchen presents:
The Plug
Up, Up and Away!
Look, up in the air! One turn, two turns, it must be Mr. 720! Taurian Williams gave the world an unprecedented display of athleticism when he performed a monster dunk with two full rotations. That’s 360 degrees times two! His squad comes to the Queen City today as part of the Ball4Real Streetball World Tour.…
Best Unsung Environmental Activist
When Harris’ bid for a Saks Fifth Avenue at the corner of Park and Gleneagles fell through, she let the huge hole in the ground she created “return to nature,” thereby restoring part of the tree canopy the city is losing through over-development. Soon, of course, yet another development will fill in the space, but…
Local Columnist You’re Sick Of
Ed “The Equivocator” Williams is the editorial pages honcho at the flagship paper of a dynamic region undergoing wrenching changes. You’d never know it, though, from his Sunday columns — timid affairs that meander here and yon, flinch at expected criticisms, and evince the passion and urgency of a small-town church bulletin. Wake up, Ed,…
Best Audio/Video Store
A long-time favorite, Best Buy is, well, the best when it comes to audio/video gear selection. You can get everything from speaker wires to a surround sound home theater system — usually at a very reasonable price — and the sales staff can actually explain how all that stuff works.
Best Pet Store
Various locations.
Best Takeout Or Sidewalk Stand
Many Charlotteans have been loyal customers to Chef Tony and Phim Kwok, who used to own the King & I on Central but now have this small Thai takeout in Dilworth. Their fragrant Thai curries are the best in town.
