Art Vs. Commerce
For over a quarter of a century, summer has been the season of the two-ton behemoth at the box office, with studios cramming their biggest, brawniest blockbusters into the hot-weather months. But that 97-pound weakling known as the art house picture hasn’t exactly withered up and blown away — on the contrary, while independent titles…
Bombs Bursting In Air
It takes a thesaurus to describe what fireworks can do nowadays. They arc, zoom, twist, and shiver. They whistle, screech, and boom. They assume all kinds of shapes — stars, hearts, rings, flowers, trees, spiders, you name it. The variety of colors and effects gets wilder every year as the pyrotechnic technology progresses at an,…
Film Clips
CURRENT RELEASES ALEX & EMMA For the second straight movie, Kate Hudson has demonstrated that she’s better than the material at hand. That’s certainly a change from the past, when she proved to be among the weakest links in films like The Four Feathers and Almost Famous, but it may just be that she’s an…
See & Do
July2 WEDNESDAY The sufferings of Job have inspired numerous philosophers and poets, including dramas by Archibald MacLeish and Robert Frost. So we should be only moderately surprised that the biblical patriarch has now cast his spell on Broadway’s King of Comedy, the eminently bankable Neil Simon. In God’s Favorite, Job is now Joe, a tycoon…
Bombs Bursting In Air
It takes a thesaurus to describe what fireworks can do nowadays. They arc, zoom, twist, and shiver. They whistle, screech, and boom. They assume all kinds of shapes — stars, hearts, rings, flowers, trees, spiders, you name it. The variety of colors and effects gets wilder every year as the pyrotechnic technology progresses at an,…
Stargazer
For All Signs Jupiter, planet of optimism, and Saturn, planet of cynicism, are in a tense relationship this week. The current difficult aspect is minor, compared to other possible scenarios. However, because the faith factor is not strong now, the minor dip of the present may represent a deeper downturn than it would in a…
Celebration & Rage
Is not. Is, too. Is not. Is, too. This sums up the state of the debate between gays and gay groups and conservative and religious leaders over whether the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a Texas ruling that had upheld the state’s sodomy law is a true victory for the gay rights movement. How it…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: A friend recently rescued a dog with a cold and cuts. She found out that the dog is sick with heartworms, stomach parasites, a hernia and some bad teeth. The vet bills will total around $800 to help make him healthy. My friend can’t foot the bill, but she wants to help…
The Music and Drinking Column
Monday evening at 8pm isn’t the best time to put on a show. Hell, some might tell you that Friday — at 10pm — isn’t a good time to put on a show in this town. However, if you’re gutsy enough to book a good act coming through the area (for our purposes, Denton, Texas…
Art Springs Eternal
Art is where you find it. Urban Ministries is primarily a lunch magnet. Two hundred Charlotte pilgrims walk to this old train station every day to find whatever St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Soup Kitchen manages to cobble together for the eternally hungry. But the Urban Ministries does not offer bread alone. The hungry can find…
Letters
Hypocrisy On Paper When I first moved to Charlotte back in the 80s, I used to read CL often. It seemed sort of reminiscent of the “Underground Newspapers” from the 60s and 70s. Now, however, I just can’t stomach it anymore. This front page story about the sex offender list (“Howdy, Neighbor!” by Tara Servatius,…
Doing The Memphis Mash
Ever since the palace of The King opened to the public in June 1982, the Memphis mansion of Elvis Presley has been the epicenter for the most outrageous celebrity worship that our outrageous nation can produce. So it’s no wonder that an American playwright would seek to probe the depth of the mania of two…
Pet Project
This past winter was a hard one, and it ruined her paws. She was a half-grown puppy when they chained her to the tree and left her there with no shelter, occasionally remembering to feed her. She stayed there all winter, freezing in the rain, snow and sleet. The frostbite finished off her feet, and…
Tables Turned
Micah Ian Wright is a man of many talents. The former US Airborne Ranger who, as he puts it, “spent four years invading other countries,” left the service and went on to produce award-winning animation shows like Nickelodeon’s The Angry Beavers and Chet Thunderhead: Private Eye. He currently creates the acclaimed comic book StormWatch: Team…
War of the Words
The Fourth of July is mostly about cookouts, cold beer, and fireworks, it’s true, but it’s also the ideal time to reflect on America’s heritage and ideals. We have an impressive history of being at our best when times are the worst, mostly because of the noble principles the nation was founded on. We’ve been…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music American Guild of Organists Events: July 4 at 8:30pm – Stephen Talley, Carillon / Stacey Mills, Trumpet, Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1000 E. Morehead St. July 6 at 7:30pm – Jane Arant & Michael Miller, Trumpet / Robert Rydel, Horn, Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3115 Providence Rd. 704-333-9071. Jazz & Classical Essentials Sunday Brunch Borders…
Coping With Cuts at WTVI
There are meetings, meetings, and more meetings happening at WTVI, as the station tries to figure out what to do and what to ax after the recent $630,000 budget cut by the Mecklenburg County Commission. That’s about half of its county funding, and about a fifth of its overall budget dollars. It’s also a swell…
Look At Mi
Some foods possess delightedly appealing appellations. Macaroni, beignet, polenta come to mind. Others have less appealing, almost repellent names: eggplant, squid, yucca, Patagonian toothfish. Those in this group, however, are typically marketed as aubergine, calamari, cassava, and Chilean sea bass, respectively. Some foods suffer from a language misfit. This is especially true when the word…
The Blotter
Five Finger Inventory: A man pretending to be a tobacco representative walked into a local grocery store and demanded to take inventory of the stock. When he began loading a box with cigarette cartons, an employee questioned his identity and asked him to leave. The man complied without taking any merchandise, but on the next…
Mail Bonding
This quarterly column presents the opportunity to have your wine comments and questions aired. If you have a question, comment or slam, e-mail me at corkscrew@creativeloafing.com. How Long Can You Wait? Kim wrote, “My boyfriend and I are purchasing our first home and we have decided to celebrate the purchase by buying a bottle of…
News of the Weird
Fight Club: A June Associated Press dispatch from Macha, Bolivia, reported on the most prominent of the country’s annual Tinku festivals. On a midnight in May, as thousands gathered to drink and dance, the men eventually began to fistfight in a bloody ritual that tribal leaders say is healthy and spiritual, even though some men…
Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 400 S. Tryon St., 704-339-0303; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. All locations have different owners. A hint of the tropics; rotisserie chicken with Jamaican jerk sauce, ribs, Paradise Island fish special, curries, and Caribbean styled greens. $$ Azteca, 116 Woodlawn Rd., 704-525-5110; 9709 Independence Blvd., 704-814-9877; 1863 W. Franklin Blvd.…
Farewell Fireworks
The very first thing I ever wrote for Creative Loafing was a review of Lou Ford’s debut full-length, Sad, But Familiar. As the years have passed, I’ve gone on to write hundreds of other reviews, both for this publication and others. Most of those reviews, in my humble opinion, were “better” — perhaps more liberally…
Hey Joe
Charlotte native Joe Firstman was in town earlier this week for a show at Amos’ Southend. After moving from NC to Los Angeles in 2000, the singer-songwriter landed a deal with Atlantic Records last year. His EP Wives Tales is in stores now while his major label debut, The War of Women is scheduled to…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 7.2 Evanescence — “Whassat? You say ‘new rock’ isn’t selling like it once was, and that NuMetal is starting to rust? Quick — call a meeting!” “Boss, what if — and this is just an idea — what if we keep the same general formula, add a little dubious Christianity, and front the whole…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Jul. 2 Baoding Robert Fernandez Buckhead Saloon Kenny Floyd Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Double Door Inn Bluesmith Fairwinds Coffee Co., Cornelius Lena Mars Graduate, Gastonia Acoustic Jam w/ Clee & Chris Sheridan Harper’s Restaurant Mike Crowley Acoustic Main Street, Gastonia Tommy Hudson The Meeting House John Alexander Trio w/ Ron Brendle &…
