Want a burger for breakfast? Coming soon…
If you you’ve ever had an early morning craving for a burger, but been unable to fulfill it because of the “now serving breakfast only” signs, then this might interest you. Big Daddy’s Burger Bar in Dilworth will soon be selling beef patties (To be specific it’s called the “Breakfast Burger” and features a burger…
Charlotte Funk Festival on the way
Just got this press release from the local soul band Soulganic: The Charlotte Funk Festival Three of Charlotte’s premier bands will take the stage at the inaugural Charlotte Funk Festival, to be held Saturday, August 2 at 7pm in the parking lot behind SK Net Cafe. Bellyful will begin the festival with their blend of…
Pop Life: The ‘Get Involved’ Edition
Join Creative Loafing and The Sol Kitchen as they party with a purpose at the July 16th edition of Pop Life. We’ll be throwing a spotlight on local groups that are making a difference in the city — like the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Planned Parenthood Young Advocates, GenerationEngage and the Arts & Science…
Live Photos: 2008 Warped Tour
The 2008 Vans Warped Tour stopped by Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on July 14 for a long, hot day filled with about as much musical variety as you could ask for. From the pop of Katy Perry to the screaming of Every Time I Die, Warped Tour attendees surely got their money’s worth. There was plenty…
Batty graphics
The Dark Knight of course opens this Friday. In the meantime, here are some promotional images from the film.
How do you not know you’ve hit someone?
The pessimist in me wasn’t surprised to see that a Charlotte cab driver struck and killed a woman while driving; nor was I too shocked that he didn’t even realize it until he drove home. I’ve seen some crazy cabbie behavior in Charlotte and even more in other cities. But how can you hit someone…
News roundup 7/15/08
GM makes deep cuts: General Motors Corp. announced Tuesday it will suspend its dividend, sell off $4 billion to $7 billion worth of assets, and cut 20 percent of salaried cash costs in a plan to save billions of dollars. CNNMoney Nepal to select its first president: Lawmakers in Nepal will vote on the country’s…
I miss my iPhone
In a battle between Apple’s new iPhone 3G (which just came out Friday) and Samsung’s Instinct, MSNBC says the iPhone kicks ass. There was never a doubt in my mind. About a month ago, I broke my own iPhone. Yup. Dropped it in my dog’s water bowl, then cracked the screen by dropping it on…
We won’t have Billy Packer to kick around anymore
Enough already about taxpayers being forced to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the New Yorker’s satirical “Obama & Michelle as Terrorists” cover. The real news today is that CBS isn’t renewing Billy Packer’s contract as a college basketball announcer. Woo-hooo! It’s about time, although I do give Packer credit for introducing actual…
Anthony David 101
Atlanta-based soul vocalist Anthony David will be in Charlotte tonight (Tuesday July 15), performing at the Evening Muse. Creative Loafing already ran a story about him in last week’s paper (read it here), but check out the following video to hear about the man in his own words. \\\\\\\\\\
Eighty-year-old stripper still taking it off
I thought this was a joke until I clicked the link on CNN.com Tempest Storm is fuming. Her fingers tremble with frustration. They are aged, knotted by arthritis and speckled with purple spots under paper skin. Storm signs photos from 50 years ago when she was dubbed the “Girl with the Fabulous Front.” But the…
Is this Groundhog’s Day, the movie?
Another high fallutin’ New York magazine is at it again – creating covers that cause a commotion. How’s that for alliteration? The New Yorker’s satire of the Obamas is actually quite brilliant and pokes fun at every inane stereotype thrown at them over this election season. Had they included the title, “Politics of Fear” on…
A scrapbook of summer shenanigans …
Karaoke on crack: Some audience participation at the Howl at the Moon Grand Opening A band serenading the streets outside of Hearst Tower NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and one of the Panther TopCats involved in the Tampa Bay scandal at BAAR Wars at Alley Cat. It Factor’s Sex and the City After Affair at Liv…
CL movie ratings
Here are Creative Loafing’s star ratings for all movies playing in the Charlotte area through Thursday. See this week’s issue for select reviews and our Web site’s archives for all reviews. Baby Mama – *** The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – *** Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! – ** Get Smart – ***…
Frequency measurements
Single Cell Productions (Think: Purgatory shows) did something a little different (Don’t they always?) this past weekend with Nocturnal Frequencies Alternative Arts and Music Festival held on Sat., July 12 at Amos’ Southend. The upstairs of the venue featured displays of photography/art (very fetish, artistic and a little dirty) by Justin Kates, Mystic photography, Erodios…
Quote this
“When the initial stroke of a lower case p spikes far above the middle zone, you’re looking at a pugilistic p. The pugilistic p shows up in the writing of people who are extremely argumentative. The higher the initial stroke rises above the middle zone, the more tenaciously pugnacious the writer. If you say the…
South Carolina is for gay lovers
South Carolina officials got their boxers in a
News roundup 7/14/08
Ex-Pentagon Worker Sentenced: Former Pentagon analyst Gregg Bergersen was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for giving secret information about U.S.-Taiwan military relations to a New Orleans furniture salesman who turned out to be a Chinese Spy. The spy funded Bergersen’s gambling trips, and later offered him employment. CNN via AP Outrage Over Magazine…
Nocturnal Frequencies Alternative Arts/Music Fest, 7/12/08
Photos by Chey Scott
Double Door at the Lake, 7/11/08
Photos by Tricia Gillis
HOM, 7/11/08
Photos by Renaul Hill
Consuella’s Candy Land @ Stir Concert Theatre, 7/11/08
Photos by Jeaumane McIntosh
Geese, the new illegal immigrants
For some time, I have had it up to here with illegal immigrants coming to the Charlotte area and destroying our sacred nouveau riche way of life, but now I’m totally over the limit. In case you haven’t heard or read, a flock of Canada geese launched a sneaky assault on everything we hold dear…
Today’s Menu (7/14/2008)
Vans Warped Tour It would take the rest of this page to list all of the bands playing at this year’s Warped Tour, but here are a few that you’ll catch: Aside from The Pink Spiders and Against Me!, who have both been featured in this section recently (and today), you’ll get Angels and Airwaves…
Live Photos: The New Familiars
The New Familiars played a free show at the Neighborhood Theatre on Friday, July 11. Hundreds turned out for a fantastic, sweat-soaked show, as the band showed why they’re one of the fastest growing acts in the Charlotte area. Here are few sights from Friday:
Today’s Menu (7/12/08)
Glen Phillips Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Phillips, once known as the frontman for alterna-popsters Toad the Wet Sprocket, has been releasing finely honed solo records ever since his day-band broke up back in 1998. Phillips’ writing and playing are continually evolving into better and better compositions. Sprocket may have been written off as alterna light, but…
Kris Jenkins’ going-away party @ Kiss Lounge, 7/10/08
Photos by Charlotte Vibe Photography
Namaste’s Delight
The flexibility and balance that Yoga offers can be utilized in many Kama Sutra positions, and the one we are about to introduce to you today is no different. Namaste’s Delight begins with the woman on her back and the man standing above her head. The woman then takes her legs and swings them over…
Green Jellÿ in Charlotte!
By Taylor Greer Green Jellÿ (first known as Green Jellö, but Kraft Foods put an end to that) is coming to Charlotte and just in time for my birthday!! I know I’m dating myself but what the hell; I loved Green Jellÿ when they came out with Cereal Killer in 1993. If I had known…
Maybe he should change his name to Jealous Jackson
I used to think Jesse Jackson was an important figure on the American landscape. Then I found out he wasn’t. How can you talk to the President of the United States about his infidelity when you’re standing there with your pregnant mistress? But Jackson had his good points, he did sell his influence to the…
Love and marriage … sort of
What a sham. Christie and Peter. Guy and Madonna. Eddie and Tracey. Charlie and Denise. Heather and Paul. Pamela Anderson and whomever. The Hogans. Something is clearly in the water in the world of celebrity marriages. If I hear reports about one more celebrity marriage gone awry, I’ll throw up. I mean, why should we…
Alive After 5, 7/10/08
Photos by Kat Bidwell
Today’s Menu (7/11/08)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers For three decades now, Tom Petty has been as reliable an American songwriter as anyone you care to mention, Leonard Cohen, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen included. He started out being lumped in with the punk/new wave crowd, became post-punk, became an MTV staple, became a solo artist and then…
Urban League funding snatched
This just in from Urban League of Central Carolinas: Loss of Program Means Loss of Jobs and Educational Opportunities for Youth –But There is Hope Charlotte, NC (June 11, 2008) –The Urban League of Central Carolinas is fighting to keep at-risk and adjudicated youth educated, working, and productive in Mecklenburg County. In the midst of…
The Weekender
Friday, July 11 Film Hellboy II: The Golden Army: Give someone hell this weekend – Hellboy, that is! The sequel to 2003’s Hellboy is in theaters now, helmed by the director who brought us Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro. Pan’s influence is certain: The monsters here look like something out of a feverous dream, all…
Wal-Mart goes green?
Wal-Mart receives its share of (often richly deserved) bad press, but here may be an example of the company’s brighter side: It’s promoting local produce. This is doubtlessly due in no small part to the rising fuel costs, sure, but it’s still good news for N.C. farmers. Starting Friday, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and…
Mac Daddys…
I was working production on a Sony Bravia commercial being shot here in Charlotte, and some of the crew from L.A. asked me where to go to get first-rate Carolina BBQ. So I sent them to Mac’s Speed Shop on South Blvd. But last night I came to realize that Macs has much more than…
You’d vote for McCain because of his pets?
By Barack Obama You know, sometimes I just can’t catch a break. Except from the news media and the people who’ve given $300 million to my campaign. A new AP-Yahoo poll shows me trailing John McCain by 5 points among the 63% of you idiots who own pets. In other words, I could lose the election because…
Today’s Music Menu (7/10/08)
Hed PE They’ve changed names (or at least the spelling of their name) numerous times, and you can’t really blame them. Along with like-minded hedz like Kottonmouth Kings, they’re among the last bands standing from the late ’90s/early ’00s rap metal “renaissance,” holding it down for those who want their cake and to eat it…
News roundup 7/9/08
Iran test fires missile: Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards successfully test fired a medium- and long-range missile on Monday, capable of reaching Israel and U.S. troops in the region. This step was strongly condemned by the Bush Administration, as tension continue to boil over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program. AP via NY Times YouTube falls short…
Earthquakes, flooding, dangerous smog … what else could go wrong for China?
Well, it looks like China’s obstacles to hosting the perfect Olympic Games will never end. After months of recovering from natural disasters, taming Tibetan riots, and a sudden effort to reduce smog, Chinese officials now have to clean up a huge bloom of blue-green algae in the waters off Qingdao. The algae covers most of…
Candyland and K.I.S.S
What are you doing Friday? Might I interest you in a romp through Candyland and a first kiss? As in Consuella’s Candyland and the unofficial Grand Opening of K.I.S.S Lounge… Growing up I use to play the board game Candyland and fantasize about living in the Candy Cane Forest and Gum Drop Mountains. Who am…
Film Clips
Current Releases GET SMART Get Smart, the TV sitcom that aired from 1965 to 1970, was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, and these legendary funnymen are listed in the credits of this spin-off as “creative consultants.” The word is that neither actually had any real input in this movie, which probably explains why…
Religious neutrality
Last week, Venus and Serena Williams were doing what they normally do at Wimbledon — taking names and kicking butt. Ridiculously discounted and overshadowed by unproven tennis talent, the champions got busy showing and proving why they should always be on the center court when playing at Wimbledon. In the midst of this tournament, the…
It’s not the man
I was on a panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado this week when Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter asked me, “Is Obama a sellout?” The question isn’t whether he is a sellout or not — it’s about what demands are made by grass-roots social movements of those who would represent them. The question is: Who…
Off the WALL-E
Pixar director surfs from sea to space
‘La-Di-Da-Di’
Holding his breath until the crowd goes wild? Dave Matthews gives it his all at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on July 1. For a review and more photos, see www.qcvibes.com. The bling originator Slick Rick shows off his famous gold ropes and such during his July 4 show at Amos’ Southend. Smiling in the face of…
They’re so vain
With the striking exception of my uber-hip Jordache jeans in fifth grade, I’ve never been a label whore. If the clothes fit around my growing girth, I buy them, no matter if an alligator, moose or dog has marked the territory. It’s an over-rational, unemotional approach to clothing, but no one smirks — at least…
A gangster’s paradise
The higher-ups at the Laredo Police Department didn’t want the locals to be alarmed. Earlier this year, the Texas city saw a large surge in the number of hard-core Central American gang members caught within its borders. So the department sought to get the word out that the gangsters wouldn’t be hanging around. “Mostly they…
The last supper
Woods On South quietly shuts its doors
Pop Life: The ‘Get Involved’ Edition
Join Creative Loafing and The Sol Kitchen as they party with a purpose at the July 16th edition of Pop Life. We’ll be throwing a spotlight on local groups that are making a difference in the city — like the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Planned Parenthood Young Advocates, GenerationEngage and the Arts & Science…
On mental health, Boots & Bikinis
Last Tuesday, I went out with the purpose of going to a benefit for the Mental Health Association at the Wachovia Atrium, and somehow ended up judging Whisky River’s Boots & Bikinis contest … I swear I am not a mental health patient. Although my friends may beg to differ. When they saw me mix…
From the bottom up
Invoke the name Anthony David in a room of mainstream music fans and you’ll undoubtedly see a lot of confused expressions. An Atlanta-based vocalist and musician, David is known primarily by folks who consume underground soul music — not well-known stuff by the likes of Chris Brown, Usher or T-Pain. And that’s because, over the…
Exhibition: Blast from the past
EXHIBITION
Warped politics
Against Me! brings its message to annual tour
Festival: What’s your frequency?
FESTIVAL
In search of independent music …
Earlier this year, we released a CD, Creative Loafing Presents Jeff Hahne’s Homebrew, which was a compilation of 12 songs by local, independent musicians. Not surprisingly, they flew off the shelves and were passed out with ease. That was the “Winter Harvest” and now seems like a good time to brew up a “Summer Stash.”…
CL previews upcoming shows
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9 Sci Fi CD Release The jazz trio from Wilmington, N.C., embeds splashes, not droplets, of dub, blues, funk, psychedelics and Latin beats into its improvised, yet highly cohesive fusion. Their idea of a musical evening is to loosen boundaries and fling open musical borders while forging a signature vibe. The trio is…
Music: Warped Rock
MUSIC
Reveling in rock’s underbelly
A few years back, Mark Lynch was listening to WFMU’s Sinner’s Crossroads, a weekly transmission of all things black southern gospel from “pilfered field recordings and muddy off-the-radio sounds” to “homemade congregational tapes and vintage commercial gospel throw-downs,” when an old advert for a psychic caught his attention: “Is your way beset by trouble walkers?…
Music: Anthony David brings a combo of soul and blues
Anthony David has done a little bit of everything. But the soul/blues singer didn’t pick up a guitar until after his 21st birthday. That was after he’d spent time in the Army’s 82nd Airborne during Desert Storm. Back state side, he settled in Atlanta becoming a musical muse for India Arie and even writing one…
Ask the editor
Q: I heard about the Charlotte Observer cutting jobs. Is the newspaper business in trouble? A: In response to this week’s question about the current state of the newspaper biz, let’s just say things have been better. Part of the reason that newspapers are in trouble is because of the tough economic times America is…
Book Signing: Bestselling author to sign
BOOK SIGNING
Review of Hellboy: The Crooked Man
A comic book review
John McCain’s iPod
Here in newspaper columnist land, summer is usually a down time for reader questions and comments, as everyone but yours truly takes some needed vacation time. But not this summer. What local columnist Doug Robarchek used to call The Ol’ Mailbag has been working overtime in all this hot weather. We feel sorry for her.…
Feast on this
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival kicks off Saturday, plus more.
Queens of the Midway
Plus, CPCC’s one-two punch
They shoot gays, don’t they?
Bias crimes increase across the nation – and hit N.C.’s LGBT community.
CD Review: Boris
The Deal: Japanese experimental and noise band further expands its output. The Good: Birthed in Japanese punk movement, Boris also relishes its psychedelic guitar drones and heaviness. To quote a cliché, the band’s music is all over the map. The resplendent opener “Flower Sun Rain” to the hit-and-run scorcher “Buzz IN” to the ballad “My…
Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files
INDECISIVE THUG: A 29-year-old man said he received several harassing and threatening phone calls from a male acquaintance. “I am going to fuck you up,” the caller threatened. The acquaintance changed his mind about being the one to beat him up and called back to say, “I’m going to have someone f*** you up.” BROTHERLY…
A ‘green coal baron’?
Some readers of a recent New York Times Magazine profile of Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers were no doubt surprised by the piece. If its title, “A Green Coal Baron?” flummoxed some readers, the article’s general thrust likely have frustrated others. The casting of the utility behemoth’s president and chief executive officer as a visionary…
CD Review: Katy Perry
The Deal: Much-hyped 23-year-old pop singer releases debut album. The Good: Her name seems to be just about everywhere these days – much like her radio-friendly hits “I Kissed a Girl” and “Ur So Gay.” Perry ditches the sample-heavy pop for a more straight-forward sound of “Thinking of You,” sounding more like Alanis Morissette than…
Other mothers
Grant’s mother was in town again and, as ever, I was amazed that she didn’t murder me the minute she saw me. Not that I deserve to be killed just for telling the truth about her horny-assed son in newspapers, books and magazines published all over the world — because Lord Jesus God, if you…
Sexual infections double in older people
Be careful when dating — that cougar (or that sugar daddy) could give you a sexually transmitted disease: a recent health study suggests that the rate of STDs have doubled in people over the age of 45 in the last 10 years. The study, which appeared in June the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, said that…
CD Review: Albert hammond Jr.
The Deal: The Strokes’ guitarist releases sophomore solo album. The Good: Not long ago, The Strokes were being raved about as they led the “garage rock revival” and everyone expected them to be the next Nirvana. Well, that didn’t happen, though the band has enjoyed some mild success. Hammond Jr. has penned a number of…
Stargazer
Cancer the Crab: (June 21 — July 21) Early in the week you need extra rest or time to yourself. Thoughtful solitude will yield important insights about your life. Mercury is entering your sign and by the 12th you will want to talk to a trusted friend about all you have come to understand. For…
Local civic events
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission Historic District Committee Wednesday. 3 p.m. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. 4th St., Conference Room 280, Second Floor, www.charmeck.org Uptown Shelter Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the 44-bed emergency dorm expansion. Wednesday. 2 p.m. Uptown Shelter, 1210 N. Tryon St., 704-927-6871. Day of Action for an Oil-Free President Wednesday. 5 p.m. For locations,…
Got goat cheese?
Now Open: • Tin Pan Alley, a pizza and sports bar, in Huntersville, 13812 Cinnabar Place (Exit 23). The two-story eatery features the bar on the top level and the restaurant on the first. Managing partner Jon Dalton says the menu includes New York-styled pizzas, sandwiches and Iowa ice cream. Hours: 11 a.m. until midnight…
