Jun 14-20, 2011

Jun 14-20, 2011 / Vol. 25 / No. 16

PHOTOS: Reid’s Fine Foods

Reid’s Fine Foods is now completely open in their new location on Selwyn Ave. I stopped in for a quick bite this past weekend and took a look around. The “hand-built” Rotisserie Turkey Breast sandwich ($7.99) was decent, though the meat was a bit dry. Don’t skip the tarragon mayo – it’s key to the…

Priscilla Tsai

COMEDY: Charlotte Squawks

Charlotte Squawks — comprised of Mike Collins and Brian Kahn, as well as a variety of singers, dancers and actors — returns with a funny new show dubbed, 7-YEAR BIT©#. Described as “Broadway meets Saturday Night Live,” performances parody pop culture, politics, sports and the Q.C. And, as always, there’s adult language and content. $29.50…

Anita Overcash

CL previews upcoming concerts (June 15-20)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 BO WHITE’S BLACK MASS It’s no stretch declaring Mr. White a crucial pillar of Charlotte’s music scene, from his booking/hosting house show duties and running the Kinnikinnik Records empire to various production credits and his integral roles in outfits like Yardwork, Black Congo NC, Area Man with Ax, Calabi Yau, etcetera. But…

Comic review: Paying For It

The Deal: Acclaimed cartoonist Chester Brown — who gained notoriety by creating near-classic works like Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography — releases his latest graphic novel, which is aptly subtitled A Comic-Strip Memoir About Being a John. (That’s “john” as in “a guy who gives up cash for hookers.”) And that pretty much says…

Carlton Hargro

Nightlife profile: Buckmaster

Easily blending deep house to dubstep to hip-hop and back, Cody Hare, better known to the masses as Buckmaster, is local proof that you can’t judge a DJ by the club’s free cover. The Rock Hill native spins the ones and twos every Wednesday at the popular Le Bang dance party at Dharma Lounge (1440…

Debra Renee Seth

525,600 allusions in [title of show]

Hard-core musical fans will recognize that a mention of 525,600 is an allusion to “Seasons of Love,” the song that opens Act 2 of Rent. Those are the people who will feel most at ease with [title of show], now at Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte. After all, the original Broadway show not only starred Jeff…

Perry Tannenbaum

CD REVIEW: Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts

THE DEAL: Sonic Youth leader turns the noise off on latest solo outing. THE GOOD: Thurston Moore’s previous song-based solo record, 2007’s Trees Outside the Academy, showcased the Sonic Youth legend in various toned-down-SY settings, most still peppered with electric guitars, percussion and occasional feedback. But at the far end of the quiet spectrum, Moore…

John Schacht

EXHIBIT: Mecklenburg, Germany

Charlotte was the Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen (wife of King George III) of Great Britain, and this celebrates the 250th anniversary of her coronation and the 1994 Partnership Agreement between the two Mecklenburgs. Photos from the Mecklenburg region of Germany will be showcased. (Schwerin Castle is pictured.) Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.;…

Anita Overcash

BENEFIT: Project Art Aid Goes Pink

The community-based Project Art Aid will auction off over 200 original pieces of art to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. The 12″x12″ works are mostly painted with shades of pink. The event will also feature food and beverages, as well as the unveiling of a collaborative mosaic…

Anita Overcash

CD REVIEW: Jimbo Mathus’ Confederate Buddha

THE DEAL: No longer a Nut or a String Band rootboy, Jimbo Mathus cuts loose with twangy Memphis soul food. THE GOOD: Jimbo Mathus has found his voice at last. Or to be more accurate, his voices. Instead of trying to adhere to a specific sound like he has in the past first with the…

Grant Britt

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Hygiene Issues: A 47-year-old woman filed a police report after being assaulted by her son last week. She told officers that she got into an argument with her son after telling him that he needed to bathe himself, and he began swinging his arms wildly and struck her several times in the back and shoulders.…

Ryan Pitkin

Weiner’s no Longfellow

“The troubled sky reveals The grief it feels.” These two lines were written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem “Snow-Flakes,” published in a volume in 1863 alongside his epic and better-known “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” Much of the news chatter this week has been about Sarah Palin’s flubbing of the history of…

Amy Goodman

How do doomsayers cope when the world doesn’t end?

For centuries people have been proclaiming that the End of the World As We Know It is right around the corner. Are there any psychological studies of how these people cope when the date passes and the world doesn’t end? — Gabriel So Gabriel, let me get this straight. You think the doomsayers are wrong?…

Cecil Adams

Facing some unpleasant facts about John Edwards

George Orwell, in his essay “Why I Write,” noted that even as a kid, he thought he would be a good journalist because he had “a way with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts.” I first heard about Orwell’s quote from author Paul Fussell, an essayist and critic who is no stranger to…

Weekly horoscope (June 15-21)

Gemini The Twins (May 21-June 20) There may be a crisis with your children or a lover this week. There are elements of obsessive thinking and criticism involved. Be intentional about keeping an open mind and don’t insist on a black and white answer. Ultimately this situation is about necessary change and growth for everyone…

Vivian Carol

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of June 15

BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son isn’t like Some Like It Hot; instead, it’s like every other witless sequel meant to prolong the life cycle of a flailing franchise. Like it or not, the fact remains that there’s not much to like here, and it only escapes a bomb…

Matt Brunson

Soldier’s death sheds light on trouble in Afghanistan

Our country used to be worth dying for in the war on terror, but it isn’t anymore. When I was pregnant with my son two years ago, I laid down the law. There would be no more military channel watched in our home once the baby was old enough to understand. There would be no…

Hall Pass, The Hustler among new home entertainment titles

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (2011). It takes a special type of hack to make Roland Emmerich look like Steven Spielberg, but Jonathan Liebesman appears to be the right man for the job. The less said about most Emmerich movies (like 2012 and Matthew Broderick Meets Godzilla), the better, but he did helm Independence Day, and for…

Matt Brunson

Theater: Fabulation or The Reeducation of Undine

There’s nothing like company bankruptcy to put one on the edge. Add to that a failing marriage and the stress-o-meter rises, finally topping off with the discovery of an unplanned pregnancy. Undine, the main character of On Q Productions’ final show of the season, Fabulation or The Reeducation of Undine experiences all of this and…

Anita Overcash

Super 8: Raiders of a lost art

Writer-director J.J. Abrams’ adventure yarn Super 8 is set in 1979, a year that’s nestled between the release dates of Steven Spielberg’s first two blockbusters, 1975’s Jaws and 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and his subsequent two blockbusters, 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark and 1982’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. (Spielberg’s underrated 1941, which…

Matt Brunson

DANCE: An Evening of Live Dance

Art and movements collide during An Evening of Live Dance at Green Rice Gallery. Annie Vereen and Jack Kirven of the Viscera Dance Theatre — known for modern, sometimes exotic dances — will perform three original works (titled “V&B,” “seVen” and “Suites for the (Bitter)sweet: Codependence)” every half hour during NoDa’s Gallery Crawl. Coinciding with…

Anita Overcash

Midnight in Paris: Say oui to Woody

Stating that Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen’s best film in over a decade really doesn’t mean anything at all, considering that most of his output since the previous century has consisted of such clunkers as Hollywood Ending and Cassandra’s Dream. His last picture, 2010’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, even managed to…

Matt Brunson

THEATER: Neon Psalms

Carolina Actors Studio Theatre has moved on from its Plaza Midwood location. Now, you can find the theater production company causing trouble over in NoDa (in the same complex as Amelie’s French Bakery). CAST will kick off its first performance in its new space with the opening of Neon Psalms. This play by Thomas Strelich…

Anita Overcash

Where to find it: Silkies

When I think about animals originating in Asia, specifically China, thoughts of a silky-haired Shih Tzu or Pekinese come to mind. In fact, many animals from Asia are long-haired and silky. Even when long-haired breeds are created, they are frequently given Asian-origin names. This is true for the cat breeds of Balinese, Himalayan and Tibetan.…

Tricia Childress

THEATER: Same Time, Next Year

Bernard Slade’s 1975 Broadway comedy Same Time, Next Year is not your typical romance. The play chronicles two lovers (both of whom have children and are married to someone else) who have an annual affair. Over the course of 24 years they find the time to meet for a romantic getaway. But what starts as…

Table 274 offers the pleasures of local cooking

One of the mistakes new restaurateurs make is underestimating the value of a complete makeover. The number of makeover reality programs demonstrates this appeal and popularity. So while enthusiastic new-to-the-game owners may think that a dynamic and compelling menu will do the trick, the truth is, diners want radical changes. The interior must be transformed…

Tricia Childress

MUSIC: Find Your Muse open mic at The Evening Muse

It’s Find Your Muse open mic night at The Evening Muse this and every Monday. Musicians, grab up your music gear and head over to perform one of your own creations in front of a crowd. No one can guarantee they’ll be liked, but constructive criticism is always helpful! Get there early to snag a…

Anita Overcash

3 questions with Sara Whittlesey, sous/pastry chef

For Charlotte veterans and newbies, the city’s expanding culinary sphere seems endless with possibilities. Growing up in what was once a small town of mom and pop eateries, native Charlottean Sara Whittlesey hasn’t always known this said endlessness of culinary possibilities to be true. Over time, just as envisioned eateries grew among Charlotte’s cityscape, Whittlesey’s…

Nicole Pietrantonio

EXHIBIT: Second Nature

Lark & Key’s latest group exhibition is colorful, lively and insightful. It features works by owner Duy Huynh (see his pictured work, titled “Life and Limbs”), as well as artists Susan Hall, Angie Renfro and a newbie to the gallery, Dawn Rentz. Exhibit continues through July 30. Lark & Key Gallery and Boutique, 128 E.…

Anita Overcash

UNDER THE INFLUENCE: David Mayfield

Sometimes things just work out better than you planned. Need time to work on a solo album? No problem, because your main band is breaking up. Want your sister to sing on the album? She insists. What about the Avetts? They’d not only be happy to sing on the song you hoped for, but they’ll…

Jeff Hahne

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