Again … TAKE YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW
An incredible band called Tortured Soul is hitting town tonight — they’ll be playing the Visulite. Now, I’ve seen the Brooklyn-based trio perform twice and the shows were AMAZING. Seriously. The tickets are only $18, so if you’re not doing anything TAKE YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW. Here’s a short clip of Tortured Soul in…
Is Hell a big sweaty party?
I’m praying for forgiveness as I write this. But, if all sinners go to Hell and we’re all sinners, think of the people who are down there. Jimi Hendrix, TuPac, Biggie Smalls, Janice Joplin and Rick James — bitch. Unless the devil is George Bush, Hell might be fun. (Side note: God, this is simply…
Dale Watson’s “Hollywood Hillbilly”
Here’s the music video from Dale Watson, who was featured in this week’s Betta Listen. The song’s “Hollywood Hillbilly” and Johnny Knoxville appears in it. \\\\\\\\\\
Movie trailers for this week’s film reviews
21 Directed by Robert Luketic \\\\\\\\\\ Drillbit Taylor Directed by Steven Brill \\\\\\\\\\ Run Fat Boy Run Directed by David Schwimmer \\\\\\\\\\
Britney still sucks at acting
Britney Spears was on How I Met Your Mother last night and AOL has an article about how she “stuns critics” and CNN says she’s “still a performer.” Are they kidding? First off, Spears couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. She may have acted sane last night, but that doesn’t mean she…
This week’s new releases (3/25)
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the big names releasing albums this week: The B-52s Funplex Counting Crows Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings Morrissey Greatest Hits Anna Nalick Shine EP Panic at the Disco Pretty. Odd The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely
… And the war drags on
Two quick follow-ups to last week’s Iraq War cover story: 1. The minuscule “gains” made by the Bush/McCain “surge” now appear to be unraveling, which is kind of what you’d expect from a policy that never promised success, but rather a lower level of failure. The biggest surge going on in Iraq lately is a…
Davidson vs. Georgetown
— Cartoon by Jim Hunt
Concert announcement
Maroon 5 and Counting Crows are teaming up for a summer tour. They’ll hit Charlotte’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on July 28, according to billboard.com and pollstar.com. Opening act is Sara Bareilles.
Cheaters of the world, take a lesson from Detroit mayor Kilpatrick
When you’re a politician who uses public money to pay for your cell phone, don’t send text messages to your mistress and then lie about the affair. What the hell do you think Tracfones are for? CNN is reporting that: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and an ex-aide have been charged with perjury and obstruction of…
TAKE YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW
An incredible band called Tortured Soul is hitting town tomorrow night — they’ll be playing the Visulite. Now, I’ve seen the Brooklyn-based trio perform twice and the shows were AMAZING. Seriously. The tickets are only $18, so if you’re not doing anything TAKE YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW. Here’s a short clip of Tortured Soul…
News Roundup, 3/24/08
US toll in Iraq hits 4,000: Les than a year after the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, the American death toll reach 4,000 Sunday night. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing Sunday night that brought the grim milestone to its present standing. “No casualty is more or less significant than…
Get your Plan B for only $10
Planned Parenthood on Albemarle Road is offering Plan B for only 10 bucks tomorrow. They normally offer it for $25, but the emergency contraceptive costs more than $50 at your average pharmacy. Tuesday is national Back Up Your Birth Control Day.
TAKE YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW
An amazing band called Tortured Soul is hitting town tomorrow night — they’ll be playing the Visulite. Now, I’ve seen the Brooklyn-based trio perform twice and the shows were AMAZING. Seriously. The tickets are only $18, so if you’re not doing anything TAKE YOUR ASS TO THIS SHOW. Here’s a short clip of Tortured Soul…
Easter Monday
Can somebody tell me why this is even a holiday? Seriously.
Bill Clinton spotted!
So, former President Bill Clinton was in town today. He stopped off at one of our favorite watering holes for lunch, Thomas Street Tavern. Don’t believe me? Check out the video. It’s a little dark — look for some white hair floating around in there. Toward the end, he can be seen more clearly. \\\\\\\\\\
News Roundup, 3/21/2008
State Department: Someone snooped in Obama’s passport file: On three occasions since January, Sen. Barack Obama’s passport file was looked at by three different contract workers, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. “Two of the contractors were fired, and one was disciplined by the contractors company”. McCormack said. The State Department hires contract workers to…
Another young man gone
A 17-year-old Charlottean is dead, and for no justifiable reason. Darryl Wayne Turner, a grocery store clerk who got into a rowdy argument with his manager, and then “advanced toward” a policeman, was killed yesterday by the officer. The weapon was a Taser, but it might as well have been a gun for all the…
Songs for TV commercials
You’ve probably seen this one before, but it’s worth another look: \\\\\\\\\\
Bill Clinton spotted!
So, former President Bill Clinton was in town today. He stopped off at one of our favorite watering holes for lunch, Thomas Street Tavern. Don’t believe me? Check out the video. It’s a little dark — look for some white hair floating around in there. Toward the end, he can be seen more clearly. \\\\\\\\\\
News Roundup, 3/20/08
Bill Clinton in Charlotte on Friday: Two days after Democratic presidential primary contender Barack Obama spoke to a crowd in the Grady Cole Center, Bill Clinton is coming to Charlotte on March 21 to speak. Clinton will be speaking on behalf of his wife Hillary Clinton , Democratic presidential primary candidate, to a group of…
Michael Buble Setlist
Here’s the setlist from Michael Buble’s concert at Charlotte Bobcats Arena on March 18, 2008: I’m Your Man It Had Better Be Tonight Me and Mrs. Jones Fever Call Me Irresponsible Band Intros/Horns Buble Walks Off/Plays Trombone World on A String Always On My Mind You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You Lost Feeling Good Home…
Pastor Manning, you put the crazy in crazy black pastor
By Al Sharpton Please take a few minutes and watch this anti-Obama video from Pastor James Manning. \\\\\\\\\\ From one outspoken pastor with a funny voice to another (your voice sort of sounds like mine on helium), maybe turn down the vitriol a notch or twelve. You started out strong with humor: “Obama is…
Battle of the Hoods … It’s Over!
Voting for the Battle of the Hoods is officially over. So, we’re no longer tabulating votes. The winner seems pretty obvious, but we’ll make an official announcement in a few weeks and present the winning plaque to a lucky location in the top neighborhood. Any suggestions for where we should hang the award? Post your…
Barack Obama in the Queen City
“You guys are a fiesty crowd,” says presidental hopeful Barack Obama. He stood before a packed Grady Cole Center (when we all know this town hall meeting was better suited for Bobcats Arena) and spoke to the crowd of supporters in a town hall meeting where his staff didn’t screen the questions. Obama says that…
Are you an Obama girl (or boy)?
Sen. Barack Obama is in Charlotte today (as if you didn’t know by now). Here are a couple of video clips from today’s Stand for Change Town Hall meeting at Grady Cole Center, where he allowed members of the audience to ask questions about the issues they care about. \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\
News Roundup, 3/19/2008
Five years later, Bush says Iraq war must go on: President Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war on Wednesday. “The answers are clear to me,” Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon on Wednesday, five years from the day the war began in 2003. “Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the…
American Idol – Top 11
Last night, the Top 11 contestants on America’s largest karaoke contest performed more songs by The Beatles. Here’s my contestant-by-contestant thoughts on what went down: Cruella DeVille — I have no idea how she’s made it this far. Vote For The Worst has picked her as the contestant in most need of help. She was…
CL’s Compleat Welcome Wagon
It does seem like we nominate a lot of people for our Charlotte Theater Awards every year, but I’ve discovered through diligent research that we are every bit as discriminating as the vaunted Tony Awards in our deliberations. Looking at the 2005-06 Broadway season, I find that out of 14 musicals that opened (11 newbies…
R.I.P. Ivan Dixon
The Associated Press reports that actor Ivan Dixon has passed away at the age of 76. Although born in New York City, Dixon graduated from North Carolina Central University in Durham and retired here in Charlotte. He passed away at Presbyterian Hospital. Dixon was best known for his recurring role on the hit 1960s sitcom…
Musical scares
The Democratic primary has officially gotten ridiculous. Only we (Democrats) could figure out how to screw up an election that should be a given. The continuous game of musical chairs that has been taking place in the Clinton and Obama camps speaks to why the Democrats have not been in the oval office for the…
Battle of Hoods ends at midnight!
Remember … tonight — March 19 — at midnight, all Battle of the Hoods voting ends! Get your votes in before it’s too late!!! Vote here
Are you an Obama girl (or boy)?
Sen. Barack Obama is in Charlotte today (as if you didn’t know by now). Here are a couple of video clips from today’s Stand for Change Town Hall meeting at Grady Cole Center, where members of the audience asked questions about the issues they care about. \\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\
View from the Couch
ATONEMENT (2007). Last year’s automatic Oscar entry mostly lived up to its lofty expectations, even if it didn’t possess the sweeping emotion that provided other British period pieces like Sense and Sensibility and The Remains of the Day with their enduring resonance. In this adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel, Keira Knightley plays Cecilia, who finds…
A busy week ahead
Local film organizers offer several options
Merlot: What goes around …
“I am not drinking any fucking merlot.” — Miles, Paul Giamatti’s character in Sideways, 2004. After Sideways, I feared America abandoned merlot forever — shunned and ostracized as utter crap in front of millions. After the utterance of those words, merlot sales plummeted as Americans raced away from this vinous faux pas. It vanished from…
An Italian embrace
Veteran restaurateurs open old-style Italian eatery
Dinner and more
For some, watching chefs cook is entertainment enough, and certainly this is a popular premise for the design of such restaurants as Rooster’s in SouthPark. For others watching sushi chefs at super Nikko’s provides diversion. But there are a few places in town where more than the food shares the stage. Sofram is Charlotte’s only…
She shall return. . .
Nicole Atkins revisits the Queen City
Which wins — movie or musical?
When it comes to the book vs. the movie, typically literature trumps the cinema, wouldn’t you agree? But what about the musical vs. the movie? When I saw that they derived a Broadway musical out of The Wedding Singer, I got excited. And I got even more excited when it came to Charlotte last week.…
The Colossal Blunder
Five years later, Iraq is still our national nightmare.
Sharing a message
There’s a plentiful heap of rock stars that let fame go to their heads and then there’s a meager pile of others who stay modest throughout the heights of success. Emery is one of the latter, despite success with a catalogue of chart-topping creations that in turn brought them a frenzied force of fans. “A…
Popularity contest
If not for a close race for the Democratic nomination, North Carolina likely wouldn’t attract the attention that’s expected before May 6 from presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Instead, we would be continuing to watch as campaigns focus attention on states like Florida and Ohio. And some state lawmakers are hoping to change…
‘Hootie’ coming to the Q.C.
Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish will be performing at The Oceanaire Block Party to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital on Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m. The Block Party, which will also feature a traditional New England clambake, will be held in front of the St. Jude Charity Showhouse in the Stonegate neighborhood…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 Gregory Isaacs The Kingston great may be better known as Jamaica’s “Cool Ruler,” a nickname donned on him in the early ’80s after the Cool Ruler album release gained worldwide attention. Isaacs did a short stint in prison due to personal and financial problems and soon after released Red Rose for Gregory…
Arts: Let your soul guide you
Some people just have a way with words. The poets at SlamCharlotte will turn words into masterpieces all night long until one is announced the winning lyricist. This enlightening event will feature some of the most talented poets in the country and is home to many top ten individual world poetry slam finalists. Slam master…
Roll film, cue music
Whether your ideal film score is the John Williams “emote-by-numbers” model, a Bernard Herrmann Psycho-tic bone-chiller, or one of Ennio Morricone’s sun-blasted flavors, prepare to leave all preconceptions behind for the NoDa Film Festival’s three-night Sound + Vision experience running Monday through Wednesday, March 24-26, at the Neighborhood Theatre. Highlighted by a rare live score…
Comedy: ‘Git-R-Done!’
Everyone’s favorite blue collar bad boy is back to make you pee your pants. That’s right, Larry the Cable Guy is truckin’ into town with some knee slappin’ laughs. The star of the newly released comedy Witless Protection is sure to give you “the walkin’ farts” tonight but it will sure as hell be worth…
Controlling the words
Davidson author AlTonya Washington is sensitive about her … well, you know what Erykah Badu said before she told her man to call Tyrone. Washington, a multi-published and award-winning author with Harlequin, BET Books, Kensington and Genesis Press, has decided that she wants more control over her Ramsey Family series. And it helps that Harlequin…
LEAPs and bounds
Are you a small business owner in need of legal assistance? Then you’re in luck because the N.C. Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Program is here for you. Low-wealth business owners — people who don’t make a lot of money and have less than $8,000 in savings — are invited to a legal clinic at the…
Holiday: Happy easter!
Before you eat that big Easter dinner, take the family to Easter on Main for some holiday fun. Soulful Sunday gospel music will set the tone for an afternoon with friends and family. The little ones can choose from a variety of activities like face painting and jump rope games. Celebrate Easter and springtime with…
The Walking Dead No. 47
The Deal: The Walking Dead, as you may know, is Image Comics’ popular comic book about life after a zombie infestation has wrecked the world. This issue, the “No One is Safe” storyline marches on. And along the way, Kirkman and Co. claim a few more lives — setting the stage for even more…
A woman’s worth
The past few weeks have been quite troublesome. The murder of University of North Carolina student Eve Carson — found lying in a pool of blood, riddled with bullets — was chilling. Eighteen-year-old Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk was shot and left to die on the side of the highway. Twenty-one-year-old North Carolina Central University…
Film: Eyes, Ears and throat
In its sixth installment, The NoDa Film Festival will combine live music and old films to get new soundtracks. Sound + Vision will present the marriage of film and music in an entirely new and innovative way. With everything from local bands to legendary art punk band Pere Ubu, this is perfect opportunity for artists…
Till dud do us part
Till Dud Do Us Part Two years ago, my husband had an affair. He apologized profusely, but since he ended it, he’s been on his worst behavior. He quit his job, saying that working for someone is beneath him. Fine, but he went back to school, then quit mid-semester to go on a solo camping…
Sophia Matthews
A do-good real-estate investor by day, Sophia Matthews becomes hip-hop artist Mad P by night. She’s passionate about rawness not only in her lyrics but in her food; she recently started a local group for fellow raw foodies. Matthews is the senior vice president of Queen City Home Buyers, a real estate company that buys…
Music: Bringing down the house
It’s rare to see artists like Amp Fiddler and Tortured Soul visit Charlotte — our town, as you may know, often plays host to way too many cheesy cover bands. But Mr. Amp and the guys in TS are far from cheesy. Fiddler’s vocal style is a wild mix of P-funk and smooth soul, and…
The Blotter
THE PEE-PEE BANDIT: A 28-year-old woman said her boyfriend became violent and hit the wall in her apartment, causing a large hole. The man then went into her bedroom, jumped on her bed, pulled down his pants and urinated all over her bedspread. ATTACK OF THE PINK PANTHER: A 26-year-old woman said someone painted all…
Kiss me, I’m Irish!
Art for the young and cultured Jen Woods from the art collective God City talks to a young art patron at the Creative Loafing/God City-sponsored “Counter Culture” art show on March 7 at the Arthouse in NoDa. Another reception pops off March 21. This is your brain on meth Jeff VanVonderen from the A&E…
Theater: Getting dumped
What exactly do women want? Comedic tour-de-force Robert Dupac tries to answer this age-old question in The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron? Our hero Bobby has just been dumped by the girl of his dreams. In a state of confusion and desperation, our hero sets out on a journey to find out why it all went…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: An ex-boyfriend keeps e-mailing disturbing stuff to my work e-mail. We dated for seven months then were able to split on amicable terms. Really, better than amicable. I could say that we’re very close friends. I worry that he still has feelings for me. I’m not saying he’s one of those serial…
Charity Bell gets tough
Watch out. West Mecklenburg High School Principal Charity Bell is getting tough. She picked a hell of a week to do it, as you’ll see in a moment. Last week, dozens of students and former students shared heartbreaking stories about being bullied with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board and the media. Then the school board held…
CD Review: Vampire Weekend
The Deal: Band with more buzz around it than the average honeycomb releases debut disc. The Good: The quartet may have formed four days before their first gig at Columbia University, but they’ve come a long way since those days in ’06. African rhythms stolen from the Paul Simon playbook mix with a bit of…
Cake-sitting
My friend Annie wants to know if I can come cake-sitting with her on Saturday. “What the hell is cake-sitting?” I asked, because it sounds interesting, seeing as how cake is my favorite food. I would not have even asked usually, because Saturday is Mae Day, which are days I designate to devote to my…
An obligatory moment of self-promotion
Creative Loafing recently took home two North Carolina Press Association awards. They were handed out Feb. 28 in Chapel Hill. We’re shy, though, so we didn’t get around to telling you until now. Columnist John Grooms won first place among weeklies with circulation greater than 10,000 in the lighter columns category. His win was based…
CD Review: Catherine Russell
The Deal: Catherine Russell reinvents a genre. The Good: Even if you hate jazz, never understood it and never wanted to, you’ll love what Catherine Russell does with it. Forget everything you thought about that genre. There’s no pretension, no histrionics, no weird time signature you couldn’t count even with your shoes off. Just a…
Stargazer
Aries The Ram: (March 20 — April 19) Give special attention to the lead paragraph because this powerful energy is occurring in your sign. If you have wanted to depart a situation for a very long time, this may be your moment of escape. But if you are essentially happy in your life, this is…
CD Review: Mike Doughty
The Deal: Former Soul Coughing frontman releases follow-up to ’05s Haughty Melodic. The Good: Bouncing between fun-and-flighty and more in-depth, Doughty has always used humor and plays-on-words to get across his message. His signature vocal style is intact and fans should be happy with the latest effort. He borrows the chorus of “The Flesh Failures…
Film Clips
New Releases DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO! In Horton’s world, “a person’s a person, no matter how small,” but in our world, a mediocre movie’s a mediocre movie, no matter how overhyped, overblown and overbearing. Certainly, there are many who will give this animated film a free ride by virtue of the fact that…
A sassy Mint Rainbow
If you saw the crowd at Levine Museum on MLK Day swelling out onto 7th Street, you may already know that the overflow queue was for “Q” – Quentin Talley and his new On Q Productions. With a free presentation of Douglas T. Ward’s A Day of Absence, a new day was born in the…
Reproductive rights bigger than Spitzer
Monday was a strange day in Albany. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was scheduled to give a major address to close to 1,000 people, most of whom were women and teens. They were gathered to support and lobby for a reproductive-rights bill in the Empire State Plaza’s iconic building known as The Egg. It is…
