Mar 20-26, 2013

Mar 20-26, 2013 / Vol. 27 / No. 4

Cover Story

Selling the South to Southerners

It’s been seven years since a barefoot Taylor Swift tiptoed onto a front porch in her video for “Our Song” and embedded herself — thick Southern accent and all — into major pop stardom. The crossover pop hit was damn near inescapable at the time, though it plainly originated in the country world. From the…

Corbie Hill

CD review: The Bronx’s The Bronx (IV)

Since bum-rushing the music scene back in 2002, Los Angeles natives The Bronx have been kicking ass and taking names with their fierce, palpitating live shows and ever-evolving sound. Starting off as a modern-day Black Flag, time has seen The Bronx slow down their tempos while increasing their grit, and producing a sound that can…

Ashton Lewis

CD review: Baobab’s Bayohbahb

Bayohbahb is the second full-length effort from Durham electronic-folk outfit Baobab, and it’s one that solidifies songwriter Phil Torres’ strong standing in North Carolina’s music scene. Since the release of the band’s first album, Baobab, Torres has been a busy man. He assisted in the production of Bombadil’s latest album, Metrics of Affection, and saw…

Clifton Golden

Balkanize me: Euro Grill and Cafe

For more than a decade, one stretch of Central Avenue has been home to Charlotte’s small (estimated at 2,000 residents), yet emerging, Balkan community. Nova’s Bakery, owned by Vlado and Sladjana Novakovic, relocated from South End to Plaza Midwood in 1998; Dino and Amela Mehic’s Bosna Market opened in 2003; and brothers Djordje and Branko…

Tricia Childress

3 questions with Irma Wolfe of Desserts Delivered

Nearly everyone has experienced the aggravations of a late-night food craving. The problem lies in whether you have what you’re craving or if you have to make a trip to get it — which in itself can be a predicament, depending on hours of operation and availability. Pizza delivery is great for folks who seek…

Danielle Brodie

Theatre Charlotte revives Woolf

George and Martha … sad, sad, sad. No, the Washingtons weren’t getting a divorce when Edward Albee unveiled his Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1962. It was worse than that, the playwright responded to those baffled by his brilliant, tempestuous drama. America was dysfunctional. Repeated revivals over the past half-century have removed the aura…

Perry Tannenbaum

Runway for the Ballet strikes a pose

Graceful. It’s the term usually used to describe a ballet dancer who executes a perfect pirouette. But you could easily say that about the way fabric flows over a woman’s body – especially at the sixth annual Runway for the Ballet. On March 23, North Carolina Dance Theatre and its young professionals group Opening Night…

Kimberly Lawson

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files (March 21)

Don’t Shoot the Messenger: A 16-year-old boy filed a police report after being intimidated by a friend of a hopeless romantic from his school. The victim said he was walking down the street last week when he was approached by a school friend, who told him that another boy was planning to shoot him if…

Ryan Pitkin

Carolina Calouche & Co. double feature

The aerialists and contemporary dancers that make up Charlotte-based Carolina Calouche & Co. have been busy preparing for two shows. The first, Spring Forward – happening March 22-23 at Booth Playhouse – features a reworked version of the troupe’s Free to Live – a piece that premiered back in March of 2012. Other works include…

Anita Overcash

Pecha Kucha stirs up creativity at Mint

Last night’s Pecha Kucha – the first in Charlotte after a two-year hiatus – brought together a collection of inspiring ideas and experiences, performance art, visual art, dance and music. Held at the Mint Museum Uptown, the format allows each presenter a six minute and 40 second time frame, in which time 20 images are…

Anita Overcash

Light rail exhibit debuts at McColl

Having already debuted at UNC Charlotte, the proposed art for the LYNX Blue Line Extension comes to McColl Center for Visual Art to give the public a second peek at the artwork that 16 selected artists created for 11 stations along the nine-mile stretch. Since construction for the extension – which will start Uptown at…

Anita Overcash

Olympus Has Fallen: Action flick lands with a thud

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN**DIRECTED BY Antoine FuquaSTARS Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart A better Die Hard movie than the godawful A Good Day to Die Hard, Olympus Has Fallen still registers as a stale action flick whose primary worth is probably as a heartland alternative for red-meat moviegoers wary of the sexy sinfulness of Spring Breakers or…

Matt Brunson

The Croods: Ragged but mildly rewarding

THE CROODS**1/2DIRECTED BY Kirk De Micco & Chris SandersSTARS Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone Any movie that calls itself The Croods — even an animated one — would seem to be threatening to wear its snot on its sleeve. Yet that’s not the case here, as this feature has enough “scary action” (as per the faint-of-heart…

Matt Brunson

Spring Breakers: College coarse

SPRING BREAKERS**1/2DIRECTED BY Harmony KorineSTARS James Franco, Selena Gomez The latest gonzo endeavor from writer-director Harmony Korine (Trash Humpers, Julien Donkey-Boy), Spring Breakers manages to be a fever dream, a wet dream, a daydream and a nightmare all in one sitting. Recalling the glory days of MTV’s spring break coverage, this film takes it a…

Matt Brunson

Admission gets a failing grade

ADMISSION*1/2DIRECTED BY Paul WeitzSTARS Tina Fey, Paul Rudd Tina Fey is a smart, funny and vivacious actress, but she’s admittedly at her best when paired with a more manic co-star who brings her relative passivity into sharper focus (think Amy Poehler in Baby Mama or Steve Carell in Date Night). Paul Rudd is a charming,…

Matt Brunson

Colorful LGBT exhibit opens

To celebrate the opening of its home in NoDa, the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte is inviting everyone over to taste the rainbow, so to speak. The center’s Color Exhibit is slated to showcase photographs that use the six LGBT pride rainbow flag colors – red, orange, green, blue and purple. Jef Madden of Peephole…

Anita Overcash

Creature Feature: Mad Monster Party returns to rock Charlotte

To quote a character in Poltergeist II: The Other Side, “They’re baaaaaack!” Not that we ever doubted their return at any point. When Eben McGarr and Joe Moe brought the inaugural Mad Monster Party to Charlotte in March 2012, the pair insisted that this wasn’t just a one-off deal; rather, they had diligently researched the…

Matt Brunson

In a flash: Lisa Rubenson

Can you tell a compelling, moving story in three minutes? One that is humorous and heartfelt, all within a few hundred words? Local writer Lisa Rubenson can do just that. Rubenson recently won NPR’s All Things Considered Three-Minute Fiction Contest. Her winning story, “Sorry For Your Loss,” will be featured in The Paris Review and…

Natalie Howard

Farming artist: Joshua James

The average day for Joshua James goes something like this: Wake up early and get breakfast started. Go for a jog. Feed a variety of animals before eating breakfast with his wife. Fix a gate or perhaps plant seeds in preparation for the next garden harvest. If he’s lucky, there’s some music worked into the…

Jeff Hahne

‘NoDa Brawl’ joins list of wacky North Carolina YouTube sensations

While last year’s Democratic National Convention propelled Charlotte onto the national stage as a maturing city that deserves the spotlight, a recent YouTube video that’s gaining national attention is showing the world that we’re not above a good throwdown. The “NoDa Brawl,” as it’s being referred to on social media and local news stations, broke…

Ryan Pitkin

Happy birthday, Iraq War

Ten years ago this week, about 120,000 U.S. troops, 45,000 from the U.K., and a handful from three other allies invaded Iraq. The decision to attack, made over the strong, vocal objections of most of America’s allies as well as millions of demonstrators worldwide, is proving to be one of the most momentous, destructive and…

John Grooms

Wicked — still great and powerful?

A fairly refined theme park atmosphere reigns in Ovens Auditorium, where the national tour of Wicked is parked through March 30. The Disney-level merch is available on the lower and upper levels, and strangely soothing pre-recorded announcements remind everyone how long it will be before the show starts or resumes, what foods and beverages will…

Perry Tannenbaum

Weekly horoscope (March 21-March 27)

Aries The Ram (March 20-April 19): The sun returns “home” to your sign this week. You likely will find it to be energizing. Now is the time to focus on plans for the next year of your life. Take a fresh look at where you want to direct your energy. Use this month to let…

Vivian Carol

The Blob, Mulan, Life of Pi among new home entertainment titles

(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD.) THE BLOB (1958). One of the most instantly recognizable science fiction flicks from the 1950s — and certainly one of the most influential (everyone from Woody Allen to Homer Simpson has paid it tribute) — The Blob is interesting…

Matt Brunson

La vida LaCa

As Charlotte’s Latin American community continues to grow, it seems only fitting that its culture should similarly expand and thrive in this city. That’s where The Latin American Contemporary Art Projects comes in. The gallery, opening on Thursday, March 21, will showcase works by Latin American artists who live and work both here and abroad.…

Anita Overcash

Councilwoman champions ‘Banning the Box’

Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield considered banning the box long before she thought about running for office. Three years ago, Mayfield served as a community organizer for local nonprofit Grassroots Leadership. Most of her work involved immigration reform and researching alternatives to incarceration, of which employment is one. When she became a councilwoman in 2011, Mayfield partnered…

Ana McKenzie

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