Mar 31 – Apr 7, 2009

Mar 31 - Apr 7, 2009 / Vol. 23 / No. 5

Charleston eats

When eating in Charleston, South Carolina, you can’t go wrong. Everything is extremely good. They’ve got fluffy biscuits, decadent pies, fresh seafood and more. I spent the weekend in Charleston for the Cooper River Bridge 10K run and we ate at Baked, Social, and S.N.O.B. Just thought I’d share a few pics… (If you go…

Priscilla Tsai

KISS fans to decide tour routing

Fans can vote for their city – ones with the most votes get shows. While the band has gotten a lot of crap over the years for putting on the “final tour” that never ends, the band has also said in interviews that as long as there is a demand for concerts, they’ll continue to…

Jeff Hahne

Sale of the day: Monday

If you bring a donation for the National MS Society (at least $20) to Scout & Molly’s of Charlotte, you’ll receive 20 percent off your purchase. A great way to get a deal on some new spring fashions and support an important cause. Sale runs through Saturday. 3920 Sharon Road, Suite B150 704-817-7009

Kimberly Lawson

Behold: B. Scott

Just found a new Internet celeb/blogger/crazy person. Behold … B. Scott: Check out his blog at http://www.lovebscott.com.

Carlton Hargro

Satire Alert: Chamber welcomes big news of heroin upswing

In a development no one expected, the Charlotte Chamber will hold a press conference later today expressing satisfaction over recent reports that one local business is doing great. Says our well-placed source, “When the folks here at the Chamber heard about the huge upswing in black tar heroin distribution in Charlotte, I can tell you…

John Grooms

The 10 Secrets to Great Sex

So, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. And I have to wonder, why do we need so many books about how to have better sex? After reading The 10 Secrets To Great Sex, I realize that I don’t have to read another how to sex book. The book is from the Sinclair Intimacy…

Mustang Sally, Mayor of Bang Town

Unbelievable: Boston Globe may go down in flames

As if newspapers didn’t have enough problems – including the recent loss of yet more staff at the Charlotte Observer — the big news blowing through the journalism world today is that the New York Times Co. is threatening to close down the Boston Globe. The Globe, which has been one of the country’s great…

John Grooms

Women rule the ACMs

The Academy of Country Music held its annual awards ceremony last night and a handful of women walked away as the big winners of the night. Carrie Underwood won entertainer of the year, Taylor Swift won album of the year and the top new female vocalist honors went to Julianne Hough. You can get a…

Jeff Hahne

The Wack List: April 6

Five people, places and things we really ain’t digging today. • Cold weather in the spring. Wack! • Earthquakes • A reported Republican attempt to “blackmail” President Obama • The fact that they had to saw this dude’s legs off • The unemployment rate

Carlton Hargro

Sanford’s only the latest S.C. political crank

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s grumpy tap dance around, against, and now for federal stimulus money for his state comes as no surprise to anyone who either grew up in S.C., or is familiar with its history. The state has, for a long, long time, prided itself on its ingrained orneriness and attitude of willful,…

John Grooms

10-in-10 CD reviews

Each Friday, we bring you reviews of 10 recently or soon-to-be released CDs done in 10 words each: Bow Wow New Jack City II — Same old guest stars — T-Pain, Jermaine Dupri, T.I. — nothing new. Chris Botti Chris Botti In Boston — Jazz trumpeter gets help from John Mayer, Steven Tyler, Sting. Dailey…

Jeff Hahne

Today’s Top(less) 5: Friday

Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Apr. 3, 2009— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Roman Goddess weekend at The Estate. • $5 blue motorcycles at Howl at The Moon. • Nightlife…

Mustang Sally, Mayor of Bang Town

Top 100 indie albums

Everyone loves a good list. Amazon. com has posted a list of the top 100 indie albums of all time. Their criteria: • One album per artist. • No EPs or singles, this list is about albums. • No greatest hits collections or compilations of previously released tracks. • Nominations must have been originally released…

Jeff Hahne

Today’s Top 5: Thursday

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, April 2, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • The Whigs with The Hymns and The Sammies at Visulite Theatre • Company at Davidson College • The Chuckleheads at Alive • Erika Blatnik, Ben Henry, Robbie…

Anita Overcash

Today’s Top(less) 5: Thursday

Here are the five best events to get you hot and bothered with or without a date going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Apr. 2, 2009— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Light up with Cheech and Chong at Ovens. • Latin night at Cosmos Cafe. • Take a…

Mustang Sally, Mayor of Bang Town

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

A crust made of pretzels, sugar and butter is topped with a creamy cream cheese layer, which is then topped with a layer of strawberry Jell-O and strawberries.

Priscilla Tsai

NIN’s “new album”

Nine Inch Nails put up a post today (April Fool’s Day) saying that the band’s new album was available for download. The disc, Strobe Light, is said to be produced by Timbaland (another dig at Chris Cornell?) The track listing is also humorous: 1. intro skit 2. everybody’s doing it (featuring chris martin, jay-z AND…

Jeff Hahne

Colbert gives Glenn (sniffle) Beck a deserved beatdown

One of life’s best guilty pleasures is watching someone who needs a serious beatdown finally get what he’s got coming. I’m talking, of course, of Fox News personality Glenn Beck, the weepy, paranoid borderline psychotic and self-described political “rodeo clown” who makes a good living by pumping up the paranoia and scaring hell out of…

John Grooms

Make it last forever

The Budget Fashionista has a great post on their site with tips on how to make the most of your wardrobe. Save some dollar bills, y’all.

Kimberly Lawson

Exclusive! State capitol building collapses!

The topmost part of the state capitol building, largely confined to the dome, collapsed earlier today according to exclusive CL sources. The building, which is the site of the governor’s offices, was rocked by a series of strange explosions around 9:30 this morning during a visit to Gov. Perdue by a large delegation of state…

John Grooms

Bjork to front Led Zepplin

Bjork’s Web site has a post stating she has accepted the job as the new lead singer of Led Zepplin. Very clever April Fool’s Day joke, no?

Jeff Hahne

Concert announcement

Word is out today that Bad Company has reunited. Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke will hit the road this summer, including a stop at Charlotte’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on June 20. And they’re bringing along the Doobie Brothers with them.

Jeff Hahne

Taste of Spring event starts April 3

Sam’s Club is hosting its first-ever “Taste of Spring.” The three-day event will be held nationwide, and will showcase dozens of menu items perfect for any spring gathering. Guests will discover how they could be saving money this year. For more information, visit www.samsclub.com. April 3, 10:30 a.m.; April 4, 10:30 a.m.; April 5, 10:30…

Kimberly Lawson

The Wack List: April 1

Five people, places and things we really ain’t digging today. • People who hate Michelle Obama. She’s dope. Get over it. • Cops who drive recklessly • Lame attempts at April Fool’s Day jokes • Computer hackers • Celebs who use Twitter ghostwriters. Fuck — how lazy can you get?!

Carlton Hargro

Daily consumer dish: April 1

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping. • Major auto dealer says bankruptcy possibile: Charlotte Observer • Prom dress offer draws record number: QCityMetro.com • Best Buy taking over Circuit City credit cards: Consumerist.com • Michelle Watch: Back to Thakoon, another score for Kors: Style.com

Kimberly Lawson

New exhibition at Elder Gallery

The opening reception of Elder Gallery’s new exhibition of paintings, etchings and drawings will go down on Fri., April 3, from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. In two parts, it consists of From Budapest to New York, featuring oil paintings by abstract expressionist artist Carl Plansky, and Etchings and Drawings, featuring works from the early 1930’s by…

Anita Overcash

Miss Universe at Gitmo!

Dayana Mendoza, AKA Miss Universe, formerly known as Miss Venezuela, visited Guantánamo Bay, along with Miss USA Crystle Stewart, as part of a USO tour, and she’s happy to report that everything at the notorious prison camp is “so calm and beautiful.” In fact, reading Mendoza’s blog about her Gitmo visit might make you want…

John Grooms

Death by reckless cop

One more person killed by a Charlotte police officer, this time Officer Martray Proctor, who was doing 90 mph at night without his blue lights or siren on.

John Grooms

Concert announcement

Well, Widespread Panic is coming back to Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre for two nights again this fall… HOWEVER – they’re bringing along The Allman Brothers Band. Tickets for the Oct. 3 and 4 shows go on sale at 9 a.m. on April 3 through LiveNation.com.

Jeff Hahne

Daily consumer dish: March 31

Headlines from the world of retail, fashion and shopping. • Aeropostale opens first store in Dubai: TalkingShopping.com • Lose your job? Ford makes your payments for a year: Consumerist.com • The runways’ winningest new models: Style.com • Diamonds are a banker’s worst friend: CNNMoney.com

Kimberly Lawson

Competing for Tupperware© at Dixie’s Tupperware Party

If you think there’s pressure in high school volleyball, try competing for Tupperware© onstage at Booth Playhouse. That’s what Sue and I did last Wednesday when Dixie Longate (nee Kris Andersson) plucked us from the audience at Dixie’s Tupperware Party for a winner-take-all race against another couple to stretch, fill and stack three collapsible FlatOut©…

Perry Tannenbaum

Parole out of control

They are the worst of the worst: killers whose brutality still has the power to shock even decades after their crimes. They were sentenced to life in prison or once sat on death row. Some killed cops. Others tortured and slaughtered children. Some are spree killers who racked up multiple body counts. These are monsters…

How can I avoid getting old?

With modern medicine and hygiene and diet, we’ve extended life expectancy far beyond what it’s ever been. Yet we all still get old and die. Few make it past 80 or 90 years, and almost nobody makes it past 100. Is there any real hope of something that could allow humans to stop or slow…

Cecil Adams

COMEDY: Cheech & Chong at Ovens Auditorium

Comedians Cheech & Chong go together like weed and a bong. Don’t ya think? The duo, who got their start in the 1970s and ’80s — with stand-up routines and films like 1978’s Up In Smoke, among others — is baaack to mesmerize crowds with their funny, stoned-out thoughts. Currently on their “Light Up America…

Anita Overcash

Duplicity: Bright, breezy entertainment

Duplicity is a jet-setting romp that proves to be as bright as it is brainy. Writer-director Tony Gilroy, flush from his Michael Clayton success, retains that film’s examination of corporate malfeasance yet replaces the sense of dread with a sense of style. After all, when a movie showcases a Caribbean hotel where rooms cost $10,000…

Matt Brunson

ART: Gentrify Me exhibition

Tonight, some of Charlotte’s funkiest artists band together to mount an exhibition titled Gentrify Me at NoDa’s Dialect Gallery. As the name suggests, all the pieces in the show were created to dissect subjects like urban decay and gentrification — maladies that (for better or worse) have caused massive community transformations in cities across the…

Carlton Hargro

Two Lovers is too forgettable

It’s not that writer-director James Gray makes bad movies. It’s just that it’s difficult to remember anything about the movies he makes — they’re so low-key, they make similarly quiet and brooding pictures look as rambunctious as Transformers by comparison. 2007’s We Own the Night starred Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg and had something to…

Matt Brunson

THEATER: Queen City Theatre Company’s Dangerous

Brace yourselves for love, lust, seduction, betrayal and more as Queen City Theatre Company brings performances of Dangerous to the stage of Duke Energy Theatre. The show is based on the stunningly controversial novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, or in English, Dangerous Liaisons — also made into a 1988 film. Glenn T. Griffin directs and Sal…

Anita Overcash

Tuscany’s New World

Lately, and I have no idea why, all things Italian intrigue me. It’s a passionate country with rich history and a population who adores food. What’s not to like? But their complicated (and archaic) wine laws confound me. Grape varieties number in the thousands. Wine can be labeled by region or grape variety, making it…

Taylor Eason

SPECIAL EVENT: Food Lion AutoFair

You won’t hear much vrooming at Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s Food Lion AutoFair, but you will see some pretty cool cars. The three-day-long (April 2-5) car show features a variety of makes and models from more than 50 clubs. But, that’s not all. In addition, vendors bring out everything from auto parts to memorabilia, and Tom…

Anita Overcash

ART: Tyree Guyton: An American Show exhibition

The new exhibition of mixed media works, titled Tyree Guyton: An American Show at McColl Center for Visual Art, is worth checking out due to its current relevance both socially, politically and economically in America. Guyton’s works (35 pieces are featured in the exhibition) are thought-provoking and explore serious issues relating to violence, poverty, drugs…

Anita Overcash

COMEDY: D.C. Malone

Comedian D.C. Malone describes himself as a “living room comic.” In other words, he’s just like any friend or relative with the know-how on making folks laugh. OK, fine. But, not eveyone possesses the humor and skill to get people laughing, especially while playing the guitar and singing the blues. Malone does that too. It’s…

Anita Overcash

Cash Bash set for April 3-4

The Sixth Annual Cash Bash is ready to pay tribute to “The Man in Black” once again, and local and regional bands will descend on Puckett’s Farm Equipment on April 3 and 4. The two-night music event will feature The Truckstop Preachers, Mad Tea Party, Tommy Ray & The Rayguns, Wink Keziah & Delux Motel…

Jeff Hahne

MUSIC: K.D. Lang

Canadian musician K.D. Lang will visit Charlotte for a performance at Ovens Auditorium on April 8. But, will she play country or pop songs? Known for her success in both genre worlds (starting in country), you should prepare for a mix. Lang’s most recent album Watershed — which, she self-produced — is an ultimate combo…

Anita Overcash

CL previews upcoming concerts (April 2-7)

THURSDAY, APRIL 2 The Hymns I just wrote about these Harrisburg alums, but nothing I saw or heard that night is gonna dissuade me from reminding anyone within eyeshot to get off the couch and go see ’em. Unless of course you’re averse to classic melodies – folks were buzzin’ about the VU, Kinks and…

CD Review: Chris Isaak’s Mr. Lucky

The Deal: Singer-songwriter releases his first studio album in seven years. The Good: Chris Isaak may be best known by many for his hits “Wicked Game” and “Somebody’s Crying,” but if you look deeper into his catalog, you’ll find an old-school singer that combines elements of rock, rockabilly and honky-tonk into something that sounds like…

Jeff Hahne

Comic book review: Wonder Woman No. 30

When it was first announced (a while ago) that writer Gail Simone was going take over Wonder Woman, I admit that I got excited. I was hoping that the lady who turned the once-mediocre Birds of Prey into a must-read could turn around a book starring one of DC’s flagship characters — a book whose…

Carlton Hargro

Monsters vs. Aliens: Pleasant if often pedestrian

With a title like Monsters vs. Aliens, the latest animated effort from DreamWorks sounds as if it could match all those Pixar gems in terms of emerging as a toon tale equally likely to entertain the adults as the small fry. After all, what film-lovin’ grownup, specifically one weaned on a steady diet of ’50s…

Matt Brunson

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Ingenious: Three male roommates in their mid-20s called police after catching two women stealing from them, literally under their noses. The men told police that the women came into their apartment, where music was playing, and randomly started dancing with them. By the time they found out what was going on, the women had already…

Ryan Pitkin

DVD Review: Coleman Hawkins’ In Europe

The Deal: Tenor sax legend’s ’60s TV appearances compiled. The Good: Coleman Hawkins doesn’t get the ink today that the other tenor titans – Lester Young, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins – still enjoy, but his reputation should be just as sacrosanct. This 20-song set gathers televised tracks from four different Euro dates (’61 to ’66),…

John Schacht

Horoscope for April 1-7, 2009

Aries The Ram: (March 20-April 19) Mars, your ruling planet, is in a truly challenging place. You may feel mistreated by someone, even attacked. But you know intuitively that if you fight it, things will go against you. It is hard for you to back off from a fight, but you must do so now.…

Vivian Carol

Capsule reviews of films currently playing the week of April 1

THE CLASS Don’t be embarrassed if you start watching The Class and can’t figure out if it’s a documentary or a fictional piece; that’s doubtless the effect that director Laurent Cantent was hoping to achieve. Winner of the top prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival as well as an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign…

Matt Brunson

‘Populism on the march’? I wish

If you read or listened to the news lately, you’d think Americans were out in the street with torches lit and pitchforks held high, marching on Congress and AIG headquarters, screaming for rich men’s blood. As soon as details of the AIG bonuses got out, Americans started voicing their justified disgust, and media reports began…

Pinocchio, The Robe among new DVD reviews

PINOCCHIO (1940). Walt Disney’s second full-length animated feature – the first, of course, was 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – remains one of his studio’s genuine masterpieces, an emotionally rich, narratively weighty and visually spectacular motion picture that never loses any of its power to dazzle the senses. Based on Carlo Collodi’s tale,…

Matt Brunson

Understanding the legacy of John Hope Franklin

Recently, the South African government barred the Dalai Lama from attending an antiracism conference in the country to “avoid undermining relations with China.” How ironic: A man who has dedicated his life to peaceful protest, non-violent activism and to fighting for human rights for all is banned from a country that espouses to represent the…

Nsenga Burton

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