May 1-7, 2013

May 1-7, 2013 / Vol. 27 / No. 10

Cover Story

Shelter us … with more permanent supportive housing options

On a recent chilly morning, Bernard Hernandez sits in front of the shack he built with wood boards and plastic tarp, listening to a battery-operated radio. Inside, a hanging tarp divides a 15-by-15 foot area, half of which is for Hernandez, the other for his roommate, Jorge. Bags of food, tools, multiple bicycles and other…

Ryan Pitkin

CD review: Ola Podrida’s Ghosts Go Blind

Shimmering like heat rising from tarmac, Austin’s Ola Podrida spins High Plains chamber-pop into elliptical narratives about self-doubt and the tricky passage to adulthood. If that sounds like something showing on the Sundance Channel, it may be due to songwriter David Wingo’s indie film credentials. Wingo has composed soundtracks since 2000, starting with director David…

Pat Moran

CD review: Bearcat’s Kringle

About a third of the way through his first solo effort, Kringle, rapper Bearcat asks on “Lethal Legal,” “Now you have it, but do you really get it? Nod your head to the beat, let me know that you’re with it.” As one half of Eyes of the Elders’ rhyming force, Charlotte listeners have become…

Mike McCray

3 questions with Katie Levans, creator of Plateshare

If you want to know how to fast-track an idea, take note of this recipe: Pair one philanthropic idea with a bright-eyed, girl-next-door type, throw in a little reality show hubbub and a solid weekend with a few tech geeks. Mix in just enough social media to make a stink and voila! You have Plateshare,…

Keia Mastrianni

New heights: Machu Picchu

Since 2011, culinary trend spotters have cited Peruvian cuisine as the “Next Big Thing.” Peru, like the United States, has benefited gastronomically from an influx of cultures. Spanish, Japanese, West African and Chinese cuisines have mixed with the native Andean culture. Add to this the bordering Humboldt Current, an extraordinary ecosystem where almost 20 percent…

Tricia Childress

Jumping for Doubletime

Simply jumping rope as a child in a schoolyard is one thing, but showing off moves for a national competition is another – it’s something you need not volunteer for if you lack acrobatics, speed and creativity. 2007’s Doubletime introduces us to the sport of double dutch, while following two teams who are preparing to…

Anita Overcash

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte Police files (May 2)

You Stink: A car air freshener caused one man a lot of trouble last week after he was pulled over for making an illegal turn. The officer making the stop “detected the strong odor of an air freshener emitting from the interior” of the vehicle and grew suspicious that perhaps the strong odor could be…

Ryan Pitkin

Iron Man 3: Stark reminder

IRON MAN 3 **1/2 DIRECTED BY Shane Black STARS Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow Putting the pedal to the metal, it’s full speed ahead for Iron Man 3, the first post-Avengers flick to feature one of that elite outfit’s members again operating in single-player game mode. Jon Favreau, who helmed the first two pictures, has…

Matt Brunson

Carolina’s Got Art makes room for more works

Just because you live in NoDa doesn’t mean you support the arts scene. That’s because to really support the Carolina arts scene you’d have to venture outside of the Q.C. to spot the works of other artists who are doing things with canvas, ceramics or whatever other mediums they fancy. That’s where the folks behind…

Anita Overcash

Theater review: Contemporary Fusion

Charlotte’s most esteemed performing arts company, North Carolina Dance Theatre, finished their 42nd season with Contemporary Fusion, a trio of challenging, colorful works performed with their customary flair. Now that doesn’t sound particularly dramatic until you consider that, on top of the retirements and exits of a cluster of NCDT’s best dancers before the season…

Perry Tannenbaum

Children suffer most under North Carolina’s war on the poor

Sen. Angela Bryant, D-Halifax, recently likened a batch of bills making its way through the General Assembly to the Boston Marathon bombing, tweeting: “GOP political terrorism on poor along marathon survival route with pressure cooker bombs: pay 4 drug tests, IDs, crim checks [sic].” Twitter outrage predictably ensued, and her post has since been deleted…

Erin Tracy-Blackwood

J Roddy Walston gives pianos the business

J Roddy Walston’s grandmother taught him how to play piano. She showed him how to hit the right keys and notes and play familiar songs. She gave him a solid foundation. When Walston performs on stage, he shakes, pounds and hits that foundation to its core. He hammers away at the keys on his upright…

Jeff Hahne

Raleigh’s Stillhouse marks The Great Reprise with their own great return

With its polished and confident take on modern folk-rock, The Great Reprise suggests an outfit that’s spent years refining its sound. The second album released by Raleigh’s Stillhouse offers regret-tinged meditation filled out with uneasy pedal steel and pointed electric fills as well as up-tempo redemption courtesy of rollicking piano and striding rhythms. It’s a…

Jordan Lawrence

Hats off to Gantt Center’s church lady photography series, more

The folks over at the Gantt Center of African-American Art + Culture may have outdone themselves this time. In a follow-up to Tavis Smiley’s touring America I AM: The African American Imprint, a long-stay exhibit that ran from June 30, 2012, through March 3, 2013, they’re now showcasing three compelling exhibits in a series that…

Anita Overcash

John Lennon’s traveling art exhibit comes to Charlotte

Considering that the relationship and endeavors of Beatles front man John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono often evoked controversy, it’s not all that surprising that In My Life: The Artwork of John Lennon is doing more than causing folks to “come together.” It, too, is ruffling some feathers in the art world. The exhibit, organized…

Anita Overcash

Weekly horoscope (May 2-May 8)

Taurus The Bull (April 20-May 20): It may be difficult to find common ground with partners, authorities, or significant others in your life during this period. Don’t turn this into a power play that causes long-term resentment. For All Signs: Just after midnight on May 1st, Mars, the warrior, will oppose Saturn, the planet of…

Vivian Carol

Some homeless seek freedom outside shelter system

There are approximately 50 homeless encampments in Charlotte at any given time, said Darren Brown, a medical-outreach coordinator with the Urban Ministry Center, a homeless resource center. Small groups can be found across the city, but the largest clusters are near North Tryon Street, just outside of Uptown and close to the Urban Ministry Center,…

Ryan Pitkin

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