Cover Story
Reverb Fest is being built on a sound foundation
Charlotte musician Phil Pucci has talked himself out of plenty of good ideas. Without the right motivation or push, moments of inspiration have fallen to the wayside, lost to a temporary lack of self-confidence, perhaps. Luckily for this introverted 28-year-old, he’s been dating a woman for nearly two years who’s willing to give him the…
American Sniper, Jamaica Inn, Mississippi Burning among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) AMERICAN SNIPER (2014). By far the weakest of the eight 2014 nominees for the Best Picture Academy Award, American Sniper relates the story of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a U.S. Navy Seal shooter…
Woohoo! CL gets named finalist for an AAN award
Here’s looking at you, Duke Energy
First Drip (5/19/15): Plaza Midwood shows up to rezoning meeting, Rodney Monroe to retire, more
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Mad Max: Fury Road: Fast & Furious
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD***1/2DIRECTED BY George MillerSTARS Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron It’s perhaps the film’s coolest concept. The roving band of baddies in Mad Max: Fury Road don’t travel anywhere without their own soundtrack — specifically, a vehicle which sports at its front a huge sound system powered by a rocker feverishly strumming away on…
Pitch Perfect 2: Songs in the key of life
PITCH PERFECT 2***DIRECTED BY Elizabeth BanksSTARS Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson Without the sort of studio hype and movie-website presence all but required these days to make a dent in the public consciousness, the winning 2012 comedy Pitch Perfect nevertheless proved to be a stealth performer at the box office, earning enough bank to convince the…
Blues legend B.B. King dies at 89
The thrill is gone…
First Drip (5/15/15): Ferrell family gets $2.25 million in civil settlement, more
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Opening Friday
What’s new in theaters this weekend.
First Drip (5/14/15): Final loop of I-485 to open in June, Duke goes in front of the judge, more
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First Drip (5/13/15): Amelie’s expands, N.C. debates handgun bill, more
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A tale of two vintage costume shops in Charlotte
I spot her as soon as I park my car in the dirt lot next to the run-down building housing Tommy’s Pub and Backstage Vintage. She’s a small woman about my mom’s height, sitting on the front porch of her costume rental shop, watching the cars zip down Central Avenue. She welcomes me inside, raving…
Charlotte VegFest vendor Lee Rathers talks animal agriculture, more
Charlotte’s got a handful of amazing women in Charlotte who own vegan businesses: Juliana Luna of Luna’s Living Kitchen, Kiersten Tristman of Novel Sweets and Julia Simon of Nourish are just a few. Their mission? Help nourish (pun intended) folks who choose not to consume animal products. They are also vendors at the fourth annual…
Apartment developers are sterilizing Charlotte
Public art was the subject of WFAE’s Charlotte Talks on Monday. A representative from the Arts and Science Council and two other guests spoke at length about the need for our city and its neighborhoods to tell their stories through art. It made me wonder what city they thought they lived in. What Charlotte tends…
Local chefs and farmers work together to feed us better
Old MacDonald had a farm, and on that farm he had some cows. But in today’s world of 99-cent fast-food menus, both Old MacDonald and the independent chefs using his beef and milk face an uphill economic battle. As Charlotte’s food scene has exploded, another quieter phenomenon has occurred in the background. All over the…
Three questions with Chef Troy Gagliardo
Early birds get the worm, but chef Troy Gagliardo takes that worm, gives it a light braise, then adds his Redneck Rémoulade and a sprig of basil for garnish. Michigan-born but Mooresville-raised, this metalhead chef of the South hosts his own cooking segment “Troy’s Everyday Eats” every Tuesday at 7 a.m. on WCCB’s morning show…
Four art lovers who inspire me
For five, sometimes six, days a week, I chew on words for a living. I read, write and rewrite. I highlight, cut, paste, type and repeat. It’s a great job that fills my little English major heart till it overflows with great anecdotes, vivid imagery and compelling information. But sometimes, I just want to get…
Journey into the afterlife with Bohemian Grove
It’s hard to know what you’re getting yourself into when you board a 12-seat van driven by XOXO’s Matt Cosper. The artistic director, who is currently manning the wheel for drives to Bohemian Grove — the theater troupe’s latest production set on a farm in Clover, South Carolina — turns on a soundtrack to the…
Rise & Rave: Wake ‘N Shake is a Saturday morning dance party
Saturday morning might not seem like the best time to throw a dance party, but Kendall Kendrick thinks it’s as good a time as any. An ancestral health and wellness coach and mother of four, Kendrick appreciates the nightlife scene but mostly avoids it. The 38-year-old goes to bed early so she can feel and…
Album review: Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color
Athens, Alabama’s Southern rock quartet Alabama Shakes made quick waves on the national music scene with its debut album, Boys & Girls. That album featured the hit single, “Hold On,” featuring the soulful vocals of singer Brittany Howard. Sound & Color is the 12-song follow-up. After kicking off with the title track, “Don’t Wanna Fight”…
Album review: Pradigy GT’s About Damn Time
It’s been roughly four-and-a-half years since Charlotte rock ‘n’ hip-hop outfit Pradigy GT released its debut album, 2010 GT Odyssey, so the follow-up’s name, About Damn Time, is apropos. The band merges full band music and rap into something which isn’t “rap-rock.” Pradigy GT’s music could more often use singing instead of rapping — the…
