Summer Arts Explosion
It’s almost unthinkable. Charlotte’s vaunted car culture is being nudged aside in a radical summer makeover, forced to share the spotlight with… real culture! At the Performing Arts Center, Belk Theater will be hosting splashy musicals throughout the summer months. Two blocks further north on Tryon, Spirit Square is popping off with a double-barreled rebirth,…
Herbal Essence
For restaurateur Oscar Gonzalez, who also owns Señor Tequila, opening the 85-seat Cilantro’s Latin Cuisine, a pan-Latino restaurant, was a no-brainer. He’s a native of Venezuela; his wife, Maria, is from Honduras; his mother-in-law, from Madrid, Spain, currently owns a Spanish restaurant in Honduras. Other relatives own restaurants in Madrid. Latino restaurants that feature dishes…
Divide And Conquer
What to show and what not to show. Those are the questions these days when it comes to images of war and capture, torture, and even a beheading. The now-familiar photos of naked Iraqi prisoners being abused by their American military guards at Abu Ghraib prison was a story broken by CBS, and now we…
Hot Times in The Old Town
Are you dragging into the same old places, seeing the same old bands and eating at the same old restaurants? Yeah, we thought so. Just in time, CL is offering some ideas to get you up off the couch. Some of these bars or restaurants may be familiar but we bet you haven’t checked them…
Why local wine shops are better bang for your dollar
It’s not just the temperature that gives me chills when I enter a wine shop. I can — and certainly have — spent hours wandering wide-eyed and goose-bumped up and down the aisles of a wine shop, like an exuberant kid at Toys “R” Us. Each label and each vintage offers a bright opportunity to…
Crusades, Take Two
A week after the 9/11 attacks by al Qaeda, President Bush referred to “this crusade, this war on terrorism.” He quickly backed off the crusade stuff but the recent revelations about the degradation of Islamic mores in the name of Democracy at Abu Ghraib prison revived it. Like it or not, America finds itself even…
Draggin’ The Tourist Line
Summer in Charlotte is a drag sometimes: mostly it’s just hot and humid and grungy. No wonder people escape to Myrtle Beach. If you live here, you tend to take what tourist attractions we have for granted. The NC tourism folks are apparently waffling on having named Concord Mills the state’s number one tourist attraction,…
Good Eats
All Around Town Anntony’s Caribbean, 400 S. Tryon St., 704-339-0303; 2001 E. 7th St., 704-342-0749. All locations have different owners. A hint of the tropics; rotisserie chicken with Jamaican jerk sauce, ribs, Paradise Island fish special, curries, and Caribbean styled greens. $$ Azteca, 116 Woodlawn Rd., 704-525-5110; 9709 Independence Blvd., 704-814-9877; 1863 W. Franklin Blvd.…
What’s a few deaths among doctors?
Dr. Charles Buzzanell rambled incoherently into the phone when hospital officials called him about a patient who was threatening to commit suicide. He forgot the conversation, he later explained, which is why he never showed up at the hospital to deal with the situation. That same month, another one of his patients died after the…
Ten Essentials For a Bling Bling Summer
Here’s a quick list of the gear and accessories that could keep your summer from being a drag. 1. The Sea ScooterCost: $530.90 Where to Get One: www.eurocosm.com/Application/Products/Seadoo/Seadoo1GB.asp This 007 Bond-worthy gadget is described by its manufacturers as “Not a life saving device, just a life enhancing one.” At just 60 cm long and 7…
My Web Pages
Being “put out to pasture” isn’t such a bad thing when you’re an older artist with a history of making good music. First of all, you’re not in line for the slaughterhouse that is the big national media. You’ve already done your part, received your merciless skewering and/or ego-bloating praise, and escaped alive. At this…
Hopeless In Gaza
The graves of British soldiers lie smashed in Gaza, the ground defiled, the broken headstones smeared with crude swastikas and pasted with pictures of tortured Iraqi prisoners. “Revenge!” screams one message, glued across the name of one British soldier killed in the First World War fighting for Palestine. These may be the deeds of a…
Summer Happenings
June Film Ben & Jerry’s Summer Movie Series All movies are kid friendly or classics. June 9; July 12; Aug. 9. Free. Ben & Jerry’s, Davidson, 202 South Main St. 704-892-0604. Best of Full-Frame Documentary Film Fest June 3: Born into Brothels; June 4: Word Wars. www.lightfactory.org. The Light Factory, Spirit Square, 345 N. College…
Farris at the Forefront
So, Anyway: If ever a debut CD suggested that a back-up musician was done playing second fiddle, Amy Farris’ is it. A virtuoso violin and viola player, Ferris spent a decade fiddling and singing back up for some of Texas’ best Americana acts before going to work on Anyway. She shared a van with Alejandro…
Cilantro’s Latin Cuisine
Herbal Essence A world of Latino foods at Cilantro’sFor restaurateur Oscar Gonzalez, who also owns Señor Tequila, opening the 85-seat Cilantro’s Latin Cuisine, a pan-Latino restaurant, was a no-brainer. He’s a native of Venezuela; his wife, Maria, is from Honduras; his mother-in-law, from Madrid, Spain, currently owns a Spanish restaurant in Honduras. Other relatives own…
From Furious To Frou-Frou
First there was the creator of the lesbian show The L Word, saying in an interview that she wants to increase its style profile. Then came the news that Bravo is planning a female version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Hearing about both prompted me to look back to the days when I…
Sit & Spin
Various Artists Quisqueya En El Hudson: Dominican Music in Nyc Smithsonian Folkways Recordings The Dominican Republic is the considerably less volatile half of the island it shares with the civil strife-plagued nation of Haiti in the Caribbean Sea. Dominicans have just recently broken the musical dominance of their regional neighbors, namely Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto…
His and Hearse
I’ve always had a problem with vanity plates. Bumper stickers are OK in small doses, but vanity plates? Is your creativity that stifled in day-to-day life that this is your chosen mode of expression? Would a normal old WRK-7837 not tell people as much about you as your vanity plate — JENZJETTA! — does? Saturday,…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 5.19 Dig Shovel Dig – This innovative two-piece from Asheville formed in 2002 and has two full lengths out on their own Searchwielder Records. Ted Robinson sings, and plays bass with his hands and synth with his feet; Mark Williams drums and occasionally “yells at the audience,” according to the band. With influences ranging…
The Blotter
FADING INTO THE BACKGROUND: A woman filed a report after she was swindled out of $35. According to the report, the woman paid a company for a background check that they said they needed to have before they could hire her. Days after paying them, the woman found out that there was no such company.…
Soundboard
Wednesday, May. 19 Amos’ Southend Dexter Freebish Blue Melinda Hansen, Royce Guin, Korey Dudley & Rob Knox Breakfast Club DJ Boney B Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Cecil’s Robin Rogers Band Charleston Chops, Cornelius Michelle Smith w/ Bill & Ray Comet Grill Anamcara Double Door Inn Country & Western Bill w/ F150 The Evening…
Asleep At The Wheel
Penelope Thurgood Retired “I’ve always wondered how the police in Charlotte always get away with shooting people. Now I know.” David G. Higgins Systems Analyst “I don’t know, but it sounds like the dude’s been going to city council meetings, too – you ever try to watch that on TV? Knocked me right out.” Patricia…
The Fog of War
Trust Hollywood to further fictionalize a story that has long been regarded as one of the greatest works of fiction ever created. Troy may be all about Achilles and Hector and Helen and that infernal heel, yet there’s a reason a screen credit states that the movie was “inspired by” Homer’s The Iliad rather than…
See & Do
MAY 19 – WEDNESDAY The Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual fundraising event welcomes the public this year, offering the chance to hobnob with some of the city’s hottest celebrities and athletes. Muscle Team 2004 pairs up local sports stars with children affected by neuromuscular disease. Jeff Burton, Jake Delhomme, Ric Flair, Mike Rucker and Panther’s head…
Seeing Green
While most sequels slide down that slippery slope of diminishing quality, the eagerly awaited Shrek 2 is on a par with its predecessor. That bodes well for all concerned, since the 2001 original grossed $267 million and copped the first-ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature. In this outing, newlywed ogres Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers)…
Ask the Advice Goddess
Claws and Effect Since day one, my boyfriend has been nothing but wonderful, but I treat him badly for no (apparent) reason. Sometimes when we’re together I’ll suddenly become irritable and moody, and snap at him. I always feel bad, and apologize afterward, but I know if I keep this up I’m going to lose…
View From The Couch
EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS (2003). Last year witnessed the release of two documentaries about 70s filmmaking, and while A Decade Under the Influence (already available on video and DVD) is the better of the pair, this adaptation of Peter Biskind’s nonfiction book has its share of fascinating material for the diehard movie fan. Beginning in…
Stargazer
For All Signs Just after midnight on May 25, the planet Mars (ancient god of war) conjuncts Saturn (ruler of limits and boundaries). Their coming together represents a debate between polarities: action vs. stasis, hot vs. cold, spontaneity vs. containment, individual needs vs. the collective. The message urges us to develop the self-discipline and groundwork…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES BON VOYAGE The latest from French filmmaker Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Cyrano de Bergerac) takes place during World War II, but don’t expect a downer along the lines of The Pianist: A sighting of Maurice Chevalier among its numerous characters would be more in line than an appearance by Oskar Schindler. Bon Voyage possesses the…
Snuggling Up to Guilt & Shame
Watching the agonies and midlife crises of Stuart and Dell in White Man Dancing, you can easily forget that playwright Stephen Metcalfe conceived their struggles as a comedy. Yes, there’s an absurdist wink or two from Stuart, a playwright himself, as he hurriedly jots down a sentence he has spoken for use in a future…
Summer Guide’04
Summer in Charlotte can be a drag. It’s usually hot. And humid. And buggy. And the air’s nothing to go crazy about. It’s even more of a drag that we don’t have a nice river running through town. But look on the bright side. If we did have a river, the mosquitoes would probably be…
Summer Guide’04
Summer in Charlotte can be a drag. It’s usually hot. And humid. And buggy. And the air’s nothing to go crazy about. It’s even more of a drag that we don’t have a nice river running through town. But look on the bright side. If we did have a river, the mosquitoes would probably be…
Worth The Effort
Of all the artists living in the Charlotte area, painter Herb Jackson is arguably the most famous, and he’s enjoyed a major reputation for the longest time. Jackson, who was born in Raleigh in 1945, graduated from Davidson College and is now the chair of the university’s Visual Arts Department. He has had five one-man…
“It’s Been Hectic”
Since releasing hundreds of pictures of flag-draped coffins belonging to American war dead on his website www.thememoryhole.org, the 34-year-old Russ Kick has been a busy man, having been interviewed by news outlets from around the world. Since Dover Air Force Base first released the photos to him a few weeks back, Kick has been dubbed…
Main Drags
Every town’s got one. If you’re lucky, your town has more than one. If you’re New York City, you’ve got hundreds of them. I’m speaking here about main drags, streets that through a wobbly mixture of culture, commerce and citizenship somehow become destination points for a city. Taking its name from the late 18th century…
Queerspawn Speak!
With all the brouhaha over gay marriages and a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent them, it’s high time to examine one of the major issues in the controversy: gay parenting. Abigail Garner’s thoughtful new book explores the topic from the perspective of grown children of gay parents — or “queerspawn,” as some members of the…
Inside Job
As Charlotteans ground away on their paper shredders, thinking they were somehow protecting themselves from identity theft by destroying financial information, members of an identity theft ring that infiltrated Charlotte banks and businesses were stealing them blind. According to indictments filed in United States District Court in February, Charlotte residents Jeff Inman and Eric Pyatt,…
Knock Down, Drag Out
The bell rings, and I float to the center of the ring, bouncing on the balls of my feet, quick and agile. I throw a few snapping jabs, tagging my opponent at will. He tries to muscle me into the corner but I expertly slip away, peppering him with a few more jabs in the…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Lucia Di Lammermoor A bel canto opera based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott. www.operacarolna.org. May 20, 7:30 p.m.; May 22, 8 p.m.; May 23, 2 p.m. $10-$79. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. The Singers of Renaissance Charlotte-based choral group’s annual Piccolo Spoleto concert, featuring Brahms and other…
Letters
Bush Puts U.S. In Backseat “With Trembling Fingers” (May 12) is one of the most poignant pieces Hal Crowther has written for CL. One thing he makes very clear is that no one, Americans included, is exempt from the universal and natural laws that spank mankind whenever he forgets he is not God. Hermann Goering…
