May 26 – Jun 2, 2009

May 26 - Jun 2, 2009 / Vol. 23 / No. 13

Ri Ra Irish Pub closed due to fire damage

In case you haven’t heard, Ri Ra Irish Pub has closed due fire damage. Owners of the pub, hope it can reopen later in the summer. For more information, read the press release below. Ri Ra to fully restore authentic Irish Pub Ri Ra Irish pub in Charlotte suffered smoke and heat damage as the…

Anita Overcash

A dream come true: Daniel Craig on a stick

From the Telegraph: An ice cream company created the purple “licence to chill” lolly after asking more than 1,000 women which male celebrity like to see on the end of a stick. Read more about the mouth-watering popsicles here.

Priscilla Tsai

Mike McCray

Mike McCray is a Charlotte native that attributes his love of music partially to being stuck in the car with talk radio way too many times as a kid. He recently graduated from North Carolina A&T where he was simultaneously the editor in chief of the student newspaper, an on-air personality at the campus radio…

Web Editor

Eminem meets Bruno at MTV Movie Awards

Yeah, the clip speaks for itself… Doesn’t look like Eminem was happy. I guess he can make fun of celebrities, but doesn’t like to become the “butt” of jokes himself: Brüno Lands On EminemBrüno Lands On Eminem

Jeff Hahne

Today’s Top(less) 5: Monday

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, June 1, 2009–as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Learn to Salsa or show off your skills. • Get treated like a VIP at The Gentleman’s Club.…

Mustang Sally, Mayor of Bang Town

Changing Places at the Levine Museum

Chink, queen, ape, yankee, trash, banana, redneck, oreo — not words you typically see posted in a museum in Uptown Charlotte. But these and other nouns and adjectives are part of the Levine Museum’s Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor®, a year-long exhibit that explores cultural traditions and stereotypes. At Changing Places, you…

Teresa Hernandez

It’s a lost art

Whatever happened to the good ole days? The days where boy meets girl … boy asks girl out … boy calls and confirms date with girl … boy picks girl up … they go out … boy takes girl home … and the cycle repeats until the next step is taken and, well, we’re all…

Shameika René

Upcoming: Pet Palooza

OK, maybe this isn’t directly shopping-related, but there’s going to be a doggie fashion show! Pet Palooza is the annual fundraiser for the Humane Society of Charlotte. It’s a fest you can actually take your dog out to, featuring a vendor fair, music entertainment, refreshments, a fido fashion show (that’s right, dogs will show off…

Anita Overcash

Mold earns Epicentre restaurant an 84

Indochine Grill scored an 84 after health inspectors found mold in the ice machines and poor food storage. After re-inspection though, the score improved to 96, so all is well. Read who else scored in the 80s this week.

Priscilla Tsai

No hugging–WTF?!?

Comforting as the hug may be, principals across the country have clamped down. “Touching and physical contact is very dangerous territory,” said Noreen Hajinlian, the principal of George G. White School, a junior high school in Hillsdale, N.J., who banned hugging two years ago. “It was needless hugging — they are in the hallways before…

Mustang Sally, Mayor of Bang Town

Gay rights group to hold rally

Though Prop 8 is a hot button issue in California, gays around the country have a vested interest in the outcome of the California Supreme Court’s recent ruling not to overturn the anti-gay measure. The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality will hold a rally this evening to bring awareness to equality issues. Here’s their…

Cheris Hodges

Sale of the day: The Boulevard

According to CharlotteOnTheCheap.com, The Boulevard in NoDa is offering 20% off hand made jewelry by Pam Swinney and 30% off hand made jewelry by MotMots. 453 E. 36th St. 704-332-0142

Kimberly Lawson

Possibly the Coolest Sport Ever: Cheese-Rolling

For some reason, I find this picture absolutely hilarious. Who DOES this?? Who chases after rolling cheese?? From Serious Eats: Every year on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucester, England, a cheese-rolling race is held. No, it isn’t a race between different rounds of cheese-it is something much better: One round of cheese is rolled down the…

Priscilla Tsai

Most popular conspiracy theories

Do you follow conspiracy theories? Do you believe them? Do you think, like this writer, that 99 percent of them are probably wrong? No matter, everyone likes to at least hear about the latest conspiracy theories, whether it’s the one about Obama being a communist (wait, that’s considered “news” on Fox), or Susan Boyle’s supposed…

John Grooms

Sotomayor rocks!

Enough with the hate already. Sonia Sotomayor is clearly qualified and is one of the most interesting Supreme Court Nominees in history. The Bronx. Princeton. Yale. Married. Divorced. Appointed by H.W. Bush. Promoted by Bill Clinton. Nominated to be the H.L.I.C. by the H.B.I.C. English. Spanish. Nuyorican. Boricua. What? I cannot wait to see what…

Nsenga Burton

Feds to Duke: Take care of the Catawba, or everyone loses

Proving that the decisions we make today will affect tomorrow’s generations … Federal regulators are pushing Duke Energy to do more to protect the Catawba River’s environment as a years-long process to renew its hydroelectric license nears an end. Among their recommendations is that Duke buy back undeveloped portions of its 1,700 miles of shoreline…

Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman

Now there’s the Wearable Towel

The Snuggie phenomenon overwhelmed the country. Now with summer around the corner, there’s the Wearable Towel. Will this too take the country by storm? The Wearable Towel has three arm openings placed along the side and does not employ the use of any fastener. It is unisex and can be worn in either a tunic…

Kimberly Lawson

Things (still) aren’t looking so great for Belk

So, the Charlotte-based retail company announced yesterday that its earnings were down 90 percent. 90 percent! Their net income for the first fiscal quarter for $500,000. In the same period last year, Belk had scraped in $5.1 million. Yeah … I’d say that’s a pretty significant difference … Read the full story from the Charlotte…

Kimberly Lawson

Meet Executive Chef Jay Jones

As a chef, caterer, and former DJ, it is safe to say that Chef Jay Jones comfortably wears many hats. At Chateau Noir, a full-service catering and event planning company, Chef Jones serves as the executive chef. His philosophy is simple: By making all his ingredients from scratch, he’s able to provide you with a…

Ciara Lilly

Upcoming: Sidewalk sale at Founders Hall

Don’t let those shiny floors in Founders Hall distract you from checking out the sidewalk sale the shops are hosting next week, June 1-6. There will be live entertainment, chances to register for prizes, and of course, specials going down at each of the shops. Here’s the lineup of entertainment: June 1 – Leshan Richardson,…

Kimberly Lawson

Food news: Restaurant openings

• In March Bill Exarhos and Elton Braho, owners of Liberty East Restaurant which opened in 1975, opened Park Place Family Restaurant, 10517 Park Road Extension. 704-295-1588. Hours: Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.; and Sunday 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. • Owner Louie Politis…

Tricia Childress

Debbie Millwater

Comedy fan, comic’s wife, and open mic-er, Debbie Millwater, has her finger on the pulse of Charlotte’s comedy scenes — whether they be stand-up, sketch, or improv comedy.  Debbie produces weekly shows and classes that develop up-and-coming talent, and she sends out a weekly e-newsletter promoting all events.  She just loves watching great comedy and…

Web Editor

GOP mouthpieces say Sotomayor is racist

CL writer Rhiannon Bowman told you earlier today about conservatives freaking out over President Obama’s selection of a Latina judge for the Supreme Court, with some GOP pols backing away from opposing her for fear of alienating Latino voters, and Pat Buchanan echoing a New Republic article that claimed Judge Sonia Sotomayor is none too…

John Grooms

Planning for Pecha Kucha

Head to Pewter Rose tomorrow night to make plans with others for the upcoming Volume 4 of Pecha Kucha Charlotte. Read more information from the press release below. Vol. 4 will be back in Charlotte, most probably in late August. We haven’t decided on the exact date or location. We would love to have your…

Anita Overcash

New Yeah Yeah Yeahs; Trent Kicks out the Jams

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have unveiled the new video for its next single, “Heads Will Roll,” off the newest album, It’s Blitz! The video, directed by Richard Ayoade, houses a rather silly allusion to a mash up of Michael Jackson’s videos for “Beat It” and “Thriller.” This stain of a video for a song I actually…

Beth Gilstrap-Barnes

Sale of the day: Reign Fine Apparel

Reign Fine Apparel is having a Memorial Day sale all this week. Select dresses start as low as $99. Plus, they will offer 10 percent off all pageant gowns currently in stock, custom made for Reign by Sherri Hill, Jovani, Tony Bowls, Carlos Alberto, Juan Carlos Pinera, Stephen Yearick, and Claire’s. 7808-E Rea Rd. 704-543-0370…

Kimberly Lawson

New CSO conductor also applied for Titanic job

The Charlotte Symphony, which recently received news that its Arts & Science Council allotment was being cut by more than 50 percent, named a new conductor today, Christopher Warren-Green, who formerly served as music director of the London Chamber Orchestra. Warren-Green will replace Christof Perick at a time when the orchestra’s future is in jeopardy.…

John Grooms

Crocs will not die

WWD.com recently did an interview with the president and CEO of Crocs, Inc., John Duerden. The money’s not looking too good at the Colorado-based company (earlier this month, the company reported a loss of $22.4 million for the first quarter), but the board thinks Duerden can stabilize the company. He stepped into the position in…

Kimberly Lawson

DVD Pick: Encounters at the End of the World

By Louis Gurgitano Finally saw Werner Herzog’s documentary Encounters at the End of the World last week. The music score alone is amazing and worth checking the film out for. The movie is really an adventurer’s dream. The story hangs on the strangely interesting characters who live and work at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica,…

Louis Gurgitano

Amy Winehouse does fashion

Sure, she’s not the most glamorous, stable-minded celebrity out there, but why not give the singer her own line? According to WWD.com, “sources said Amy Winehouse is working on a fashion line with London label PPQ, designed by Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker. The line with Winehouse will launch later this year.”

Kimberly Lawson

Matthews Playhouse prepares for Cinderella

Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts will present performances of the classic fairy tale, Cinderella at Matthews Community Center June 12-28. For more information, read the press release below. Matthews NC- This June, the Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts will stage the popular Rodgers and Hammerstein musical CINDERELLA. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA follows the…

Anita Overcash

Free lettuce wraps from P.F. Chang’s

Do you love P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps? Well, get you some FOR FREE by clicking this link. You can thank the chipping skills of PGA tour pro Briny Baird: P.F. Chang’s China Bistro will offer everyone in America a free order of the restaurant’s signature lettuce wraps with the purchase of an entrée.

Kimberly Lawson

Wal-Mart will close for new Wal-Mart

The other day I discovered a new Super Wal-Mart being built on Tryon Street in the University area. (How late am I?) Anyway, that means the old Wal-Mart on JW Clay Boulevard will be closing (in June, according to CharlotteOnTheCheap.com). A lot of stuff is already marked down 50 percent.

Kimberly Lawson

Bush’s alarming Iraq-Bible prophecies come to light

It’s a busy morning. in which President Obama has nominated Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court (thank you, Obama), and we’ve learned that Larry “Ol’ Walleye” Gauvreau is leaving the School Board (thank you, Jesus). But there’s a story that popped up, and disappeared quickly, over the holiday weekend that deserves to be…

John Grooms

Drink up while you shop up

Retailers are getting quite innovative nowadays. Hey, anything to boost the economy, no? By offering in-store drinks, a growing number of retailers are trying to get men to shop more like women, who often linger and browse, buy items on impulse, and return time and again to a favorite store. The recession is driving stores…

Kimberly Lawson

Checking out Chengdu

Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan province and it’s known for it’s laid-back life-style and blazingly spicy food. I asked around about live music venues and was told to check out The Little Bar (xiao jiu guan) which is known as the Chengdu home of Chinese punk. After taking a harrowing taxi ride downtown…

Eric Mullis

S&K closes stores

Men, until they close their doors forever, you can at least take advantage of the going-out-of-business sale. S&K Famous Brands Inc. will close all 105 of its S&K Menswear stores in 26 states, including five in the Charlotte region. S&K’s local stores are at The Centrum mall in Pineville, Valley Hills Mall in Hickory, Concord…

Kimberly Lawson

May we suggest…

J. Wail Jonah Gabriel Lipsky, alter ego J. Wail, crafts trancey dance music where Kraftwerk meets contemporary electronica. Wail is a digital wizard no doubt, but the technology doesn’t overwhelm while loop pedals and live electronics add funk to the spacey vibes. There are plenty of beats, but don’t think of J Wail as a…

Samir Shukla

THEATER: Metamorphoses at Carolina Actors Studio Theatre

Get ready to get wet (or maybe not, depending on just where your seats are), as Carolina Actors Studio Theatre presents its newest theatrical piece Metamorphoses. The stage, a pool, is the perfect way to delve deep in telling ancient myths from the past, including those that star Poseiden and other characters down for a…

Anita Overcash

Expert advice on cleaning up wine stains

Stains are the mundane bane of many red wine drinkers. Inevitably, juice dribbles down the shirt, drips on the carpet, or spills on the clean — mostly likely new — white tablecloth. It’s inevitable and a buzz kill. One of my cream-colored couches, which I bought long before wine controlled my life, is now dotted…

Taylor Eason

MUSIC: Mark Kano with Mike Garrigan at The Evening Muse

Mark Kano, front man of the now defunct Greensboro-based band Athenaeum — which reunites every year for a reunion show — continues to pursue his solo career, and by the sound of it, things are going not-so-shabby. His debut solo album Walking On Broadway contains catchy alternative pop rock tunes that Atheneaum fans and newbies…

Anita Overcash

THEATER: Day of Absence at the Afro-American Cultural Center

On Q Productions will present its version of Day of Absence — a satirical play written by Douglas T. Ward in 1965 about racism in the South during segregation. But this isn’t your typical story from the Civil Rights Movement. In the play, a small town faces a big problem when all the black folks…

Anita Overcash

SPECIAL EVENT: It’s Tea Time at Lockstar Salon

Watching TV shows like VH1’s Rock of Love and Charm School, you’d think that all the smart, well-adjusted and sane young women just up and disappeared off the face of the planet. Lucky for us, events like It’s Tea Time have popped up to save the day. Created by stylist Gia Atkinson, It’s Tea Time…

Carlton Hargro

Wanted: Local music for Homebrew CD

With two editions of the Homebrew CD under our belts, it’s about time to work on the next one. We’re currently seeking submissions for the third CD, due out this summer. The CD is for music that was independently recorded and released between September of 2008 and May of 2009 by artists living within a…

Jeff Hahne

MUSIC: Find Your Muse Open Mic at The Evening Muse

It’s Find Your Muse Open Mic night at The Evening Muse this and every Monday. If you’re a musician, be sure to grab your music gear, make your way to The Evening Muse and hit the stage to play those musical creations, you’ve always wanted to play in front of a crowd. (No one can…

Anita Overcash

CL previews upcoming concerts (May 27-May 31)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 Eleisha Eagle Taking a chapter out of the Ben Folds piano-led pop songbook, Eagle’s songwriting is thoughtful, subtle and heartfelt. Her fluid piano-playing and voice puts to shame most overproduced, undertalented divas infesting the airwaves. Somber, jazzy, big city pop is the modus operandi here, where the songs get in your hair…

THEATER: Shear Madness at Stage Door Theater

Having seen a past performance of the funny and suspenseful production Shear Madness, I can tell you firsthand to go see it. The show — which features some very interesting and just plain-out goofy characters — revolves around a mysterious murder occurring in an apartment above the Shear Madness Salon. And best of all, it’s…

Anita Overcash

THEATER: Twelfth Night at The Green Uptown

Collaborative Arts’ Charlotte Shakespeare Festival returns to the Q.C. for free performances of plays written by Shakespeare (Duh!). Check out performances of the love-triangle comedy Twelfth Night, outside at The Green Uptown through June 14. In addition, on Wednesdays you can come early (at 7:15 p.m.) and participate in Shakespeare trivia nights — ’tis if…

Anita Overcash

CD Review: Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown

The Deal: Green Day teams up with producer Butch Vig for long-awaited follow-up to 2004’s Grammy-winning American Idiot. The Good: Like its predecessor, 21st Century Breakdown’s 18 tracks follow a general theme. This time around, it’s Christian and Gloria we’re following through a three-act set. The band keeps the tracks diverse ranging from up-tempo punk…

Jeff Hahne

AIDS and art: Stevan Talevski’s latest photography exhibit

Stevan Talevski, whose family is originally from Macedonia, has worked as a photographer for four years. His photography business is called Cielo (meaning “sky” in Spanish) Studio. He primarily does documentary work, as well as event and family photography. In November of 2008, he traveled to South Africa with Warehouse 242. He took photos of…

Anita Overcash

Who’s scarier: Gitmo guys or insane lawmakers?

Just when you think things might actually get better in American politics, you run into the most incredibly stupid “debate” you’ve heard in years. Sigh. We’re referring, of course, to the debate — actually, more like a B.S. storm — about the supposedly terrifying prospect of Guantanamo prisoners being shifted to prisons in the United…

Are you destroyed by the Destroyer?

Destroyer No. 1 and 2 Published by Max (Marvel Comics). Written by Robert Kirkman. Art by Cory Walker. So, who’s reading the new Robert Kirkman comic Destroyer? I get the feeling this is a book that — because it doesn’t star an A-list character and because it’s coming from the sometimes overlooked Max mature readers…

Carlton Hargro

Catching up with Spoleto

Yup. If you didn’t make it down to Charleston over the weekend, you were absent for the kickoff to Spoleto Festival USA. Among the roll call of world-class artists, productions and concerts you’ve already missed are the Tierney Sutton Band, Hiroaki Umeda, Florin Niculescu, one Intermezzo orchestral concert, two Music in Time contemporary concerts, three…

Perry Tannenbaum

Nsenga answers her critics

I’ve been contributing to Creative Loafing for a while now, but it never ceases to amaze me the volume of e-mails, letters and posts that I receive. Some of them are uplifting, others offer constructive criticism and then there are those that are just plain mean-spirited. My writing is received in so many different ways…

Nsenga Burton

Seeing some Color Purple at Belk Theater

With the ballcaps, teddy bears, souvenir programs, and “Hell, No!” T-shirts in the Belk Theater lobby, you could get a very close approximation to the original tourist experience Oprah delivered with The Color Purple when it opened on Broadway late in 2005. The important differences only emerged when the curtain went up. Belk’s stage isn’t…

Perry Tannenbaum

Ghosts of the governor

Tara’s taking a break this week. So, we’re reprinting a classic column (originally published Dec. 16, 2008) that focuses on former governor Mike Easley — who’s in the news again these days. Before Eve Carson and Abhijit Mahato, there was Frederick Johnson. Johnson was a drug addict and a repeat offender. In the months before…

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Godless: A 25-year-old man called police after he was assaulted by his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend during an argument. He told police the girl was following him through the city until he pulled over in the parking lot of a church. At this point, she got out of her car and attacked him, scratching him down his…

Ryan Pitkin

Weekly horoscope for May 27-June 2, 2009

Gemini The Twins: (May 20-June 21) Mercury is your planetary ruler and symbolizes “you” on your travels in life. On the 30th it is turning direct after a several-week-retrograde period. Decisions or plans that you may have tabled in April will be coming back to your attention during June. You probably will tweak the tabled…

Vivian Carol

Could we move Mars or Venus into Earth’s orbit and live there?

With the dearth of good real estate on Earth, I’ve been considering alternatives. One obvious candidate is Mars. However, in its current orbit, it’s too nippy and the air is too thin to satisfy anyone except Sherpas. How much energy would it take to move Mars into Earth’s orbit? Would it work better if we…

Cecil Adams

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of May 27

Current Releases ANGELS & DEMONS Angels & Demons, the follow-up to the international smash The Da Vinci Code, feels like nothing more than a cross between a Frommer’s travel guide and a scavenger hunt, as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon hits all of Rome’s holy hot spots gathering up clues as if they were empty Dr.…

Matt Brunson

Chevron, Shell and the true cost of oil

The economy is in shambles, unemployment is soaring, the auto industry is collapsing. But profits are higher than ever at oil companies Chevron and Shell. Yet across the globe, from the Ecuadorian jungle, to the Niger Delta in Nigeria, to the courtrooms and streets of New York and San Ramon, Calif., people are fighting back…

Amy Goodman

Enchanted April, Taken among DVD reviews

ENCHANTED APRIL (1992). Enchanted April is a lovely (dare I say enchanting?) motion picture that proves to be as warm and inviting as its central setting. Two Englishwomen (Miranda Richardson and Josie Lawrence) elect to temporarily escape from their dull lives – and dull husbands (Alfred Molina and Jim Broadbent) – by renting an Italian…

Matt Brunson

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