Nov 11-18, 2008

Nov 11-18, 2008 / Vol. 22 / No. 37

Lil Wayne heading to Charlotte

Lil Wayne will perform at Time Warner Cable Arena on Jan. 2 with T-Pain, Keyshia Cole, Gym Class Heroes and Keri Hilson. Tickets go on sale on Nov. 22 at livenation.com and Ticketmaster.

Jeff Hahne

Uptown Charlotte is becoming a hot spot. . . of crime

Uptown Charlotte has become a hot spot. A hot spot of crime, that is. After years of weeding undesirables out of Uptown, guess what, they’re back. Poor Center City Partners. In the last two weeks there have been stories about a body being found Uptown, fights at bars and armed robberies of Johnson and Wales…

Cheris Hodges

New video from N.C.’s own The Foreign Exchange

This weekend I bought the new album from The Foreign Exchange, the North Carolina-based hip-hop/soul duo made up of Phonte from Little Brother and Nicolay, titled Leave It All Behind. And, yo, it’s dope. Go buy it. In the meantime, check out the group’s latest video for the song “Daykeeper,” featuring vocals by Muhsinah:

Carlton Hargro

A night of chocolate and wine

Gather your girlfriends and meet up at Amber Crest Winery on Dec. 11 because they are hosting a “Girls Night Out, Unlease Your Inner Wine Diva!” event. You’ll get a glass of one of Amber Crest’s wines and also wine truffles upon arrival. The night’s activities include games, prizes, more chocolate, a blind taste testing…

Web Editor

Re-Rapture @ Visulite Theatre, 11/14/08

Nasty/Shane presented Re-Rapture, an 80s-themed party on Saturday at Visulite Theatre. The party featured Iron Cordoba covering ’80s hits, The Knight Riders, the modern dance of Sarah and Bridget, DJ Torch of Purgatory fame, Mistress Collette and award-winning drag performer Starla. Photos by Tricia Gillis.

Web Editor

Today’s Top 5

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 17, 2008 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • Performance of Rabbit Hole at Actors’ Theatre • Musical Chicago continues at Belk Theater • Turkey Fest ’08, a benefit at Madison’s, The Attic Bar and Connolly’s…

Kimberly Lawson

Music Menu 11/16/2008

Cobra Starship A side project of emo band Midtown’s bassist and vocalist Gabe Saporta, Cobra Starship turned into a full-time project that’s a wacky blend of new wave, boy band and electro-funk dance music. Layering their music with extra cheese(y) keyboards and ’80s perky dance-pop, Cobra Starship churns out good time dance music toasting one-hit…

Web Editor

Protesting Prop 8 locally

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday at the Government Center in Uptown to protest the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Read more about the national protest here and here.

Kimberly Lawson

Music Menu, 11/15/2008

Admirals Club Ever wondered what would happen were you to cross Rob Zombie with Don Caballero? (No? C’mon good CLT folk – think outside o’ the box!) Well, were you to stop queueing with all the other sheep, you’d find that these Nashville-based cupcakes, liberally sprinkled with a little cosmi-stoner pixiepunk dust – think Dave…

Web Editor

Kanye Wack

Kanye West has named himself the “voice of this generation.” I think he’s the official “ass” of this generation, always poppin’ off and crying me, me, me more than a voice coach. Bob Dylan — the voice of a generation; Donny Hathaway — the voice of a generation; Aretha Franklin — the voice of a…

Nsenga Burton

WWJD?

A priest tells parishioners not to receive communion if they voted for Obama.

Natalie Howard

Still hitting

Larry Kissell wrote a letter to outgoing congressman Robin Hayes and shared it with the media. Why? I have no clue. But since he shared it with the media, I guess we’re supposed to pass it on to our readers. The Honorable Robin Hayes 130 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 via Fax Dear…

Cheris Hodges

All-new Watchmen trailer

Yahoo Movies posted the latest trailer today for Watchmen, the film adaptation of the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. This new trailer will debut on the big screen tonight before the new James Bond flick Quantum of Solace.

Carlton Hargro

10-in-10 CD Reviews

Brett Dennen Hope for the Hopeless — Pop-rock like John Mayer with a more annoying voice. Boris Garcia Once More Into the Bliss — Old-time folk, but I think the ’60s are over. Lady Gaga The Fame — Sounds like Brittney Spears 2.0, terribly cheesy lyrics — “disco stick”? The Weather Machines Bones & Brains…

Jeff Hahne

Vicktory dogs wine?

Georgia, Handsome Dan, Curly and other pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation are getting a shot at fame as stars of a line of boutique red wines.

Cheris Hodges

All-new Watchmen trailer

Yahoo Movies posted the latest trailer today for Watchmen, the film adaptation of the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. This new trailer will debut on the big screen tonight before the new James Bond flick Quantum of Solace.

Carlton Hargro

Dan Savage and Prop 8

Sex columnist Dan Savage is speaking out on Proposition 8, which amended the California state constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. Here here he is on The Colbert Report And here he is on Anderson Cooper 360 In related news, Savage and others are calling…

Kimberly Lawson

Music Menu 11/14/2008

Queens native Bianca Bibiloni records under the Ala Muerte moniker, but don’t expect anything remotely NYC-hipster from her excellent debut, Santa Elena (officially out Nov. 25).

Web Editor

Unchaining history with the election of Obama

By AMY GOODMAN You could almost hear the world’s collective sigh of relief. This year’s U.S. presidential election was a global event in every sense. Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, represents to so many a living bridge –…

Web Editor

What it’s like to be a sex columnist

Is our smutty sex column Savage Love one of the first things you read in the paper every week? Yeah, you know it is. Just admit it. Fine. Don’t admit it. I wouldn’t either. Anyway, if you’re interested to learn more about Dan Savage, the columnist who pens this delectable dirt each week, check out…

Kimberly Lawson

Drummer Mitch Mitchell dead

The last living member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience was found dead on Wed., Nov. 12. Mitch Mitchell, former drummer of the band was 61-years-old and it is thought that he died of natural causes. Read the full story here.

Anita Overcash

Today’s Top 5

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 13, 2008 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing. • The Spinto Band at Visulite Theatre • Geek Fest at CPCC’s Levine campus • Checkers vs. South Carolina Stingrays at Time Warner Cable Arena • Pineville Dinner…

Kimberly Lawson

Dumbing down graduation requirements in CMS

So, have you heard that CMS is proposing to cut back graduation requirements from 28 credits to 24 credits? Some students may even be able to graduate in three years rather than four. Apparently this change came from discussions of how to lower the dropout rate. What ever happened to churning out some quality, educated…

Kimberly Lawson

About

This is an example of a WordPress page, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many pages like this one or sub-pages as you like and manage all of your content inside of WordPress.

Web Editor

Asheville Film Festival winners

Annual event announces its top picks By Matt Brunson Sita Sings the Blues The sixth annual Asheville Film Festival wrapped up this past weekend, and here are the winners in the various categories. (For the record, I served as one of the judges for Best Feature Film, along with Dear Jesse and Loggerheads writer-director Tim…

Matt Brunson

About

This is an example of a WordPress page, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many pages like this one or sub-pages as you like and manage all of your content inside of WordPress.

Web Editor

Music Menu 11/12/2008

M83 Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez, the M83 braintrust, has come a long way since 2003’s breakthrough, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts.

Web Editor

Today’s Top 5

The five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 12, 2008 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

Kimberly Lawson

What happens in Vegas…gets put in this blog

I went to Vegas this past weekend and managed to not come back married or broke. They don’t call it Sin City for nothing — there is something about that over-the-top town that sheds inhibitions, breaks everyone’s own rules and brings out the wild child in even the most boring of people. Perhaps it has…

Brittney Cason

Get real about Veterans Day

If you really mean it when you say we should “honor our veterans,” tell your elected officials that you support expanding benefits for veterans and greatly improving care at VA hospitals.

John Grooms

Free food for Veterans

Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill restaurants is offering free food today, Nov. 11, for veterans and active duty with proof of United States military service.

Priscilla Tsai

How big of a turkey do I need?

If you planning to roast your own turkey this Thanksgiving, Butterball.com offers a “Perfect Portion” calculator which will help you determine what size turkey you will need to feed your guests based on the number of adults and children you enter. The calculator can be found on Butterball’s website on the right-hand corner. Pretty nifty.

Priscilla Tsai

Have an easy Thanksgiving

If the thought of stuffing a 12-lb. turkey, cooking up a bazillion side dishes, whipping up pumpkin pie and cleaning up your kitchen after a huge cooking-fest fills you with dread, go out to eat on Nov. 27! Ain’t no shame in it.

Priscilla Tsai

Horoscope for Nov. 12 — Nov. 18, 2008

Scorpio the Phoenix: (Oct. 23-Nov. 20) This week brings closure on numerous fronts in your life. You are preparing to move into a new 14-year cycle and you want to do so with a clean slate. You are internally through with karmic debt that you have dragged around since 1995. Let bygones be bygones. For…

Vivian Carol

Beverly Perdue elected on ‘Screw Charlotte’ platform

Governor-elect Beverly Perdue and her cronies at the state capital must have had a good laugh as the election results rolled in. I know I did. Perdue smacked Charlotte voters hard two weeks ago when she ran commercials across the state — basically everywhere but the Charlotte and Raleigh television markets — mocking her opponent,…

Reviews of Working, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Last Night of Ballyhoo

By Perry Tannenbaum Go ahead: Key in 307 Armour St. on your GPS and head up I-77 to Exit 30. That’s where Davidson Community Players have found a cozy, out-of-the-way location for their first permanent home. But first, make sure to contact the theater for reservations. Sellouts are commonplace at this welcoming converted church –…

Doug Allen, consultant

You won’t find Certified Executive Chef Doug Allen in the kitchen of any local restaurants during a busy dinner rush, but his work is deeply embedded in the culinary scene here in Charlotte. His company, Premier Hospitality, is a consulting firm that helps new restaurants open successfully. If you have eaten at any number of…

Ryan Pitkin

THEATER: The Last Night of Ballyhoo

Remember the movie Driving Miss Daisy? Well, The Last Night of Ballyhoo is by Alfred Uhry, the author of that hit comedy/drama. But the latter production is a little less-known. It’s about when Gone With The Wind premiered, just as Hitler was invading Poland. Of course, in the play Atlanta’s elitist German Jews are more…

Anita Overcash

When did innocent Halloween become ‘Dress Like a Slut Night’

Remember when you were a child and Halloween meant playing dress up, going to haunted houses, trick or treating and visiting pumpkin patches to carve pumpkins and make homemade pumpkin pie? Now, as an adult, Halloween has transformed into “Dress Like a Slut Night.” Halloween is the one night of the year where girls can…

DANCE: Dance Charlotte!

Charlotte Dance Festival knows how to bring on the moves — and they do it with Dance Charlotte! The event, which proves just how much North Carolina locals can put their feet to action, features performances from a variety of choreographers and companies from Gastonia’s Caroline Calouche & Co. to Charlotte’s E.E. Motion and a…

Anita Overcash

THEATER: Doubt, A Parable

Why wait for the screen adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, A Parable to drop into movie theaters? The play is coming to Duke Energy Theatre this month, and it looks like a jaw dropper. After all, it does center around the suspicious relationship between a Catholic school boy and Father Flynn. When a concerned…

Ryan Pitkin

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Nov. 12

Current Releases BODY OF LIES Despite Russell Crowe’s shared marquee billing, this is really Leonardo DiCaprio’s film, as the young thespian handles the part of Roger Ferris, a compassionate CIA point man working in the Middle East under the jaded eye of his ruthless superior (Crowe) back in the United States. Hoping to track down…

Matt Brunson

MUSIC: Cobra Starship

Think bright neon fashions, electro-rock beats and toe-tapping songs. If you thought ’80s dance music, you were close. Cobra Starship has brought an ’80s feel into this century with songs like “Guilty Pleasure” and “The City is at War.” The band instantly caused a musical riot when they hit the mainstream music scene, and it’s…

Robyn Banez

New World Spain know-how trumps tradition

Spain, the oft-ridiculed kid in the wine schoolyard, is experiencing a Cinderella moment. For centuries, embarrassingly outdated winemaking processes and crappy quality reflected its lackadaisical attention to detail — with the strong exception of cash-cow areas Rioja and Ribera del Duero — and thus made “quality Spanish wine” an oxymoron. But about 10 years ago,…

Taylor Eason

BENEFIT: Turkey Fest ’08

Turkey Fest ’08 has a lot to offer, but no turkey (It’s not Thanksgiving yet!). Instead donate canned food items to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank and enjoy a load of events at three local Uptown pubs. A rock band competition and giveaways will go down at The Attic Bar and makeovers (from Aveda…

Anita Overcash

Inflame your lips with spicy dishes around town

If a large bottle of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce travels with you, you are a “hottie.” Finding incendiary dishes around town isn’t a problem if you think about cuisines from places that need to sweat to cool off. • Most Ethiopian dishes are stews (wats) flavored by spices. Berbere is a multi-dimensional chili mix that…

Tricia Childress

THEATER: Chicago

Sometimes I randomly burst out the chorus line “And alllll that jazzzzz!” — lyrics from “All That Jazz” (You know, from the six-time Tony award-winning musical Chicago). So, of course I was thrilled to hear Chicago would make a stop in the Q.C. for performances at Belk Theater. If you’ve been procrastinating on seeing the…

Anita Overcash

ART: Wishful Thinking

Art is found in words, tunes and images alike, evoking emotions you never thought you could feel from something so simple, yet complex. Art is also talent on display and it gives an insight into a person’s inner being. The artists presented in Wishful Thinking — Flora Bowley, Michelle Caplan, Duy Huynh, Lisa Kairos, Carl…

Robyn Banez

Q.C. ready for Blitzkrieg Bop

At 8 p.m. on Nov. 15, at Snug Harbor, Ramones Fest will be held to celebrate the music of punk rock’s greatest bands and biggest influences. The bands performing are The Belmont Playboys, The Flat Tires (with special guest Jeff Clayton), The Defilers, Southside Punx and Trouble Walkers. The event is organized by Mark and…

Jeff Hahne

CD Review: Susan Tedeschi’s Back to the River

The Deal: Blues songstress, wife of Derek Trucks, returns with album of originals. The Good: Tedeschi didn’t hesitate to find herself a fine group of guests for her latest effort – Trucks, The Jayhawks’ Gary Louris and The Allman Brothers’ Doyle Bramhall II among them. Trucks appears on four of the 11 tracks to provide…

Jeff Hahne

CL previews upcoming shows

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12: M83 Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez, the M83 braintrust, has come a long way since 2003’s breakthrough, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. But whether that path from Eno + shoegaze soundscapes to this year’s Saturdays=Youth is worth the journey depends on your tolerance for ’80s synth pop like the Cocteau Twins or…

CD Review: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ Cardinology

The Deal: Fifth studio effort – 12 tracks in 40 minutes – is follow-up to Easy Tiger. The Good: Adams and the Cardinals don’t stray from their alt-country ways on this latest effort. Adams, who has been known to have moments of uber-pretentious behavior, sounds like a more mature and relaxed songwriter. Hints of The…

Jeff Hahne

Does Creative Loafing have any big events planned for your blogs?

A: Any big plans? Oh yeah. The biggest being that former Charlotte Observer columnist Mary C. Curtis will be joining The CLog (our news and culture blog) as a guest blogger for one week. If you’ve read Mary’s award-winning stuff at The Observer, you’re undoubtedly aware she’s crafted some of the smartest and most heartfelt…

Carlton Hargro

CD Review: Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm’s 2 Man Wrecking Crew

The Deal: Cedric Burnside, masterful drummer and grandson of late north Mississippi blues giant R.L. Burnside, assumes the mantle of a touring blues musician. One always hopes offspring are as good as or better than the originals: think Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, John Lennon and their sons Ziggy, Femi and Sean, respectively. Are they as…

Lew Herman

McCrory & the gang that couldn’t shoot straight

This wasn’t the kind of success in the war on gangs that Pat McCrory had in mind. In the end, voters were in no mood to reward destructive behavior, and they took it out on McCrory and his own fellow gang members, who suffered a serious whacking. Let me explain. The Charlotte mayor, defeated last…

Unchaining history with the election of Obama

You could almost hear the world’s collective sigh of relief. This year’s U.S. presidential election was a global event in every sense. Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, represents to so many a living bridge — between continents and…

Amy Goodman

Charlotte Bestsellers List

1. Serena by Ron Rash 2. The Shack by William P. Young 3. The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas 4. The Gate House by Nelson DeMille 5. Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Lawson, Mary Nethery and Jean Cassels 6. Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-Up by…

Indie booksellers struggle, used bookstores fare better

When Richard Rathers first opened Book Buyers in 1999, people warned him about difficulty of attracting Charlotte’s paltry reading audience. “I heard it a lot: ‘Charlotte is not a reading town. People don’t read,'” he recalled. “Can’t prove it by me,” Rathers continued. “From the day I opened, I was selling books faster than I…

Karen Shugart

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Cookie Monster: A man walked into a gas station and knocked down a shelf, damaging some items. He then threw a cookie at the cashier and threatened him with bodily harm. The threat may have gone something like, “Next time I’m coming with a whole cake!” Chicken Legs: A man was arrested after store security…

Ryan Pitkin

A personal take on Obama’s victory

Sen. Barack Hussein Obama is President-elect of the United States. While I understood the magnitude of what might happen during this arduous election, I never processed emotionally what the election of the first black president would mean. I had thought about it intellectually — historically, socially, economically and from a distance. As a post-civil rights…

Nsenga Burton

Recent

See all

Gift this article