Regional Music Guide Shines
Blue Ridge Music Trails: Finding a Place in the Circle Fred C. Fussell UNC Press Whether or not the more hipster-leaning denizens of North Carolina want to admit it, we are living in one of the world’s hotspots for acoustic roots music. Even before Bill and Charlie Monroe laid down the seeds of bluegrass in…
Much ado about not much
Deadlines. There are few words a newspaper writer likes hearing less. Included among those would be something called “early deadlines.” Early deadlines are pretty much what they sound like: due to some holiday or other distraction, copy is due much earlier than normal. To complicate matters, it’s been a slow week for interesting events. Now,…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 11.26 Drivin’ N Cryin’ — Word is that this will be a “full on” rock show, which means all the attendant camp and big Georgia sledgehammer riffs and Kevin Kinney wailing like a stuck pig. That said, it’ll likely also be a great deal of fun, provided you ever sang along to NuClassic Rock…
Hang ‘Em High
“Listen,” I said, leaning confidentially toward May Belle, the certified foundations fitter, “I need something that’ll get these babies up there,” clicking my tongue as I pointed my upraised thumb to both my bare breasts and the ceiling. Yes, I was standing stripped to the waist in the humid intimacy of a dressing room, confiding…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Nov. 26 Amos’ Southend Drivin’ N Cryin’ w/ Black Market Radio Baoding Robert Fernandez Blue Carl DiPonziano Boardwalk Billy’s, UNCC Superglide Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Coley’s Tavern Acoustic Soulution Comet Grill Open Mic w/ Bill McDonald Cuvee Wine & Art Gallery Scott McCloud Group Double Door Inn Bellglide w/ Filmschool The Gin…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: Last year for Christmas I gave my friend a subscription to a magazine that he’d told me he used to really love. He seemed genuinely pleased with the gift. A few weeks back I got a letter from the magazine asking if I’d like to renew the gift. I thought, “Why not?…
Ho For The Holidays
Scouring the Dr. Seuss library of classic children’s literature, I simply could not find one of the lines that was prominently featured in the live-action screen rendition of The Cat In the Hat: “I can’t believe you whizzed on my taco!” Nor could I locate the moment when the title feline, standing next to a…
See & Do
NOVEMBER 28 – FRIDAY Here’s a chance to honor a local jazzman — Johnny “Chief” Holloway — who has given this city an awful lot over the years, especially during a 35-year-stint teaching music at West Charlotte High. Holloway plays the saxophone, flute, clarinet and viola, and translated all that talent into a series of…
View From The Couch
BRUCE ALMIGHTY (2003) In this hit-and-miss summer blockbuster, Jim Carrey, frequently playing to the rafters in what, in anybody else’s hands, would have been a fairly restrained character, stars as Bruce Nolan, a TV reporter who’s tired of fluff pieces and yearns to become the new anchorman. But instead of getting his wish, he ends…
Ask the Advice Goddess
Love Takes Its Poll I’m a 44-year-old woman who’s recently become single. Most of the men who ask me out are in their early-to-mid-30s, but I’ve gotten to know a really special guy who happens to be 22. He’s asked me out, and I’d like to accept, but I’m flat-out afraid. I know most men…
Film Clips
CURRENT RELEASES BROTHER BEAR Oh, brother, what a bore… Brother Bear has been plugged as the last gasp of the traditional animated film, but I’d hate to think the future of anything depended on something this mediocre. This soggy tale finds Disney raiding its own tombs for material, cobbling together pieces of The Lion King,…
Stargazer
For All Signs This week we have unusually few aspects. This suggests a reduction in energy and overall drive for everyone. Considering the tension that was prominent in October and early this month, it will no doubt be a relief for most of us. Those in the US can expect a very quiet Thanksgiving, a…
Adopting An Attitude
A brawl between a heterosexual and a homosexual couple over who should have been allowed to adopt a set of twins from Mecklenburg County Youth and Family Services is causing additional controversy regarding gay adoption that could have implications for the entire state. What’s more, the conflict that launched the battle stands poised to rival…
Love Of the Land
Among the things that make a work of art memorable is the way it conveys its creator’s passion for the process of making art, for the medium, the implements, the colors and shapes, the subject matter, and so on. By that, I mean that you, the viewer, can stand in front of a painting and…
Up Their Own Creek
For 11 years, David McManus complained to the city about the raw human sewage that spewed from a manhole 150 feet from his back porch every time it rained. Sometimes, he said, the added pressure would blow the manhole cover skyward, continuously spewing sewage several feet in the air. The woods behind his Lansbury Court…
All In The Imagination
There’s a lot to loathe about the holidays: family angst, phony cheer, and over-the-top expectations. It’s even worse when your romantic life is lacking. In this new addition to the booming Chick-Lit phenomenon, 30-something Samantha Stone is tired of explaining why she still hasn’t found the perfect man. Her friends are making babies and her…
Just One Person
Not too long ago, there was a public servant who contacted me with information that a local government practice could put innocent people in harm’s way or even cost them their lives. But when it came time to give me the internal information needed to prove it, he chickened out. I explained to him that…
Bush’s Vanishing Act
Last season, Michael Bush launched his era as Charlotte Repertory Theatre’s producing artistic director with a parade of notables from Broadway and Hollywood. The Tony Award caliber talent began with Penny Fuller last fall and crescendoed with an onslaught from Andre De Shields, Marla Schaffel, and Gretha Boston last winter. And springtime brought us intermittent…
Start the Office Pool
A pop-up ad on my computer caught my eye, and got the newsie in me dueling with the evil twin that knows what brings viewers/readers/listeners into the tent. With photos of Scott Peterson, Martha Stewart, and Kobe Bryant on its flashing graphic, the pop-up asked the question, “Who Will Go To Jail?” I haven’t a…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music The Broadway Concert – A Romantic Journey Albert-George Schram, conducting the Charlotte Symphony Pops. With Jacquelyn Piro and George Dvorsky. November 28-29, 8pm. $15-62. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-972-2000. Combined Choirs and Symphonic Wind Ensemble Tue., Dec. 9, 8 p.m. Free. University City United Methodist Church, 6100 W. Sugar…
Divided We Fall
Democracy in America is a curious phenomenon, endlessly touted but rarely exercised. Much discussion followed the low turnout in November’s elections, with the conclusion that Americans are involving themselves less and less in the running of their country. The Charlotte Observer even suggested that most local people didn’t bother voting because they were satisfied with…
Northern Exposure
A while back when I lived in Cairo, Egyptians were quick to point out the American restaurants to me. All of these were fast food establishments and offered hamburgers, fries and fried chicken. These were not exactly the American foods I craved: soft shell blue crab, Maine lobster, Caesar salads, chicken salad with celery, pot…
By Any Other Name
Back in June, President Bush jumped on the media for criticizing his insatiable jones to immediately invade Iraq: “This nation reacted to a threat from the dictator of Iraq. Now there are some who would like to rewrite history — revisionist historians is what I like to call them.” Five months later, the President and…
Fresh Wine?
In the morning mist of harvest, a fictional family gathers “round, peels off their work boots and hops into a vat of freshly picked grapes to begin the ritualistic stomping. Weeks later, these same grapes become transformed into yummy fermented juice, and eager drinkers salivate as the wine flows sweetly from barrel into glass. This…
Letters
Polluters Breathe EasyJust when you thought it was safe to breathe, the President releases plans for cutting the EPA — and his energy bill clears the way for polluters (“It’ll Only Get Worse,” by Sam Boykin, Nov. 19). Not only would the Bush Energy Bill, which is going through Congress right now, open up the…
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.…
The Blotter
NO FREE RIDES!: Late one evening, a police officer responded to a call from a cab driver concerning a customer refusing to pay his fare. Apparently, the blue uniform and shiny badge meant nothing to the man because he still refused to pay the cab driver when the officer arrived. He was arrested, restitution was…
Charlotte Bands Go To Camp
One fact the major labels don’t want anyone to think too hard about is that most of the best young musicians and songwriters in America have already opted out of their system, with nary a glance back. Many have built homemade studios, formed very unofficial musical co-ops, or begun idiosyncratic indie labels (and often all…
The Prickly Pear, Modern Mexican Cuisine
Northern Exposure Restaurant offers real taste of Mexico BY TRICIA CHILDRESS A while back when I lived in Cairo, Egyptians were quick to point out the American restaurants to me. All of these were fast food establishments and offered hamburgers, fries and fried chicken. These were not exactly the American foods I craved: soft shell…
Sit & Spin
Jay-Z The Black Album Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam Every artist worth their salt has released a black album. Think about it: Metallica did one, and Prince, and even Spinal Tap. Now, Jay Z — the estimable Hova — is releasing what he says is his last record ever. Those who know him say the statement isn’t…
