Sep 12-18, 2012

Sep 12-18, 2012 / Vol. 26 / No. 29

Cover Story

The mother of all comedy: Margaret Cho

Put Margaret Cho on a stage and f-bombs will detonate. There may be talk of menstrual blood, drag queens and Kim Jong-il. Cho is not your average funnygirl charged with making people laugh — although she does that well. The gay pride flag-waver and tattooed biker babe is breaking Asian-American stereotypes and orchestrating revolution. Eight…

Natalie Howard

Review: Clicks & Whistles’ Serious Bidness

Considering the vast realms of electronic music and the quickness of trends, producers are constantly experimenting with their sounds to keep up with the rapid demands of fans. As more and more genre lines are blurred, reviewers and listeners find it harder to categorize new releases. Charlotte’s Clicks & Whistles (Jorge Hernandez and Petey Evans)…

Brittany Gaston

Letters to the editor: Sept. 13 edition

You’ve got soul Great article and good education on soul food (“Soul patrol,” Sept. 6). I have been to most of the restaurants mentioned in the article. My favorite is Angie’s Diner that I also introduce to my New York City friends that come for a visit or are contemplating relocating to Charlotte. Angie is…

How Obamacare saved my life

The Affordable Care Act — aka “Obamacare” — saved my life. Yes, this is for real. It happened last year. If not for the ACA, I would either be dead and buried or in so much medical debt I would never get out from under it. I thought long and hard before writing about this.…

John Grooms

Cool beans: Does Charlotte have a coffee culture scene?

Counting chains like Dunkin’ Donuts and Caribou, there are literally dozens of places in this town to get a hot cup of Joe with a side of wi-fi. You can walk out with a strong but uninteresting blend that feels like 14 shots of caffeine to the dome, or a frothy, condo-beige confection where the…

Emiene Wright

For a Good Time, see…

FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL… **1/2 DIRECTED BY Jamie Travis STARS Lauren Anne Miller, Ari Graynor Like a boulder gathering speed as it tumbles off a precipice, For a Good Time, Call… endures a rocky opening act before finally hitting its stride at full speed. While it’s fortunately not a case of too little, too…

Matt Brunson

The Cold Light of Day: The pain in Spain falls mainly on viewers

THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY *1/2 DIRECTED BY Mabrouk El Mechri STARS Henry Cavill, Sigourney Weaver Madrid will always hold a special place in my heart, as it was in the Spain capital where 10th grade student Matthew Brunson, in town from next-door Portugal for a high school basketball tournament, got inebriated for the first…

Matt Brunson

Finding Nemo: Something fishy in theaters

FINDING NEMO *** DIRECTED BY Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich STARS Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres For approximately a quarter-century, we’ve been witnessing a remarkable renaissance in the animation field, blessed with a number of toon flicks that have constantly tried to up the ante in regard to more complex storylines, richer character development and, of…

Matt Brunson

Passion Pit’s grandiose electro-pop reaches out for indie appeal

No band sums up the Pitchfork problem as perfectly as Passion Pit. Like the popular website that trumpets music for the hipsterati, this Cambridge, Mass., combo — an arena-pop crowd-pleaser masquerading as a dance-inflected indie band — doesn’t seem to know exactly what it wants to be when it grows up. Last month, Pitchfork released…

Jordan Lawrence

Weekly horoscope (Sept. 13-Sept. 19)

Virgo The Virgin (Aug. 22-Sept. 22) You have been aware through the summer that you need to make some changes in your life. Somehow you have become tied in knots by everyone’s expectations. You may just declare your freedom in some areas, and it is time that you do. Some honesty is necessary in your…

Vivian Carol

Bettie Grind focuses on the future

Bettie Grind may be the biggest hip-hop star to come out of Charlotte. He’s toured with Rick Ross; remixed for Beyoncé and Anthony Hamilton, and laid a track with Raekwon and Bun B. So why haven’t you heard of him? According to Grind, maybe you listen to the radio or hit the club too much.…

Emiene Wright

This week’s concert listings (Sept. 13-Sept. 19)

** Bullet points indicate CL’s critics’ picks** Thursday, Sept. 13 Blues/Roots/International Bayou Butch Lucas (Villa Antonio (Ballantyne)) Brandon Santini (Double Door Inn) Latin Thursdays (Dream Nightclub, Matthews) Classical/Jazz/Smooth Beats and Keys (Encore Bistro and Bar) John Alexander (Blue Restaurant & Bar) Country/Folk Hymn for Her, Beards N Bones, avian law, the menders (Milestone) Open Mic…

Fall Film Preview 2012

I’ll go ahead and say it: More great movies are being released this fall than perhaps during any other period in film history. That’s a bold statement, but I’m prepared to back it up. To wit: Raiders of the Lost Ark is being released Sept. 18. Goldfinger and other James Bond titles come out Sept.…

Matt Brunson

Seeds of DNC contemplation

There were times downtown during the Democratic National Convention when it felt like I was back in New York. People bumping into each other on the sidewalks. Rain pouring. Umbrellas everywhere, bobbing up and down, fighting for the spaces above all the heads. Celebrities passing other celebrities. People actually hailed cabs. The light rail cars…

Mark Kemp

Recent

See all

Gift this article