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
DUDE, YOU GOT A DELL!: Using the latest stealth techniques, one sly fellow picked up a brand new computer and walked right out of a store with it. Upon seeing the man steal the computer and place it in his car, store officials confronted him and recovered the stolen merchandise. The man responded by running…
Fast Risin’
Think about the towns that can boast of a healthy body of musical talent and venues and supporters — what is usually called a “scene.” More often than not, there’s probably an independent record label right smack-dab in the heart of that body, helping pump that musical blood out to the rest of the world.…
News of the Weird
Self-help in the extreme: Between June and August, high school dropout Jonathan Harris, 34, acted as his own lawyer in three Philadelphia felony cases and won them all, including a murder trial that could have sent him to death row. At press time, he had scheduled two more for himself, on a 2001 gun charge…
Little Steven Rocks South Carolina
Little Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band paid a visit to Muzak’s headquarters in Fort Mill, SC last week for a Garage Guitar Symposium, where he met with 20 aspiring teenage guitarists. Van Zandt appeared as special guest of The Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation (a charity which promotes music education) following…
Music Menu
WEDNESDAY 9.24 Beppe Gambetta — An acoustic guitarist who plays good bluegrass and blues, which isn’t exactly a rare commodity around these parts, except Gambetta is from Italy. His love of the all-American art forms is apparent in his picking technique and the wash of his fretwork sounds like it was born and bred in…
Soundboard
Wednesday, Sep. 24 Baoding Robert Fernandez Big Al’s Pub, Mooresville Scott Johnson Acoustic Blue Beth Chorneau Buckhead Saloon Mission 19 Cajun Queen 7th Street Gator Band Casco Bay Fudd & Cito Charleston Chops, Cornelius Michelle Smith Coley’s Tavern Acoustic Soul-ution Cuvee Wine & Art Gallery Bixx Trio Double Door Inn Matador Red The Evening Muse…
See & Do
SEPTEMBER 25 – THURSDAY Considered by some — including The Wall Street Journal of all people — as “the original honky-tonk hero,” Billy Joe Shaver keeps the tunes coming, his distinctive vocals leading into jaw-dropping guitar solos, and at the ripe old age of 63. Tonight he’ll be in town for a show at the…
Love, American Style
It’s a sensation we haven’t experienced in quite some time — at least not to this extent. It begins as a small snort of approval. Later, it turns into a brief chuckle. Finally, it graduates into a series of sustained howls, and only then do we realize the amazing truth: My God, we’re actually laughing…
Stargazer
For All Signs The planet Mars turns direct on the 27th after a long retrograde period. During the retrograde cycle we are often detoured from taking significant external action. The purpose of the time is to struggle with inner boundaries before expanding or claiming new outer territory. When we force the issue and push through…
Youth Gone Wild
In all truly great teen films, the adults share a measure of blame in the rapid, often horrific descent of their progeny. Whether piercing and coke snorting in our age, or hotrodding and heavy petting in days gone by, the song remains the same. It was the gender flip-flop of dad wearing an apron and…
Whole Lotta Festin’ Goin’ On
In my travels as the unofficial Charlotte-area festival czar — boldly sailing the seas of (nacho) cheese so you’ll know what you missed — I’ve come to some conclusions.First, people would like a little history with their festival, even if it’s only paying lip service. And they’re not asking much. These are people who have…
Bend It Like Beckham, Fargo among new home entertainment releases
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2003). You don’t need a whole hand to count the number of American movies that have centered on women’s soccer — a single cuticle will do just fine (that lone example is 1992’s dismal Ladybugs). Luckily, our mates on the other side of the pond have come through with this charming…
The Spouse Store
I was in the Christmas store at Broadway At The Beach when I remembered this strange notion I used to have. BATB is that collection of stores in Myrtle Beach that reminds me of the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ, except that those shops actually are at the beach, while the Broadway ones, in the…
Film Clips
NEW RELEASES CABIN FEVER If Rob Zombie’s recent House of 1000 Corpses and the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake are supposed to be throwbacks to the gritty horror yarns of the late 60s and early 70s, then writer-director Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever (largely filmed in North Carolina) seeks to revive the tradition of gore-soaked 80s…
Win When Situation
Since the George Bush “Elite Force Aviator” action figure is selling so well, I’ve come up with my own way to cash in on the “toys of war” fad. Welcome to The Brave New War War Against Terror Play At Home Board Game(r)! It’s loosely based on Monopoly, which I figure is fairly appropriate given…
“White Trash”
During the current era of supposed political correctness, several social analysts have pointed out that working class white people — so often represented by the cultural stereotype of “redneck” or “white trash” — comprise one of the few groups it’s still acceptable to openly revile and belittle. Still, when CBS casting agents descended upon the…
Capturing The Moment
Photojournalism is storytelling in pictures. A single photo tells a single event. The frozen moment, in the best photographs, radiates through time in both directions, past and future. Those photos that freeze a significant moment are rare. Those that capture a moment and also a time, a place and an era are very rare. We…
Jim Hunt on Lynn Wheeler’s downfall
End of an era — and of a cute new outfit.
Bluegrass Meets Ballet
Trilogies have beenwiped off the face of North Carolina Dance Theatre brochures as the company’s new season begins, replaced by catchier program titles. So instead of a Fall Trilogy, NCDT began its new season last week with Red Hot “n’ Bluegrass, featuring less high-falutin’ product labeling. Inside the friendlier packaging, the initial contents of the…
We Ain’t Racin’
The first slaves were brought to this continent before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. Before that, of course, American Indians inhabited this part of the world. And for at least that long, the issue of race has befuddled, tortured and confused, well, just about everybody. The latest research is showing, however, that we’ve gotten…
A Pro With Cons
An idealistic, yet relatively inexperienced teacher attempts to teach troubled youth in a blighted setting. The teacher and students tango, testing themselves and each other. In this crucible of clashing values, teacher and students forge a relationship and gain new character strengths. Mark Salzman’s memoir of teaching in a juvenile prison, True Notebooks, joins the…
Germany, the US and Iraq
I came to Charlotte for the first time in the summer of 2000. After finishing high school in Germany I decided to participate in an au pair program which turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. I loved living in this country and getting to know its people and, at…
Arts Agenda
Classical Music Celebration of Music in Worship Choirs and musicians throughout the Charlotte area will unite for an evening of music. Providence Baptist Church, 4921 Providence Rd. Sun., Sept. 28, 6 p.m. 704-529-1616. Charlotte Symphony A soaring opening marks the beginning of a contemplative journey that renewed the symphony as an act of transcendence and…
Fall Premieres and Other Myths
What used to be the fall ritual of sitting down and checking out all the new shows that had promise has become a big, collective snore. We’ve been promo’ed to death in the past few weeks, enticing us to check out new fare and new old fare, including NBC’s Coupling, which looks like little more…
High On Hog
Pigs running down Trade Street? Seriously, the ones with squiggly tails? You betcha and The Porcine Races are only part of the activities planned for the First Annual Smithfield Blues, Brews & BBQ event taking place during the Charlotte Shout Culinary Arts Experience September 25, 26, and 27 at Gateway Village. While celebrated Food Network…
Letters to the Editor
Cotton-Pickin’ In reference to “Service With a Mouthful” (by Quinn Cotton, Sept. 10), I agree when balancing servicing customers and taking in the occasional meal some discretion is required. However I wonder if Quinn is aware that there is no law on the books in North Carolina requiring employers to provide a meal break? Did…
South African Good Juice
When I think of Africa, cool mists settling on the skins of grapes doesn’t exactly enter the picture. I see frickin’ hellish heat and arid plains, and I figure if a grape were introduced to this place, it would immediately be condemned to raisin hell. But this picture is all wrong. Classifying the entire continent…
Coming Soon: Even More Congestion
If national trends are any indication, so far our mass transit plan is right on track. We haven’t even broken ground yet, and we’re already $5 billion over the projected $1 billion cost of the project local leaders gave voters in 1998, when they approved the half-cent sales tax. In honor of our progress so…
