Hanging With Obama
So I was hanging out with Barack Obama this past Sunday and … Yeah, I said Barack Obama. Yes, it was THAT Barack Obama. You know, the guy running for president? Yeah … we kicked it the other day. OK, OK … I’ll be honest: we weren’t exactly kicking it. I got to spend time…
A New Drag Strip, too?
— Cartoon by Jim Hunt
This week’s new releases (10/2)
Here’s a quick rundown of the big names releasing albums this week: Brooks & Dunn “Cowboy Town” The Cult “Born Into This” Bob Dylan “Dylan” John Fogerty “Revival” Annie Lennox “Songs of Mass Destruction” Matchbox Twenty “Exile on Mainstream” PJ Harvey “White Chalk” Bruce Springsteen “Magic”
Letter: Spay/Neuter Programs Work
Letter writers in the pages of Hendersonville’s newspaper, the Times-News, are debating whether mandatory spay and neuter programs reduce euthanasia rates. The former director of Buncombe County’s animal shelter says that jurisdiction’s mandatory law does work.
This Week’s Filmtastic Photos (and a trailer too!)
The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster
Did you see Clarence Thomas on 60 Minutes?
Talk around the office this morning came around to Steve Kroft’s largely sympathetic interview with Clarence Thomas on 60 Minutes last night. The portrayal of Thomas as a friend to the downtrodden contrasts (to say the least) with my memory of him as someone who officiated one of Rush Limbaugh’s weddings. Limbaugh is many things,…
Van Halen setlist, photos
The setlist for the Sept. 27, 2007 show in Charlotte: You Really Got Me I’m the One Running with the Devil Romeo Delight Somebody Get Me a Doctor Beautiful Girls Dance the Night Away Atomic Punk Everyone Wants Some So This Is Love Mean Street Pretty Woman Drum Solo Unchained I’ll Wait And the Cradle…
Bill O’Reilly is Such a Normal Bigot
by Al Sharpton I can’t believe how completely normal Bill O’Reilly was at our dinner last week. He was exactly the same as every other white bigot I’ve ever broken bread with. He showed up to the Harlem eatery out of breath, a mixture of sweat and tears running down his face. A look of…
The Bee (Bhramara)
Name of Kama Sutra Position:Â The Bee (Bhramara) Position: The man takes hold of the womans feet, holding them into the air, while penetrating her “yoni”. The woman then begins to circle her hips, allowing the mans penis to circle deep inside. Th man can vary the depth by arching his back, giving her more…
Retro Horror Flick Series
The Ballantyne Village Theatre recently announced the lineup for its latest retro series, which will lead up to Halloween with a series of classic horror films. The titles are as follows: Sept. 28: Plan 9 from Outer Space Oct. 5: Donnie Darko Oct. 12: Nosferatu (the silent version) Oct. 19: Evil Dead II Oct. 26:…
Van Halen tonight
Well, the long-awaited Van Halen reunion concert is tonight! Apparently, the band has been in town for a few days rehearsing and anticipation for the show is high. I’ll be there taking photos and reviewing the show – check back here tomorrow for some photos and a setlist. I’ll have a review in the Oct.…
Sick and Tired …
The N Word
What Lies Beneath
Performing Arts 38Books 41Comic Proportions 4245
Holiday Harmonies
Forget about Ringo, Paul, George and John. The Fab Four who headed 180° south of musical immortality have somehow been resurrected again as Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings makes its Charlotte debut at Halton Theater through Oct. 7. You have no idea how square squareness can get until you hear Sparky, Frankie, Smudge and Jinx take…
Actions, Not Words
Citizen Servatius
Steve Brogan
Profile
Harry Gives His All
Daniel Radcliffe returns from an express need to go commando onstage as troubled stable boy Alan Strang (appropriately named, don’t cha think?) in the West End production of Equus to again don the wizard robes of Harry Potter in the latest installment. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix picks up on the deluded…
Stargazer
Libra The Scales (Sept. 22 — Oct. 22): The sun returns “home” to your sign this week. You likely will find it to be energizing. Take a fresh look at where you want to direct your energy in your new year. A disappointment early in the week sets the stage for metamorphosis by the end.…
The Contender
Beverly Earle is running hard for the mayor’s office. When I arrive five minutes late for an interview with the Democratic mayoral candidate at a coffeehouse in NoDa, she’s hunkered down in a small booth, talking on her cellphone. It’s only 10 a.m., but our meeting isn’t the first one she’s had today, and it…
Hitting The High Notes
The National Association of Black Females in Music and Entertainment brings its 2007 International Women’s Leadership Summit to Charlotte. Industry leaders will be on hand to discuss tough issues related to the business and help with power networking and career development. Events include topics such as starting your own business, understanding black men’s feelings towards…
Film Clips
Current Releases THE BRAVE ONE It was simpler back in 1974, when it was called Death Wish. After thugs murder his wife and rape his daughter, businessman Charles Bronson hits the streets with the purpose of blowing away all human vermin. As a film, it’s unpretentious, straightforward and effective as hell. This is basically a…
Love And War
Film Clips 34View From The Couch 35Films In A Flash 3634
Dolcetto Wine Room
Brand Spankin’ New
View from the Couch
BABEL (2006). An award winner at Cannes as well as the recipient of seven Academy Award nominations (winning for Best Original Score), Babel comes from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga, the same team that gave us 21 Grams and Amores Perros. Like those two efforts, Babel is a gloom-and-doom dissection of society,…
Lunchroom 101
Kitchen Witch 60Corkscrew 61Good Eats 6360
Burgundy Blues
Corkscrew
On With The Show
To say The Flaming Lips put on a show would be an understatement. It’s not a typical “guys stand on stage, sing songs and leave” type of performance. What the band does is more of an event. It’s usually a combination of balloons, video screens, noisemakers, laser pointers, a U.F.O., Martians, Captain America, scantily clad…
In A Pickle
Kitchen Witch
More Fun Times Sans Alcohol
QC After Dark
Songs III: Bird on the Water
The Deal: Promising set from up-and-coming folkie. The Good: I was all set to flay Marissa Nadler’s new record when I read the pre-release publicity — yippee, thought I, another doily-voiced folketta plucking her acoustic and slapping on some Pro-Tools effects to cash in on the Friends of Devendra folktronica train. Sometimes you just want…
Playing Music With Hands, From The Heart
Betta Listen
Old Town School of Folk Music Song Book, Vols. 2 & 3
The Deal: Revamped folk dusts off chestnuts and makes’em palatable to a new generation. The Good: The Chicago-based Old Town School of Folk Music has been training students in musical culture from around the world since 1957. Thankfully, it’s progressed from the fireside Kumbaya sessions of the ’60s into some serous examination and adaptation of…
Get Your Weird On
Books
New Blog To Focus On Music News, Reviews & More!
La Vida Local
Amos’ Southend, Sept. 12, 2007
The Deal: Aggressive EBM champs, Combichrist pound through Charlotte on part 3 of their headlining tour. The Good: The audience got an ear full of EBM, industrial and electro inspired songs. Angels on Acid, a Charlotte-based band began the show and impressed the crowd. Modulate played their hit “Skullfuck” and a remix of Faderhead’s “Dirty…
Comic Proportions
Doktor Sleepless Nos. 1 and 2 Published by Avatar. Plot and script by Warren Ellis. Pencils and inks by Ivan Rodriguez. The Deal: Warren Ellis is one crazy motherfucker. He’s the man behind mind-bending comics like Planetary and Transmetropolitan (among many others), and Doktor Sleepless is his latest ongoing series. On top of that, it’s…
CL Previews Upcoming Shows
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 26 Harptallica Yes. You read the name correctly. There are two women. They play Metallica tunes on harps. You know, the type of harps that are bigger than the performers are. Just another novelty act? Maybe. But they’re darn good at it. After listening to “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman” on harps,…
This is Somewhere
The Deal: Vermont-based rockers release third effort to growing fan base. The Good: When I saw the band on Good Morning America in August, my immediate thought was, “Who is that?!? and why haven’t I heard them before?” It’s hard to believe this is their third album, though the maturity and experience shines through. There…
Medicine Show
Performing Arts
The Blotter
HOT FOR TEACHER: A teacher at J.H. Gunn Elementary School was having problems with a student when she was hit in the back six or seven times. The suspect then tackled her, knocked her to the ground and then began kicking her. FROWN LINES: A doctor’s office reported missing four bottles of Botox, valued at…
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Sept. 19, 2007
The Deal: Dave Matthews Band showcases new and old during summer tour stop. The Good: If you’re a big DMB fan, the show was a chance to hear some of the band’s new songs — “A Dream So Real,” “Corn Bread” and “Eh Hee.” (No word on when a new album will be released, but…
Tipping The Scales Of Justice In Jena
Breaking the Sound Barrier
Can You Recall?
China has taken a lot of heat as of late for various recalls such as toys and, most recently, Simplicity cribs … but perhaps, things are not always what they seem … • Mattel did their research and found, in a new study of 550 U.S. toy recalls, that the majority of the problems were…
JUMP!
If you were in high school in the late 70s and early 80s you listened to Van Halen. Funksters, punks, rockers and honky tonkers all swayed heads in unison the moment Eddie Van Halen cranked his guitar. David Lee Roth last fronted the hard rock legends back in 1984 with the release and subsequent tour…
Scandal-Driven Tourism
Boomer With Attitude
Last Gasp Of Summer
Red Skies at Night The Noises 10 guitarist Patrick Boyd basks in the red glow at Snug Harbor on Sept. 21. The Noises 10 shared a bill at the packed club with fellow Queen City rockers The Sammies. One Man Show Artist John Hairston Jr., of the God City art crew, took over Element Gallery…
Rolling Out the Yellow Brick Road
Time to celebrate, my pretties. Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is launching its 60th season in epic MGM style with The Wizard of Oz. Local theater legend Alan Poindexter directs and cross-dresses as the Wicked Witch of the West — and the venerable Jill Bloede cross-dresses right back as The Cowardly Lion. Yes, this is the…
Karma Cleanser
Dear Karma Cleanser: I have been having an ongoing dispute with one of my neighbors for months now, and I need some advice on how to end it. This woman is probably 80 years old and she has lived in our neighborhood for decades. She has watched the area go through many transitions, and the…
Coming Attractions
FRIDAY, OCT. 5 Guitarist and frontman Dave Grohl’s fractured rock folds around his distinct sense of writing pop ditties that has carried the Foo Fighters for over a decade. The band’s mix of post-punk, grunge and shiny guitar pop is intact and continues to evolve. Just drop the needle on their newest record, Echoes, Silence,…
Hope Floats
Fresh from screening his short film On My Last Breath in the recently wrapped Charlotte Film Festival, local writer-director Don Johns returns with another homegrown production. Without Hope, filmed with local actors in Kings Mountain, centers on one man’s attempts to survive on a hostile planet. Tonight’s event will include a screening of the film…
Little By Little
Moodswing
Who’s Backing Beverly Earle?
A look at the Beverly Earle campaign’s finance report shows a variety of income groups, races and occupations among her contributors. Former and current African-American politicians are prominent in the group, as are various attorneys and real estate related employees. Here is a representative sample of contributors: • Bob Johnson, owner, Charlotte Bobcats: $2,000 •…
Fall Fun
The Willow Maze was opened yesterday after seven months stuck in development. Need a quick way to “misplace” a kid? Bring ’em to try out the many twists and turns among its dappled willow plantings. A zoo of animals made out of bushes will also be on display during the Fall Family Festival to thrill…
