Sep 7-13, 2010

Sep 7-13, 2010 / Vol. 24 / No. 28

Lady Gaga coming to Charlotte: Will she hit or miss?

If you can’t hear her coming from miles away, you can certainly see her. Lady Gaga and an assortment of costume changes are on their way to the Queen City. Charlotte is one of the many stops for Lady Gaga’s “Monster Tour,” which will be held at Time Warner Cable Arena at 8 p.m. on…

Lauren Blake

Skateboarder thwarts Koran burning

After reviewing reports from all the various 9/11 events around the country, we want to highlight a couple you may or may not have seen. Our favorite story is about a rally that took place Saturday in Amarillo, Texas. There, David Grisham, a preacher who leads a holy roller group called Repent Amarillo (purpose: “to…

John Grooms

Alive After Five, 9/9/10

Alive After Five is still kickin’ at the EpiCentre on Thursdays. There’s just one more week left, so get out there while you can. Photos by Debra Renee Seth

Priscilla Tsai

Secularists to burn New Testament in protest of abortion bomb plot

CAUTION: SATIRE ALERT! Leaders of two local secularist groups, Jesus: Just Say No! and Presbys In Remission, have announced plans to burn copies of the New Testament, in protest of a Christian Concord man’s plot to blow up an abortion clinic. Self-proclaimed Christian freedom fighter Justin Moose is in custody after the FBI charged him…

John Grooms

Weezer + Jackass = new video

Weezer got the guys from Jackass to get involved in their video for the song “Memories.” Looks like it also has some clips from the new Jackass 3-D movie. Enjoy Weezer – New Music – More Music Videos

Jeff Hahne

Tonight: Charlotte Literacy Festival & NeoSoul

Everyone loves a two for one deal … so you’ll love this one. The Charlotte Literacy Festival and Neo Soul Music Festival will merge for two days of events featuring authors, motivational speakers, poetry performances, a vendor’s alley of arts, crafts, merchandise and more. For the music side of things, check out special guests Dwele,…

Lauren Blake

Obama successfully defends Bush’s crimes

Yesterday, the Ninth District Court of Appeals, in a sharply divided decision, ruled against former prisoners of the CIA who say they were flown to foreign countries and tortured. The Court made its decision on the grounds that the former prisoners could not sue because their lawsuit might expose secret government information. This decision is…

John Grooms

Remember when the VMAs were cool?

The MTV Video Music Awards show will air this Sunday night at 9 p.m. Remember when it was cool? I remember watching them — usually around the time when we’d go back to school — because you cared who won. You wanted to watch amazing performances. You could also expect to see a surprise or…

Jeff Hahne

Tonight: Fashion’s Night Out

“Shopping for Labels, Shopping for Love…” Shopping for Charlotte’s economy? Fashion’s Night Out, a global initiative started by Vogue New York in 2009, is hitting Charlotte Sept. 9 in a big way. The idea, launched as a global initiative, aims to promote retail, celebrate fashion, and re-establish confidence in today’s economy. This year, the event…

Lauren Blake

Time for comprehensive sex education

This school year, the Healthy Youth Act goes into effect, effectively ending North Carolina’s decade-long policy of  “abstinence-only” sex education (see “Sexual Fantasies: Welcome to the 1950s world of CMS health education,” CL, 11.30.05). But despite the fact that a law is, you know, a law, some school districts in N.C. are dragging their feet…

John Grooms

Lady Gaga’s meat bikini

Well, Lady Gaga sure isn’t going to make any PETA or vegetarian friends with this one… She’s now featured on the cover of Vogue Japan in a meat bikini. Yep, a meat bikini. Really not sure what else to say about it:

Jeff Hahne

Sheriffs want N.C. to spill the pills

What’s next from law enforcement busybodies? First, the Patriot Act let Johnny Law look through your library records. Then, the SBI twisted and tugged at evidence until it gave them enough to attain unjust convictions. Now, sheriffs in North Carolina want access to state computer records in order to find out who has prescriptions for…

John Grooms

Quick post-Labor Day fact

Thanks  to the folks at  NC PolicyWatch for their Fact of the Day, this one from former labor secretary Robert Reich, from his Labor Day blog post. In the late 1970s, the richest 1 percent of American families took in about 9 percent of the nation’s total income; by 2007, the top 1 percent took…

John Grooms

Who else is on the Homebrew?

We’re finalizing the CD release party details for Jeff Hahne’s Homebrew Vol. 4 and people are probably wondering who’s on the CD… The first handful of bands announced were: Electric Coma Illicitizen The Isaac Spiveys OverMountain Men Soulganic Stella Kidd Wiggle Wagons We’re happy to add to that announcement: Jeremy Current Jamie & Steve (of…

Jeff Hahne

Concert announcement: NOFX

NOFX, The Bouncing Souls, Cobra Skulls and Old Man Markley will be at The Fillmore Charlotte on Feb. 4, 2011. Tickets go on sale on Friday, Sept. 10.

Jeff Hahne

The Blitz & 9/11: a tale of two anniversaries

Saturday, a mere four days from now, will mark the ninth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks that killed 3,000 people. Meanwhile, today is the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Blitz, Germany’s eight-month-long bombing campaign against Britain, which included 76 straight nights of attacks on London that wrecked the city and killed…

John Grooms

Weekly horoscope Sept. 8-14

Virgo the Virgin (Aug. 22-Sept. 22) This may be the favorite time of the year for you. The new moon in Virgo always occurs in September. The sign is especially devoted to organization, perfection and self-improvement. From the cosmic point of view, it is appropriate that this is the time of year in which we…

Vivian Carol

FESTIVAL: Yiasou Greek Festival

The annual four-day Yiasou Greek Festival allows folks to immerse themselves in Greek culture without even applying for a passport or booking a flight. Given, it’s not exactly the same as really being there, but it is one of the next best things. At the festival, folks can enjoy music and dancing native to Greece,…

Anita Overcash

Do your little turn on the catwalk …

  I am by no means a fashionista. In fact, I’m more of a fashion disaster. For starters, I get most of the clothes I wear from Target. And last year, while hosting Charlotte N.C. Fashion Week, I got yelled at by a BeBe employee because I kept pronouncing it “Bay-Bay,” which apparently is incorrect.…

FESTIVAL: Charlotte Literary Festival

The fifth annual Charlotte Literary Festival returns for two days, but with a new feature. This year, host RealEyes Bookstore is teaming up with the Neo-Soul Music Festival for added sounds. All in all, the fest will feature literary appearances by bestselling authors Mary Monroe and Susan Taylor and poet Sonia Sanchez, as well as…

Anita Overcash

Capsule reviews of films playing the week of Sept. 8

THE A-TEAM “Overkill is underrated,” opines group leader “Hannibal” Smith (Liam Neeson) at one point during the course of The A-Team. Clearly, the man isn’t talking about summer films, wherein the whole point of many of these heavily hyped efforts is to render everything louder, larger and more expensive. Still, as far as costly packages…

Matt Brunson

ART: Something Like a Fahamenon

Visual artist Fahamu Pecou — the first artist in residence for the Harvey Gantt Center for African-American Art + Culture (and the subject of a recent Creative Loafing cover story) — is set to launch his Q.C. debut with the event Something Like a Fahamenon. Billed as a ’90s jam, the one-night event — featuring…

Carlton Hargro

Where to find it: Fresh Kimchi

Where can you find fresh kimchi in Charlotte? Jars of fermented kimchi are handily found at area grocery stores. Many Asian markets have large selections, including the vast Super G Mart, which opened this summer in the former Bi-Lo space on Independence Boulevard. Kimchi, undoubtedly the most famous Korean pickled dish, is comprised of Napa…

Tricia Childress

FILM: Revolutionaries: The Don Gibson Theatre Film Weekend

Foreign, independent and classic films are all included in Revolutionaries: The Don Gibson Theatre Film Weekend, which wraps up today. The fest features a variety of films — including today’s screenings of Stormy Weather (starring Lena Horne, Fats Waller and Nicholas Brothers), Wim Wenders’ Wings Of Desire and Picnic At Hanging Rock — that have…

Anita Overcash

Not afraid of flavor at Bistro La Bon

When you use the word bistro in your name, people think French. You double this expectation with the rest of the name: La Bon — except that in French it should be either Le Bon or La Bonne. It is confusing. Bistro La Bon, though, is neither French nor is the food confusing. The restaurant…

Tricia Childress

MUSIC: Find Your Muse open mic at The Evening Muse

It’s Find Your Muse open mic night at The Evening Muse this and every Monday. Musicians, grab up your music gear and head over to perform one of your own creations in front of a crowd. No one can guarantee they’ll be liked, but constructive criticism is always helpful! Get there early to snag a…

Anita Overcash

3 questions with Chip Townsend, mixologist

Have you ever had one of those days when you just felt like knocking back a few drinks — at work — to take the edge off? For local Customshop mixologist Chip Townsend, taste-testing his alcoholic concoctions is all part of the job description. Townsend admits, “The job gets increasingly more difficult as the day…

Nicole Pietrantonio

FILM: Trash Humpers

Tonight Cinematastic and The Light Factory have teamed up to present a free screening of Trash Humpers. This 2009 film — that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and picked up the DOX Award — by Harmony Korine is striking for its content, which consists of the late night adventures of elderly sociopaths. Enough…

Anita Overcash

Pixies touring in support of landmark album

They’re mischievous elves — playful, naughty imps with magical powers to lead humans astray. Since declaring themselves Pixies in 1986, musicians Charles Thompson (AKA Frank Black, Black Francis), Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering have lived up to that definition, pushing rock into a new dimension. Even though they stay true to the nature…

Grant Britt

THEATER: Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte presents The 39 Steps

Hop onboard as Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte gears up for performances of The 39 Steps — one of Broadway’s longest running comedy thrillers. The show, set on a runaway freight train that’s traveling across 1930s Europe, is comprised of only three actors who play a number of characters — more than 150 — and create…

Anita Overcash

CL previews upcoming concerts (Sept. 8-14)

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 8 HELLBOUND GLORY Self-described as Scumbag Country, the band’s singer/rhythm guitarist Leroy Virgil (hell if that’s not a country crooner name) plucks and howls in and out of dives and gin joints. Playing dry, dusty country music, the Reno-based outfit tells drinking stories — lots of them, while the guitars twang and sashay…

Observer article sheds light on “independent newsroom”

It’s the new journalism. For a minimum of $10 million, you too can publish an article on the front page of papers like The Charlotte Observer. Last weekend, the Observer published a piece called “Banks Self Dealing Fueled Meltdown.” A byline noted that it was written not by Observer staff, but by an outfit called…

Nightlife profile: DJ Ghost

  The Scorpio has been a part of Charlotte’s nightlife scene for a long time, and since January 2004, DJ Ghost has been its resident DJ. “My goal every time I DJ is to have the majority of people in the club on the dance floor,” he says. Creative Loafing: What’s the story behind your…

Kimberly Lawson

Book review: Alexander Zaitchik’s Common Nonsense

When Glenn Beck went on tour last year to promote his book Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, he often wandered, smiling, through the audience, dressed in full costume as Thomas Paine, the 18th century author who wrote the famous revolutionary treatise Common Sense, which supposedly inspired Beck’s book. Beck lauded Paine for his love of freedom,…

CD REVIEW: The Black Crowes’ Croweology

THE DEAL: In celebration of the 20th anniversary of its debut album, The Black Crowes releases a double-acoustic set as the band tours before a planned indefinite hiatus. THE GOOD: The album may look like a run-of-the-mill greatest hits package, but that’s not the case. The band hit the studio in 2009 to put together…

Jeff Hahne

Comic review: Wolverine No. 1

The Deal: Marvel Comic’s infamous clawed mutant/movie star is back in a brand-new, aptly named ongoing series. The title’s opening story arc is about Wolverine’s soul somehow being yanked into hell (by some mysterious bad guys) while his demon-possessed body roams the earth, killing his friends and family. The Good: Writer Jason Aaron isn’t known…

Carlton Hargro

CD REVIEW: Ra Ra Riot’s The Orchard>

THE DEAL: Syracuse, N.Y.’s Ra Ra Riot submits its second offering and first since 2008’s The Rhumb Line. Mixed by Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie. THE GOOD: Lead vocalist Wes Miles’ falsetto voice and violinist Rebecca Zeller’s melancholic instrumentation. The two are always in tune together and complement each other’s talents, which helps…

Chris Triplett

Check your insulin level before seeing Mary Poppins

When the original Disney feature came out in 1964, the ubiquitous trailers, clips and sound bites from Mary Poppins were more than enough to convince me to give this animated hybrid a wide berth. Forty years later, when the new stage version opened in London, Disney Theatricals had stripped away the animation, recruiting the savvy…

Perry Tannenbaum

Eve Ensler: Bald, brave and beautiful

Bald, brave, and beautiful: Those words can’t begin to capture the remarkable Eve Ensler. She sat down with me last week, in the midst of her battle with uterine cancer, to talk about New Orleans and the Congo. Eve, the author of the hit play “The Vagina Monologues” and the creator of V-Day, a global…

Amy Goodman

EXHIBIT: Protégé

Painter Sam Gilliam, best known for his monumental draped canvases, creates installations that incorporate painting, computer-generated imagery and more. Atlanta-based artist Kevin Cole uses the necktie form to make structures that address essential concepts including the destruction of human life. For 15 years, Gilliam has mentored Cole; see the fruits of this powerful relationship in…

Barbara Schreiber

Duke’s sham reasons for scrapping wind project

  Welcome to another wonderful edition of “Ask Boomer With Attitude,” live from Charlotte, N.C., where some police investigators are so slack, they’ve actually endangered what should have been an open-and-shut case against a cop killer. Let’s get on with the show; as usual, one question is fake; see if you can detect which one…

Exhibit: ZipStir

McColl Center of Visual Arts’ latest exhibit, ZipStir, features installations by Hong Seon Jang and Jonathan Brilliant. By focusing on space through the use of common manufactured materials (like plastic zip ties and wooden stir sticks) — which are used in a very uncommon way — both artists give deeper meaning to human nature and…

Anita Overcash

Chatting with firearm evangelist F. Paul Valone

F. Paul Valone, president of the gun rights and education organization Grass Roots North Carolina, doesn’t hold back when it comes to expressing his First Amendment rights or, according to him, protecting the Second Amendment. Grass Roots North Carolina, joined by The Second Amendment Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that says it defends the right…

Cheris Hodges

Bizarre crimes from Charlotte police files

Next Level: A 75-year-old man called police after his property was vandalized. He told officers that overnight an unknown suspect smashed his metal mailbox with a bat. The suspect(s) also ripped his plastic newspaper box into pieces. This marks the beginning of the steroid era in mailbox smashing. Just stay away from the lawn statues.…

Ryan Pitkin

Is coal ash poisoning Charlotte-area drinking water?

If you’re like most people, you turn on lights and your collection of electronics without giving much thought to where electricity comes from or how it’s created. And, until December 2008, when an earthen dam burst in Tennessee spewing more than one billion gallons of coal ash sludge into a river and across 300 acres…

Rhiannon Fionn

Famous first: CMS Investmen Study Group

Charlotteans, it seems, are banding together to help Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in a major way. Recently, the Charlotte Bobcats made a $250,000 donation to a CMS scholarship fund to help defray the costs of middle school athletics this academic year. The donation is reportedly the largest ever made by a professional sports franchise to CMS, and…

Nsenga Burton

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