Since we can’t seem to get a Panthers home win, it’s a good thing we have alternative things to celebrate. Say, Veteran’s Day and “Women that Rock.” When you don’t have to work on Monday, Sundays tend to be more of a fun day. Especially last Sunday in Charlotte, with a Panthers and a Bobcats home game … both losses, but games to attend nonetheless. Meanwhile, rocking women crowded Loft 1523 and Eyes of the Elders and Born Under Punches played at Smokey Joe’s Cafe.
At “Women That Rock” (tha party) the creative queens of the Queen City were honored for contributing their crafts to the community.
The roster of rocking women included Crystal Dempsey from the Eye, Consuella and Ife from Power 98, CL photographer Jasiatic, Jameka Whitten and Debony Burrowes of SOTAC magazine, Bailie Thompson from Skirt! magazine, Digital Diva Tiffany Jones … oh, and ah … me. And I didn’t even have to pay to have my name put on the list. I am officially cool now, and I even have a plaque to prove it.
But a man couldn’t have asked for a better plethora of steadfast successful women to party with. Perhaps that’s why there were so many of them. Now, if only someone would gather all the men that rock in one venue and honor them for being dateable. Can someone please get on that?
Another rocking woman, Cha-Cha Jones from Atlanta was on the wheels, which drove people to the dance floor. She supplied good beats at the perfect volume. And the nifty little heaters outside on the patio supplied an ample amount of heat, which is further evidence that it’s sanctioned to go out in cold weather.
Meanwhile, there was some rocking, as well as rolling, going on at Smokey Joe’s Cafe out on Briar Creek and Monroe. If Charlotte were a tourist town, this interesting bar would be the local’s spot. Though not in a likely neighborhood, it’s a neighborhood bar with neighborly patrons, local bands, and cheap beer. It has a rustic log cabin feel, which makes sense, because in terms of nightlife it’s off the beaten path; it’s like trailing out to the woods. But it’s worth the hike. They have a wood burning fireplace surrounded by leather coaches and lumber furniture, as well as a sand pit equip with a pingpong table.
Word on the street is Tuesday nights are the best night to make the hike out to Smokey Joe’s.
It’s just a shame that I had to work on Monday, because those parties rocked.
You know what other women rock? The queens of the Queen City … as in drag queens. To be continued …
This article appears in Nov 21-27, 2007.
