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Tuesday, June 11, 2013
News / Opinion Free Da Funk!
Posted By John Grooms on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 3:13 PM
Tim Funk, a veteran political reporter and current religion reporter for the Charlotte Observer, was arrested during the Moral Monday protests at the General Assembly building in Raleigh yesterday (fortunately he has since been released). Funk was covering the protests for the Observer, so he naturally stayed with the approximately 60 protesters waiting to be arrested after General Assembly police told the group to disperse. That's a reporter's job, and it is rare that police sweep up reporters when they are legitimately covering protests, even during protests that involve civil disobedience.
The General Assembly police chief, Jeff Weaver, said Funk was arrested and taken away in handcuffs because he did not heed the authorities' warning - which is proof enough that Weaver and his one-step-above-WalMart-security-guards force don't know what the hell they're doing.
- Courtesy of Advancement Project
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Tuesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 9:36 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 11, 2013 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* The Technicolors at The Evening Muse
* NoDable Series at NoDa Brewing Company
* Kar-A-Jokie at Crown Station Pub
* Wine Tasting at Common Market
* Country Tuesday at Snug Harbor
Arts / Culture A Comic Love Letter: A look back at HeroesCon 2013
Posted By Natalie Howard on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 8:29 AM
Once upon a time, in the vast dial-up wasteland of the 1990s, wee Natalie was a gangly teenager whose mom dropped her off at a strip mall to visit a shop tucked into the space that is now Book Buyers. That shop was Heroes Aren't Hard To Find - prior to its early 2000s move to its present location on 7th Street - and the attentive and kind comic sellers provided teenage-me with a subscription box filled with my comics of choice. That was my first foray into comics and Heroes worship.
Patrons of our fair city have had more than 30 years to explore and read the exploits of superheroes, thanks not only to the venerable comic-book shop (the brainchild of Shelton Drum) but also to its annual Heroes Convention (ditto). This year's event, held this past weekend at the Charlotte Convention Center, once again played host to a fleet of comic-loving visitors and some of the largest names and vendors in the industry. Missed out on all the action? Don't worry: It's HeroesCon reminiscence time.
- All photos by Natalie Howard
- What tangled webs they weave...
This year claimed the largest floor space ever in the con's 31-year history. Looking out over the floor space was daunting. It just. Kept. Going. Did you see everything? Because I didn't. I needed three more days and another pair of feet. The only con behind any con is that there's so much to look at - so many boxes of comics to scour through, so many cosplayers to snap photos of, so many artists to shyly smile at and ask for a commission or give a compliment. It could have lasted a week, and we'd still be there looking. My husband (full disclosure: CL film critic/senior editor Matt Brunson) could have spent the entire weekend bartering for back issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland. And for our tiny Charlotte, all this? A truly heroic feat.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Arts Music and dance at Spoleto
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 7:12 PM
Planners at Spoleto Festival USA weren't caught off-guard when Charleston's largest performing arts venue, Gaillard Auditorium, called in absent until renovations are complete for 2015. But it would have been surprising if the first year without the Gaillard went off entirely without a hitch.
It didn't. The Festival called the TD Arena into service, where the College of Charleston Cougars play basketball into April. Even halving the arena, Spoleto had plenty of seats to sell for their main attractions. They built a stage and added chairs to the floor, also working on the acoustics. Music that I heard in the hall sounded so good that I suspect the place had hosted concerts before.
The serious problems were visual, affecting the dance performances. People seated to the sides could see offstage into the wings of the stage on the opposite side, but sometimes they couldn't see all of what was happening onstage. Probably not a big deal when the Punch Brothers or Rosanne Cash performed, since they sang and played toward the front and center of the stage. Compagnie Käfig and the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía used all of the stage for their dance performances, including the problematical sides and the upstage.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 10, 2013 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Iceage at Milestone
* Trivia at Sir Edmond Halley's
* SIN Best of the 80's at Comet Grill
* Find Your Muse Open Mic at The Evening Muse
* Knocturnal at Snug Harbor
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Film / Film Reviews Weekend Film Reviews: The Internship; This Is the End; Love Is All You Need; and more
Posted By Matt Brunson on Sat, Jun 8, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Click on the link to be taken directly to the review.
- Fox
- The Internship
This Is the End (NOTE: Opens Wednesday)
Also playing:
Friday, June 7, 2013
Arts Summer solo exhibits at Hidell Brooks
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 3:52 PM
The new and improved Hidell Brooks Gallery just closed its 15 Year Anniversary Group show and is keeping the space occupied with three solo exhibits for the summer. Still-life paintings by artist Benjamin Shamback reflect natural items like flowers and shells, while Tony Hernandez creates carefree encaustic paintings out of oil pigments on birch panel with layers of beeswax and damar resin melted together.
Also included are surreal landscape paintings by artist Ron Porter, who adds in unlikely elements, like big rig trucks.
Opening reception on June 7, from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Exhibit continues through Aug. 31. Hidell Brooks Gallery, 1910 South Blvd., Suite 130. 704-334-7302
www.hidellbrooks.com.
News / Culture Gastonia will soon feature (mostly) publicly funded live/work space for artists
Posted By Ana McKenzie on Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 10:55 AM
A real estate developer for the arts and a private philanthropic donor have penned a deal to create space for artists to live and work in downtown Gastonia.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Gastonia Artspace, the nation's leading real estate developer for the arts, and the Community Foundation of Gaston County signed a predevelopment contract May 22 to create 35 to 40 studios, which artists can use as apartments or workspace, and some adjoining commercial space in downtown Gastonia. State and federal tax credits would mostly fund the $11 million project.
Per the Observer:
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 7, 2013 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
* Catch Me If You Can at Belk Theater
* Stephen Kellogg at The Evening Muse
* Jesse & Joy at Neighborhood Theatre
* Silent Disco Kick-off at Pavilion at EpiCentre
* Taste of Charlotte in Uptown
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