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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
New Releases / News This week's new releases (1/26/2010)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 11:54 AM
Here's a look at some of the new albums being released today:
Michael Jackson This Is It DVD
Lady Antebellum Need You Now
Los Campesinos! Romance is Boring
Corinne Bailey Rae The Sea
Monday, January 25, 2010
Videos / News DeAngelo Williams' "Pants on the Ground"
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams offers up his take on the American Idol song, "Pants on the Ground."
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Opinion / Eric Mullis / News Improving the music scene isn't easy
Posted By Eric Mullis on Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Jeff Hahne’s recent music blog post about the lack of support for live music in Charlotte generated some good discussion on the Creative Loafing site. I’d like to take a second to throw a thought or two into the ring with the hope that my thoughts might focus in on what I take to be the root of our problem.
If you missed the recent turn of events, the Neighborhood Theater was rumored to be closing its doors in March and that created an outcry. A facebook page called “Save the Neighborhood Theater” was created to which over 5,000 people joined. The ins and outs of the Theater situation aside, Jeff rightly called attention to the problem the Theater (and any other live music in Charlotte) faces concerns revenue. Simply put, they all need more people going out to shows and supporting live music.
After Jeff posted the blog, many people started posting replies that began speculating about why Charlotteans don’t tend to support live music. Maybe it’s because Charlotte is too spread out and you can live quite happily in your section of Charlotte without ever venturing into NoDa, Plaza-Midwood, etc. Maybe it’s because Charlotte is a banking town and everyone is too obsessed with making money. Etc., etc. Since, we’re talking about a large city with many demographics, it would be difficult to pin-point exactly what the central causes of the problem are and this leads me to think that trying to nail down THE cause is hopeless.
Regardless, the point I’d like to make is that cities and communities tend to identify themselves in light of commonly held cultural values. Those values can be political, religious, philosophical or artistic in nature. What I would like to point out is that Charlotte is still quite young when it comes to its artistic identity. Of course, the city supports the fine arts by funding museums and the North Carolina Dance Theatre. It also provides grants to independent artists whether they be painters, photographers, sculptors or jazz composers.
However, Charlotte’s live music scene and especially its LOCAL music scene is not intertwined with Charlotte’s identity as it is with other cities in the Southeast such as Asheville, Athens or Greenville S.C. Of course, as a reply to Jeff’s post rightly noted, we’re not the only city with this problem (I went to graduate school in Columbia, S.C., and was always puzzled that a city with a robust university in the city center didn’t have a burgeoning local music scene).
So, with all this said, the million-dollar question is: What do we do to change? What do we do to turn Charlotte into a city that has a robust live music scene that is part-and-parcel of the city’s identity?
News Coming Soon: Haiti Earthquake Benefit Concert at UNC-Charlotte
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 10:52 AM
The tragedy in Haiti has left many of us shaking our heads in horror and scrambling to help with relief efforts. That’s where Robinson Hall Players and the UNC-Charlotte Department of Theatre come in. On Sunday, Jan. 31, they’ll host the Haiti Earthquake Benefit Concert to help victims of the earthquake. Currently scheduled to perform are bands/musicians Jeremy Current, Bright Young Things, Jessica Drake, The Natural History, Matrimony, The Activity, Chris Kincaid, Sarah DeShields, e-s guthrie, and Amy Scheide. All proceeds raised from the concert will be donated to American Red Cross — Haiti Relief & Development fund. Tickets are $6 in advance at www.planetpresale.com; $8 at the door. Doors open at 5 p.m.; Concert starts at 5:30 p.m. Held in UNC-Charlotte’s Anne R. Belk Theatre in Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts. For more information, email Mary Kenny at mekenny@uncc.edu.
Friday, January 22, 2010
10-in-10 CD Reviews / News 10-in-10 CD reviews
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 4:04 PM
Each Friday, we review 10 recently released albums in 10 words each:
Pearl Little Immaculate White Fox — Scott Ian’s wife, Meatloaf’s daughter releases her debut rock album.
Ben Davis and the Jetts Charge it Up — Third full-length solo album contains more danceable pop-rock.
Freedy Johnston Rain on the City — First album in eight years features good bit of variety.
Katherine McPhee Unbroken — Focus on vocals, but seems she hasn’t found “identity” yet.
Barton Carroll Together You and I — Folkers fourth album has definite ‘60s influence embedded in it.
Ray Wylie Hubbard A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment — Enjoyable, laid-back songs infused with country, hints of rockabilly.
Vulture Whale Bamboo You EP — Alabama band offers up weird accent with indie pop music. (At the Double Door on Feb. 20.)
Super 8-Bit Brothers Brawl — Combination kicked-up old-school video game noises, odd lyrics.
Various Artists Crazy Heart Soundtrack — Jeff Bridges as a country star, but it ain’t bad.
Corey Smith Keeping Up with the Joneses — Indie songwriter releases sixth album of Southern-fried folk rock.
New Releases / News Paper Tongues' first single
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 2:53 PM
Formed in Charlotte, NC, Paper Tongues is getting a lot of attention these days - mostly on t-shirts worn by American Idol's Randy Jackson.
Here's the band's first single, "Ride to California":
On TV / Awards / News Lady Gaga on MTV... before she was Lady Gaga
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 2:47 PM
Once a fame whore, always a fame whore... some people will do anything to get on TV. The dark-haired girl in the black dress went on to become Lady Gaga...
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News Rally songs gone wrong
Posted By Mike McCray on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 2:41 PM
With the release of Prince's ode to boys in "Purple & Gold" (no not Ques, the Minnesota Vikings), you have to know that celebrity fans of the three other teams left in this season's NFL playoffs will surely kick out songs to support their squad.
While none of them will be as high-profile as Prince, let's just hope MC No Name takes the time to look at some past rally song failures.
Remember when Lil Flip remixed his hit song "Game Over" for the Panthers Super Bowl run? Yeah, we lost that game (and probably should've just rocked with Petey Pablo's "Raise Up"). And as far as the teams' doing it themselves, the only team when the '85 Bears knocked out the "Super Bowl Shuffle."
Videos / Opinion / News Prince pens Vikings song
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Yeah, I think this is just proof that there really are no cool ways to sing about football...
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Concert Announcement / News Concert announcement: Them Crooked Vultures
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 6:13 PM
Them Crooked Vultures will perform at The Fillmore Charlotte on Feb. 10. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The band is made up of Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones and Josh Homme.
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Frank Ocean tops Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll
Annual critics list creates requisite buzz
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Rain doesn't dampen the party with Kesha and Macklemore
Both sets cut short as storms roll through Charlotte, N.C.
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Live review: Fiona Apple, The Fillmore (9/26/2012) 16
Fans ate it up, but it was a trainwreck of tragic and frustrating proportions.
