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Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 21, 2008 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Opening of art exhibit Uncontrollable Substance at Niche Market
• Opening night of Squonk Opera: Charlotte the Opera at McGlohon Theatre
• Fashion Friday: “Hollywood Rockstar” at Kiss Lounge
• DJ Lee Burridge at HOM
• Hoots and Hellmouth with The New Familiars at Visulite Theatre
What are you doing Friday night?
Might I suggest attending this …
Fashion Friday at K.I.S.S. Lounge (on the corner of Woodlawn and Tryon)
L.A. East boutique is having a fashion show -slash- shindig for which Power 98’s Consuella and I will be hosting.
But more importantly, L.A. East is giving something away every 30 minutes … all night long. Those are very good odds for winning free shit. And by shit I mean free fashion. That, and there will be live performances, models, and if you’re lucky, Consuella might even do a little turn on the catwalk. Meow.
Live Nation, one of the country’s largest music promotion companies, is coming to Charlotte.
Rick and Noah Lazes of the Ark Group, the development team behind the North Carolina Music Factory, made the announcement today.
“We now have Live Nation on board and they’re going to put the music in the Music Factory,” said Noah Lazes. “Live Nation is going to bring a 2,000-seat live music club from San Francisco called the Fillmore as well as operate the 5,000-seat outdoor boutique amphitheater.”
The Fillmore in San Francisco became legendary in the 1960s after holding concerts by The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Otis Redding, The Who and Cream. In 2008, Live Nation began to lease and operate the Fillmore and recently started a campaign to expand the Fillmore brand name by establishing clubs in other cities — New York City (Fillmore at Irving Plaza), Denver (Fillmore Auditorium), Miami (Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theatre), Detroit (Fillmore Detroit) and Philadelphia (Fillmore at the TLA).
Rick Lazes said with the addition of Live Nation and the Fillmore night club, mid-level acts that would normally bypass the Queen City will be more likely to come and perform here.“These acts would normally bypass Charlotte because of the venue. You either went from a 600-800 seat club or to the arena. On the concert side, Verizon Amphitheatre is 18,000 seats, so if you’re a mid-level act you’re only going to sell 5,000 to 6,000 seats and you don’t want to play to an empty arena.”
The Lazes envision The N.C. Music Factory to become Charlotte’s version of Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta — where Rick said the intimate outdoor music venue sells out before the acts are even announced every season.
“Live Nation is the biggest concert promoter in the world and they can just route talent through Charlotte now,” said Rick.
But the Lazes are being realistic about this new venture with Live Nation. “With anything new, it’s a building process. It’s going to take some time to develop that clientèle. But the level of talent that we’re going to bring here is going to make concerts more desirable to come see,” said Noah.
The layout plan for the N.C. Music Factory.
And concerts aren’t the only thing that entertainment seekers will be able to get at the factory. Along with Live Nation, the Lazes have gotten some marquee clubs and restaurants to set up shop in the Q.C. Butter from New York is coming. (“Straight from the pages of People magazine,” said Noah Lazes.) Wet Willie’s, a popular restaurant and bar across the Southeast, is also coming.
Butter restaurant, same as the one in NYC, will be coming to Charlotte.
“All of these places are owned and operated by the real people,” said Noah.
The ultimate goal of the N.C. Music Factory, according to Noah, is to turn Charlotte into a destination city, much like Atlanta where people will get in their cars and just drive into town to spend the weekend.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Hahne)
Martinis and diamonds. Two of a woman’s favorite words.
Get them both at The Capital Grille when you buy their $1,000 martini. The drink will come garnished with more than a cherry. With it, you will get a White Topaz and Diamond Caviar Rope Bracelet designed by acclaimed designer Stephen Lagos. You don’t have to feel guilty for spending one grand on a martini though — 100% of the profits from the lavish martini will benefit Share Our Strength, a non-profit leader in the flight to end childhood hunger in America.
The bracelet is touted as a “limited edition” item created exclusively for the restaurant and will only be available Nov. 24 - Jan.3.
But if you like the bracelet, don’t care about charity and/or don’t want to spend $1,000 for the bracelet, just hop on over to Nordstrom and pick up a similar bracelet for only $675. This Lagos bracelet is the same design as the Charity Martini one, but it just doesn’t have the two side diamonds…but it’s hardly noticeable!
If you want the $1,000 martini, go to The Capital Grille located at:
201 N Tryon St # 1000
Charlotte, NC 28202
(704) 348-1400
If you just want the bracelet without the booze, go to Nordstrom located at:
SouthPark Mall
4400 Sharon Road, Suite 500
Charlotte, NC 28211
(704) 442-6000
The controversy over racist graffiti at N.C. State University won’t go away.
Guess what, it shouldn’t.
I’m beginning to think that some people thought the election of Barack Obama was going to be some magic wand that was going to mend race relations in the country.
It hasn’t, and the hate speech written by those four — still unidentified — Wolfpack students show that this country still has a long way to go. Why were they so upset that Obama won the presidency? These kids wrote hateful things about the next leader of this country.
While that’s horrible, the fact that the university is covering up for these students is even worse.
It shows that even institutions in North Carolina are still clinging to those “good old boy” ways.
What if those students had written something about Jewish people or gays? I really think we’d get more than this from Chancellor James Oblinger:
… after careful consideration by university legal counsel in concert with Student Affairs and the Office of Equal Opportunity, we have determined that there are no legal grounds to expel or suspend these students.
The statement also said the four students who admitted to painting the racial slurs voluntarily issued an apology through his office.
Since N.C. State is a public university, these students should be forced to face the public. If you’re going to throw stones, be ready to get your hand slapped when you’re caught.
It’s good to know that while the some of us were preoccupied with things like the economy and the country’s political future, others were concentrating on what’s really important.
Ashley Dupre, the prostitute in the sex scandal that forced Eliot Spitzer to resign as governor of New York, is getting ready for her close-up. Her interview with Diane Sawyer is scheduled for Friday night’s 20/20 on ABC. It’s part of Sawyer’s investigation into the world of prostitution — really.
And I thought the Spitzer scandal was so eight months ago.
Promotional photos for the TV event are priceless, with Dupre dressed in a high-necked number that makes her look as though she’s auditioning for a role on Little House on the Prairie or a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt.
The 15-minutes-of-fame rule was shattered long ago. Reality show stars move on to reality show spin-offs. And characters in real-life scandals become a different type of star.
Dupre — aka “Kristen” — is on a publicity blitz, trying to rehabilitate her reputation and perhaps jumpstart a music career. I’m not sure that’s possible when you have an alias. What can she possibly tell Sawyer that we don’t know and will pass through network censors? Reportedly, she reveals how an “upper middle-class, girl next door got into the profession and the psychological journey she continues to experience.” What, no naughty bits?
Dupre tells People magazine that she sympathizes with North Carolina native Silda Wall Spitzer, who has stood by her heel of a husband. She would say to her: “I’m sorry for your pain.” If she feels so sorry, why doesn’t she just disappear?
That never happens. Jerry Springer is respectable and Ms. Dupre is prime-time material. It’s reported she has been asked to be a part of a new Donald Trump reality show that turns party girls into proper ladies.
And here your mother told you hard work gets you noticed.
The flyer advertising the last bash says it so poignantly: “Last chance to throw down before we shut down.”
Head out to Grand Central (101 N. Tryon St.) tonight to party for the last time at the five-year-old establishment. Drink specials include $1 beers, $2 well drinks and $3 flavored vodka drinks.
Amid an economic slump, Brixx Wood Fired Pizza plans to open more than 50 restaurants in the next five years.
The Charlotte-based chain is expanding to cities in North Carolina and surrounding states.
Brixx has 13 locations and expects to grow to 18 by the end of 2009.
Restaurants and Institutions recently identified Brixx Wood Fired Pizza as one of 10 emerging chains to track. The industry magazine noted that “smart expansion plans and a clear differentiation from competition allows chains to grow, even in a down economy,” according to an e-mail from Brixx.
Brixx opened in Charlotte in 1998 and partnered with McAlister’s Deli co-founder Neil Newcomb in 2007 to create Brixx Franchise Systems, LLC.
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 20, 2008 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• The Trans-Siberian Orchestra will perform at Time Warner Cable Arena
• Charlotte Music Awards at Booth Playhouse
• Mingleberry.com presents a monthly cocktail mixer at Kiss Lounge
• The last installment of “Sexual Chocolate” at The Garden and Gun Club
• Fiddle player Carrie Rodriguez at The Evening Muse
The Main Library’s fall film series, Manhattan in the 1950s, continues with a screening of 1957’s powerful drama Sweet Smell of Success at 7 p.m. next Monday, Nov. 24, in the Wachovia Playhouse at ImaginOn, 300 E. 7th St. Ernest Lehman adapted (with Clifford Odets) his own novel about the relationship between ruthless gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker (a terrific Burt Lancaster) and toadying press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis). Admission is free. Call 704-973-2780 for more info. And be sure to also catch 1954’s Rear Window on Dec. 1 and the final film in the series, 1958’s Bell, Book and Candle, on Dec. 15.
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