2016 Issue 11 Creative Loafing Charlotte

Clclt.com | May 5 - May 11, 2016 Vol. 30, No. 11

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EDVENTURE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

RIVERBANKS ZOO AND GARDEN

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE MUSEUM

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Creative Loafing is Published by Womack Newspapers, Inc. Charlotte, NC 28206.

Office: 704-522-8334 www.clclt.com Facebook: /CLCLT Twitter: @cl_charlotte Instagram: @creativeloafingcharlotte

Staff PUBLISHER • Charles A. Womack III publisher@yesweekly.com EDITOR • Anita Overcash aovercash@clclt.com

Editorial

NEWS EDITOR • Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@clclt.com FILM CRITIC Matt Brunson mattonmovies@gmail.com DINING CRITIC • Tricia Childress tchildress@clclt.com THEATER CRITIC • Perry Tannenbaum perrytannenbaum@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS • Ailen Arreaza, Erin TracyBlackwood, Vivian Carol, Charles Easley, Page Leggett, Alison Leininger, Kyle Mullin, Dan Savage, Aerin Spruill, Chuck Shepherd, Jeff Hahne

ART/DESIGN

GRAPHIC DESIGNER • Dana Vindigni CONTRIBUTING Artists and PHOTOGRAPHERS • Justin Driscoll, Brian Twitty

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SALES MANAGER Aaron Stamey • astamey@clclt.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Candice Andrews • candrews@clclt.com Sarah Stark • sstark@clclt.com Advertising coordinator Pat Moran • pmoran@clclt.com

Creative Loafing © is published by CL, LLC 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., Suite C-2, Charlotte, NC 28206.

Periodicals Postage Paid at Charlotte, NC. Creative Loafing welcomes submissions of all kinds.

Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however Creative Loafing assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. Creative Loafing is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. Copyright 2015 Womack Newspapers, Inc. Creative Loafing is printed on a 90% recycled stock. It may be recycled furtheR; please do your part.

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Crackerfarm

20

10

Della Mae performs at North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival at Rural Hill this weekend.

cover story The Mecca: The Charlotte area is known as one of the best disc golf locations in the country, but do Charlotteans know?

By ryan pitkin This week’s cover photo was shot by brian twitty

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News&VIEWS 14 blotter 15 news of the weird

16

Food Grounds for Parliament: Paul Waggoner of Between the Buried and Me talks coffee.

By anita overcash 19 food review

22

Arts&Ent Graffiti for the chicken-hearted: Not everyone understands the art form and one local artist hopes to change that.

By Anita overcash 25 film reviews 26 Happenings

28

Music Not just puppy love: Faye tells the truth and distorts the rest in new EP.

By RYAN PITKIN 32 soundboard

20

Odds&Ends

20 Top 10 Things To Do 34 Marketplace 34 Nightlife 35 Crossword 36 Savage Love 38 Horoscope

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News

Feature

Brian Twitty

A hole at Brackett’s Bluff that sits atop a large rock is known as “El Bastardo” and can run up the score on even the best players.

The Mecca The Charlotte area is known as one of the best disc golf locations in the country, but do Charlotteans know?

By Ryan Pitkin

O

n Sunday, deep in the woods of Davidson, over 60 Charlotte-area disc golf players rallied around Candie Honeycutt and her remaining son, Tyler, and cheered her as she tearfully thanked them.

The group had raised more than $1,500 over the weekend to help Honeycutt pay for a memorial for her oldest son, Gregory “Matt” 10 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

Carpenter, who was killed in a car accident the previous week. The weekend ended with a fundraiser tournament, raffle and cookout at Matt’s favorite disc golf course, a private course called Brackett’s Bluff in Davidson.

“This means the world to me,” Honeycutt said as she walked around the course during Sunday’s tournament. “So many people pass away and you don’t hear anything about

them, that’s it. These people have come together and supported me completely.”

For Jason Memon, Carpenter’s friend of 12 years and one of the event’s organizers, the outpouring of support was indicative of how tight-knit the Charlotte-area disc golf community is.

“It feels good because it shows that the community has love for each other like I had

love for him,” he said. “Family. That’s what Charlotte disc golf is, it’s family.”

It’s a family that’s growing fast.

For those unnfamiliar with it, disc golf is a sport played (usually) on 18-hole courses with rules similar to those of traditional ball golf. A player starts at a tee box and tries to reach the target (a basket with chains hanging from the top as opposed to a hole)

in the least amount of turns (throwing a disc as opposed to striking a ball) as possible.

The sport is exploding nationally, and new players are joining all the time. A poll of more than 1,400 disc golfers in January 2014 found that half of them had been playing for less than two years.

In recent years, through hosting major events, word of mouth on Internet forums and even showing up on the SportsCenter Top 10 Plays of the Week, people are coming around on an idea that many folks in the local culture have believed for years: Charlotte is the best disc golf city in the country.

In a relatively short time, the city has seen an explosion in both courses and players.

The Charlotte Disc Golf Club (CDGC) had about 120 members in 2013. The number has increased every year since, with 440 registering last year. This year, the club is on pace to meet its goal of 600 players.

Thousands more play on a regular, if more casual, basis.

The number of courses in Charlotte alone has more than tripled since 2009, with a number of other courses popping up in the surrounding areas. Seven years ago, the CDGC maintained five courses.

A miraculous effort by club members and local course designers in the lead-up to the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championships, held in Charlotte in 2012, led to the construction of seven more courses before that time. The number of CDGC-maintained public courses now stands at 16, with two of those located in northern Mecklenburg towns.

“We’ve been calling it ‘The Mecca’ for years and years,” says Henry Childres, president of CDGC. “It was considered that even before Worlds, with the quality of the courses that we had. It definitely is a lot of quantity, but [the courses are] also to a very high standard and getting better all the time.”

While working on this article, I often heard players reference the fact that people regularly move to Charlotte based solely on the amount of high-quality disc golf courses in the city. Childres is one of those guys.

When he graduated high school in 2004, he had been playing the game for two years. He was apparently already hooked, because he put more thought into the quality of disc golf in Charlotte than academic merits when he chose to go to school at UNC Charlotte.

“I decided based on not really the school that I wanted to go to, but I knew that there were five courses in Charlotte and we only had one in Hickory, so it was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to go there so I can play a lot of disc golf,’” Childres says.

It may seem like an immature way to go about choosing a college, but the move paid off for him. Since arriving in Charlotte,

Childres has become a professional disc golf player, served as president of the CDGC and landed a full-time job at Innova, the world’s largest disc golf company, which has its eastern headquarters in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Childres is one of many who have been active in cultivating Charlotte’s disc golf culture into one recognized by pros around the world as a desirable place to visit to play disc golf.

“Everything I do is disc golf,” Childres says. “I’m married and we have two little puppies but other than that, pretty much everything. I work [at Innova] full time, I teach lessons, I play professionally and I run tournaments.”

Others who stay busy on the scene include those like Matt Cheney, who has founded multiple disc golf leagues in the area, including a putting league that has served as a model for copycat leagues around the country and in places like Canada and Norway.

Cheney was just a casual player when he decided to try to start a putting league three years ago. He’s grown it from four guys testing out the concept in the original Industry coworking location to now averaging 72 people weekly at Sugar Creek Brewery. He also runs a match play team league that’s the only one of its kind in Charlotte.

“I see all these top lists that come out about what makes Charlotte unique, and disc golf is never on them, yet we’re one of the meccas of disc golf,” Cheney says. “People have moved here for disc golf. Most people are just unaware. It’s all free. There’s nothing better than getting out, going walking out in the woods to de-stress, getting back in nature, getting off our phones and just being with people in nature. It’s awesome and it’s huge; it’s already huge here comparatively.”

Until last week’s Glass Blown Open in Emporia, Kansas, the 2012 PDGA World Championships was the biggest tournament in the history of disc golf, with about 1,100 participants between the two.

Both professional and amateur players were able to compete in Charlotte thanks to the amount of quality courses.

Childres said hosting such a major tournament played a key role in cultivating the growth Charlotte has been seeing in the disc golf scene.

“The explosion of disc golf, the growth of it in the past 10 to 20 years, it makes it so the World Championships, when it comes town, it’s such a huge deal,” Childres says.

“You’re going to have all the best players for sure and you’re going to have a ton of people quantity-wise. It really changed the culture completely, because you went from having a lot of courses being like five — which was

Brian Twitty

Players approach Hole 12 at Brackett’s Bluff during a recent fundraiser tournament for the family of a regular at Brackett’s who had passed away. already way more than most cities have — to more than double that and now triple that. It basically created the opportunity for everybody who may have played sometimes because it wasn’t that convenient, to now they could play every day. They can play at lunch for work because there’s a course nearby.”

Though he’s too humble to tell you so himself, just about everybody familiar with the Charlotte disc golf scene credits one

man with playing the largest role in the proliferation of disc golf courses in and around the city: Stan McDaniels.

McDaniels designed and led the construction efforts at many of Charlotte’s highest quality courses, like the Renaissance Gold course at Renaissance Park in south Charlotte, called “a monster of a course” by the popular DGCourseReview.com.

“Most of Charlotte disc golf, in my opinion, wouldn’t have happened without clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 11

to the point where it did, so now we’ve got an energized group. Over the last two years we’ve had a big shift with the seniority stepping aside and letting the younger guys come in.”

Cheney says the board is focusing on taking advantage of technology to capitalize on the game’s “viral” nature, as was evident last year when Philo Brathwaite landed on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Week when he aced the eighth hole at Robert L. Smith District Park in west Charlotte.

“When I think of Charlotte disc golf I think of growth,” Cheney, a CDGC board member, says. “We have one of the biggest cultures, and one of the biggest clubs in the country, possibly in the world. We’re growing at a pretty large rate. Now that we have all the courses in from Worlds and did all the prep work for that, we can help grow and expand the culture and the reach.”

Childres and Cheney confirmed there has been discussion within the CDGC about bidding to host another World Championship, but not for another two to three years.

Stan,” says Kevin Keith, co-host of Final Round Radio, a Charlotte-based disc golf podcast with listeners around the world. “When he gets something in his head, with him and a chainsaw, magic happens.”

Keith said his most memorable moment from the first 41 episodes of Final Round was having McDaniels as a guest and watching him get emotional as he realized the amount of respect the entire community feels toward him.

According to Childres, the local disc golf community owes a great debt to McDaniels for all the work he’s put into the scene. As with all of the people involved with improving the local scene, McDaniels does all of his work on a fully volunteer basis.

“He’s done so much here it’s unbelievable,” Childres says. “We owe him a lot in terms of the quality and the quantity of the courses here. He has literally poured his blood, sweat and tears into these courses and it really shows. You look at Renaissance Gold, not only would it not exist without him, there’s no way that anybody else has ever done anything like what he did there.”

With the labor-intensive work behind them, the CDGC is now focused on growing the culture as opposed to continuing to build courses, as the city and surrounding areas is already dense with high-quality play. A younger board, full of of relative newcomers like Cheney, is shifting gears.

“I’m really excited to where we’ve got a new board installed,” Cheney says. “A lot of the guys who built the scene didn’t expect it to grow 12 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

As with many alternative sports, those on the outside looking in have often shrugged off disc golfers as a bunch of stoners playing around in the woods. In recent years, however, as the game has grown and pro players have improved, those in the know have witnessed the sport begin a transition. “[The stoner stereotype] does have an effect for sure, but if you take the time to get to know disc golf at the professional level, you’re going to realize that it’s so much more,” says Andy Goh, co-host of Final Round Radio.

“It’s nothing like the stereotype. These are guys who are really committed to what they’re doing and really professional about it. But to the average person on the street, they still don’t know anything about disc golf. When I tell people I host a disc golf podcast, people who barely have any idea what disc golf is, I can see it in their eyes. ‘Isn’t that where you get a tie-dye shirt and throw a Frisbee around in a field?’”

Charlotte-based professional player Michael “MJ” Johansen, who finished fourth in the 2012 Worlds, doesn’t put much value into the stereotype.

“There’s nothing you can do about that except play,” Johansen says. “It’s just one of those things, people are going to see what they want to see, like with anything. It just depends on how involved people are in the area to actually see it. If they don’t see it then they don’t understand what it really is.

Ultimate [Frisbee] has the same stigma. It takes a long time to get rid of that. It was the same thing with other alternative sports like skateboarding and snowboarding and all of those. ‘Oh, it’s just a bunch of stoners.’

Whatever, that’s just what they’re going to think.’”

Brian Twitty

Kevin Burgess, a Final Round Radio cohost who also owns Another Round Disc Golf store in NoDa, has begun to change the way he looks at the whole stereotype. Although he points out that he doesn’t sell bongs or light incense in his shop to take advantage of the stereotype like the head shops that sell discs, he has begun to look at it more as a positive.

“This is just me, but the stereotype kind of tags along with you and with the sport,” Burgess says. “I used to try to get away from it, but the older I’ve gotten, the more I’m thinking to sort of embrace it. The sport came out of that hippie counterculture. It doesn’t mean that it’s not kid-friendly, it doesn’t mean that it’s not good people.”

Regardless of how one feels about the stereotype, the sport’s hippie counterculture beginnings undeniably attracted a certain demographic. A vast majority of those playing at any given course around Charlotte at any given time are white males.

There has been an increase in female players nationally, however, and in 2012 the PDGA founded the Women’s Global Event, which is held on May 14. The 2014 event consisted of 61 registered tournaments spanning 28 states and six countries. More than 1,000 women competed in the events.

This year, local women will take part by participating in A Romp in the Ruins, a Women’s Global Event tournament being held at Plantation Ruins Disc Golf Course at Winget Park in southwest Charlotte.

Keith, who is black, jokes about the lack of people on the disc golf course that look like him.

“In terms of demographics, there are the youngest of young to the oldest of old.

There are all socio-economic backgrounds, all professions. People are so diverse,” he says.

“But the stereotype is still moderately accurate.

I’m one of, what, 20 black people in Charlotte that play disc golf? Actually I think it’s 17.

There’s this group of six brothers who play, so that family alone almost doubles the number.”

So how can that gap be bridged? Keith said it’s all about bringing a buddy and telling a friend. He, for one, began playing only after a long history of reluctance.

“I didn’t know disc golf existed. Not even an inkling of a clue,” he says. “My roommate and best friend at the time was going off to the woods with some other grown-ass men and that was a concern. For months I was like, ‘What are you guys doing out there?’ They invited me several times and I ignored them because I thought it was rather odd, to put it mildly, but one time I went out. I played one round. I played horribly but I was hooked.”

Inspiration for anyone looking for a new way to appreciate what Charlotte has to offer: all it takes is getting out there for one (probably really bad) round. rpitkin@clclt.com

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Blotter

By Madeline lemieux

the cream team faces larceny charges.

Cutting Crew Apparently there have been a few home improvement projects along Albemarle Road without the proper funding, as the local Walmart has been getting hit hard by shoplifters. According to security, a suspect first swiped an electric chainsaw from the store early in the week by using his two small children to conceal the item in his shopping cart. Word must have gotten around about the man’s success, because another person came into the store three days later and walked out with a higherpower gas chainsaw. This time, the kids were notably absent.

Whine Night When girl’s night was canceled, a South End woman became so enraged that she stormed a Tryon Street convenience shop and made sure that if she wasn’t drinking wine, nobody would be.

The woman threatened the shop employee then pushed over a wine rack, shattering 28 bottles valued at $350. come with a little bit of baggage, but a woman in southeast Charlotte recently discovered that her new boyfriend came with some particularly unpleasant strings attached.

According to police reports, the boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend had been playing third-wheel to the new couple by following them around and showing up at their apartment uninvited.

Fearing that the situation would escalate, the woman filed stalking charges against the unwanted ex-tra.

House Special Officers responded to a fraud call at Tokyo Grill and Buffet in University City last week after several customers left without paying. It’s not clear, however, who the charges were filed against — the dashing diners or the restaurant staff. According to reports, multiple diners complained after allegedly finding mold throughout the food they were eating. The restaurant offered the diners a discount, but refused to completely comp the moldy meals.

That’s when the disgusted diners filed out of the restaurant and employees called the police.

Rent Control There are plenty of ways to air your grievances about a lousy landlord, but a north Charlotte leaser skipped straight to the end of that list when he orchestrated

Found Footage A Pineville-area Chuck E. Cheese’s recently turned over a video to CMPD containing footage from their parking lot surveillance cameras. The footage depicts

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Thieves and Teeths A 50-year old man staying at a south Charlotte hotel notified police that some items had been stolen from his room. He told police that he noticed the items were missing, and deduced that they must have been taken at some point over a two-day period. The items included an electric toothbrush and a bottle of aftershave. We’re not sure what’s worse: stealing a toothbrush, or the fact that it took this guy two days to notice that it was missing.

Blotter items are chosen from the files of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

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14 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

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a “grandmother, male and child” entering the kiddie casino. CMPD says “no specific crime was reported,” although the report does state that the surveillance footage was collected in reference to a disturbance at the facility.

That’s why you don’t mess around when Grandma brings you out in public, she’s into that old school phsyical punishment.

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were looking for a buzz at a Ballantyne drug store, but instead of swiping one of the usual over-the-counter highs (like cough syrup, or whatever kids do these days), the delinquents went for whipped cream.

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an attack on his apartment’s leasing office.

First he doused the building’s exterior in cooking oil, covering the outside walls and pouring it through a mail slot so that it pooled inside on a rug, then proceeded to rip a gutter and lightbulb off of the building’s entrance. He probably won’t be getting his deposit back.

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News of the weird

❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈ ❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈

By Chuck Shepherd

That’s Entertainment One notably hypersuccessful YouTube channel (700,000 subscribers) features Mr. Lauri Vuohensilta of Finland pulverizing various objects (such as a bowling ball) in a 100-ton hydraulic press.

Said Vuohensilta, “I think it’s built into every person — the need to destroy something.”

That channel is free of charge, but other entrepreneurs have created 24-hour pay-permonth websites and apps offering similarly specialized programming, e.g., “Zombie Go Boom” (actors taking chain saws to things; $5 a month), “Hungry Monk Yoga” (posing in orange robes while teaching martial arts; $15 a month), and “Lather Fantasies” (clothed people “excessively shampooing each other’s hair”; $20 a month). An April Wall Street Journal report noted that the “lather” channel “sounds kinkier than it actually is.”

Hairy

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Hedgehogs

Restaurants in Tokyo continue their vigilance for unique, attention-demanding animal themes to attract diners. Eateries showcasing tableside cats, rabbits, owls, hawks and even snakes have tried their hands, with the latest being Harry, which offers food and drink — and 20 to 30 teacupsize hedgehogs for diners to fondle while awaiting meal service. The equivalent of $9 brings an hour of cuddling rights.

Fine Points of the Law In some

states, visitors with the barest “right” to occupy property (e.g., invited in for one night but never left) cannot be evicted except by court order, which might take weeks to obtain. In April, owners in Flint, Michigan, and Nampa, Idaho, were outraged that nothing could be done quickly to remove squatters from their vacated houses. (The Nampa squatter produced a “lease” that, though fraudulent, was enough to send the sheriff away.)

Safe Spot The two most recent instances

of suspects who claimed that the drugs or paraphernalia found in their genitals during police searches were not theirs (but were only being stored there for other people) were Tiffany Flores, 23, arrested in Fellsmere, Florida, found on April 5 with a crack pipe in her vagina, and Deondre Lumpkin, 23, arrested in Largo, Florida, on March 22 with crack cocaine “concealed beneath his genitals” (though he did admit owning the marijuana found in his car).

Smooth Getaway The December burglary of the Halifax bank in Sale, England, drew attention even though the hour was just after midnight — because Jamie Keegan and Marc Shelton (both age 33) had tried to haul away an ATM, but it fell out the back of their van, producing calamitous noise (and

sparks in the road). Also, the ATM had an “out of order” sign on it, raising still another question about the efficacy of the crime. In February, the Minshull Street Crown Court sentenced the pair to 40 months each in prison.

All the Feels The most recent suspect to have the bright idea to try biting off his fingertips (to avoid identification) was Kirk Kelly, wanted in Tampa for violating probation and picked up by police in February in Akron, Ohio. While being detained in Akron, he had begun to chew the skin off his fingers. Even if he had succeeded, he was easily identified as Kirk Kelly because of his body tattoos (“Port Tampa” and “813” — Tampa’s area code).

DIY Masters (1) Randy Velthuizen had lived in a house in Everson, Washington, for 20 years, before accidentally setting it ablaze in April while attempting to kill weeds with a blowtorch. It was an uninsured total loss.

Mused Velthuizen, “It just made downsizing a hell of a lot easier.” (2) In January, four units in an apartment house in midtown Detroit were accidentally burned out by a tenant attempting to kill a bedbug that had bitten him. He had tried to light it up, but by the time the flames were extinguished, he was badly burned, his and three adjacent units were uninhabitable, and two dozen others had suffered water damage.

Sex ‘n’ Veggies Emergency surgeons at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Costa Rica removed an 18-inch-long “yuca” (cassava root) from the posterior of a 55-yearold man in April after one of the two condoms encasing it ruptured inside him.

A photograph in San Juan’s Diario Extra showed that the yuca had been carved into a phallic shape. Apparently, the man avoided what could have been catastrophic internal injury.

Paid Time Off Funeral directors who mix

up bodies (either accidentally or, in some cases, fraudulently) are not uncommon, but Thomas Clock III of Clock Funeral Home at White Lake (Whiteside, Michigan) was charged with a bit more in April. Not only did Clock allegedly fail to bury the ashes of the late Helen Anthony in December (interring an empty box instead), but when the family asked for a specific burial date, Clock allegedly told them that no workers were available and that the family would have to dig the cemetery plot themselves — for which Clock helpfully advised using a “post hole digger,” which they did.

Updates (1) Obsessive litigant Jonathan

Lee Riches asked a federal court in Billings, Montana, in April to somehow issue a well-meaning “restraining” order against Donald Trump — to force Trump out of the

presidential race on the ground that he fears assassination. Riches wrote that he loves and adores Trump but suggested as a candidate John McCain (who is “less fiery”). (2) Mr. “Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop,” 34, was arrested in January for assaulting an Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington) police officer. Mr. Zoppitybopbop-bop (originally, Jeffrey Wilschke) had made News of the Weird several years back with arrests under his new name in Wisconsin and Iowa.

Delete Your Account In April, the Sacramento Bee revealed (through FOIA requests) that University of California, Davis, officials had spent at least $175,000 in scarce state higher-education funds merely to attempt to scrub the Internet of references to the notorious 2011 incident in which a campus police officer deliberately peppersprayed the faces of restrained, helpless protesters. The public relations venture was part of a campaign by the school’s chancellor, Linda Katehi, to rehabilitate her image after cutbacks to academic programs. Other critics ridicule as futile almost any attempt — ever — to scrub news from the Internet.

No Place Like Home What is believed

to be the longest-running armed standoff in U.S. history came to a quiet conclusion on Jan. 6 in Trinidad, Texas, when John Joe Gray outlasted the district attorney — never having left his 47-acre ranch in the past 15 years. In 1999, Gray, carrying a pistol but without a permit, resisted arrest and bit a state trooper, retreating to his property, refusing to leave for court. The sheriff, explaining why his deputies declined to go after him, once said, “Joe Gray has been in prison out there himself (for 14 years).” Actually, the charges were dismissed in December 2014, but when the district attorney left office, he failed to notify Gray or the deputies.

NOTW

Classic (March 2012) Newspapers in Sweden reported in January (2012) that two of the country’s most heinous murderers apparently fell in love with each other at their psychiatric institution and, following a 26-day Internetchat “courtship,” had decided to marry. Mr. Isakin Jonsson (“the Skara Cannibal”) was convicted of killing, decapitating and eating his girlfriend, and Michelle Gustafsson (“the Vampire Woman”) was convicted of killing a father of four and drinking his blood.

Said the love-struck Jonsson (certainly accurately), to the newspaper Expressen, “I have never met anyone like (Michelle).” The pair will almost certainly remain locked up forever, but Gustafsson wrote that she hopes they will be released, to live together and “have dogs and pursue our hobbies, piercing and tattoos.”

MAY 13

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News

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clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 15

Food

Feature

Grounds for Parliament Paul Waggoner of Between the Buried and Me talks coffee, music and how the two go hand in hand

By Anita Overcash

A

s guitarist for the popular progressive metal band, Between the Buried and Me, Paul Waggoner takes head banging in stride. His long locks whip back and forth to the thrashing melodies that ensue when the group performs — as they’ll be doing on Friday, May 6 at Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord for Carolina Rebellion.

After 16 years of being in the band, Waggoner, a Charlotte-native, has gotten used to the physical demands required for being a musician in a metal band. But you won’t find him slamming beers on or off the stage. Deeming himself as straightedge, he’s developed a fancy for coffee after years of being on the road. He credits touring as his gateway to trying coffee from roasters around the world. Last year, he unveiled Parliament Coffee Roasters, his own family-run coffee company based in the Q.C. “I never considered it an alternative to the band. I always just thought of it as something I could do in addition to the band. It’s something we want to grow organically,” he says of the venture, where he serves as owner and head roaster. “The biggest thing for me is that it was a passion of mine and I wanted to pursue it. It’s not a money making endeavor, it’s just something I’m very interested in doing and I want to help put Charlotte on the map in terms of coffee roasters.”

While he views Not Just Coffee and The Daily Press, as two of the Charlotte’s more prominent specialty roasters, he hopes Parliament can add some flavor to the mix.

Though members of BTBAM are mostly straightedge, Waggoner shamelessly credits himself for turning them from casual coffee drinkers to coffee aficionados.

“They wouldn’t admit to that but they have totally become coffee nerds. Like, Tommy [Giles], our singer, he bought my old 16 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

parliament coffee roasters

espresso machine when I upgraded and now he’s making lattes at home and sending me pictures of his latte art,” says Waggoner, who brings his own coffee and contraptions on the road. “A year ago, he would have never done that. If he wanted a latte, he’d just drive down the road and get a latte from Starbucks, but

now he’s totally into it.”

While on the road, they’ve developed a habit for seeking out the best coffee shops during their down time. That will be the case when the group travels to Europe later this summer.

“There are always differences in the way

that certain places treat coffee and that’s fascinating and interesting to me and I love exploring that,” says Waggoner. “So, I don’t really have to bring coffee to Europe because there’s no shortage of great coffee over there and I feel like it’s my job to seek it out and to find it. It’s like I’m like a treasure hunter over

Ray duker

there.”

And while Waggoner considers coffee his vice, he showcases an alternative to the traditional rock star lifestyle associated with sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

“I don’t think it’s as unusual as you think. I think there are a lot of band guys that are into coffee,” says Waggoner. “In fact, Parliament has started roasting coffees for bands for their own brand. We just recently did a brand for David Ellefson who is the bass player for Megadeth. He started his own coffee company [Ellefson Coffee Co.] and he doesn’t drink either, so coffee is his vice. He wanted to brand his own coffee line and we collaborated with him on that and there are a number of other bands that we’ve done that with. I think that’s part of this new school of musicians. I think gone are the days where you can be a successful musician and party all the time and get drunk every night. It just doesn’t really work like that; it’s more of a blue-collar job these days. More and more bands are settling down on the drinking and drugging and stuff like that and getting safer addictions, like coffee.”

He credits much of this to coffee’s complexities. “It’s something that can be very interesting, if you go down that rabbit hole and learn about coffee. I always tell people, ‘The more you learn, the less you know,’ because there’s just so much to it from the way it’s farmed, harvested, packaged and shipped all over the world and the way it can be roasted and the way it can be brewed,” says Waggoner. “It’s a fascinating agricultural product that knows no bounds. Flavors can be manipulated in very scientific ways and it’s just very interesting, which is part of what

attracts me to it.”

Though Waggoner has no background in coffee — he was never a barista at a coffee shop — he credits much of his knowledge to coffee experts, many of whom are fans of the band, that he’s met on the road. He also compares his DIY-approach to learning about coffee and becoming a roaster to being a musician.

“There wasn’t a school I went to or on the job training, you just pick up a guitar, you learn it and you start jamming with people and see where it goes,” says Waggoner. “It’s kind of like what I did with coffee. I got an espresso machine, brewing contraptions and just jumped into it. I played with it, experimented with it, and it was a trial by fire kind of thing. That’s just how I learn and that I’m just better suited for that self-taught kind of route.”

He reflects on the early days of BTBAM, when he was just a 20-something-year-old playing for fun. Now, at 37, his band has blossomed into a successful endeavor. On the business side, selling band T-shirts for $20 a pop is a no brainer, while roasting and manning inventory for Parliament Coffee is a challenge that reminds him he’s a small business owner.

Product demands are always changing, especially as the company roasts a variety of different types of coffees. When the business first started, its Mexican Chiapas coffee, which has a chocolate, nutty flavor, was the most popular. Now, the naturalprocessed Ethiopian coffee with hints of fruit and sweetness is the front runner, though the company’s owl blends are close behind.

The most distinct Parliament offering is its

Parliament Coffee roasters

Between the Buried and Me at Carolina Rebellion May 6, 7:15 p.m. Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, 7301 Bruton Smith Blvd., Concord. www.carolinarebellion.com.

For more information on Parliament Coffee Roasters, visit www. parliamentcoffeeroasters.com.

coffee cherry tea, better known in the world of coffee as cascara. Though it is technically coffee, the beverage is steeped like tea and packs a sweet caffeinated punch.

Currently, Parliament Coffee sells all of its products online, but two Charlotte shops also stock select bags. Those include Rhino Market, the biggest supplier, and Fud at Salud, which sells sample bags and does pour-overs, mixing the coffee with beer. Pinky’s Westside Grill also sells the coffee and rotates brews on draft. There are several startup coffee subscription companies, including Charlottebased The Best Damn Coffee, which has featured Parliament coffee bags as a monthly offering.

Though Waggoner is at peace with the company growing slowly, he hopes Parliament will be in more places in and around Charlotte in the future. He also has plans to open a café modeled after some of the ones he’s seen in Europe. Though it’s still in the initial planning stages, he would like to have latte throwdowns, which are all the latest rage in

the realm of coffee culture, at his future café.

He would not, however, participate in those.

“We stick to the non-dairy milk like soy, or almond, or even coconut milk and the latte art is a ton harder and a ton more difficult with nondairy milks, any barista will tell you that,” says Waggoner. “So, we [me and my wife, who are vegan/vegetarian] struggle.

We’ve gotten where we can get some decent hearts or rosettes, but we would never enter a competition. I think that would embarrass ourselves to no ends.”

Though he doesn’t plan on perfecting his latte art, Waggoner does plan on adding more to the Parliament product line, which consists of owl-themed labeling.

The name Parliament was inspired by the band’s record, The Parallax II: Future Sequence.

“Part of the story involved owls as being like the deliverers of souls,” explains Waggoner.

“Without getting too much into it, owls were a key component to the storyline and we had a song called ‘Silent Flight Parliament.’ What a lot of people don’t know is that a parliament is actually a group of owls — like a herd of cows or a flock of seagulls. Since owls usually don’t travel in groups, that’s maybe why people don’t really know that a group of owls is called a parliament.”

Parliament’s logo features two owls perched on a coffee cup that’s branded with the Q.C. crown logo, constructed of beans.

“I think there is this sort of connection between coffee and music,” says Waggoner.

“It’s very encouraging and makes me feel like I’m doing something that’s kind of neat and I’m tying the two together in a very real way.” aovercash@clclt.com

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 17

18 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

Food

review

Annyeong, Y’all Seoul of the South

By Tricia Childress

On a blustery January day, I hopped out of the car to peer into the expansive windows of the space that had been a nearly windowless photography lab for decades. The interior design features were rustic wood and corrugated metal siding. The look: urban industrial, but in a southern, almost Cajun or Texas honky-tonk way, without the kitsch. In fact, the overall design shouted beer.

When husband and wife team Tim Chun and Lisa Kamura opened Seoul Food Meat Co two months ago, customers were ready. But as our server explained, “There was confusion. Some thought it was a Korean restaurant. Others thought it was a meat [butcher] shop.” This, of course, is understandable when the name has the words “Seoul” and “Meat Co” in it. But, in fact, Seoul Food is more “Soul Food” than bulgogi.

Once you navigate your way inside the welcoming expanse of the dining room, you’ll find many satisfying totems of the southern barbecue experience: a limited menu, lots of wet wipes, and copious amounts of foods.

The “meats” are offered in small and large portions. The pulled pork and enormous beef ribs are marinated then smoked, and served family style in brown paper food containers on large metal trays. Other “meats”, like the chicken and the tilapia, are fried in rice bran oil. The slightly curled whole fish arrives tableside with protruding lips and upright in a natural history exhibit manner.

A spicy sauce bathes the crispy exterior. But the simpler pleasures tend to be the best at Seoul Food and, thus, the pulled pork is the favorite and quickly devoured.

Sides are what you would expect in a barbecue joint with a Korean drawl. Korean red pepper features prominently in the bowl

Seoul Food Meat Co. “The Meats” range $9 to $23; sides $4. Hours: Monday-Friday, 4:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. 1400 South Church St. 980-299-5143. seoulfoodmeatco.com.

FRESH SIMPLE GOOD of kimchi slaw. The all-star college dorm classic (can we really mix these together?) ramen mac-and-cheese is curiously monotone. Other pre-meat apps include a trio of brown deviled eggs, the color from the soy marinade. The egg whites are made firmer by the soy, but the filling begs for a splash of Sriracha. The wings — chicken or tofu with soy garlic or lip-scalding barbecue sauce — are Korean-style thick-coated. You’ll need a knife.

But this is where the beer comes in.

These dishes are the perfect pairings for beer and Seoul Food has a list. Among the locals are Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, around the corner Unknown Brewing Co., Triple C Brewing Company, Sycamore Brewing, and Birdsong Brewing Co. The roster also features Asian Craft beers, draft beers, sake, soju, cocktails, and a limited number of wines.

The food is presented by a cheery service team dressed in company T-shirts. And in the grand tradition of lengthy-bar-list restaurants everywhere, the best seats in the house may be the bar itself. The amount of food, however, almost requires a table for easy sharing.

Mon-Fri 11am-10pm

Take-Outs Welcomed!

Fri & Sat 11am-11pm

Sun 11am-9pm

Half Priced Appetizers Mon-Fri 4-6pm Premium Wings in 4 flavors! Hand Pattied Burgers!

16 oz IPA $2 Miller $3 Goose $3 Island Aluminum .50

High Life

& PBR’s

Bud Light

Sat & Sun Brunch 9am-2pm

4548 Old Pineville Rd

DAILY DRINK SPECIALS

BLOODY MARY BAR

980-430-5403 clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 19

Thursday

5

Culinary Canvas II What: CLTure, Friendship Gardens and C3 Lab have come together for the second installment of Culinary Canvas, an event that pairs a threecourse meal with art. Chef Paul Verica of Heritage will be cooking and artwork from Charlotte artist Rosalia Torres-Weiner will be featured. Held at C3 Lab, this one is themed around the concept of “The Hands That Feed Us.” It’s a dining experience well-worth the $80 price tag.

When: 6:30-10 p.m.

Where: C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St. More: $80. eventbrite.com, c3-lab. com.

— Anita Overcash

20 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

thursday

THINGS TO DO

TOP ten

N.C. Brewers & Music Festival with Della Mae May-7-8

thursday

5

friday

5

friday

6

6

Tennyson

Heathers: The Musical

Carolina Rebellion

What: This Canadian brother/sister duo — comprised of Luke Tennyson Pretty and Tessa Rain Pretty — has toured with fellow producer/DJ Canadian Ryan Hemsworth, but now they’re on their own. Popular on the Soundcloud circuit, they’re known for creating instrumental music that blurs the lines between jazz and electronica. The siblings utilize all types of sounds to add extra layers to the loops and synths that are in this mix. It’s sibling revelry at its best.

What: Popularity kills in this musical that’s based on the 1988 black comedy. Queen City Theatre Company presents the show. These days, preps and hipsters seem to live harmoniously, but when Duke Energy Theater transforms to Westerberg High School, you’ll watch as two misfits knock the cool kids off one by one to establish a new order.

What: A flood of hard rock and metal hits the Rock City Campgrounds in Concord each May — only this year it’s set to last three days. From classic names like The Scorpions, Megadeth and Alice Cooper to heavy hitters like Lamb of God and Between the Buried and Me, there’s a bit of everything mixed in. And we mean everything — Three Doors Down, Babymetal, Cypress Hill and Lynyrd Skynyrd?!

When: 9 p.m.

Where: Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. More: $12-$15. visulite.com.

— Overcash

When: May 5, 7:30 p.m.; May 6-7, 8 p.m.; May 8, 7 p.m.; Through May 14.

Where: Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. More: $29-$31. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

— Overcash

When: May 6-8.

Where: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 7301 Bruton Smith Blvd., Concord.

More: $140 single-day tickets, $235 weekend pass. carolinarebellion. com.

— jeff Hahne

Patois Counselors w/ Ghost Trees What: Patois (pronounced Pa-twä) Counselors are a Charlotte-based band comprised of musicians who’ve played in Yardwork, Calabi Yau, HRVRD and Brain F#. Up before the gangster/punk group hits the stage is Ghost Trees.

Another local group, this duo consists of drummer Seth Nanaa and tenor/saxophonist Brent Bagwell who craft up obscure jazz and experimental pieces.

When: 10 p.m.

Where: Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. More: $5. 704-561-1781. snugrock. com.

— Overcash

George hendricks

Art by Rosalia Torres-Weiner

News Arts Food Music Odds

Culinary Canvas II Thursday

Heathers: The Musical Thursday

Rob Zombie at Carolina Rebellion May 6-8

friday

Saturday

6

saturday

7

N.C. Brewers and Music Festival

saturday

7

7

What the F?! A Workshop

styles & Complete

What: This two-day festival is driven by Americana music and fueled by craft beer. Tunes come by way of The Travelin’ McCourys, Della Mae, Mipso, The Hip Abduction, Sol Driven Train, The Trongone Band, The Honeycutters and more. Libations will be offered up from more than 30 local and regional brewers. There’s also camping availability so you don’t need to worry about the drive home.

What: This event is all about feminism, but you don’t have to be a feminist to attend. “Good” feminists, “bad” feminists, “maybe” feminists and folks who are just “interested in hearing more” are encouraged to attend this workshop presented by Girls Rock Charlotte. This is your chance to discuss anything related to feminism, including pop culture and ways to become more involved — or not — in issues related to women’s rights.

What: While Charlotte-based producer/DJ duo Styles & Complete hit the scene on the strength of their bass-dropping dubstep, they’ve matured far beyond those days as early participants in the trap movement of electronic music. They’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the biz, so it’s no surprise that they’re headlining here — as they’ve been doing all over the country.

When: May 6-7.

Where: Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road., Huntersville More: $26-$42. ncbrewsmusic.com.

When: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Where: Hygge Coworking, 809 W. Hill St. More: girlsrockclt.org.

— Hahne

— Overcash

saturday

When: 9 p.m.

Where: Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. More: $10. neighborhoodtheatre. com.

— Hahne

7

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival What: It’s pretty easy to see why this festival draws crowds year after year. There are three key components — beer, bourbon and barbecue — that go well together.

That’s not to forget that there’s live music and a great big open area of green at Symphony Park for relaxing. Trust us, you’ll be glad it’s there after the inebriation from of all those beer and bourbon samples kick in.

When: 2-6 p.m.

Where: Symphony Park, 4400 Sharon Road.

More: $39-$69. beerandbourbon. com.

— Overcash

Motherhood Out Loud What: This show, consisting of scenes and monologues, pushes a theme that anyone whose boarded the babywagon can relate to. Hell, even if you’ve never been a carrier, you can relate. That’s because motherhood is a journey that doesn’t come pain-free. It can be as draining as dealing with significant others and coworkers, which can have you begging for an epidural.

When: May 7, 3 p.m. & 8 p.m.; May 8, 3 p.m. & 8 p.m.

Where: Patricia McBride & JeanPierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance, 701 N. Tryon St. More: $18-$28. threebonetheatre. com.

— Overcash

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 21

Arts

Feature

Graffiti for the chicken-hearted Not everyone understands the art form and one local artist hopes to change that

By Anita Overcash

W

hile a Fried Chicken Art Party might conjure images of flying chickens and greasy lick-your-fingers drumsticks, the upcoming art show dubbed as just that will actually focus on graffiti.

The event, going down on Friday, May 6 at Studio 1212, features various mediums of artwork inspired by the guerilla art form. A happy addition: beer from Pabst Blue Ribbon and fried chicken from Price’s Chicken Coop will also be provided.

“Graffiti/street art confined to a gallery setting is already like a taxidermic animal that made its way to a zoo,” says Matt Fletcher who is participating in the show. “When you intergrade what belongs outdoors and domesticate it to being indoors, you at least need chicken and beer.”

For local artist Phoebe Alicia, who organized the event with Fletcher, co-owner of Armada Skate Shop in Plaza Midwood, graffiti has long served as a means of giving the voiceless a way to be heard.

“I like that it gives people a voice that normally wouldn’t have a voice and also it’s something that really appeals to me because there’s so many people making lower income and no one really hears them,” she says.

“That’s kind of why I’ve always been an advocate for street art.”

Despite graffiti’s role as a form of social activism, negative connotations related to the art form prevail. Drawn to graffiti and skateboarding in her youth, Alicia admits the subculture holds unfavorable associations with rebellion. Skating restrictions, loitering laws and lack of support have left skaters and artists in dire need of space.

In regards to the relationship between skating and graffiti, Fletcher explains, “The two go hand in hand seemingly because it’s a matter of interpretation, of the natural/unnatural lay out of your cityscape. Both milieus tend to be a brigade of alienated youths but very diversified in its practitioners,” he says. “Both are great vessels and catalysts for discipline and just overall purpose.”

In regards to space, Alicia feels there’s also a certain alienation that comes from 22 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

A Fried Chicken Art Party Free admission. May 6, 8 p.m.-11 p.m.

Studio 1212, 1212 E. 10th St.

being a skater and/or graffiti artist.

“A lot of times you’re going into industrial areas,” she explains. “You just want to paint there and make it your own spot. It’s kind of like you’re claiming your territory.”

But the marking of territory has undoubtedly led to graffiti’s associations with the wanton destruction of property by delinquents and gangs as a way to mark territory. Growing up, Alicia was a law abiding citizen, for the most part. She got in trouble with the law twice for spray painting in public. Then, she took her art behind closed doors.

“I was like ‘I’m not doing this to my parents,’ and I didn’t want my friends’ parents to be afraid to let them hang out with me,” she says with a chuckle.

Her experiences highlight a very real problem with past and present misunderstandings about graffiti. She believes folks continue to struggle to see graffiti’s value in the art world, due to notions mostly related to vandalism.

Alicia, who lived in Orlando, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina as a child, moved back to the Q.C. after a stint in California.

After attending the Art Institute of Charlotte and honing her craft for painting and photography, she began to reexamine and incorporate her love for graffiti into her work.

In February of 2016, she traveled to Los Angeles, California, to visit Murphy Ranch, an abandoned pro-Nazi compound. Built in the 1930s and obtained by law enforcement in the ‘40s, the area later became a stomping ground for graffiti artists, who used their spray cans to tag buildings, and even trees and plants, on the property. But disrepair and development in the area led to its demolition earlier this year. Alicia, who

Photo by Jim McGuire with added graphics by Austin Caine

Phoebe Alicia hosts the Fried Chicken Art Party at Studio 1212 on May 6. visited the site just before the demolition was to be finished, ventured into a ritzy Santa Monica neighborhood to find a trail leading to the artsy haven.

For the Fried Chicken Art Party, Alicia

will showcase artwork inspired by the trek.

She took photos of graffiti at Murphy Ranch and she’s wheat-pasted them to damaged skateboards, given to her by the folks at Armada.

Phoebe Alicia

Fletcher says this isn’t the first time the skate shop has provided skateboards for art shows and he plans to continue to facilitate and provide boards, whether new or discarded, for art shows.

In Alicia’s case, the project draws parallels between the refurbished skateboards and her photographs, which showcase graffiti from a compound where tagging flourished, if only for a short time.

Alicia laments on the fact that street art, especially graffiti, can be challenging.

In Florida, she was fortunate to know a building owner who encouraged tagging on his property. But because of high demand and lack of legal space for tagging, artists continuously tag over one another’s work.

“That’s just kind of a part of the cycle if you’re into this kind of artwork and you’re going out on the streets and doing stuff,” says Alicia. “You’ve got to expect whatever you do will get covered unless you’ve been commissioned by someone that owns a building. That’s probably the only way your stuff is going to stay up for a long period.”

In the case of Murphy Ranch and other spots where she’s traveled to snapshots of

graffiti, Alicia hopes to preserve and share the short-lived art with others.

“When I travel I pretty much go to some of the most awful areas and see some of the most fascinating things that I’ve ever seen,” she says. “Because of people tagging so quickly over everybody’s art, I like to capture it with my photography and then wheatpaste it to walls and stuff so artists will actually see these things because otherwise it’s gone so quickly that no one gets to see it.”

The Fried Chicken Art Party will also feature art by three other Charlotte artists — including Rebus (Fletcher from Armada) and Joey Obso —and another artist, Spclgst, from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Fletcher, who will have several pieces in the show describes graffiti as “a learning institution in itself.”

“I’ve tried to segue the education and principle to detail of spray painting over acrylics, which is my primary medium” says Fletcher. “I try to recapitulate the same boisterous attention grabbing imagery that graffiti has on the average civilian, but with serialism imagery.”

While Alicia acknowledges Smokey

Catherine Tsintzos

Contraband and Culture Initiative as being critical to Charlotte’s art community, she feels that more needs to be done, especially in the realm of graffiti.

With aspirations to draw more artists in for future shows, she plans on taking this project to other cities like Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Nashville, Tennessee.

For a future Q.C. event, she also intends to find a venue where onsite tagging can go down. In that way, she aims to strengthen the community of graffiti artists, while sharing graffiti works with folks who are unfamiliar with guerilla art.

Alicia has been tagging in Orlando, Florida, as opposed to Charlotte, where public property legal for tagging is almost

non-existent.

“I’ve met a lot of lawyers in town because of other work I do and I’m like ‘I don’t want to have to call them to pick me up for spray painting on a wall,’” she says.

For Alicia, part of the solution lies in clearing up misconceptions about graffiti.

“I want more recognition for street art.

I’m not saying that there’s no recognition at all, but I just really feel like more could be done. I don’t think that most people have the mindset that graffiti is about someone expressing themselves. They just think it’s juvenile delinquents and vandalism and it’s not. If I can get one person that sees street art differently after the show and that has a better appreciation, that’s enough for me.” aovercash@clclt.com

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 23

p e l U g g u n S with some

Tonight

24 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

Arts

Film

Warner

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in Keanu.

A24

Callum Turner, Anton Yelchin and Alia Shawcat in Green Room.

Wall-to-wall thrills New films add fresh coats to familiar templates

By Matt Brunson

R

ed-meat catharsis

for Blue State moviegoers, Green Room (*** out of four) demonstrates what happens when a group of alternative punk rockers are forced to mix it up with right-wing skinheads whose taste in décor leans toward swastikas and Confederate flags. Short on depth but long on visceral thrills, it’s Old Testament moviemaking, with the adage about an eye for an eye expanding to also include arms, legs, torsos and, once killer dogs are introduced, even jugulars.

Desperately low on cash, the members of the East Coast band The Ain’t Rights — Pat (Anton Yelchin), Sam (Alia Shawcat), Reece (Joe Cole) and Tiger (Callum Turner) — find themselves stranded on the other side of the continent and accept a last-minute booking at a dilapidated backwoods club in the hopes of raising some gas money. The clientele, comprised of bigoted bruisers who would just as soon eat a kitten as pet one, aren’t exactly the target audience for The Ain’t Rights, but, hey, a gig’s a gig. As the band is leaving the venue following the performance, one member spots a murder in progress — one being committed by club employees — and suddenly, no one is allowed off the premises.

Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart), the dapper yet despicable club owner, is summoned to issue the obvious directive: Kill every last band member, and also add Amber (Imogen Poots), the victim’s best friend, to the body count.

What follows is unsettling and exciting, a violent thriller that finds writer-director Jeremy Saulnier (whose previous picture, Blue Ruin, earned critical hosannas two years ago) milking the claustrophobic setting for maximum impact. The film is grisly but not gratuitous, and any laughs are generated not by a jokey attitude toward the life-anddeath struggle (as is the norm in many action films) but in the befuddled reactions of the young protagonists attempting to cope with a completely foreign situation. (There’s also a running gag of the “If you were stranded on a desert island” variety that leads to a couple of amusing payoffs.) The performers picked to play both the heroes and the heavies sell the material, and while Patrick Stewart is just about the last actor we would expect to find barking orders at skinheads in a backwater hellhole, he proves to be an inspired casting choice. (And Trekkies will be amused to see Yelchin, who plays Chekov in the new Star Trek flicks, matching wits with Jean-Luc

Picard himself.)

There are a couple of late lapses in logic, and the final confrontation could use a bit more oomph. But overall, Green Room is a sterling example of locating and mining a rich vein in a well-worn premise.

Yes, there are references to both Keanu Reeves and The Matrix in Keanu (*** out of four) — heck, there’s even a gag related to the actor’s dopey action flick Point Break. First and foremost, though, the film is a cinematic coming-out party for Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the popular comedians who hope to translate their television success into a motion picture career.

They’re off to a good start with Keanu, which may be ragged but delivers a hefty number of sizable laughs. The title refers to an adorable kitten who’s such a heart-melting cutie that everyone who meets him wants to adopt him. Initially the pet of a drug kingpin who gets killed, he ends up in the care of Rel (Peele), a pothead who finds comfort in the kitty following a nasty breakup. Rel’s best friend Clarence (Key), an upstanding guy with a fondness for George Michael tunes, is told by his wife (Nia Long) that he needs to

cut loose and have more adventures in life — that’s exactly what happens when Keanu is kidnapped by yet another drug dealer, the intimidating Cheddar (Method Man), and Clarence accompanies Rel as the pair pose as hardcore gangsters (“Shark Tank” and “Tectonic”) in order to locate and rescue Keanu.

Yes, it’s the old “fish out of water” and “mistaken identity” templates, but director Peter Atencio (helmer of the Key and Peele TV series) and scripters Alex Rubens (the show’s co-writer and co-producer) and Peele manage to come up with enough good lines (love Clarence being told that “you talk like Richard Pryor doing an imitation of a white guy”) and clever set-pieces (the movie-homage calendar is uproarious and should be sold in stores) to show that this particular well hasn’t dried up quite yet. Certainly, some bits are only soso — Anna Faris turns up as Anna Faris, but her appearance lacks the punch of, say, Bill Murray as Bill Murray in Zombieland, and can we please call a moratorium on drug-induced dream sequences? — but between the breezy plotting, the high hit-to-miss ratio, and the appealing turns by the two leads, Keanu is frequently the cat’s meow. backtalk@clclt.com

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 25

Arts

Happenings

Comedy Bonkerz Comedy Club Charlotte Herbie Gill. $10. May 6-7, 8 p.m. bonkerzcomedyproductions.com. 5624 Westpark Drive.

The Comedy Zone Charlotte Greg Behrendt.

May 5, 8 p.m.; May 6, 7:30 p.m. & 9:45 p.m.; May 7, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; May 8, 7 p.m. Tone X. May 10, 8 p.m. 900 AvidXchange Music Factory Blvd. 980-321-4702. cltcomedyzone.com.

Wet Willie’s Charlotte Comedy Theater. Improv performance by Charlotte Comedy Theater. For more information, visit charlottecomedytheater. com. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. $10. 900 AvidXchange Music Factory Blvd., Suite C-1.

Theater/Dance/ Performance Art Dance Fever - Legends and Divas Dance Fever Charlotte’s 2016 recital. $10-$15. May 6, 5 and 7 p.m. Halton Theater, CPCC, 1206 Elizabeth Ave. 704-330-6534.

Dancing Through Latin America The dancing will feature a glance into the culture of a variety of Latin American countries. $8-$15. May 7, 7 p.m. McGlohon Theater, 345 N College St. 704372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Heathers: The Musical A hilarious, heartfelt and homicidal new show based on the classic 1989 film. $29-$31. May 5, 7:30 p.m.; May 6-7, 8 p.m.; May 8, 7 p.m.; May 10-12 7:30 p.m.; May 13, 8 p.m.; May 14, 3 and 8 p.m. Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Motherhood Out Loud A production for anyone who has been a mother or had a mother. $22-$28. May 7, 3 and 8 p.m.; May 8, 3 and 8 p.m. Patricia McBride & Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance, 701 N. Tryon St. The Bridges of Madison County Based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller. May 5, 7:30 p.m.; May 6, 8 p.m.; May 7, 2 and 8 p.m.; May 8, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Constellations A love story that crosses between time and space. $15-$20. May 5, 8 p.m. Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216 26 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

Westmoreland Road, Suite A, Cornelius. 704859-5930. warehousepac.com.

Fly By Night A musical featuring a sandwich maker and two sisters during the 1965 northeast blackout. May 5, 7:30 p.m.; May 6-7, 8 p.m. Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, 650 E. Stonewall St. 704-342-2251. actorstheatrecharlotte.org.

Visual Art Bechtler Museum of Modern Art The Art of Print. The exhibition spotlights rare works

by Hansjürg Brunner, Marino Marini, Eduardo Chillida, Bernhard Luginbühl, Cornélia Forster, Georges Rouault, Raoul Ubac, Italo Valenti, Martin Disler, Peter Emch, Camille Graeser, Alfred Hofkunst, H.R. Huber, Jean-Paul Michel, Eduardo Pignon, Anslem Stalder, Charles Walch, and Franz Anatol Wyss. Through June 19. The House That Modernism Built. The exhibit presents Bechtler Museum of Modern Arts’ rich mid-20th century art collection alongside furniture, textile and ceramic holdings on loan from other institutions and private collectors.

The show will emphasize process, examining how designers and artists tackled projects, and how the innovations in other disciplines from the sciences to the humanities influenced their direction. Through Sept. 11. 420 S. Tryon St. 704-353-9200. bechtler.org.

Charlotte Museum of History Enter the Dragon. The exhibition will feature a variety local and Chinese-American artists and rotating showcases and collections. Through May 31. 3500 Shamrock Drive. 704-568-1774. charlottemuseum.org.

CPCC Art Galleries CPCC Visual Arts Club Exhibition. Artists from the CPCC Visual Arts Club exhibit their works in the Balance Art Gallery (4th Floor, Library Resource Center).

Through May 31. 1201 Elizabeth Ave. 704-3306211. arts.cpcc.edu/art-gallery.

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture 1960Now. 1960Now is an evolution of Bright’s “1960Who” series inspired by the Civil rights Movement, a collection of images featuring common grassroots youth activists of the 1960s. Through June 26. Art of a New Deal: African-American Artists in the WPA. This exhibition looks at six artists - Charles Alston, Ernest Crichlow, Allan Crite, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Hale Woodruff who were employed by the WPA. Through June

26. Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts.

This majestic exhibition of dazzling costumes, set pieces, and video excerpts celebrates an iconic company and its corps who defied prejudice, and gravity itself, in pursuit of their talent. Through June 26. 551 South Tryon St. 704-547-3700. ganttcenter.org.

Jerald Melberg Gallery Works by Thomas McNickle. The exhibit showcases works by Thomas McNickle. Through June 17. 625 S. Sharon Amity Road. 704-365-3000. jeraldmelberg.com.

LaCa Projects Collective II: Latin American Perspectives. The exhibit celebrates LaCa’s third anniversary and showcases work

by Latin American contemporary artists, including Carlos Estévez (Cuba), Juan Dolhare (Argentina), Vicente Hernández (Cuba) and more. Through June 4. 1429 Bryant St. 704-8371688. lacaprojects.com.

Mint Museum Uptown The Art & Craft of Shoemaking. The exhibit features an array of diverse and unique shoes, from past to present eras of the Mint’s permanent collection. The show explores both the cultural history and the meticulous craft of shoemaking. May 7-July 31.

Here & Now: 80 Years of Photography at the Mint. The first survey exhibition of photography drawn solely from the Mint’s permanent collection. It’s comprised of approximately 100 of the Mint’s most stunning and provocative photographs. Through Sept. 18. 500 S. Tryon St. 704-337-2000. mintmuseum.org.

New Gallery of Modern Art Charles Williams’ Continuum: Day. Williams showcases paintings inspired by water, the ocean and his neardeath drowning experiences. Through May 15. 435 S. Tryon St. 704-373-1464. newgalleryofmodernart.com.

More events

N. Kings Drive. charlotterollergirls.com.

Charlotte Neighborhood Walking Tour of NoDa A one-hour walking tour of NoDa neighborhood. The tour will begin and end at Heist Brewery. Free. May 7, 10:30-11:30 & 11-12 a.m. Heist Brewery, 2909 N. Davidson St., Suite 200. charlottemuseum.org.

Cinco de Mayo Party Come celebrate at Howl at the Moon with Blue Megarita buckets, margaritas, music and dancing and other drink specials. Free admission until 9 p.m. May 5, 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Howl At The Moon, 210 E. Trade St. howlatthemoon.com/cinco-de-mayo I Can View the Wonders of the Sun Learn about the sun and solar observing from members of the Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club (CAAC) and have the opportunity to use a telescope equipped with a solar filter. May 9, 12-2 p.m. Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library (Plaza Midwood Branch), 1623 Central Ave. cmlibrary.org/ calendar.

Montevetrano Winemaker Dinner Taste four vintage wines side-by-side with a custom meal crafted by Chef Allen Evans. $75. May 5, 7-9 p.m. Corkbuzz, 4905 Ashley Park Lane, Suite J. charlotte.corkbuzz.com.

Steele Creek Saturday Night Food Truck Rally Some of Charlotte’s favorite food trucks head out to the suburbs. Free admission.

May 7. Continues through Oct. 1. Steele Creek Athletic Association, 13530 Choate Circle. eatfromatruck.com.

Mahogany River Arts & Crafts Show A variety of local artists sharing their original, handmade crafts, including natural bath and body products, decor, accessories, and more.

May 6, 5 p.m.- 9 p.m.and May 7, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Midwood International & Cultural Center, 1817 Central Ave., Suite 215.

Charlotte Symphony Pops: Bernadette Peters A special Pops season finale featuring the Golden Globe and Tony Award winning actress, Bernadette Peters. $40.50-$99.50. May 7, 8 p.m. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-3721000. blumenthalarts.org.

The Murder Mystery Company A comedic case where audiences are invited to solve a murder. May 7, 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery,401 N Tyron St., Suite 100. murdermysterydinnercharlotte.com.

Charlotte Roller Girls Home Roller Derby Bout Charlotte Roller Girls present an action-packed double header and celebrating the 10 year anniversary of roller derby in the Queen City. $9-$16. May 7, 5-8 p.m. Grady Cole Center, 310

Yoga on the Roof A yoga instructor will lead folks on a body, mind and spirit journey. All levels welcome. Mondays, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Continues through Aug. 29. Rooftop 210, 210 E. Trade St., Suite 230B.

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 27

Music

Feature

more than puppy love Faye tells the truth and distorts the rest in new EP

By Ryan Pitkin

A

more superstitious

band would have called it quits in Wilmington.

It was there that the members of Faye took advantage of some free time between shows to identify their spirit animals through a medium that specializes in such things.

The band’s two guitarists, Susan Plante and Sarah Blumenthal, were told their respective spirit animals are an English lop rabbit and a barred owl, two species that don’t exactly get along.

“Well I can’t be in a band with you anymore,” Plante remembers saying jokingly, only after her lop rabbit assignment made her break down in tears (stone sober), “because that’s just who I am.”

Luckily for everyone involved, the bad omen didn’t slow Faye down, and one month later the band signed with Charlotte-based record label Tiny Engines and will release a five-song, self-titled EP on May 13.

Faye’s most recent single, titled “Ancient Bones,” delves into the feelings Plante, guitarist and vocalist, struggled with as she lost Reagan, the dog she cared for and loved for more than 11 years.

“These ancient bones, how they crumble and creak. You’re making this harder than it really needs to be,” Plante sings, her words laced with melancholia.

She wrote the song as the dog lay next to her, dying of an unknown sickness. Her husband, drummer for local band Black Market, couldn’t listen to it for the first year that she played it.

“Make sure your dog is around when you listen to it,” Blumenthal says.

Plante adds, “Yes, that’s important. Hold your pup. Cry softly.”

The EP as a whole, however, is no downer. The first single, “Chow Chow,” picks up the pace musically, with Plante’s vernal voice contrasting well with overly distorted guitars, reminiscent of some original Riot Grrrl tracks. The sound of “Chow Chow,” 28 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

The cover of Faye’s self-titled EP, to be released on May 13.

— titled that “for no reason, but I hate that nobody asks,” according to Plante — is more indicative of the remaining tracks in the EP. “The distorted guitar stuff, that’s all Sarah,” Plante says. “She distorts the hell out of her bass and I love it because it’s like

having bass and a second guitar. Long live the [Pro Co] RAT pedals.”

The lyrics in “Chow Chow” also step up the snark, picking fun at Charlotte’s music scene for a certain apathy Plante saw within it when she wrote the song. Plante says she

wrote it “just to be funny,” but there’s a certain truth to any joke.

“Maybe it’s always been this way, but there’s definitely a ‘be seen’ mentality.

Like, ‘I’m just going to go to this show because that’s where all the people are,’”

Becca Bellamy

(From left) Susan Plante, Kristen Leake and Sarah Blumenthal at a recent show at The Station in Plaza Midwood.

Faye EP Release Party Feat. Blanket Fort and Tape Daze $5. May 13, 10 p.m. Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. snugrock.com.

Plante says. “People get bummed out as bands that nobody came to their show but everybody liked the post about it.’ It’s tough for anybody — whether they’re writing or doing music or art — doing anything to put yourself out there and sometimes not feel like you’re getting anything back.”

Plante wrote the song more than a year ago and says she’s seen a slow change taking place since. She and Blumenthal agree that people are getting more tuned in.

“It’s really easy to hate on your scene.

Everyone hates where they live, that’s easy.

But we have it really good,” says Blumenthal, who is also co-founder of Self Aware Records in Charlotte. “It’s pretty unreal. We have a lot of venues that have been closing and that sucks but we still have a lot of really great venues and a lot of great bands; a lot of great younger bands. We’re so lucky and I just hope people know that, because it’s not like that everywhere.”

Plante and Blumenthal formed the group with drummer Kristen Leake in 2014 with no

expectations, which made it all the sweeter when they got a call from Tiny Engines in March of this year.

“It was like winning the lottery. I totally respect everything they do,” says Plante.

“I already listen to so many of their bands anyway. So to be in their catalogue is ... basically I keep on saying everything from here on out is just gravy.”

While Blumenthal, who plays bass and sings, and Plante do feel like they’re playing with house money, they still have goals for the coming years.

They’re currently planning a week-long northeastern tour for the end of May and hope the short tour and EP will lead to a longer tour and a full-length album with Tiny Engines.

“Best case scenario: MTV Movie Awards and touring with Beyonce, obviously,” Plante says, her deadpan sarcasm not flinching.

“But doable goals? I don’t really have any expectations, I’m just kind of along for the ride.”

Blumenthal gets a bit more specific.

“We’re just going to ride the wave as long as we can, but I do have goals for this band.

We’d like to do a full-length album this year.

We’d like to go on a longer tour. We’d like to go on tour with a bigger band. We’d like to get the cover of Creative Loafing,” she says, laughing.

We’ll be here, waiting patiently for that full-length album. Then we can talk. rpitkin@clclt.com

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30 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 31

Music

Soundboard

WED 5/4

+ special guest

AUSTIN PLAINE

THU 5/5

+CUZCO LeAnna TENNYSON Eden & The Garden Of FRI 5/6 &

May 5 for PETE'S SAKE II JUVENILE DIABETES BENEFIT Country/Folk The Occasional Gentleman + Dr. Sowell’s Eve White Band & Buch’s Bunch ALLSTARS FRI 5/13 SAT 5/7

SAT 5/14

Kim Richey (Evening Muse)

DJ/Electronic

MAY 7

Datsik, The Widdler, Shlump (Amos’ Southend) *Tennyson (Visulite Theatre)

Blues/Roots/International Joshua Davis (Evening Muse) Latin Night w/ Ultima Nota (Snug Harbor)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B

Classical/Jazz/Smooth

R&B Live (Studio Movie Grille)

MON 5/16 FRI 5/20

HIPPO CAMPUS It’s OK to stalk us.

We don’t mind.

Pop/Rock Alive After Five w/ Live Big (EpiCentre) Alive After Five w/ Sol Fusion (Rooftop 210) Pig Mountain, Niah, October, Old Scratch (Milestone) Reggae Don (Comet Grill) *River Jam w/ Flatland Tourists (U.S. National Whitewater Center) *Shiprocked (Snug Harbor) Stephen Joseph (Sycamore Brewing) Sirsy (Double Door Inn)

May 6 Classical/Jazz/Smooth

Website: www.clclt.com

Facebook: /clclt

The Hot at Nights (Evening Muse) JazzNSoul Music w/ Willie Walker and Conversation Piece (Morehead Street Tavern) Nita B (Café Monte French Bistro) Moonchild (Double Door Inn)

DJ/Electronic Pinterest: @clclt

Wick-it the Instigator & Freddy Todd (The Rabbit Hole)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Twitter: @cl_charlotte

Instagram: @creativeloafingcharlotte YouTube: /qccreativeloafing

32 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

Pluto for Planet (RiRa) Craig Veltri (Tin Roof) Marti Jones and Don Dixon (Evening Muse)

Electric Relaxation f. DJ Skillz (‘Stache House Bar & Lounge)

Pop/Rock The Attack, Aloha Broha (Milestone) Bryan Porter (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Patiois Counselors with Ghost Trees, Bodykit, Replicas (Snug Harbor) Ryan Hutchens, Alecz Yeager, & TC Hinson (Sylvia Theatre) The Robertson Boys (Unknown Brewing Co.) *Stephen Kellogg and Brian Dunne (Neighborhood Theatre) Side Effect (Dilworth Neighborhood Grille) Zoso: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin Band (The Fillmore) For Pete’s Sake II (Visulite Theatre)

BYOG (Visulite Theatre) *Charlotte Symphony Pops: Bernadette Peters (Belk Theater)

Country/Folk Addison Johnson (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Dust and Ashes and Em Young (Evening Muse) Frankie Ballard (The Fillmore)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Jam Tonight with Paul Laurence and Friends (Stage Door Theater) Styles and Complete with Special Guest Crichy Crich and Warrez (Neighborhood Theatre)

Pop/Rock No Anger Control, Drunk in a Dumpster, The Not Likelys, From the Gun, The Commonwealth (Milestone) Giada Valenti (Knight Theater) *Posso, Alex Fricke Music (Label) The Southern Experience Band (Double Door Inn) *Liz Vice (U.S. National Whitewater Center) *North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival w/The Honeycutters, Sol Driven Train, The Hip Abduction, The Trongone Band, Della Mae, The Travelin’ McCourys (Rural Hill) South Carolina Strawberry Festival w/ Who’s Bad, 20 Ride, Trial by Fire, Emily Minor (Walter Elisha Park Fort Mill) *Terrapin Sound Czech Release Party featuing Polyrhythmics and Groove 8 (The Rabbit Hole)

MAY 8 Classical/Jazz/Smooth Jazz Workshop and Improv featuring John Shaughnessy (Petra’s)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Bone Snugs N Harmony (Snug Harbor)

Pop/Rock Blue October (The Fillmore) Omari and the Hellraisers (Comet Grill)

We all refuse to wear socks. clclt.com Van Huskins, Tiny City, Humdinger, Tillery (Milestone)

MAY 9 Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)

Pop/Rock The Monday Night All Stars (Double Door Inn) Open Mic Night (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Wicked Powers (Comet Grill)

MAY 10 Blues/Roots/International Max Frost and Rozes (Evening Muse)

Classical/Jazz/Smooth Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Double Door Inn)

Country/Folk Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Tuesday Night Jam w/ The Smokin’ Js (Smokey Joe’s Cafe)

Pop/Rock Fairplay & Special Guests (Lucky Lou’s Tavern) The Waves with Leadville Social Club, To Better Waters (Snug Harbor)

MAY 11 Country/Folk Open Mic (Comet Grill)

Pop/Rock The Coward’s Choir - Music with Visual Score and Old Sea Brigade (Evening Muse) Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor, Charlotte) *Moira, Sext Message, Farewell Albatross (Milestone)

COMING Soon

Silversun Pickups, Foals (May 12; The Fillmore) Reverb Fest (May 14; Snug Harbor) Half Moon Run (May 16; Visulite Theatre) Chris Stapleton (May 19; CMCU Amphitheatre) Kenny Chesney (May 20; PNC Music Pavilion) The Neighbourhood (May 23; The Fillmore) Brandi Carlile (May 27; The Fillmore) Susto (May 27; Visulite Theatre) Lincoln Durham (May 28; Evening Muse) Journey w/ the Doobie Brothers (June 4; PNC Music Pavilion)

Selena Gomez (June 7; Time Warner Cable Arena) Ellie Goulding (June 9; CMCU Amphitheatre) Dead & Co. (June 10; PNC Music Pavilion) Weezer, Panic at the Disco (June 10; PNC Music Pavilion) Kurt Vile (June 11; Amos’ Southend) Miranda Lambert (June 11; PNC Music Pavilion) Lucius (June 13; Visulite Theatre) Death Cab for Cutie, Chvrches (June 16; CMCU Amphitheatre) Lake Street Dive (June 17; The Fillmore) Rascal Flatts (June 17; PNC Music Pavilion) Anthony Hamilton w/ Fantasia (June 19; Bojangles’ Coliseum) Chris Cornell (June 20; Belk Theater) Weezer, Panic at the Disco (June 20; PNC Music Pavilion) The Cure (June 23; PNC Music Pavilion) New Edition (June 26; PNC Music Pavilion) Barenaked Ladies (June 29; CMCU Amphitheatre) Aesop Rock (July 1; Visulite Theatre) Vans Warped Tour (July 5; PNC Music Pavilion) Steve Miller Band (July 17; CMCU Amphitheatre) Lindsey Stirling (July 19; Ovens Auditorium) Gwen Stefani (July 23; PNC Music Pavilion) Garbage (July 23; The Fillmore) Snoop Dogg (July 24; PNC Music Pavilion) Peter Frampton, Gregg Allman (July 26; CMCU Amphitheatre) Counting Crows (July 27; PNC Music Pavilion) Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Of Mice & Men (Aug. 2; PNC Music Pavilion) Bush (Aug. 9; CMCU Amphitheatre) Needtobreathe (Aug. 18; CMCU Amphitheatre) Goo Goo Dolls (Aug. 28; CMCU Amphitheatre) Luke Bryan (Sept. 1; PNC Music Pavilion) Florida Georgia Line (Sept. 10; PNC Music Pavilion) Maroon 5 (Sept. 11; Time Warner Cable Arena) Heart w/ Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Sept.

16; PNC Music Pavilion) Brian Wilson (Sept. 19; Belk Theater) Carrie Underwood (Oct. 23, Time Warner Cable Arena) * - CL Recommends

Need directions? Check out our website at clclt.

com. CL online provides addresses, maps and directions from your location. Send us your concert listings: E-mail us at aovercash@clclt. com or fax it to 704-522-8088. We need the date, venue, band name and contact name and number. The deadline is each Wednesday, one week before publication. clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 33

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Overbooked Birthdays, graduations and engagements make for a dangerous combo This past workweek was spent like

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Recycle me, please (Only after you’re done reading me)

to spill a drink only a few minutes into play. That meant double fisting before being every other one. I crawled out of bed on rushed off to the next stop, Tilt on Trade.

Monday said every curse word possible and My P.I.C. managed to snag a birthday table I spent the majority of my days wishing for the weekend. So when Friday arrived, I was so it wasn’t long before we were stomping more than eager to get my mini-vacation around between the bathroom, dance floor started. There was only one problem: all I and DJ booth. wanted to do was sleep.

I woke up the next morning and walked My boyfriend and I had stayed out kind nauseously downstairs to grab water when of late watching the NFL Draft 2016 — I noticed a half eaten steak and cheese I’m starting to realize there is no break pita that I begged my boyfriend for from from sports — at The Roasting Company Pita Pit. Just as I was settling into the Thursday night and before the clock struck idea of a lazy, rainy Sunday I realized I had 10 a.m. I was already exhausted. Despite the long ago RSVPed to a friend’s graduation/ urge to turn up, I opted for vegging out in engagement party. Le sigh. front of the T.V. I hadn’t even packed a presentable outfit On Saturday morning the boyfriend, so I went with the time tested church who wears far too many hats, had expression, “Come as you are.” I yet another AAU tournament hopped in my car to head to but I decided to take time for Draught Charlotte. Even myself. This led to a three though I was underdressed, hour shopping trip to and without a shower, I Target looking for condo was early for once. At least decorations using the I scored brownie points Cartwheel App. After with the family. that, all I wanted to do What started out as, was take a nap, but that “Aerin, you’re only going wasn’t going to happen. to have a mimosa, say My P.I.C.’s birthday is congrats and head home” almost exactly a week after Aerin Spruill quickly turned into, “It would mine so that meant we were going to be celebrating all night be silly to not take advantage of long. a $15 bottle of champagne.” Next To begin the evening, my boyfriend thing you know, I’m talking everyone in and I hopped in an Uber with his friend and the family’s ears off, texting my boyfriend, headed to the first stop on her itinerary: “I’m getting drunk btw” and begging him to Wooden Robot Brewery in South End. On stop by. the way we made nice with our driver and To give you an idea of how that went, the were having a great conversation when all party started at 2:00 p.m. and by 6:00 p.m. of a sudden I hear my boyfriend shout and we were being shuffled upstairs away from realized we were swiping another car as we the event room downstairs. By 7:00 p.m. turned on to the street. Talk about awkward.

I’m shedding tears that were a combination What exactly do you do in this situation? We of excitement over my friend’s long-time ended up giving our numbers and walking coming engagement, bitterness that I’m the last portion of the trip before arriving at not engaged and, of course, way too much Wooden Robot’s door. alcohol.

I was excited to finally have the The night ended with silly arguments opportunity to try out one of the newest and confusion over “Fear the Walking Dead” breweries to hit the QC craft beer scene. A followed by a nightcap consisting of takegreat venue for grabbing a pre-game drink out meat loaf, mashed potatoes and collard or a brewery tour date, you’ll fall in love with greens from Draught that led to a terrible the raw décor and beer selection. Unlike at tummy ache Monday morning. After getting other breweries I’ve visited and sampled at, a call in the middle of the next workday I felt like each brew had a truly unique taste. from my sweet but distraught Uber driver My fave was a sour ale, my current beer who had the brush up, I thought, “That little family of choice, called the Peachy Apribot. accident foreshadowed a rough weekend and After stopping to give the police a statement about the wreck, we headed to workweek ahead.”

Gin Mill, where I played Galaga and managed backtalk@clclt.com

Ends

Crossword

TAKEN AS A HOLD ACROSS

1 “Honor Thy Father” author Gay 7 Lesley of “60 Minutes” 12 Nasty online argument 20 Heist halters 21 “Well, golly!”

22 Black, chewy candy 23 Put something on one of the planets?

25 One present at an event 26 Deposit at a river’s mouth 27 Graceland’s city acquired by a buyer?

29 Typeface option that’s carrot-colored and heavy?

34 Pulley part 35 Christmas poem starter 36 Flood barrier 37 Cariou of “Applause” 39 Rookies 42 Hears about 46 “Big -” (nickname of baseball’s David Ortiz) 48 Rival of Sam’s Club 53 In that case 54 Steroid user’s physique?

58 Repair shop guess: Abbr.

59 Routine task 60 Has no entity 61 Provide with an ability 62 Oahu gift 63 Some South Africans 66 Animal home 68 Actress Charlotte and explorer John 69 Green gem’s chief constituent?

74 Algerian port 75 Plastic film measure 76 “- vincit amor” 77 Actor Scheider 78 Lacking in resonance 80 High tennis hits 82 Swindle 84 “Undercover Boss” airer 87 Comment to a baseballer from a fan who’s studied his fly-catching technique?

91 Jai 92 Spirited session?

93 “Ac-cent- - -ate the Positive” (1945 hit) 94 Bad way to finish a race 96 Major name in insurance 99 Not masc.

101 Haunting 102 Indy’s 200 106 Six: Prefix 108 Ice cube?

112 Slightly feral?

116 Davis with a 1988 Oscar 117 Gratification 118 Precious metal one keeps for many years?

124 UPS cargo 125 Immature egg 126 See 121-Down 127 Most thin, as fabric 128 Affirmative responses 129 Eats into

DOWN

1 Price’s place 2 Boxing great 3 Loo, for short 4 In advance of 5 Wee bit 6 Cosmetician Lauder 7 Took care of 8 Low tie score 9 Farmer’s sci.

10 Ship steerer 11 Word before hosen 12 - Bird (notoriously hard game app) 13 More supple 14 Opera’s start 15 Homer Simpson’s favorite bar 16 Artist Max 17 Black - (spider type) 18 Fast Amtrak service 19 Bulrushes 24 Tirana’s land: Abbr.

28 Themes 29 Comic Hardy, briefly 30 Shoals 31 “Stop, mate!”

32 Rex Stout’s Wolfe 33 Pt. of DOJ 38 No, in Fife 40 Fall mo.

41 Drink with a lizard logo 43 Major rift 44 Hugs, in text 45 Skirt ruffle 47 Penitentiary 49 Solar beam 50 Like some waves 51 Hip, with “in” 52 Lofty tributes

55 Light in signs 56 Captivated 57 Newsy note 59 “Meh” grade 62 Beatle John 64 U.N. division 65 Sleep activity 67 Poet Pablo 69 Tot’s vehicle 70 Barbera’s partner 71 Crop holder 72 Poodle name 73 Diviner’s aid 74 Sitcom sot 79 Female youth gp.

81 Popular way to get around New York City 83 Barley brew 84 Cigar variety 85 Pesto herb 86 Positioned 88 “Tee- -!”

89 Range of 300-3,000 MHz 90 Pit-stop stuff 91 Baldwin of “Lymelife” 95 One libeling 97 “- no way!”

98 Most fresh 100 Non-magical person, to Harry Potter 102 Reindeer herders of Scandinavia 103 Shia’s deity 104 Pie slice, e.g.

105 Vampire killer 107 Solder, say 109 Dishes (out) 110 “Big Top - Wee” 111 Ham - (deli staple) 113 Despot of old 114 Sporting sled 115 Bird of peace 119 Mu followers 120 Shine, in ads 121 With 126-Across, Disney title dog of 1957 122 Spike of films 123 ENTs, e.g.

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I’m not sure I do either. But I like you and I’m a 31-year-old straight woman. trust you, and I could really use your help.”

I have a good job, great friends, and While the commitment and monogamy average attractiveness. I’ve dated close approach has worked for some, it hasn’t to 30 men at this point, and I can’t wrap worked for you. And being a virgin at 31 my head around this: I’ve never had a isn’t boosting your self-esteem. There are boyfriend or dated anyone for more than lots of people out there who jumped in a couple months. It’s really starting to the sack and did a little dick-sticking with wear on my self-esteem. I don’t believe people they barely knew but had a good anything is wrong with me, but the feeling about. This approach doesn’t always more time goes on, the more I think lead to committed and/or monogamous I have to be doing something wrong. relationships, but it can.

The guys ghost me or things fizzle out Somewhat Depressed Guy might be or we’re not at the same point in our somewhat less depressed if he was getting lives. This is particularly true for one some, you might have higher self-esteem if guy I’ve remained friends with (common you finally got some, and dispensing with social circle) who is struggling with his your virginity might make dating after you career, though things are still awkward part ways — if you part ways — seem a because it’s clear there’s still lot less fraught. something there. Another area of concern: I’m still a virgin.

I’ve been with my Catholic guilt resulted in boyfriend for more than me being a late bloomer, a year. He’s the first with my first kiss at person I’ve had sex 21. Once I got more with. Four times now into dating, my low while we were having self-esteem coupled passionate sex, he with the fact that I’ve has slipped out of my basically decided I want vagina and accidentally to be in a monogamous Dan Savage penetrated me anally. committed relationship That shit hurts, and I can’t with a guy before having help but cry. I know he feels sex, relationships just super guilty each time. I love never happened. I don’t have sex, but I’m kind of scared every time unrealistic expectations that I’ll marry we have it now. We’ve engaged in a little the first dick that sticks itself into me— anal play before, and I wasn’t really but I’ve waited this long, so I’m not a fan. But I’m not adverse to the idea going to jump into the sack with just of using a butt plug. Do you think this anyone without knowing that I can at would work? Surely other people have least trust them. The only guy I really this problem too, right? do trust is Somewhat Depressed Guy, Wrong Hole, Anal Torment but propositioning him could further complicate our already awkward My own personal sexperience with anal friendship. Is something wrong with led me to doubt claims of accidental anal me, and what the hell should I do? penetration, WHAT, as anal penetration What’s Wrong With Me? always required focus, precision, and breathing techniques. But I’m now convinced I get variations on the first half of your that accidental anal penetration is something question — is something wrong with me?— too many women have sexperienced. all the time. But it’s not a question I’m in A strategically deployed butt plug sounds a position to answer, WWWM, as I would like a sexcellent solution to the problem, need to depose a random sampling of the WHAT, but get yourself a plug with a widerguys you’ve dated, interrogate your friends, than-usual base to prevent your boyfriend’s and grill you under a bare lightbulb for a few misdirected cock from pushing the plug, base days. And you know what? Nothing could be and all, all the way in you or his misdirected wrong with you. cock from sliding in alongside the plug. (If As for the second half of your question …

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For All Signs: This week we have

a grand trine in the solar system which involves the Sun, Pluto, and Jupiter. The “grand trine” resembles an equilateral triangle and is considered to be fortunate.

Generally life moves smoothly and things work out as expected with this arrangement.

Hopefully this will modify the effect of the ongoing Mercury and Mars retrogrades, which tends to create bottlenecks and slow motion. Probably most of us will see a mix of outcomes. Some activities flow unusually well, while others are blocked or detoured.

Libra: Debts owed to you are delayed

due to some kind of paperwork glitch. If you are impatient, see what you can do about tracking this to find where the problem is originating from. This may help, but probably won’t speed up the works.

Hold your tongue during any unpleasant encounters. Aggression will not help you at this time. Just try to discover and correct the source of the original problem.

Aries: It is hard for you to make forward motion at this time. Partly this has to do with your own inner hesitation. Let it be.

Drive and handle tools extra carefully this week. Also, try to exercise judiciously. You may be edgy and irritable, thus making a careless accident of some kind or another more likely.

Scorpio: Your work or daily routine may

Taurus: During this period you may

Sagittarius: There are hurdles and

have especially good fortune in the areas of romance, children, education, the law, or travel. The one pothole is in the category of debt. Those who owe you are recalcitrant about maintaining their promises. Or you may be the one who is being the debtavoidant. Perhaps you cannot pay because others have not paid you. It’s a conundrum.

potholes in the road on the path to achieving your goals. At least you know exactly what you hope to accomplish. So many others are totally stuck with no direction in sight. Take your time and hold to the faith that you will eventually materialize what you need. Create an emotionally charged image to hold in your mind. That is how magic works.

Gemini: Memories from your life history may surface for examination at this time.

Old friends or acquaintances who return for a short time could be the trigger for this life review. Do not assign blame until you have examined your own behavior. For that reason circumstances will slow down in your outer life.

Capricorn: A creative project or a

Cancer: This week you may be feeling

stress related to your lover or a partner, or maybe a child. Underneath it all, the issue is tied to your internalized sense of what a woman “should” do or be (whether you are male or female). Our culture has always struggled with images of the feminine. Is she a caretaker or a seductress? That’s a good question to ponder during this time.

Leo: Your planetary ruler is in the prime position to give generously and have the same given to you. Read the lead paragraph about the “grand trine” in the zodiac this week, because you are a participant in that arrangement. Your ability to dispense wisdom and equanimity is necessary now.

You are in an effective position to change things for the better.

Virgo: Your mood is expansive and optimistic this week. It is one of those “good luck” times that only occasionally happen in life. You have a grasp of the big picture and could use this energy to promote your projects and gain support. Any interests you 38 | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | clclt.com

have in travel, publishing, the Internet, or education are given a green light.

be thwarted by detours and challenges.

High tech equipment could be belligerent.

However, aspects favor in depth discussion and understanding with partners. One relationship is subject to growth and flowering while another one is stalled out during this period.

relationship that began near the New Year is beginning to blossom now. At the very least you can see that it is on track to turn out well. You are struggling with your inner self.

It feeds you false information that somehow you are not good enough or worthy enough.

Put those dark thoughts behind you, or at least put them in the closet for the time being.

Aquarius: You are caught in a holding

pattern which keeps you from moving in any direction for the present. You don’t know the outcome and do not have the promise of success that you need. Although it may feel like forever, it is not. By mid-summer you will know what to do next. Make an effort to take this waiting time as a mini-vacation from the pressures to over produce.

Pisces: Stay alert for persistent peddlers,

deceptive folks, and others who want to sell you a “deal.” Do not engage in any business without thoroughly investigating the proposition. Even then, take two steps back for a large overview before you move into anything new. If you have investigated this in times past, then fresh information may help you decide now.

Are you interested in a personal horoscope? Vivian Carol may be reached at 704-366-3777 for private psychotherapy or astrology appointments. www.horoscopesbyvivian.com.

clclt.com | may. 5 - may. 11, 2016 | 39

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