2016 Issue 17 Creative Loafing

Clclt.com | June 16 - June 22, 2016 Vol. 30, No. 17

l

rd

3 the

e

Jun

th 25

ua n n a

presented by

rooftop 210 at the epicentre

1 | Date - Date, 2015 | clclt.com

2 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 3

The 3rd Annua

l

SATURDAY JUNE 25th

a t i r a g r a M rs

presented by

Wa

Join us on June 25 as Charlotte’s finest bartenders battle it out to concoct the best margarita in the city - and YOU get to be the judge. Sample over a dozen margaritas as we kick off summer 2016 the right way. The drinks will be cool and the music will be hot!

SAMPLE MARGARITAS FROM

SPONSORS

Rooftop 210

at the epicentre

Ticketswww.clclt.com on Sale Now!

4 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 5

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 STAFF WRITER • Madeline Lemieux 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

ADVERTISING

To place an ad, please call 704-522-8334.

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.

A MEMBER OF:

6 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

Danny clinch

20

14

Lake Street Dive performs at The Fillmore on June 17.

cover story The brunch guide: 30 Spots to check out.

By Cl Staff This week’s cover illustrations are by dana Vindigni.

10

News&VIEWS Homer thief stays felony free: A clean-

cut Joe Gillespie takes plea deal, puts Homer behind him.

By ryan pitkin 12 Trouble Hunter

19

12 blotter 13 News of the weird

Food 19 three-course spiel

22

Arts&Ent Making and faking love: Reviews of Stage Kiss and Charlotte Squawks: 12 Angry Hens.

By perry tannenbaum 24 film reviews

28

Music

Precious Moments: Soundgarden frontman finds Higher Truth.

By anita overcash 32 soundboard

20

Odds&Ends

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

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 7

8 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

sleepless nights weight gain

decreased sex drive

depression Have you had a hysterectomy and just haven’t felt the same since? hot flashes

fatigue

irritability

These may be symptoms of a hormone imbalance.

Call us anytime to learn about Bio-identical hormone replacement.

Our Specialities Include:

Menopause Vaginal Dryness Decreased Libido PCOS/Endometriosis Total Body Wellness Vulvodynia

GPS Pharmacy 163 South Trade Street Matthews, NC 28105

980-245-2028

The Salvation Army is hosting an

AUCTION Every Mon-Fri

930am-11am

Closed Sat,Sun and Holidays

$2.oo

Bidding Fee

(non-refundable)

Auction Location:

1023 Central Ave Charlotte, NC 28204 704-332-1171

Show this Ad for

1 Free Bid clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 9

News

Feature

Ryan Pitkin

Joe Gillespie will serve 15 months on supervised probation for his antics as Homer the Dragon.

Homer Thief Stays Felony Free A clean-cut Joe Gillespie takes plea deal, puts Homer behind him

By Ryan Pitkin

I

t was less than a year

ago that Joe Gillespie emerged from the Creative Loafing News section as the hero Charlotte didn’t know it needed.

Gillespie was featured in our 2015 Best of Charlotte issue to represent ”The Best of” our bizarre crime column, The Blotter.

Within hours of the issue hitting racks, the 10 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

story took off. By the end of the day, Deadspin, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and the UK Daily News, among other international outlets, had picked up the interview. It had become the most viewed story of all time on Creative Loafing’s website by the time I left the office that day with radio interviews scheduled from Canada to California.

The viral success of the story was in no

way due to my great writing skills. I had seen Gillespie’s photo flash across a 15-second story on a local television newscast and decided if I could find the mulleted man in the mugshot, the story would write itself.

That’s exactly what happened.

I met Gillespie at a local bar near his Indian Trail home and, over a few beers, he told me the story of how he became Homer

for the night. It quickly became clear that he was one of the funnier people I’d ever met, and I had decided while heading home that I would simply transcribe the interview and let him do all the talking through Q&A. The aftermath of “Homer’s Night on the Town” was fun for a couple weeks, but it was tainted by a certain sense of guilt. While I in no way forced Gillespie to speak with me

A selfie from that fateful night.

Joe Gillespie

for the story, he hadn’t spoken with a lawyer yet at that point and was facing two felony charges. The publication of what basically amounted to a printed confession would certainly limit his options in the courtroom.

Looking back now, he said he doesn’t regret the debauchery of that night as much as he regrets how he broadcasted his role in the crime in the following days. He posted many of his exploits on Facebook, which helped police find him after speaking with restaurant servers and others he had run into during his night as Homer.

“Maybe posting everything before the court date wasn’t a good idea,” he says now. “Not as much the story as me posting pictures everywhere in general. Maybe I’d say now, ‘Don’t tell the story until after the court date.’ You live and you learn.”

On June 7, I was able to shift the guily and Gillespie could finally breathe easier, as his court case was settled and he dodged felony charges that had been held over his head for nearly a year.

Prosecutors in Mecklenburg County agreed to drop the felony larceny and breaking-and-entering charges if he copped to a misdemeanor larceny charge and agreed to serve 15 months of supervised probation.

I met with Gillespie for lunch about a week after the plea deal. His mane of a mullet is gone, and he was more subdued than the night we originally spoke. That was fine. I wasn’t expecting “Homer’s Night on the Town” redux — some forced journalistic version of those horrible Hangover sequels — I just wanted closure, and felt I owed that to the countless people who enjoyed the original story.

We spoke over pizza directly after he met with his probation officer for the first time.

Despite his frustration with being forced into supervised probation, he takes it in stride and recognizes that things could have been worse.

He said he was relieved to have the charges dropped, but still believes the punishment was steep for the crime. He’d rather have been assigned community service to be done on his own time rather than be forced to meet with a probation officer at times when he should be at work. “[The plea deal] definitely took a lot of weight off of my shoulders,” he says.

“The probation thing kind of weighed on me because it’s time and money. I have my company going wide-open six to seven days a week and I just don’t really have time to check in with people. I’m not a convict.

I’m not a drug addict. I think they could have went a little lighter. The property all got returned. Some community service and court costs or fines would have been better.”

The first legal wake-up call — well, second to the time police literally woke him up — came when his lawyer showed him a stack of what looked to be 100 pages of paper documenting every move he made on the night of the incident.

“I think it was maybe the Knights and the district attorney getting as much information as they could on me,” he says.

“They went around everywhere and got pictures, watched videos, they got everything they could against me.”

It’s doubtful that the Knights organization was very active in the investigation, but Gillespie does believe they should be held partly accountable for leaving him in the stadium.

“I would definitely say that I learned a lesson from it and I feel like they should learn a lesson too, to check a little better, especially after a beer festival,” he says.

“Make sure your stadium’s empty and there’s not some drunk guy passed out down there.”

He said he was never contacted by anyone with the Knights organization, despite being told by police early on that he would be able to explain himself.

He remains a fan of the organization, however, and said he’s visited BB&T Ballpark since the incident and shopped around in the team store, buying a shirt and hat.

Gillespie hays plenty of stories from the two months or so following the article’s publication when he was being recognized everywhere. Colorado-based band Pigeons Playing Ping-Pong contacted him after reading the story and invited him to join them on stage at The Rabbit Hole for their Charlotte show. The band wanted to rent a full mascot costume for him to dance on stage with, but had to settle for the head of a pigeon costume when that plan fell though.

Gillespie drank free Jack Daniels on the

house all night. It wasn’t the only time folks who knew him only from his Homer exploits picked up his tab.

“There were free beers. One night at NoDa Brewery. Triple C Brewing. A lot of bars. That was a party for me,” he says. “It lasted a good month or two. As long as I had the hair, people recognized me, it was like a statement. I took a lot of pictures, especially when the mullet was still luscious and flowing.”

He said he plans to let the mullet grow back over the next few months.

For now, Gillespie says he wants to focus on his plumbing business, but a recent call got him thinking about fame and fortune again.

In May, Gillespie was contacted by a representative of Creative Artists Agency, a large Los Angeles-based talent agency that’s apparently interested in buying the film and television rights to “Homer’s Night on the Town.” The representative was just making a preliminary inquiry, and it’s unclear if anything will come of it, but it raises an interesting question: Who would play

Gillespie in a movie?

“Me. It would have to be me,” he says.

After a minute, he hypothetically agrees to settle for a cameo or maybe an appearance while the credits roll so people know he’s the real guy. He chooses James Franco to play him, since a younger Bill Murray wouldn’t realistically be available.

In case this could turn into a series of films, I took the opportunity to ask Gillespie the question that had been raised by countless Internet commenters since the story was first released. At one point during our original meeting, he told me the Homer costume incident was just “one of his top three nights of all time.”

So what stories are we missing? What could possibly beat gallivanting around Uptown as Homer the Dragon, and can I please tell those stories?

“I don’t know, man. There’s been so many good nights,” he says, smiling. “But, no, I would have to retract that and say now that it was number one. It got me to here.”

So much for the sequel. rpitkin@clclt.com

SUMMER JOBS

* To Stand Up for Equality!* Work with Grassroots Campaigns on behalf of the ACLU Full Time/Mgmt Available $ 5,100-$ 7,900 for the summer

CALL ALEX @ (980)-819-0959 www.grassrootscampaigns.com

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 11

Views

troublehunter

News

Blotter

Testing Our Patience

By Courtney Mihocik

CMPD officials should be held accountable for destroying rape kits

marijuana-growing operation in your home, it’s best to keep a low profile and act, well, responsible, at least in public. Last week, a man threw a temper tantrum while in traffic in southeast Charlotte that not only put a woman’s life in danger but also led to the discovery of the man’s illegal horticulture business. Police say a woman was driving on Idlewild Road when the man driving in front of her stopped his car abruptly, got out of the vehicle and started yelling at her.

When she attempted to drive around him, he allegedly took a gun out of his car and fired a shot at her vehicle. The bullet struck the car but she was unharmed. She pulled over after driving a safe distance and called police.

While police were speaking with the woman, the suspect drove by and she pointed out his vehicle. Police pulled the man over and the woman positively identified him. Police later searched the man’s home and found 15 marijuana plants, each at least two feet tall. They estimated the value of the weed growing in the home to be $30,000.

Trigger Warning. I hate those words

1,000 women and girls — and in some cases and I hate that sometimes they’re necessary men and boys — went through the trauma of this collection procedure for no reason. for me.

Among these were 72 cases that were still It took me a week of willful avoidance before I read the Stanford survivor’s letter. I listed as open, a direct violation of a law passed didn’t want to, because I already had a great by the General Assembly in 2009 requiring the idea of what it said. I’d written one like it retention of untested kits in open cases.

Endthebacklog.org states there are hundreds when I was 18 years old. Only it never made of thousands of kits across the country waiting it to a judge.

Brock Turner’s six month jail sentence, to be tested. Due in part to that organization’s recently handed down as a result of him push, police departments nationwide have being caught in the act sexually assaulting recently made testing unanalyzed kits a priority. the Stanford survivor near a frat house in Detroit linked crimes to 188 serial rapists from January of last year, was a surprise to me, but testing just 18 percent of its backlogged kits. not because it was so light. I was surprised When New York City tested its backlog, its he received any jail time at all. The man who arrest rate for rape jumped from 40 percent to 70 percent. attacked me didn’t. Few rapists do.

In Cuyahoga County Ohio, a Most rapes still go unreported and task force was assembled to of those that do, only about study patterns arising from one out of four lead to an its backlog testing. In the arrest. Only about one first 243 kits it studied, of four arrests leads to it found that 51 percent a felony conviction and were tied to serial incarceration, according offenders. to a 2012 analysis of If that statistic held Justice Department date. true for Charlotte, there The man who could be hundreds of attacked me was offered serial rapists that escaped erin Tracya plea bargain by thenidentification when the kits District Attorney Peter Blackwood were destroyed. They’re walking Gilchrist. He pleaded guilty to a the streets while politicians falsely misdemeanor charge and was not warn that transgender women in the made to register as a sex offender.

The lack of justice wasn’t even the bathroom are the threat.

Asking women and girls to submit to this second-worst part of the ordeal. That involved going to the police and allowing invasive and demoralizing procedure, then them to collect evidence. The day following destroying the kits before even bothering my attack consisted of repeating every single to test them, is inexcusable. Their consent awful detail of the night before, reliving to that procedure was predicated on the the entire scene in my mind as I spoke. condition that it would be tested and used Laying naked on a table for hours while to convict. Destroying untested kits is worse strangers took photos of my genital area. than incompetence, it sends the message that Feeling an array of unfamiliar hands and rape doesn’t matter and that justice is not a cold objects prodding parts that already felt high priority.

In response to the Observer investigation, violated and indiscriminate handling of a speculum causing pain to an area already CMPD said most of the kits destroyed were traumatized. Worrying with every swab from cases that lacked enough evidence to and comb-through that they may not find make an arrest. They may have found more anything to make them believe my story evidence if, say, they tested evidence kits. If it was true. Tears streaming down my face as was determined through statements that there the nurses repeatedly assured me that it was wasn’t enough of a case to prosecute, thus making kit testing an extraneous step in the almost over. It’s never been over.

Last weekend, a Charlotte Observer process, then why even collect the kit?

As of the time of this writing, Charlotte investigation found that more than 1,000 sexual assault kits like the one that was survivors have yet to receive an apology and, in collected in my case had been destroyed by reality, an apology isn’t good enough. Anyone CMPD without ever being tested. Some of who had any role in the destruction of these those cases involved children. That’s about kits should resign, publicly and immediately. one in every three sexual assault kits the You are not fit to retain your job. backtalk@clclt.com department had collected since 2000. Over 12 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

Shots Fired When operating a large,

Caffeine Jolt A woman in a north Charlotte Starbucks took a grande to the face for a certain wake-me-up when she ran into her ex-boyfriend’s new lady last week. The woman reportedly threw her cup of coffee onto the victim during an argument that started in the store. She reported that the coffee soaked her dress and she sustained injuries from the temperature of the drink.

In an unrelated incident, a gas station clerk called the police when a customer threw a cup of soda on her after he became angry about paying for a refill. There’s no such thing as a free soda, bud.

Maxing and Relaxing Lately we’ve been reporting that people have been breaking into apartments and houses to complete daily tasks like cooking and cleaning. Continuing in that trend, a man in the University area reported this week that an unknown suspect entered his bedroom and spent some time not doing chores but just hanging out. Police reported that the suspects “appeared to have moved his clothing, sat on his bed and used his bathroom.”

News Watch The revolution will not be televised, unless the revolutionaries gain control of the airwaves. WJZY Fox 46 News filed a report after a $15,000 piece of broadcasting equipment was stolen.

A reporter told police that a backpack containing the device was placed on the ground during a live broadcast and while they were on air someone picked it up and walked off. So much for watchdog journalism.

Drive ‘n’ Dash Two suspects put the

pedal to the metal in a small shoplifting spree at an auto parts store in east Charlotte.

The store reports that a man was attempting to pay for his selection of brake rotors and lug nuts when he gave the old, cliché excuse that many of his ex-girlfriends had probably heard before on dates: he “forgot” his wallet.

Instead of putting the items back, he ran out of the store with them. His friend was waiting in the getaway car outside (it’s almost like he knew about the wallet) and they fled the scene.

Solvent One woman left her apartment

in Charlotte after getting sick of listening to her neighbors argue. When she returned the next day, she discovered a rock had been inexplicably thrown through her window.

She said that she can’t think of any reason why anyone would vandalize her home.

The police report states that “there are no solvability factors for this case,” which is police lingo for “We give up.”

Kicked Out School staff going through

state-mandated training got more than they bargained for last week when a student lost his shit in front of the entire administration.

Police were called after a kid reportedly started kicking walls in the office and shouting obscenities. The report states that he was a disruption to the training session, but real-life scenarios can really help turn the sweetest teachers into disciplinarians.

Tackle that kid!

HEREDITARY Police had to be called to Thomasboro Academy after calling parents in to fix a situation between students only made things worse. Two students were exchanging “hateful verbal remarks” on the bus and the bus driver turned the bus around and brought them back to school.

The students were brought to the office where parents were called. According to the report, “one conversation was civil and the other parent became enraged to the point where staff and secretary felt threatened.”

The enraged parent reportedly became confrontational and used racial remarks toward staff members before being told he could not return to the school. To this, the parent replied that he would removing his children from the school anyway, and presumably taking them somewhere that doesn’t frown upon hateful language.

Threats of the Week A suspect sent vulgar and terrifying messages to a man in Plaza Midwood last week. Among the nasty things said was “I’ll ship you back in pieces to Augusta, motherfucker.” No word on who’s going to pay for shipping.

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

News

News of the weird

By Chuck Shepherd

Good Boy Life is good now for British

men who “identify” as dogs and puppies, as evidenced by the BBC documentary Secret Life of the Human Pups showing men in body outfits (one a Lycra-suited Dalmatian, “Spot”), exhibiting “sexual” expressions (stomach-rubbing, ear-tickling and nuzzling their “handlers”), eating out of bowls, gnawing on chew toys, wearing collars and jumping in the air for treats.

However, decency demands that a Pup must only feign urinating against a lamppost.

Said Spot (aka Tom), “It’s about being given license to behave in a way that feels natural, even primal.” Added Bootbrush, “(We) are trying to grasp the positive elements of the archetype of the dog.”

New World Order (1) As an alternative to the more costly in-vitro fertilization, researchers at a Dresden, Germany, institute announced in the recent Nano Letters journal that they had developed a motorized device tiny enough to fit around a sperm’s tail and which could be commanded to propel it to “swim” faster toward the target egg, increasing the chances of fertilization.

A prototype is still in the works. (2) The Internet pornography behemoth PornHub recently added to the glut of physical fitness “apps” with one designed to help users tone up sexual muscles. The BangFit’s routines include the “squat and thrust,” the “missionary press,” and other ways to practice what the company describes as the “one activity people are always motivated to do and (for) which they are never too busy.”

(Imagine, for example, wrote Mashable.com, “quantify(ing) your dry humps.”)

The Continuing Crisis As Libya’s

central bank struggles to stabilize a halting economy, it could surely use the estimated $184 million in gold and silver coins that Moammar Gadhafi minted but left buried in an underground vault in the coastal city of Beyda, but the treasure is inaccessible because central bank officials don’t know the lock’s combination (as The Wall Street Journal reported in May). The latest plan is to have a locksmith squeeze through a 16-by-16-inch hole in the outer vault’s concrete wall and once inside to try his hand. If unsuccessful, the government’s bureaucrats likely cannot get paid, but even if successful, various antigovernment factions may go to extremes to snatch the coins.

Bright Ideas Argentina’s TV channels

have many of the same taboos as U.S. broadcasting, including restrictions on women’s hands-on demonstration of how precisely to examine themselves for breast cancer. However, as AdWeek reported in March, the agency David Buenos Aires apparently solved the problem with an

explicit TV public service announcement featuring a model (facing the camera, topless) showing exactly how such an exam should go, e.g., where to press down, where to squeeze. The secret? The model was an overweight man with generous-sized “manboobs.”

Wait, What? (1) Video surfaced in May of

students at Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas, actually playing jump rope with the intestines of cats that had been dissected in biology class. Obviously, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was not pleased, but school district officials called the exercise a valid demonstration of the “tensile strength of the organ” and only reluctantly agreed to investigate further.

(2) When Triston Chase, 20, missed his court date in April in Harnett County, North Carolina, on financial fraud charges, it was revealed that his arrest in December had come when he had been found “residing” illegally, as a civilian, in a barracks at Fort Bragg — in a facility housing the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group. According to a prosecutor, Chase had been posing as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist “for months.”

Everyone Deserves a Second Chance (1) Efrain Delgado-Rosales was

sentenced to five years in prison in March for smuggling noncitizens into the country.

(The Border Patrol had caught him 23 times previously, but had declined to file charges.)

(2) Sean Pelfrey, 38, told his judge in May that the two assault charges against him in Framingham, Massachusetts, do not make him a “threat to society,” even though the current arrest was his 38th. (3) Matthew Freeland, 29, was convicted of several home-invasion offenses in Kingston, Ontario, in May, and the judge, considering a proper sentence, found only two previous probation orders — but then, looking further, found 59 convictions and sentenced Freeland to more than two years in prison.

Weird Animals Among

the critters for which life is most difficult are male nursery web spiders that (according to May research in Biology Letters journal) instinctively “court” females with food wrapped in silk — offerings that (a) increase the males’ chances of scoring and (b) decrease, by 84 percent, their chances that the female will spontaneously eat the male. The study also found that males sometimes try to mate using nonfood items wrapped in silk (with mixed results) and also that sometimes unscrupulous females accept food gifts but nevertheless immediately devour the male.

HOME ALL WEEKEND! FRI-SUN Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians

FRIDAY

FRIDAY NIGHT FIREWORKS NORTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY NIGHT GAME AT 7:05 PM

SATURDAY

50/50 RAFFLE NIGHT BENEFITTING CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS CHARITIES

LIVE MUSIC FOLLOWING THE GAME

FEATURING THE BAND CLOUD 9

GAME AT 6:05 PM

SUNDAY FATHER’S DAY PRE-GAME CATCH

KIDS RUN THE BASES KNIGHTS GRILL SPATULA GIVEAWAY TO THE FIRST 2500 MEN!

SUNBELT FAMILY SUNDAYS GAME AT 2:05 PM

TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT: CHARLOTTEKNIGHTS.COM

charlotteknights.com clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 13

By Anita Overcash, ryan pitkin, madeline lemieux, courtney mihocik, Clarissa Brooks

Dana

V

gni

indi

16

There’s a lot to choose from when it comes to deciding on a spot to dine in for brunch. Do you want a fancy setting or just a simple but tasty meal? Are libations needed or are you fighting a hangover and in dire need of some eggs to break down those acetaldehydes? We’ve put together a list of 30 brunch spots in the greater Charlotte area with a variety of damn tasty offerings — including the sweet and the savory. Just a fair warning: This guide will make you hungry. So be prepared to arrange a brunch date for satisfying those mouth-watering urges.

300 East While the breakfast pizza is up at the top of the must-try items, there are plenty of other options. In the mood for grits? The Carolina Plantation grits bowl comes with your choice of four ingredients. Note: All the eggs are free range and sourced from local area farms. Also, they have beignets, too!

Sundays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 300 East Blvd. 704332-6507. 300east.net.

Ashbury Located in the historic Dunhill Hotel, The Asbury provides a brunch filled with classy spins on the regular classics, not to mention farm-to-table freshness. The fried mac & cheese and sticky biscuits are crowd favorites. There’ are also endless mimosas.

Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 235 N. Tryon St. 704-342-1193. theashbury.com.

made that an unreasonable expectation. Now, with Sunday morning being the most popular time for the restaurant, it’s first-come, firstserve. Bistro serves brunch on Saturday with a set menu, while Sunday features an all-youcan-eat buffet. Both days feature menus that mix classics with international recipes from the chef, who was born in Iran and raised in Sweden. Even on buffet day, all eggs, waffles and French toast is made-to-order in the kitchen. The French toast is most popular, according to general manager John Sawyer, who took it off the menu for one Sunday only to face angry customers. “If we stopped serving French toast, we’d probably have to shut this restaurant down,” Sawyer said.

Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 1322 Central Ave. 704-333-4646. bistrolabon.com.

Bistro La Bon When Bistro La Bon first opened six years ago, it was no big deal to take reservations on a Sunday. Since then, the popularity of brunch in Plaza Midwood has

Block and Grinder Known for its premium beef, organic meats and wild game, you might not think of this as an ideal spot to do brunch.

And… you’d be wrong. The B&G grits dish

14 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

Anita Overcash

Huevos rancheros at Summit Coffee’s Outpost.

FRESH SIMPLE GOOD Mon-Fri 11am-10pm Dandelion Market Despite taking its name from a public market opened in Dublin in the ‘70s, you won’t find traditional Irish fare on Dandelion Market’s brunch menu. Taking the place of Irish mystery meat pudding, you’ll find dressed up southern favorites (low country hash loaded with andouille sausage and okra, crab cake eggs benedict) in addition to omelettes and sandwiches. Breakfast staples (eggs, bacon, French toast sticks) are available Ă la carte, and bloody mary fans will rejoice at the make-your-own bar, which is well-stocked with toppings. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 118 W. 5th St. 704-3337989. dandelionmarketcharlotte.com.

courtesy of davidson street public house.

A brunch cocktail from Davidson Street Public House.

comes with shrimp, smoked maple sausage and Anson Mills grits, but there’s also duck hash, chicken and waffles, steak and eggs and brioche French toast. Wash it down with a libation (the Dead End Rye comes with coffee-infused rye bourbon) or coffee from the likes of Boquete Mountain Coffee.

Sundays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 2935 Providence Road.704-364-2100. blockandgrinder.com.

Boudreaux’s Hurray for beignets! Brunch is the perfect time for these deep-fried, powdered sugar treats (Tip: don’t wear black if you’re going to order these). The New Orleans-inspired eatery also offers Cajuninspired omelets, sandwiches (the Monte Cristo comes with cinnamon-battered Texas toast, ham, Swiss cheese and Melba sauce), pancakes, French toast, biscuits with gravy and more. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 501 E. 36th St. 704-331-9898. boudreauxsnoda.com.

Cafe Monte In addition to being gloriously delicious, French fare sounds so fancy that a simple meal will leave you brimming with pride for your sophisticated palate. Take the French brunch staple Croque Madame. It sounds fancy, but it’s actually just a grilled ham and cheese sandwich smothered with oozy gruyere cheese and a fried egg (oh, and the name literally translates to “Mrs. Crunchy.â€?) Styled after a traditional French cafe, this Fairview Road eatery offers plenty of tasty brunch options (sugar-dusted beignets, steak frites, and crĂŞpes). Mimosas, bloody marys and a selection of bottled beers are available in addition to espresso beverages.

Brunch served daily, 9 a.m.3 p.m. 6700 Fairview Road.

704-552-1116. cafemonte.net.

Davidson Street Public House Executive chef Clayton Sanders uses his grandmother’s gravy recipe for DSPH’s sausage biscuits but adds bacon fat for an extra kick of flavor. The hillbilly skillet with pimento cheese is one of the most popular brunch items along with the eggs Davidson, a crab salad with a sriracha hollandaise topped with eggs. Davidson Street Public House has been open for about a year and a half now, and has plans for an expansion of its brunch hours and brunch cocktails. In-house mixologist Frances Jones created a line of new drinks that take classic brunch mixes up a notch — the mimosas come with Earl Gray and Prosecco. Sunday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. 3220 N. Davidson St. 980-2099992. davidsonspub.com.

Take-Outs Welcomed!

Fri & Sat 11am-11pm

Sun 11am-9pm

Half Priced Appetizers Mon-Fri 4-6pm Premium Wings in 14 flavors! Hand Pattied Burgers!

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

Bud Light

High Life

& PBR’s

Sat & Sun Brunch

DAILY DRINK SPECIALS

9am-2pm

BLOODY MARY BAR

4548 Old Pineville Rd

Dilworth Grill For the folks who can’t decide on what they want to eat, Dilworth Grill is your spot. The buffet includes French toast, eggs benedict, grits, biscuits with gravy, salmon, cereal (if the wee ones are being picky) and more. Each week features a special (sometimes there’s even ribs and wings) and there’s a build-your-own omelette station, too. Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dilworth Grill, 911 E. Morehead St. 704-377-3808. neighborhoodgrille.com.

980-430-5403

“So you Think you’re Smart!�

Join our Trivia/Pub Quiz for great fun, food, brews and prizes!

Z8! ,# ( , !( ,( # , '#2K! '# #

23 Beers on

Tap!

Specials & Cocktail Daily Beer !

nc Weekday Lu

h Specials

PATIO SEATING AVAILABLE

-Weather Permitting

Family Friendly

Children’s Menu Available

SHOWING ALL COPA & EURO MATCHES ALL MONTH LONG!

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 15

“Hell is heaving a tray of 40 mimosas into the air at a bridal shower, and watching the blood-thirsty faces of the women around you, plot your death...”

Anita Overcash

Eggs Salchicha at Letty’s.

Eddie’s Place Restaurant & Bar The cool thing about Eddie’s is that there’s something for everyone. While it features some usual — and tasty — brunch suspects, its daily specials merit food envy 99 percent of the time. That being said, if you’re in the mood for “something different” and delicious, it only makes sense to opt for one of those selections. You’ll clear your plate in no time. Open daily for breakfast and brunch.

617 S. Sharon Amity Road. 704-442-0147. eddiesplacerestaurant.com.

Famous Toastery This chain’s continuous growth speaks for itself. The menu is full of breakfast items — eggs however you want them (poached, scrambled, on a sandwich, on a burrito, etc.) and griddle items like flapjacks (plain or packed with the flavorings of your choice) and French toast. The omelettes come in quite a few varieties (Greek, tofu, boursin, Southwestern and more). Breakfast/brunch daily. 2400 Park Road. 704-215-4166; 8933 JM Keynes Drive, Suite 2. 704-503-9599; 8430 Rea Road. 980 613-8343; For more locations, visit famoustoastery.com.

Flying Biscuit Café “Southern flare” is an expression that comes up a lot when speaking with Christopher Soto with Flying Biscuit Café. Whether speaking about the homey atmosphere or the country take on brunch classics, the chain puts an emphasis on being regional. That’s what makes its Southernstyle biscuit benedict such a favorite; a classic eggs benedict but with an added layer of pimento cheese and a biscuit in place of an English muffin. The Flying Biscuit offers plenty of vegan options, including its popular Tofu Scramble. Saturday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Two locations: 4241 Park Road. 704-714-3400. 7930-A Rea Road. 70416 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

295-4440. flyingbiscuit.com.

From Scratch This new spot in a big historic home in Cornelius features food made from scratch by Chef Gigi. The brunch menu is simple with four basic combination dishes to choose from. But there’s also a section for “lagniappe” (French for “a little something extra”), which includes beignets. Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 19901 S. Main St., Cornelius. 704237-3495. fromscratchbychefgigi.com.

Heist Brewery Heist provides multiple specials, including the $19 buffet special.

There’s also a full libation menu — and the drinks are so good. Check out its sideboard and a la carte menu, featuring gravy & biscuits and “drunken” mussels. Sunday, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 2909 N. Davidson St., Suite 200. 704-3758260. heistbrewery.com.

JackBeagle’s Despite a new doghouse makeover recently painted onto the storefront of JackBeagle’s, the brunch menu still contains the same classics that have been attracting folks from inside and outside the NoDa neighborhood for a few years now. The Shit on a Shingle doesn’t sound so appealing, but the sliced ribeye steak grilled up with onions and served on Texas toast with sausage gravy is no shitty way to start a day. Also check out the Waco Eggs Benedict, similar to the classic but served over two large slabs of Texas toast. Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. 3213 N. Davidson St. 704-3345140. jackbeagles.com.

Letty’s It’s safe to call this a hidden gem of Shamrock Drive. Owner Letty Ketner (years back she served as catering manager for Hotel Charlotte in Cotswold) opened this spot in December of 2012. The atmosphere is homey

“I had one customer that was particularly picky about her cappuccinos. She was a total bitch, but by some luck I always made her drink just the way she liked it. She was a self proclaimed savant when it came to identifying flavors with her palate. One day I decided to test this.

Rather than pulling a piping hot brand new shot of espresso, I took a luke-warm one that had been sitting for a good one-two minutes. I also took the liberty of not mixing the three percent milk she normally takes. (Yes, three percent). Instead, I took whatever was already steamed and threw it in a cup and sent her on her way. Basically, it was the laziest and worst drink I could make. She finished her coffee and came back to the counter and congratulated me on making the best cappuccino she has ever had to date.”

“I was eating brunch when I found a girls underwear tag in my meal. I’m not sure how it got there, but I got everything [the meal] comped.”

“There was an old lady that would come in eve ry week and always order the sam e coffee drink. She wo uld only ever order it as “her drink” — like it was a right of passage or you had to prove something to her to kn ow what it was. I ask to take her order, and she says “I’ll have one of my coffees.” I asked what she normally has and she points to my manager and says, “sh e knows how to make it.” My manage r saw and put the order in for me, but I didn’t find out what “h er drink” was until ab out two months into working there.” us to fresh squeeze orange juice to order. So “We just started doing brunch and the owner wanted go to this manually operated squeezer and to had every time someone ordered an orange juice we juice. It took almost five minutes to get orange of glass a get hand squeeze a bunch of oranges to want a glass, that’s 20 minutes of time to get the a full glass. If you’re really busy and four people drinks out. It wasn’t pretty.”

“I have witnessed friendships turn into rivalries over who gets to pay the bill. It gets awkward really fast, especially when they leave it up to the server to decide who to take the money from.

Public service announcement: graciously accept the breakfast sandwich and coffee your friend buys you and don’t turn it into a debate worthy of The View.”

a n d casual with lots of funky cat art and posters from Biltmore Village’s Art & Craft Fair hanging on the walls.

On the menu you’ll find creative oddities like Eggs Salchicha, two poached or fried eggs on a biscuit topped with sausage patties and gravy with grits or potatoes. “It looks like puke on a plate, but it sure tastes good,” says Ketner. There’s also the delicious salmon cakes and egg scramble. And, for the veg heads and non-veg heads alike, the fried green tomato benedict, which includes two fried green tomatoes and soysage topped with two poached eggs smothered with creole sauce and served with grits or potatoes, is a tempting selection. Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 2121 Shamrock Drive. 704817-8702. lettysonshamrock.com.

The Little Spoon Little Spoon in Myers Park blares old-school hip hop all day, every day, and it even influences their cuisine. Executive chef Ryan Allen describes their food as “simple in a new-age way.” With locally sourced dishes

courtesy of hazelnuts creperie

Crepe from Hazelnuts Creperie.

like the hash or ricotta bowl, it’s hard to look over the breakfast menu and decide what to order. If you order a coffee, prepare to use two hands to sip on it as it comes in a bowl.

The crowning brunch item that has patrons flocking to this location is the chicken biscuit; the perfectly portioned, CheerWine brined, crispy chicken servings on a biscuit with house-made pickles and garlic aioli will slide right into your favorite brunch dishes to revisit. They also make their own bloody mary mix from scratch. Tuesday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Serve breakfast all day. 2820 Selwyn Ave.

704-496-9908. littlespooneatery.com.

Local Loaf Local Loaf is a restaurant, patisserie and bakery, and with all those roles working together, the crew there is able to churn out some pretty amazing brunch options. They recently stopped serving pancakes, but the more creative menu items will have you forgetting all about flapjacks.

The ingredients that make up the Monte Cristo, for one, sound like something the most interesting man in the world from those commercials would order for brunch; with thick-cut French toast, sweet & smoky ham duo, cinnamon fried ice cream, Jack Daniels maple syrup and brandy cherry jam. There are some harder hitting menu items as well for those without a sweet tooth, including duck ‘n’ waffles and tamales that feature a Birdsong Jalapeno Ale Bloody Mary ranchero. Breakfast available all day. 224 E. 7th St. 704-503-9484. localloafcharlotte.com.

Hazelnuts Crêperie Since first opening in the lobby of 200 South Tryon in 2012, Hazelnuts Crêperie’s multi-cultural menu of sweet and savory crêpes has garnered a loyal following. When owner Asi Agajan brought the crêperie to the 7th Street Public Market, fans followed. In addition to a breakfastall-day menu with Greek and Mexican inspired offerings, brunchers can dine on fan favorites (the curry chicken crêpe is highly recommended) or indulge their sweet tooth with made-to-order sweet crêpes. Booze isn’t on the menu, but you can find the next best thing at the neighboring Not Just Coffee, where handcrafted espresso drinks are served in Insta-worthy glass mason jars. Breakfast served all day: Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Two locations: 224 East 7th St. (7th Street Public Market). 704919-0963. 200 S. Tryon St. (located in the 200 South Tryon lobby) 704-910-0782. hzlnts.com.

Imani’s Fusion Cafe Executive chef and owner Imani Colclough had soul food in mind when he created the brunch menu at his namesake Elizabeth eatery. A throwback to his family’s roots in Trinidad and Jamaica, Imani’s Fusion Cafe offers traditional southern brunch fare with a Caribbean spin.

Options range from butterscotch French toast to sautéed curry chicken served over yellow rice and fried plantains to salmon croquettes.

Tropical cocktails (the pineapple upsidedown cake martini) are offered alongside mimosas and bloody marys. Save room for dessert: Chef Imani’s bread pudding, made from a secret family recipe and served with Jamaican rum sauce, is a must. Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 3535 Randolph Road. 704-3650647. imanisfusioncafe.com.

Mimosa Grill This fine-dining brunch spot

French toast from Imani’s Fusion Cafe. in Uptown refers to its menu options as “global cuisine with a unique southern twist.”

Mimosa Grill features, among other items, an “Original Grits Bar” that’s near impossible to find anywhere else. The buffet is lined with chorizo, bacon, cheddar cheese, and pimento cheese to top NC stone ground grits. For those with a sophisticated but simple sweet tooth, their pecan-crusted French toast with powdered sugar and maple syrup will satisfy those sugary brunch cravings. There’s also hand-crafted bloody marys — and they’re a little spicy. Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 327 S. Tryon St. 704-343-0700. harpersgroup.com/mimosa. asp.

Nan and Byron’s Imagine an inviting, classic dining atmosphere mixed with rustic, countryside comforts and you’ve got Nan and Byron’s. The buffet breakfast includes either a mimosa or a fresh, house-made bloody mary.

If that doesn’t sound appealing, there’s always bottomless coffee and tea to sip on while scarfing down classic pancakes, home fries, eggs and bacon. Off the buffet line, Nan and Byron’s offers plated dishes, including its own takes on eggs benedict, the South End Benedict or the popular salmon benedict with seared-grilled salmon

Courtesy of imani’s fusion cafe

and charred onion hollandaise. There’s shrimp and grits, too. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 1714 South Blvd. 980-224-7492. nanandbyrons.com.

Ri Ra Those looking for a European experience will find one at Ri Ra, where the servers are part of an exchange program from Ireland and you can find things like bangers, rashers and black & white pudding on the menu (all of which are included in the Irish breakfast).

According to manager Emmet Powers, the most popular item on the brunch menu is the Irish Benedict, which substitutes Irish potato cake for an English muffin. While meatier choices do attract a crowd, Powers has seen an increase in people ordering healthier options like the strawberry rhubarb parfait. Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. 208 N. Tryon St. 704-333-5554. rira.com/charlotte/.

Summit Coffee Outpost An old frat house turned coffee spot, this is a spinoff of a longtime favorite for locals in Davidson called Summit Coffee.

Though it’s still largely under the radar, it has a full kitchen and have just launched a brunch menu with breakfast skillets (choose either sweet potatoes or stone ground grits, a choice vegetables, a protein, o f cheese, and egg), egg sandwiches and burritos (including the big oak burrito with grass-fed clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 17

Way, Suite 150. 704-369-5190. 4615 Piedmont Row Drive, Suite 105. 704554-6177. terracerestaurants.com.

beef a nd maple aioli), h u e v o s rancheros, and homemade biscuits with honey butter. Chef Courtney Spear (former manager of Davidson Farmers’ Market) runs the show, using her former vendor contacts to source local-ingredients. Sundays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 120 Patterson Court Circle. 704-894-4009. summitcoffee.com.

Trio Restaurant: Brunch-goers can expect a rotating menu each week when they show up at Trio, but there’s one constant they can be comfortable with: muffins.

Complimentary fresh-baked muffins — almond poppy seed, sweet potato pecan, banana nut — await each customer as they sit down for brunch. The chefs feature a different pancake and quiche of the week each Sunday, using seasonal ingredients. “Fall could be apple pecan [pancakes], summertime strawberry, blueberries, they do a lot of different things,” said Gary Robinson, owner of Trio. Other favorites include the fillowrapped sausage and cheese and chicken and waffles. Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Sunday: 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 10709 McMullen Creek Parkway.

704-541-8000. trio-charlotte.com.

Terrace Café With choices of original, strawberry, banana pecan and lemon poppy seed, the French toast menu alone at Terrace Café is enough to attract anybody to stop by for brunch. But there’s also much more to choose from. As with Trio (listed below), Terrace rotates different types of quiche onto its menu weekly. It features southern classics like fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and made-from-scratch biscuits with sausage gravy, but the more adventurous may want to try the berry split, a banana split covered with low-fat vanilla yogurt, berries, granola and honey and served with a piece of coffee cake. Saturday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m; Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Two locations: 14815 Ballantyne Village

Tupelo Honey Cafe Sticking to its Asheville roots, Tupelo Honey Cafe cites “the spirit of the Appalachian mountains” as the backbone for their strictly southern menu. This South End establishment could write the book on brunch: fan favorites include “shoo mercy” pancakes (topped with buttermilk fried chicken and apple cider bacon) and chicken and biscuits smothered in milk gravy. The mountain spirit carries over to the eclectic drink menu, which is headlined by the Queen Mary (a 20-ounce bloody mary mixed with Jalapeño-Poblano-infused moonshine and topped with pickled okra, pimento cheese stuffed olives, and maple-peppered bacon).

Tip: skip long wait times on the weekend by

Hash from Little Spoon. making a brunch reservation. Brunch served daily, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. 1800 South Blvd. 980-2259175. tupelohoneycafe.com.

The Yolk With a location in Rock Hill, a sister eatery @Dawn that just opened in Ayrsley, and more Yolk locations on the way, this breakfast/brunch spot is growing and offers “a love affair with breakfast.” It’s manned

by Chef Collier who serves the expected and the unexpected – including “Moe Jo Hash,” a coffee-rubbed steak and sweet potato hash topped with over-medium eggs and scallion pesto. 1912 Mount Gallant Road, Suite 108.

803-792-4449. theyolkcafe.com.

Upstream This South Park area restaurant offers brunch with a seafood spin. There’s egg benedict, smoked fish tacos, banana bread French toast, Belgian waffles, pecan crusted trout, steak and eggs and scallop risotto.

Wash it down with a house-made bloody mary or mimosa. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 6902 Phillips Place. 704-556-7730. harpersgroup.com/upstream.asp.

Pastries from Cafe Monte.

18 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

Curahee Photography

Zada Jane’s This beachfront-esque property in Plaza Midwood that hosts shuffleboards also boasts an all-day breakfast menu.

There’s an extensive spread to choose from, including the popular bunny rancheros or Booker T’s east side hasher with choices of different sausages or “soysage.” Eggs are “happy,” meaning they’re sourced from freerange farmers. Veggie dishes and carnivore dishes are cooked on completely different grill sets and the menu has a variety of vegan and gluten-free dishes. The crew also cranks out specialty coffees like “frappebeanos”

courtesy of Courtney Mihocik.

and macchiatos all day — what every early bird needs during the week and weekend.

Open daily. 1601 Central Ave.704-332-3663. zadajanes.com.

Food

three-course spiel

From Farm to Center City 204 North keeps things fresh, even during happy hour

By Ryan Pitkin

The Spirit of Celebration - The Spirit of Friendship Taste the Spirit of Mayberry!

- Premium Sorghum Whiskey

Available in local ABC stores

Mayberry Spirits Distillery - Offering Tours & Tastings 461 N South st Mount Airy, NC 336-719-6860

#DrinkLocal #GlutenFree

JOIN US Fri. June 17th

Are you looking for a Fun and nurturing work environment

for your SENSATIONAL SUMMER GRILLING HANDS-ON cooking class!

RESERVE YOUR CLASS TODAY! www.cookwithwhisk.com

with great culture?

Babalu is an upscale, yet casual, full-service concept.

We are currently hiring for the following positions to be a part of our opening team:

Servers Line/Tapas Cooks Bartenders Dishwashers Server Assistants Hosts Join the excitement, and apply today at

eathere.com/careers or apply in person at our hiring site located at:

2459 Wilkinson Blvd.Charlotte, NC Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

At first glance, 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails looks like just another happy hour bar for the young professional crowd, but it’s a farm-to-table restaurant behind it all, focused on showcasing the best that area farms have to offer. Since opening in May, executive chef Franke Jones has been methodically developing new menus. He recently added a late-night bar menu in addition to the already-impressive lunch and dinner options, and now he’s set his sight on brunch, which he’s aiming to launch on Father’s Day weekend.

Creative Loafing spoke with Jones about putting fresh food from local farms on Uptown plates.

Creative Loafing: How important is the farm-to-table vision for you?

Franke Jones: My dad lives on a 400-acre farm that he was born on. Farming has always been in my family. We were selfsustaining from a vegetable standpoint. We grew a lot of corn, a lot of soybeans. We had a vegetable garden. We canned and preserved fresh food year-round. So we had this great produce year-round. Not only does that have a strong hold on me, but it affects the community in positive ways. There’s a lot of people in the outlying areas of Charlotte that do have small farms, that do have families that are still based in those counties and smaller cities that grew up farming.

We show them support and see eye to eye on their sustainability missions. To provide the community of Charlotte with great local produce and be able to cook food was something that was very attractive to me.

How do you incorporate those foods onto your menu?

USE CODE LOAFING10 FOR 10% OFF

You’ll see a lot of vegetables on the menu that make it onto the plate, because I want to showcase that piece of meat or that fish or that shrimp that we get off the coast, but I want to showcase these vegetables as well. So I don’t want to make a dish with a multitude of vegetables and other stuff just as a side. If we’re getting great turnips in from a small city farm, I want to be able to show those turnips or those radishes or the kale off. So you’ll see that throughout the seasons, depending on what they’re selling.

The tomatoes in the summertime are going to be represented very well on the menu, in numerous forms. [The current menu features fried green tomatoes served over

Ryan Pitkin

Franke Jones, executive chef at 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails

a bed of house relish, cabbage chow chow, pimento cheese and country ham.]

You’re also a cocktail bar, do people get confused about what type of place this is?

We’re wanting to be able to provide a highend culinary experience without making the guests pay for it. Our menu isn’t anywhere close to what some people would consider our competitors. We do have a big bar and we do offer a happy hour menu from 4-6.

We do have a late night menu that’s available from 10 o’clock on. If people do want the bar experience they can get that too. There has been a little learning experience you could say from an operational standpoint about what the guest perception is, and it’s been an extremely fun and challenging process to take the small amount of time people have and educate our guests on what we’re really about.

From a culinary standpoint, we want to have a reputation for, ‘Where can I go to get some good food and not break the bank?’ We want to be at the top of that list.

Where you can go get good food and it’s reasonably priced. You can come in off the streets just wearing shorts and flip-flops and get some awesome food without paying a huge number for it. Or if you want to take your significant other here for a birthday or anniversary, you’ll have a great experience as well. We can provide anything the guest is looking for. clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 19

friday

17

friday

17

THINGS TO DO

TOP ten

Kelsea Ballerini Friday

friday

17

saturday

saturday

18

18

Lake Street Dive

HeroesCon 2016

Brew Stash Bash

What: Rascal Flatts never have a problem drawing a crowd to their summer tours, but the real draw here is 22-year-old opening act Kelsea Ballerini. Seems like everywhere we turn these days, she’s popping up — on TV, on stage, on the radio. She lists Shania Twain, Sugarland and the Dixie Chicks as her influences. Past tours have been with Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum.

What: Crossing an intersection of indie pop and jazzy soul, you’ll find Lake Street Dive. The Bostonbased band makes for one hell of a show and in their latest studio album, Side Pony — released in February of this year — you’ll find playful, upbeat tunes that turn a rainy day into a sunny one. These solid grooves might even leave the folks with long hair in search of a scrunchie.

What: The comic book-centric event features a slew of artists who’ve worked on anything from Atomika to Spider-Man. Fans and professionals in the field can mingle. HeroesCon is also hosting Indie Island, set in the middle of the convention, where artists — from mini-comics, webcomics and designers and printmakers — can showcase their work for sale.

What: The fifth-annual Brew Stash Bash is not only a chance to sample some of the area and regions finest beers, but an opportunity to hear some great music in the process. A 6k kicks things off in the morning, along with a breakfast, while the afternoon is more about libations and tunes. Gulf coast soul band The Suffers, alt-folk duo HoneyHoney and the headliner, Icelandic rockers Kaleo are all worth catching.

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd.

More: $30.75-$60.50. livenation. com.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: The Fillmore, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd.

More: $30-$40. 704-916-8970. livenation.com.

Kelsea Ballerini

— Jeff Hahne

20 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

— Anita Overcash

When: June 17, 11a.m.-7p.m., June 18, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., June 19, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Where: Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College St. More: heroesonline.com/ heroescon.

— Courtney Mihocik

When: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Where: U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway.

More: Free; beer flights $6; breakfast $15. usnwc.org.

— Hahne

Vintage Charlotte Summer Market What: Old is the new new, and you’ll find plenty of it at this pop-up market with more than 60 vintage vendors from across the region. Whether you’re in the market for handcrafted collectibles, local art, antique chachkies, or quirky home decor, the Vintage Summer Market is your one-stop shop. Food trucks will be on-site to replenish weary shoppers, and yes, there will be beer.

When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Where: 514 N. College St. More: Free after 11 a.m. ($5 for early admission at 10 a.m.) vintagecharlotte.com.

— madeline lemieux

Joe’s Doughs Grand Opening Saturday

Anthony Hamilton Sunday

LeAnn Mueller

News Arts Food Music Odds

Weezer Monday

saturday

Saturday

18

sunday

18

Joe’s Doughs Grand Opening What: Joey Pepe, the man behind Joe’s Doughs, a former pop-up venture that’s expanded into brick and mortar, knows what he’s doing.

His artisan treats (ranging from rarities like goat cheese strawberry balsamic, banana coconut caramel cake and peanut butter smores to more originals like maple bacon and chocolate glaze) are delicious.

For the grand opening there will be a special doughnut art competition.

When: 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Where: Joe’s Doughs, 1721 N. Davidson St., Unit B. More: joesdoughs.com — Overcash

sunday

19

19

Sandra Gutierrez What: Renowned cookbook author Sandra Gutierrez reflects on a childhood spent hopping between her family’s native Guatemala and summers in the American south.

The result is a “bi-cultural” cuisine that blends traditional southern fare with a Latin flare. Gutierrez explores how cuisine preserves culture and stories in this talk. The talk will be followed by a book signing and food tasting.

When: 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th St. More: $20 (pre-registration), $10 for museum members. 704-3331887. museumofthenewsouth.org.

— Lemieux

monday

Anthony Hamilton/ Fantasia

20

Sarah Clanton

Weezer

What: Grammy-winnning R&B singer Anthony Hamilton has been in the game for more than a decade. He recently performed for the Obamas and his ninth studio effort, What I’m Feelin’, is one of his strongest to date. What’s better than a hometown show to cap it all off? Having Fantasia share the bill sure doesn’t hurt. Get out and show some him some Queen City love.

What: Nashville-based Americana songstress and cellist sometimes performs in elegant ballrooms, making this small intimate show at The Evening Muse one that you really shouldn’t miss. Her alluring soulful vocals pair well with the deep richness of the cello’s strings, making for sullen, yet solid melodies. Her song “Tequila” made the cut for Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Top 40 earlier this year.

What: Weezer is touring to showcase their 10th studio album, known as the White Album. A rock staple of years past, they’ve returned to their original ‘90s guitar-driven sound but added modern influences from their time on the West Coast. That’s not to forget a bit of old grunge thrown in.

Grab a flannel and head to the show and get ready to let loose while reminiscing the days of “My Name is Jonas” and “Say It Ain’t So.”

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Bojangles Coliseum, 2700 E. Independence Blvd.

More: $47.50-$75. bojanglescoliseum.com.

When: 8 p.m.

Where: The Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. More: $10. 704-376-3737. eveningmuse.com.

When: 7 p.m.

Where: PNC Music Pavilion, 707 Pavilion Blvd.

More: $25 and up. livenation.com.

— Hahne

— Overcash

— Mihocik

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 21

Arts

theater

George hendricks photography

Robert Lee Simmons as “He” and Lisa Hugo as “She” in Stage Kiss.

Making and Faking Love Stage Kiss and Charlotte Squawks: 12 Angry Hens

By Perry Tannenbaum

R

eturning intermission

from

at the Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte’s production of Stage Kiss, I was strangely disoriented when I saw the set for Act 2 of Sarah Ruhl’s comedy. For most of Act 1, our protagonists were the leading players in a revival of a sentimental drama, The Last Kiss. “She” had been Ada Wilcox, a 22 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

happily married woman given one month to live, and “He” was Johnny Lowell, the love of her life, reunited with his long-lost love through the generosity of Ada’s husband.

He and She had also had a youthful romance earlier in their acting careers, before director Adrian Schwalbach had unwittingly united them by casting them as the leads in this sudsy revival. By the end of the play’s

brief run, He and She have fallen back in love for real, despite the fact that She now has a for-real husband and teenage daughter.

So they skip the closing night cast party, the better to consummate their rekindled romance.

Somehow when I saw the rundown Greenwich Village apartment where the lovers adjourned, I momentarily forgot that

He was not Johnny Lowell, the celebrated sculptor who flew in from Sweden to be at Ada’s bedside. No, He’s merely one of the legions of fine actors strewn around Manhattan who have sacrificed the niceties of middle class comfort to pursue their art.

Of course, what Ruhl very much wishes to demonstrate is that, while kissing nine times at each performance eight times a

Stage Kiss $29-$33. June 16, 7:30 p.m.; June 17-18, 8 p.m.; June 19, 2:30 p.m.; June 22-23, 7:30 p.m.; June 24-25, 8 p.m. Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, 650 E. Stonewall St. 704-342-2251. atcharlotte.org.

Charlotte Squawks: 12 Angry Hens $24.50 and up. June 16, 7:30 p.m.; June 17-18, 8 p.m.; June 21-23, 7:30 p.m.; June 24-25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 3 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts. org.

Charlotte Squawks: 12 Angry Hens runs through June 26 at Booth Playhouse. week for four weeks – after additional weeks of rehearsal — She and He have also let themselves forget that they are not Ada and Johnny. Or at least they have allowed themselves to become confused about it.

If you’ve ever immersed yourself in a major stage role for a couple of months, you already know how easy it is to slip away from the role you’re playing in life to the one you play onstage. Shuttling back and forth is an occupational hazard for actors — or a welcome escape.

Watching the rehearsals for The Last Kiss, plus a Schwalbach opus that occupies us in Act 2, we discover additional layers that Ruhl has woven into her comedy. For one, He has richly earned the squalor he lives in, for He is a wretched actor in both of these wretched plays-within-the-play. In The Last Kiss, He is understudied by Kevin, a gay actor who is even more wretched, noticeably uncomfortable with all that hetero kissing.

We can also see that She is not being ensnared by a web of glamor as she endures Kevin’s awkwardness, an injury to her costar, and eventually an injury of her own.

In the final Actor’s Theatre production at their Stonewall Street location, we see the artifice that goes into theatre on a stage that is almost stripped bare of scenery.

But there must be artistry if we’re to believe we’re really watching an incompetent director directing wretched actors in

wretched plays and that an able actress, after a long hiatus, can return to the stage and be so seduced by the experience. Our director, Ann Marie Costa, helps us to navigate, deftly calibrating the inadequacy we see from Robert Lee Simmons as He/Johnny and the wild incompetence we see from Chip Decker as Kevin.

Decker gives us more excess than Simmons, who gives plenty, so it’s quite clear that Costa has them both shunning restraint.

When it comes to Schwalbach, a director who devoutly avoids prescribing how his actors should act, Costa no doubt found that Ruhl was taunting her into decisiveness.

What we get from Dennis Delamar, then, is just a slight winking acknowledgement that directors’ sanctimonious abdication of their directing responsibilities is absolutely absurd, particularly when a script is bad — or you’re also the playwright.

When we first see her, She doesn’t give the best audition for Ada. In fact, She arrives so late that auditions are actually over. From the outset, Schwalbach’s laxity is working in her favor, so Lisa Hugo must constantly be deciding how much or how little of She’s fallibility should be added to all the shoddiness and incompetence surrounding her. I can almost hear Costa telling Hugo, “go with your instincts,” echoing Schwalbach.

Otherwise, how would Hugo’s performance come off so naturally without ever seeming

LunahZon pHOTOGRAPHY

to be calculated?

It’s easy enough to track Mark Sutch in this cast, playing both Ada’s and She’s husband, but Emily Ramirez and Katy Shepherd conspire on a flipflop. Ramirez plays Ada’s daughter before returning as He’s bong-puffing girlfriend after the break, while Shepherd goes from Ada’s maid to She’s daughter. Sutch gets to be the first grownup in the room, catching up with the wayward actress, a welcome infusion of sanity. Yet even more welcome, in an undeniably cerebral comedy, is the real emotion that Shepherd brings us as the abandoned child.

Ultimately, those family moments aren’t intended to stick with us. That’s why Ada and Johnny have names but the actors who play them have none at all. What Ruhl has written, masquerading as a comedy, is a meditation on the nature of theatre and playacting.

The anger of Charlotte Squawks: 12 Angry Hens can be difficult to perceive at times. Surveying the foibles of our city, state and nation since last year’s 11th Glower, producer Mike Collins and writer Brian Kahn came up with craft beer, airline bonus miles, Rocket Mortgages, Johnny Manziel and food chains as fresh new objects of satire. Win or lose, the Panthers and the Hornets always get a song parody apiece at Booth Playhouse, so that segment was a black hole in this year’s satirical cavalcade. In the ongoing

lampooning of Morris Jenkins and Bobby, their latenight vigils have now blossomed into bromance.

So a backhanded thanks must go to the angry hens in Raleigh who hurriedly passed HB2 and to our lame-brained governor who hurriedly signed it. The bathroom hysteria and the nationwide backlash were the sparks that Kahn sorely needed to make Squawks squawk. Patrick Ratchford, who responds to Mr. Jenkins’ overtures so repellently as Bobby, reprises his Governor McCrory impersonation in “This Is So Unfair, Man.” This parody of Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere,” the second of the night, allows McCrory to catalogue the businesses that have voiced disapproval of HB2 and scrapped plans to move here. And “Let ‘Em Pee,” parodying the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” underscores the stupidity of it all.

If anyone stole the show from Ratchford, it was Robbie Jaeger, who took flight as Mr. Jenkins in a weird Dirty Dancing mashup.

Weirder yet was his stint as a crazed Charlotte trolley car driver in “Helter Streetcar,” a parody of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.”

It’s a political year, but I can’t say that the pokes at survivors Bernie Sanders, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump are as pointed as those aimed at the dearly departed Ted Cruz.

I had to wonder whether the annual filmed appearances by Pat McCrory could possibly continue.

The answer came early as McCrory began his customary video on the five screens spread around the Booth – and was emphatically stopped almost as soon as he started, with a classy simulation of Gov Pat being flushed down a toilet. One of the best moments ever for Squawks.

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 23

Arts

film

Warner Bros.

Vera Farmiga in The Conjuring 2.

Anarchy in the U.K. Supernatural sequel offers more thrills than the original

By Matt Brunson

I

In the summer of 2013 when The Conjuring was released, I was one of those who rocked the status quo — that contingent being made up, of course, by those scores of critics and filmgoers who declared that Ohmygodthisisthescariestmovieevermade!

— by giving the film a mixed, 2-1/2-star review and writing, “I suppose it’s possible to be shaken to the core by this movie — even if it’s really not much more frightening than, say, The Flintstones Meet Rockula 24 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

and Frankenstone or Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island — but ultimately, it’s just one more recycled haunted-house yarn, albeit one that’s modestly elevated by James Wan’s relatively restrained direction and a roster of characters who are more levelheaded than the usual gang of idiots who populate films of this nature.”

With an inexcusable 133-minute run time and a promise of more of the same, The Conjuring 2 (*** out of four) wasn’t high on my screening priority list — and yet I dug it

more than I did the original. Sure, sure, it’s impossible to believe that director-cowriter Wan and his team really mean for viewers to believe all this nonsense is based on fact, and, when all is said and done, it doesn’t deviate in any discernible ways from the usual haunted-house yarns (in fact, parts of this one smack so much of Poltergeist that we almost expect to learn that an Indian burial ground is somehow involved). But it gets so much right that I’m willing to give it a generous thumbs-up in what’s proving to be

a particularly dismal movie season (the films featuring the heroic Avengers and the nice guys excepted).

For one thing, stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson make a far greater connection as the real-life wife-and-husband team of paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, here whisked off to England in 1977 to confirm the legitimacy of the haunting of a house occupied by single mom Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) and her four children. Farmiga and Wilson gave solid

wallpaper seen in the hallway of the Warrens’ home, the sort of beastly pattern beloved during the ‘70s. The second fright is when a ghost switches a TV set from an episode of the popular BBC comedy The Goodies (not identified but instantly recognizable to those of us who enjoyed it in our youth abroad) to a speech being delivered by (shudder) Margaret Thatcher. As Colonel Kurtz might mutter, “The horror! The horror!”

Daniel Wu in Warcraft.

Universal

performances in the original, but they’re even better here, primarily because their characters’ love for, and devotion to, each other not only feels palpable but also plays directly into the narrative in interesting and surprising ways.

Another strength is the principal setting of a North London council house, a nice change from the Amityville Lite stateside houses usually seen in contemporary thrillers of this ilk. What’s more, Wan and production designer Julie Berghoff do a splendid job of capturing the dankness and decay of this sort of public housing prevalent at the time (and nice touch with the Starsky & Hutch posters in the two daughters’ shared bedroom).

As for the performers portraying the members of the tormented Hodgson family, it’s 13-year-old Madison Wolfe who makes the strongest impression while tackling the largest role. As Janet, the demure daughter who’s most affected by the supernatural shenanigans, she’s excellent, often recalling the promise of the teenage Natalie Portman.

(I assumed Wolfe was a British newcomer; imagine my surprise when I learned I had already seen this American actress in several roles, including those of Bryan Cranston’s oldest daughter in Trumbo and Woody Harrelson’s oldest daughter in True Detective.)

As in the first film, Wan does a fine job of establishing mood, which is good since the creatures are too derivative to manufacture much in the way of genuine terror. One demonic nun looks like a cross between Salem’s Lot’s vampiric Barlow and that crabby Mother Superior who used to rap your knuckles when you spoke up in class; another monster appears to be a hybrid of Jack Skellington and the Babadook; and an elderly apparition who’s usually found sitting in a comfy chair looks like Bruce Dern enjoying similar repose in The Hateful Eight (well, if you squint really hard, he does). Honestly, the two scariest moments in this picture were doubtless unplanned. The first is the

For the sake of decency, movie theaters playing Warcraft (*1/2 out of four) should offer free popcorn to all non-gamer audience members who survive the first 20 minutes of the film. Fans familiar with the Blizzard Entertainment franchise will doubtless weep sweet-and-salty tears of joy that a motion picture is speaking directly to their console-controlled hearts, but most moviegoers will find it a chore sitting through expository sequences as graceless, clumsy and impenetrable as those on view here. Yet after this trying and torturous opening, the story starts coming into view, and Warcraft soon emerges as — well, it’s still a feeble flick, but it improves enough to avoid the year-end 10 Worst placement that initially appeared to be its birthright.

With its mix of humans, orcs, dwarves and even a Golem, one would be forgiven for mistaking this movie for The Lord of the Rings: The Bootleg Edition. The plot involves the skirmish between humans, whose ranks include scruffy soldier Anduin Lothar (Travis Fimmel), young wizard Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer) and veteran sorcerer Medivh (a badly miscast Ben Foster), and the hulking orcs, who seem like they might be decent chaps were they not imbecilic enough to serve under the transparently evil Gul’dan (Daniel Wu). There’s also the half-orc Garona (Paula Patton), who inexplicably falls for the lackluster Lothar, as well as some imposing wolves apparently borrowed from Princess Mononoke.

Duncan Jones, son of the late, great David Bowie and helmer of the excellent Moon (as well as the flawed if intriguing Source Code), fares better as director than cowriter, since the battle sequences are far more accomplished than any of the scenes in which characters stand around spouting inanities.

Even when at the mercy of shaky CGI, the skirmishes are competently choreographed and suggest that Jones might have been able to make the leap from low-key sci-fi to bigbudget extravaganzas had the material been stronger. The film also boasts a tremendous score by Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi, suitably bombastic music that works overtime in trying to lend majesty and import to what’s occurring on the screen. Alas, it’s a losing battle.

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 25

Arts

Happenings

Comedy Bonkerz Comedy Club Charlotte Brian Aldridge w/ Bob Fredericks. June 17-18.

5624 Westpark Drive. 980-288-5653. bonkerzcomedyproductions.com.

The Comedy Zone Charlotte Corey Holcomb.

June 16, 8 p.m.; June 17, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m.; June 18, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Funny on the Fly. June 19, 7 p.m.; June 20, 7 p.m. Fight Night Comedy Competition (Season 9 Finale). June 21, 8 p.m.

900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., Suite B3. 980321-4702. cltcomedyzone.com.

The Sweet Spot The Chuckleheads. June 18, 6 and 8 p.m. 10050 Edison Square Drive NW, Concord.

Wet Willie’s Charlotte Comedy Theater. For more information, visit charlottecomedytheater. com. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. $10. 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., Suite C-1. 704-716-5650. wetwillies.com.

Theater/Dance/ Performance Art Big Mammas House of Burlesque The burlesque team of lovely ladies presents this show that’s themed around “Heroes & Villains.”

June 18, 9 p.m. Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. 704-358-9200. visulite.com.

Blue Man Group The Blue Man Group is essentially a comedy, theater, concert, and dance party. $20. June 17, 1 and 8 p.m.; June 18, 2 and 8 p.m.; June 19, 1 and 6:30 p.m.

Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Chicago CPCC Summer theatre presents Chicago. June 17-18, 7:30 p.m.; June 19, 2:30 p.m.; June 22, 7 p.m.; June 23-25, 7:30 p.m.

CPCC’s Halton Theater, 1206 Elizabeth Ave. 704-330-6534.

Guilty Pleasures Impromptu brings back its “extreme a cappella” to perform all those songs that we hate to admit we secretly love. June 1718, 8 p.m.. Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Singin’ in the Rain Adapted from one of the greatest movie musicals of all time. A starlet, a leading man, and a love affair that will surely keep you entertained. $15-$29. June 16-18, 8 26 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

p.m.; June 19, 2 p.m.; June 23-25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 2 p.m. Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall, 207 Faculty Drive, Davidson..

Charlotte Squawks: 12 Angry Hens It’s Saturday Night Live meets Broadway meets the Queen City. June 16, 7:30 p.m.; June 17-18, 8 p.m.; June 21-23, 7:30 p.m.; June 24-25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 3 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Oklahoma A love story about a cowboy named Curly and a farm girl named Laurey in the wild, wild West. $12-$18. June 17-18, 8 p.m.; June 19, 2 p.m.; June 24-25, 8 p.m.; June 26, 2 p.m.

Matthews Playhouse, 100 McDowell St. 704846-8343. matthewsplayhouse.com.

Stage Kiss Two actors with a history are given leading roles in a romantic play. Things get weird when their lives start to follow the lives of the characters in the play. June 16, 7:30 p.m.; June 17-18, 8 p.m.; June 19, 2:30 p.m.; June 22-23, 7:30 p.m.; June 24-25, 8 p.m. Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, 650 E. Stonewall St. 704342-2251. actorstheatrecharlotte.org.

More Events 6th Annual Super Hero Bar Crawl Dress up as your favorite super hero or villain during this bar crawl. For more information, visit eventbrite.com. June 18, 6 p.m.-2 a.m.

Fitzgerald’s Irish Pub, 201 E 5th St. 704-3700687. fitzgeraldscharlotte.com.

Brew Stash Bash A wide selection of regional and national craft breweries will be featured from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Enjoy live music on Belmont Abbey Island throughout the afternoon and into the evening. $5 parking; purchase beer sampling card separately. June 18. U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 704-391-3900. usnwc.org.

Bowties and Pearls Fundraising Gala A fundraising gala in honor of The Men’s Shelter of Charlotte. Event will be emceed by JstJah Live Entertainment. There will be spoken word

by Grannaes Boyz (JstJah and Mr. Witz ), music

by DJ BlackJack, heavy hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and a silent auction. June 18, 7 p.m. Hyatt House, 435 E. Trade St. Charlotte Knights vs. Indianapolis Indians June 17, 7:05 p.m.; June 18, 6:05 p.m.; June 19, 2:05 p.m. BB&T Ballpark, 324 South Mint St.

milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t494.

Charlotte Storytellers: No Vacancy A summerlong installation featuring art, music, dance and theater performances. Furniture maker Jeffrey Barninger (of Union Shop Studio) has built a “motel” inside C3 Lab, and local artists have filled each room with items and art. Charlotte Storytellers will lead an interactive workshop that investigates how a physical space can inspire ideas, memories and stories. Featuring exercises, games and fictional and personal narratives, for an interactive storytelling experience. $10. June 17, 7:30 p.m. C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St. C&E Gun Show The gun show features handguns, shotguns, rifles, ammo, antique guns, swords, knives, and more, as well as special guest and gun experts. $10 for adults; free for kids 12 & under. June 18, 9 a.m.; June 19, 10 a.m. Charlotte Metrolina Expo Center & Fairgrounds, 7100 Statesville Road.

Fashionology Presented by Mercedes Benz Fashion Tour. The event features full threecourse meals, live entertainment and fashions from both emerging designers and established designers. June 18, 5 p.m. Crowne Plaza Charlotte Executive Park, 5700 Westpark Drive.

HeroesCon Comic book convention with special comic books writers, illustrators and other guests and celebrities, as well as vendors and exhibitors. $15-$20; $40 for three day pass; Free for kids 12 & under. June 17, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; June 18, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; June 19, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College St. 704-339-6000. charlotteconventionctr.com.

Microbrew Cruise Microbrews Cruise begins with a guided group flatwater paddle along the Catawba River. As the sun starts to set on the river, the group returns to the shore for a chefprepared, fireside dinner at the Ridge Pavilion.

Each cruise features a select craft brewery; representatives from the breweries lead the tastings by highlighting new, seasonal and unique brews. $55 a person. June 22; June 24; June 29. U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 704-391-3900. usnwc.org.

The New Southern-Latino Table: An Afternoon with Sandra Gutierrez Awardwinning cookbook author Sandra Gutierrez talks about the blend of Latin American and American Southern cuisine. June 18, 3 p.m.

Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th St. 704-333-1887. museumofthenewsouth.org.

Paranormal Grounds Investigation Join professional ghost hunters as they take guests through the grounds of Rosedale’s 200-yearold plantation, and attempt to make contact with beyond this realm. Featuring the latest technology in partnership with the Charlotte Area Paranormal Society. $15. June 18-19, 7:45 p.m. Historic Rosedale Plantation, 3427 N. Tryon St. 704-335-0325. historicrosedale.org.

QCT Charlotte Pilgrimage Tour 2016 It’s time to celebrate Juneteenth. Visit three existing slave cemeteries, a former slave church, listen to African drumming, see a home that was bombed during the Civil Rights Movement.

Plus, over 50 sites with African-American history. $15-$30. June 18, 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

7th Street Public Market, 224 E 7th St. Slam Charlotte Poetry Slam Featuring SlamCharlotte, Charlotte’s own two time national championship team of spoken word poetry (2007 & 2008). SlamCharlotte aims to build community, performance skills, and poetic growth. Bluz, the current Slammaster, is ranked the 13th individual poet in the world. $10. June 17, 8 p.m. McGlohon Theater, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Unknown Brewery’s 2.5-ish Anniversary and Music Fest A 2.5ish birthday party w/ live music at 4 p.m., multiple food trucks and a special limited edition beer. $10. June 18, 4 p.m. Unknown Brewing Co., 1327 S. Mint St. unknownbrewing.com.

Unwined Stand-up paddle boarding on the Catawba River, followed by a chef-prepared, fireside dinner back on shore at the Ridge Landing. Unwined will feature one local, regional, or national winery, providing a tasting of their signature wines to be enjoyed after a fun-filled evening on the water. $55. June 22; June 24; June 29. U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 704391-3900. usnwc.org.

Vintage Charlotte Summer Market Featuring more than 60 of the region’s best vintage & handmade vendors. Admission is free from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; $5 for early bird entry at 10 a.m.

June 18. 514 N. College St. vintage-charlotte. com.

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 27

Music

Feature

Chris Cornell performs at Belk Theater on June 20.

Jeff Lipsky

Precious Moments Soundgarden frontman finds Higher Truth

By Anita Overcash

W

hen it comes to grunge, Chris Cornell is part of that critical trinity of musicians (alongside Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder) that contributed to its arrival into the world of music.

But while he’s best-known as the longtime frontman of Soundgarden, Cornell’s meanderings with side projects and 28 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

solo efforts have produced for him a kind of vastness within the musical terrain.

His fifth solo studio album, Higher Truth, was released last September and he’s currently touring with it — he’ll stop by Belk Theater in Charlotte for a performance on June 20. The album is stripped down, yet solid.

There’s an empty shell of Soundgarden, and the disc is filled with a kind of independent

authenticity feel. Recorded with producer Brendan O’Brien, the album features looping drums and a small drum kit that give it a softer, more intimate touch.

Cornell, who is used to a backbone of heavier sounds, wanted it to have a stripped down feel — in other words, the rock, grunge and metal elements are taken down a notch for what amounts to a more harmoniously

sonic-fused compilation.

“I wanted to make it, this tour, a living breathing thing with new songs written for specifically that,” says Cornell. “So it’s not just nostalgia or a look back at my different bands and different periods of my career.”

By writing songs from the ground up, Cornell admits that he’s had to shift his focus as a singer/songwriter. Confident, yet

Chris Cornell $26 and up. June 20, 7:30 p.m. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-3721000. blumenthalarts.org.

unsure in the beginning, he tapped into the creativity he’s used to guide him in keeping the Soundgarden catalogue fresh and eclectic.

“I had to focus on some different territory as a songwriter. It had to be a body of work that worked in a context that I’d never done, so it was a learning process and a process of discovery,” he says of finding his voice and sound as a soloist.

Cornell has been writing acoustic music since the ‘90s, and refers to the process as “a sort of palate-cleansing thing” that he often did on the road. He’s been known to strip full-fledged rock songs and pair them down to acoustic numbers. Yet, in crafting a different body of work, he let himself get lost in the process.

Part of that process was influenced intrinsically by life changes. Speculating that an album called Higher Truth might have been impacted by religion or spirituality doesn’t seem far-fetched. Cornell converted to Orthodox Christianity several years back, although most of his past music carries a denouncement of organized religion at large.

“I think over the course of my lifetime as a songwriter there’s been more rejection of religion in the way that I see it interpreted,” says Cornell. “In rejection of any kind of idea that’s popularized in any way, then maybe I’ll discover some validity of it as I’m kind of walking through it.”

But with Higher Truth he takes baby steps in a new direction: being a father.

“I think that this album was more of taking religion out of the way that we think and live and focusing more on humanism and the simplicity of that. That inspiration for me came from being a father,” says Cornell.

He elaborates on the complexities of becoming a father and how he has started seeing time more evidently along the way.

“Watching from moment to moment, my children develop... It’s sort of drawing me into becoming a different person, living in that moment. You see these precious moments that you have with a baby, for example, and you have to understand that that’s coming and going in an instant. Every second that goes by a child is developing, evolving and learning and changing and that changed me as a person. I started living in those moments because I felt like it wasn’t something that was going to be there three seconds later. That became, to me, what the truth really was.”

On the song “Higher Ground,” he explores the insignificance of broken promises, heartache and people, places and things that are easy to get tangled up in on a daily basis.

“We kind of get caught up in everything else besides those precious moments and most of those things that we get caught up in don’t serve humanity and the big picture,” says Cornell. “We end up losing sight of and sort of squandering about what’s precious in life. To me, I was taught that by my children.”

On other songs, like the album’s first single “Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart” Cornell reflects on loss and heartbreak from the standpoint of a healed man.

“It’s something we all go through, that transition from where you might feel like there is no future and you can’t imagine getting over that,” says Cornell.

“Then, suddenly you have an experience with another person and you are getting over it. That song is about that realization.” aovercash@clclt.com

TINY HOME SHOW CABARRUS ARENA AND EVENT CENTER JUNE 24-26

For more information go to www.TinyHomesExpo.com clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 29

30 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 31

Music

Soundboard

JUNe 16 Blues/Roots/International Latin Music Concert Series (Mint Museum Uptown)

Country/Folk Beavergrass Bluegrass Jam f. Jim Garrett (Thirsty Beaver) The DuPont Brothers w/ Tough Old Bird (Evening Muse)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Alive After Five w/ Root Doctors (Rooftop 210)

Pop/Rock Alive After Five w/ Steve & Chuck and The Beat (EpiCentre) *Bassh w/ Vita and the Woolf (Visulite Theatre) *Death Cab for Cutie, Chvrches (CMCU Amphitheatre) George Lynch and the Lynch Mob w/ Station, Echo Code (Amos’ Southend) Lisa Denovo Band (RiRa Irish Pub) Of Sinking Ships w/ Grand, Tigerdog, Bo White (Petra’s) Pig Pen w/ Turd Cutter, Slade and the Wasters, The Body Bags, Sibannac (Milestone) River Jam Series w/ The Shack Band (U.S. National Whitewater Center) Shiprocked (Snug Harbor) Thursdays on Main Series w/ Diamond Shaped Daylight (Veterans Park, Kannapolis) Union Street Live Concert Series w/ Jim Quick and the Coastline Band, Pluto for Planet (Downtown Concord)

JUNe 17 Classical/Jazz/Smooth *Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Free Concert (Duke Energy Explorium, Huntersville) Stonecrest Summer Concert Series w/ Brubakers (Stonecrest Shopping Center) Straight-Ahead Jazz Fridays (BluNotes)

Country/Folk Laura Reed w/ Chelsea Locklear (Sylvia Theater, York) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Levi Lowrey w/ Andy Buckner (Evening Muse) Rascal Flatts w/ Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Lane (PNC Music Pavilion) Town Mountain w/ Brock Butler Solo (Rabbit 32 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

Hole) Out Of The Blue (Coyote Joe’s)

Pop/Rock Bask w/ Hectagons!, Hungry Girl, Alright (Milestone) Greg Humphreys Electric Trio (Double Door Inn) *Lake Street Dive w/ The Lone Bellow (The Fillmore Charlotte) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) McRad w/ No Anger Control, Chalkies, Black Liquid Drop (Snug Harbor) Melodime (Evening Muse) Pluto for Planet (Tin Roof) Scar Tissue (RiRa Irish Pub) Wham Bam Bowie Band (Visulite Theatre)

JUNe 18 Classical/Jazz/Smooth 2nd Annual Queen City Jazz Festival Featuring Gerald Albright, Lalah Hathaway, Brian Culbertson (Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre) Charlotte HarmonyFest 2016 Featuring Instant Classic, Carolina Vocal Express and Zero Hour (Queen’s University’s Dana Auditorium) Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Free Concert (Harrisburg Town Center) Stonecrest Summer Concert Series w/ Brubakers (Stonecrest Shopping Center)

Country/Folk Abbie Gardner w/ Jesse Terry (Evening Muse) Analog Daze w/ Raine (Double Door Inn) Mike Strauss Band (Comet Grill)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Blues, Funk & Motown Saturdays (BluNotes) Kooley High w/ Mic Company, Elevator Jay, Rapper Shane (Snug Harbor)

Pop/Rock *Beatles Tribute Night (Knight Theater) Francisco Vidal (Tin Roof) *Jonathon Jackson + Enation (Neighborhood Theatre) Kannapolis Summer Entertainment Series w/ Breakfast Club, Gump Fiction (Village Park, Kannapolis) Yesterday: A Beatles Tribute (Don Gibson Theatre, Shelby)

JUNe 19

Vista Kicks (Evening Muse)

Classical/Jazz/Smooth

JUNe 22

Summer Pops: A Night for “Pops”: The Music of Jon Williams (Symphony Park at SouthPark Mall)

DJ/Electronic DJ A-ROD (Tin Roof)

Open Mic (Comet Grill) Out Of The Blue (Coyote Joe’s)

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B

Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Concerts on the Green Series w/ Image (Davidson Village Green, Davidson)

Pop/Rock

Omari and the Hellraisers (Comet Grill) Sarah Clanton w/ Maddie Shuler (Evening Muse) Sense of Purpose f. Paul Agee, Chris Allen, Joe Lindsay, Jody Gholson (Tyber Creek Pub)

JUNe 20 Classical/Jazz/Smooth *The Monday Night Allstars (The Double Door Inn)

Country/Folk Lost in a World of Color w/ Sinners and Saints, The Fat Face Band (Milestone) Open Mic Night w/ Blue Eyed Bettys (Evening Muse)

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

Pop/Rock *Chris Cornell (Belk Theater) *Weezer w/ Panic! At The Disco, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (PNC Music Pavilion) Wicked Powers (Comet Grill)

JUNe 21 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 Craig Veltri (Tin Roof) Fairplay & Special Guests (Lucky Lou’s Tavern)

Email backtalk@clclt.com

Country/Folk

Lil Uzi Vert w/ 21 Savage, Yfn Lucci (The Fillmore Charlotte)

Pop/Rock

Now hiring interns.

The brighter, the better.

Aaron Lebos Reality w/ Aarodynamics (Visulite Theatre) Anthony D’Amato (Evening Muse) Dollar Signs w/ Fatesealer, Bad Scene, Blake’s Fault, Turd/Cutter (Snug Harbor) The Hollow Ends w/ This is a Catastrophe, Tawaine Himself (Milestone) Weekly Mix Tape (Snug Harbor) Party in the Park w/ Steve Owens & Summertime (Romare Bearden Park)

COMING Soon The Cure (June 23; PNC Music Pavilion) Twenty One Pilots (June 28: CMCU Amphitheatre) Aesop Rock (July 1; Visulite Theatre) Vans Warped Tour (July 5; PNC Music Pavilion) 5 Seconds of Summer (July 18; PNC Music Pavilion) Lindsey Stirling (July 19; Ovens Auditorium) Garbage (July 23; The Fillmore) Gwen Stefani (July 23; PNC Music Pavilion) Sarah Jarosz (July 24; McGlohon Theater) Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa (July 24; PNC Music Pavilion) Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Of Mice & Men (Aug. 2; PNC Music Pavilion) Bush, Chevelle (Aug. 9; CMCU Amphitheatre) Motion City Soundtrack (Aug 10; The Fillmore) Bayside w/ The Menzingers, Sorority Noise (Aug. 14, Amos’ Southend) Keith Urban (Aug. 18; PNC Music Pavilion) Goo Goo Dolls (Aug. 28; CMCU Amphitheatre) Brian Wilson (Sept. 19; Belk Theater) Puff Daddy (Sept. 20; 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.

THU 6/16

FRI 6/17

WHAM BAM BOWIEBAND SAT 6/18

BIG MAMMAS HOUSE OF BURLESQUE WED 6/22

Aaron Lebos Reality + Aarodynamics FRI 7/8

EMILY KING FRI 8/5

JAY BRANNAN TUE 8/9

Jelly Roll and Whitney Peyton clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 33

Ends

Marketplace

JOBS | POSTINGS | LISTINGS | RENTALS

Ends

Nightlife

From Booze to babies A small taste of exhaustion

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

PHOTOGRAPHY Family Engagement Real Estate Events and more

www.JeffHahnePhotography.com

704-737-2145

34 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

see you later celebration at All American “Whew, it’s Monday.” That’s all Pub in South End. A lot of our friends were I could think while sleep walking into the meeting us so we were excited to see a few office after a long weekend. Unlike most of my Monday mornings, I wasn’t hungover faces we hadn’t seen outside of the office in a from boozing it up all weekend. Instead, I while. And I was extra antsy to get the night was simply exhausted. started since I knew my boyfriend and I were Friday, the last official day of the work going to be babysitting all day Saturday, week, started as any other — filled with which meant we were going to miss out on a excitement and wanderlust for the weekend. premier party night.

In good spirits, I made my way from the We were actually early for once, so light rail to my office on South Tryon in the three of us stuffed our faces before Uptown. I was pleasantly surprised when everyone started showing up — the the roads were blocked off thanks Philly cheesesteak with honey to yet another festival — Taste mustard is my jam. And before of Charlotte — on our busy you know it our table was street. spilling onto the patio, While I can understand filled with RBVs, empty how frustrating it may shot glasses and beer. be for those driving to Just when things were deal with the changing starting to heat up and traffic patterns Uptown the drinks were flowing, on event weekends, I personally love the fact my group announced they that I can walk right out were planning a move to The Aerin Spruill of my office at lunch and Gin Mill South End, another be welcomed by the exciting popular spot around the corner. sights and sounds of hundreds This made for the perfect Irish exit of Charlotteans, warm sunshine, live — departure without telling any friends — music, food and, of course, wine. for my boyfriend and I. For those who didn’t head Uptown this Saturday at 9 a.m. we pulled up at my weekend, Taste of Charlotte happens once boyfriend’s sister’s house. She has two a year during the summer. The popular beautiful bundles of joy, a two-year-old festival features local restaurants and and a three month old. We spent a decent businesses in the area and spans six blocks amount of time brainstorming ideas for from Stonewall Street to 5th Street, across child-appropriate fun beforehand, but once Tryon Street. There is no entry fee, but the door closed and we were left alone you have to purchase coins in order to take staring at two active boys, we decided house advantage of activities and buy food. arrest was best.

While I would have loved to partake in Around five baby naps, one toddler the festivities, my bank account and anxiety nap, two adult boyfriend naps, seven dirty about finishing up the work day early took precedence. Not to mention, one of my diapers, five bottles, three episodes of “The closest friends at work was celebrating his Octonauts” and two episodes of “Maya the last day with our company and we were on a Bee” later, we were exhausted. I think it’s mission to find hot dogs. safe to say the best birth control in the world The usual mobile vendors strategically is actually having to take care of kids. By placed along Tryon Street were nowhere to the time 1 a.m. rolled around and his mom be found due to the festival. We got lucky, showed up to take over, we barely wanted however, when we found out that one of to look at each other, let alone end the night the mobile vendors, Green’s Lunch, had a grabbing a drink at a nearby bar, so we called storefront just a couple blocks away at the it quits. corner of W. 4th Street and S. Poplar Street.

It wasn’t until some friends and I hit up We grabbed a hot dog, chips and a drink Lake Wylie for Sunday Funday that I realized for $4.23 (talk about cheap) and went back how tired and sore — from holding a baby to the office to finish up work so we could pretty much all day (yeah, I know, I should prepare for yet another night out in the be working out) — I really was. Needless Queen City. to say, hitting the sack after getting some After getting off semi-early, I hopped on work done later on that night was a dream the light rail to Pineville, grabbed my car and scooped my ex-coworker for his goodbye/ come true.

Ends

Crossword

THE NATIONALIST AND THE NEWBORN ACROSS

1 Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock 5 Had an expectation 10 “C’est moi,” in English 15 Car financing co., once 19 Malicious 20 Greater than 21 Of film sound effects 22 Quiet stretch 23 Start of a riddle 27 Like potatoes 28 -- a soul (nobody) 29 Coagulated 30 Similar to 31 Have -- (know the right person) 32 Online letter 34 Serpent follower 35 Riddle, part 2 41 Wields 42 Kitten sound 43 Flatow or Glass of radio 44 SeaWorld attractions 47 Minivan driver, often 48 Geol., e.g.

50 Smart guy 54 Purview 55 Riddle, part 3 60 Many millennia 61 Thrill rider’s inhalation 62 Thrown object’s path 63 Grafton’s “-- for Evidence” 64 Graph anew 67 Riddle, part 4 71 Jim who played Ernest P. Worrell 73 Smelter input 74 Lilt syllable 76 Blockhead 77 Is, pluralized 78 Riddle, part 5 86 Befuddled 87 Poison in many murder mysteries 88 Some small batteries 89 Barn bird 91 Bird homes 93 Flamboyant stole 94 Actress Grier 96 Soft cheese 97 End of the riddle 104 “Hostel” director Roth 106 Besmirch 107 “May -- a favor?”

108 “Gloria in excelsis --” 109 Making out 111 “-- all know ...”

112 Buildup of unfinished work 116 Riddle’s answer 120 Lead-ins to big days 121 Elvis hit, e.g.

122 Bang or pop 123 Unit of matter 124 Cardinal and cherry 125 Auto type 126 “Eeew!”

127 $1,000 units, in slang

DOWN

1 French pals 2 Southpaw’s side 3 “Still I Rise” poet Angelou 4 Arctic parkas 5 Boisterous, loud laugh 6 Submit to 7 “-- favor!”

8 Still, after all this time

9 Hold up 10 Doubtful 11 To boot 12 35mm camera option 13 Resident of Islam’s spiritual center 14 Cornea coverer 15 Overfill 16 Like a triplex 17 Patriot Ethan 18 Bonnie’s pal 24 Sch. for the Bruins 25 Novelist Sarah -- Jewett 26 Manuscript leaf 31 Yes vote 32 Zimbalist of “The F.B.I.” 33 Marlins’ city 35 “Tasty!”

36 With 113-Down, recently 37 Pixar’s lost clown fish 38 “Jake and --” (comedy Web series) 39 River to the Seine 40 Trapped like -45 Cliffside nest 46 Full of lip 48 Suave 49 Situated in the middle 50 Long (for) 51 Blocked 52 Comic actress Gasteyer 53 Blissful state 56 Buddhism, e.g.: Abbr.

57 John Deere Classic org.

58 Dorm leaders, for short 59 Wolfs (down) 64 “Mr. Bean” star Atkinson 65 Wipe chalk from 66 Ale brand until 2011 68 Put on 69 Nabokov’s longest novel 70 Male issue 72 Stephen of “Stuck” 75 “-- ideas?”

79 Like a Mass: Abbr.

80 African land 81 From here -- (henceforth) 82 Ampule, e.g.

83 Poet’s foot 84 Kin of “me neither” 85 Leia, to Luke 90 Piano piece 92 Bridal gown fabric 94 Sit to be painted by, perhaps 95 “Great” bird 96 Schoolchild’s burden 98 Dances with dipping 99 Squirm 100 Menu choice 101 Deviating off course 102 “My Cup Runneth Over” singer 103 Bi- plus octa104 Go in 105 Go out 110 Hug go-with 111 Port city of Yemen 112 Firm cheese 113 See 36-Down 114 It uses a double reed 115 Places to lift 117 Tally (up) 118 Long of “Premonition” 119 2016 Olympics city

Solution found on p. 38.

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 35

Ends

Savage love

Diapers and Peepers WHO ARE YOU AFTER DARK?

Try FREE: 704-943-0057 More Local Numbers: 1-800-700-6666

FREE TO LISTEN AND REPLY TO ADS redhotdateline.com 18+ FREE TRIAL

Discreet Chat Guy to Guy

Free Code: Charlotte Loafing

980.224.4669

Dating

made Easy

FREE

to Listen & Reply to ads.

FREE CODE: Charlotte Loafing

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU

Charlotte

(704) 643-6437 For other local numbers:

Charlotte:

(704) 556-0006

18+ www.MegaMates.com

www.megamates.com 18+

REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.

Meet sexy friends who really get your vibe...

Try FREE: 704-731-0113

Try FREE: 704-943-0050 More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000

More Local Numbers: 1-800-811-1633

vibeline.com 18+

36 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

Ahora español Livelinks.com 18+

I’ve been dating a nice guy for a month or so. Sex is good, and we’re faulty compatible in other ways, too.

He told me he likes to wear diapers. He said he doesn’t want me to do it with him, but that every once in a while he likes to wear them because it makes him feel “safe.” He said that this odd behavior isn’t sexual for him, but I have trouble believing him. I’m not sure how I feel about this. He also said that it embarrasses him and he wishes it wasn’t something he needed. If you have any insight into what to ask him or how to make sure I can keep him satisfied sexually as we move forward (if we do), it would be appreciated.

Do I Ask Pooper Everything Respectfully, Sir?

in diapers makes the sexual aspect hard to deny. (“Is that an enormous rattle in your diaper or are you just happy to see me?”)

I would advise you to say some vaguely affirming things (“Your diaper thing doesn’t bother me, and wouldn’t even if it were sexual”) without pressuring him to include you at diaper time. Don’t rush things — relationship-wise or diaper-wise — and focus on establishing a mutually satisfying sexual rapport/repertoire.

P.S. I think you meant “fairly compatible” not “faulty compatible.” Normally I would correct a mistake like this before printing a letter — but I rather liked your accidental phrase. A loving and functional-butimperfect relationship — really the best we can hope for — could be described as faulty compatible.

You shouldn’t assume I’m an incredibly (contra your sign-off) that confused man in my Potential New Boyfriend early 20s. I’m attracted (PNB) is pooping his diapers. Most guys who are to men and women. I ABDL (adult baby/diaper could see spending lover) are interested only my life with either. in wetting themselves, But I think sexual if that. (Some only wear, activity with either never fill.) It sounds like sex would be confusing Dan Savage PNB is struggling with kinkand strange. In sex ed, I and/or sex-shame, DIAPERS, always thought the whole and the assumption you’ve made idea of sexual intercourse was about the extent of his diaper play strange. I don’t think I’m asexual, might put him on the defensive. Even if your but I’m not sure if I am bisexual. I am assumption is accurate, it could still put him more attracted to vibrant personalities. on the defensive.

I don’t think that I am just straight or Moving on… just gay, because I have equal feelings You have a hard time believing PNB for both sexes. Does this mean I could when he says there’s nothing sexual about find equal companionship with both? his interest in diapers, and that makes two Should I wait until I find the right of us. Seeing as he’s already succumbed to person and decide from there? shame where his kink is concerned — or it might be more accurate to say he hasn’t dug Confused About Sexuality, Help himself out from under the shame almost all kinksters struggle with initially — he is very According to the Tumblr Blog Decoder likely weighed down by the sex-negativity Ring that came in my last box of Kellogg’s that comes bundled with kink-shame. So Feelios, CASH, you’re bi-classic (attracted he may have told you there’s nothing sexual to men and women), bi-romantic (could about his thing for diapers because he thinks be with a man or a woman), a sort of it makes his diapers seem less sordid. demisexual/sapiosexual hybrid (demis are That said, DIAPERS, “this makes me attracted to people they’ve bonded with feel safe” and “this makes my dick hard” emotionally, sapios are attracted to people aren’t mutually exclusive phenomena. Both who are intelligent, and vibrancy may can be true. (And if diapers really do make fall at some point between the two), and adults feel safe — and I wanna see data on maybe falling somewhere on the asexuality that — we could rebrand them as “portable spectrum. The best way to discover who/ individual safe spaces” and make them what works for you is to get out there. available at our better universities.)

If you find yourself feeling confused, just Another clue there’s something sexual remind yourself that confusion—like so about this thing for diapers: not wanting much else—is a spectrum. And wherever you around while he wears them. Maybe you fall on it, CASH, know you’ve got plenty diapers are something he enjoys wearing during alone time, or maybe the sight of him of company.

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 37

LILLY SPA

Ends

Stargazer

704-392-8099 MON-SUN 9AM-11PM LOCATED NEAR THE AIRPORT EXIT 37 OFF I-85 WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS

SOUTH ON BEATTIES FORD ROAD THEN FIRST RIGHT ON MONTANA DRIVE (LOCATED 1/2 MILE ON THE LEFT | 714-G MONTANA DR)

Solution to This week's puzzle

For All Signs: We will arrive at the

summer solstice on June 20. This is the point of the year at which the northern hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun. Therefore this is also theoretically the longest day of the year. For centuries, pagans celebrated this day with prayers and requests for blessings from mother earth, that would soon yield the summer harvests. The solstices and equinoxes since 2010 have been especially significant points in time on this planet.

This era is critical to life on and of the planet.

Give attention to the main events both one month before and after the solstice as symbolic of the season we enter.

Aries: Whatever is occurring in your life

FREE TRIAL

THE HOTTEST GAY CHATLINE

1-704-943-0051 More Local Numbers: 800-777-8000

www.guyspyvoice.com

Ahora en Español/18+

at this time is clearly intense and emotionladen. You may feel as though your very life depends upon making your point of view heard and acknowledged. It is important to play your personal political cards carefully.

Don’t take the initiative until after Mars goes direct on June 30.

Taurus: Your ruling planet is Venus,

goddess of love and the arts. “She” moves into a new sector now through July 10.

Your attention will be drawn to parties in neighboring areas and with those of your usual environment. Those with siblings may enjoy improved relationship through this period. You’ll be inclined to add luxury items to your vehicle, or maybe even purchase a new one.

Gemini: You and a partner, whether

business or marital, may be having challenges in communicating. There is something confusing the works. One of you may not be clear about the issues or you each have different goals. Maybe you are not even talking about the same thing.

Cancer: Venus enters your sign this week

and will be traveling “with you” through July 10th. Her presence gives you an air of poise and beauty, and people will simply like how you look. Often when Venus is prominent we become more interested in art forms. She has the power to turn introverts into extroverts for the short period of her journey. We have a greater need and desire to be with others, or they with us.

Leo: All forward motion is put temporarily

on hold. You must slow down to manage health issues, whether that of yourself or your partner. Be patient. The structure needed to accommodate your original plan is not in place anyway. Time is required while you or someone you care about heals.

Virgo: You may be feeling confused by your

partner(s) or contractors. This interferes with your ability to make decisions about your home base and next direction. Ask questions of this person to help you access

38 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com

clarity. If the answers are vague or even more confusing, that means something is “not right”.

Libra: For the next three weeks your activities are on display. Others are noticing your performance, so make it great. You may be standing in the limelight. Your leadership gifts come to the foreground at this time.

Matters of love and romance likely will become more important.

Scorpio: Your ruling planet, Mars, is retrograding in your first house through the end of June. Your feelings are intense and you have anger that is hard to resolve.

Don’t turn it against yourself during this period. This is an internal struggle between one value and another. It is not cause for self-destruction. Make an effort to contain it with a lighter attitude.

Sagittarius: Relationships to partner,

whether business or personal, and family are strained at present. If you feel discomfort, look for the assumption or the illusion that is cracking. It is painful. The relationship will ultimately be improved by the honesty or the alternative, broken. Either way, you will be in better condition long term.

Capricorn: Beware of the tendency to

obsess and worry over matters that may never happen. You are tempted to see the world through a dark lens this week and you may think that is the true version. It’s more likely that the pessimistic view is extreme.

If you spend much energy here, you may be plagued by ill health.

Aquarius: The more you attempt to

hurry, the more rocks in your path. You might just as well take your time and allow things to develop as they will. Rushing along will not get you there any faster. Anger may be present and likely is worthy, only it just causes you more stress and may even interfere with the process of improvement.

Pisces: You must work hard to manage

your communications at this time. Your situation may require you to use an unaccustomed vehicle, such as writing, to make yourself understood. It is necessary that you be as efficient as possible and cannot scatter your thoughts or your words.

Some important bits of information could be hard to find.

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

clclt.com | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | 39

AWARD WINNING BURGERS

CONVENIENTLY LOCATED IN CHARLOTTE, HUNTERSVILLE, KANNAPOLIS, GASTONIA, CONCORD, DENVER AND MORE

“Cooked Outdoors Style” ™

100% FRESH ALL-BEEF HAMBURGERS

Corn Dog 5 Pc. Chicken Nuggets All White Breast Meat

BLT Sandwich

CHARGRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH

99

¢

each

Chargrilled HAMBURGERS Fresh With Homemade Chili and Slaw!

Chargrilled HOT DOGS Cook Out Style • Bacon Cheddar • Mexi Dog • Mustard Relish OPEN LATE NIGHT, EVERY NIGHT!

40 | jun. 16 - jun. 22, 2016 | clclt.com