2016 Issue 31 Creative Loafing by Creative Loafing Charlotte

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 VOL. 30, NO. 31

1 | DATE - DATE, 2015 | CLCLT.COM

th annual

HEY EVERYONE, IT'S TIME TO

Party!!!

 1  2 our theme: Cosplay baby! DRESS CODE: BRING YOUR A GAME HEROeS, CHARACTERS, VILLIANS AND MORE!

Costume contest!! $500 Grand Prize

OCT. 7TH McColl Center for Art & Innovation

6PM-10PM tickets $25

more info: clclt.com/charlotte/ItsPARTYtime/Page

We'r aLErEsInThSOw!

2 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

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FRIDAY NIGHT

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SEPTEMBER 28

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OCTOBER 7

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OCTOBER 28

TRAVIS TRITT

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NOVEMBER 18

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NOVEMBER 26

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DECEMBER 17

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JANUARY 14

AARON LEWIS LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $20 ALL OTHERS $23

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CHRIS CUFFARO

The Struts perform at The Underground on Sept. 28.

COVER STORY IN HER NAME: Erin Santos, founder of the

Isabella Santos Foundation, does not pull punches.

BY RYAN PITKIN THIS WEEK’S COVER WAS DESIGNED BY DANA VINDIGNI.

NEWS&VIEWS ONE FOR THE HOME TEAM: Levine Children’s Hospital aims to provide all of Charlotte’s cancer patients with home base to do battle. BY RYAN PITKIN 14 THE BLOTTER 15 NEWS OF THE WEIRD

FOOD FLY ON OVER TO WILD KING CAFE: King of

Wings in the Queen City. BY CHRISSIE NELSON 18 THREE-COURSE SPIEL

ARTS&ENT SHAKESPEARE PENS A SITCOM: Chickspeare

craftily taps into Bard comedy. BY PERRY TANNENBAUM 24 FILM REVIEWS

MUSIC

KISHI BASHI AND HIS HISTORY OF VIOLINS: Pop artist reflects on love and a lifetime

of playing.

BY PAT MORAN 32 SOUNDBOARD

ODDS&ENDS

20 TOP 10 THINGS TO DO 34 MARKETPLACE 34 NIGHTLIFE 35 CROSSWORD 36 SAVAGE LOVE 38 HOROSCOPE

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CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 9

COVERSTORY

NEWS

ANGELO MERENDINO

Erin Santos with her daughter, Isabella, just two weeks before Isabella’s passing in June 2012.

IN HER NAME Erin Santos, founder of the Isabella Santos Foundation, does not pull punches BY RYAN PITKIN

HEN TWO-YEAR-OLD

Isabella Santos was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the sympathetic nervous system, in 2007, her mother Erin Santos was understandably crushed. Yet she fought alongside her daughter as hard as she could. For Erin, there was never a thought that, after losing everything, she would one 10 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

day become a symbol of hope to countless families fighting pediatric cancer around the country. During Isabella’s battle, which included constant flights to New York City and then Philadelphia in search of effective treatments, Erin would often feel alone. The exhaustion resulting from chemotherapy and other treatments would only exacerbate

the “terrible twos,” and Isabella would throw fits followed by days of the silent treatment. Looking for someone (or something) to vent to, Erin started a blog. That blog caught my attention in 2008 and the unfiltered, raw emotion expressed within made me feel as if I had known her for years. I’d often find myself obsessively checking for new posts every day while in

class at the local community college, fearing the worst possible news. Thousands of others across the country made a similar connection during Isabella’s fight. Erin’s refusal to sugarcoat her experience and her knack for using humor to deal with the situation she and her daughter found themselves in would sometimes garner criticism, but for the most part, her writing

CARRIE WATTS

The ISF Dream Team kicked off their most recent season in July 2016 with a visit to Isabella’s gravesite, “to remind everyone of our purpose for running.” drew praise from those who couldn’t otherwise imagine what she was going through. Erin continued to write as her daughter underwent five relapses, each time her chances of survival reducing drastically. She also founded the Isabella Santos Foundation (ISF) during this time, originally for help paying the mounting medical bills and funding the constant flights in and out of town. Within about a year and a half of founding ISF, it transitioned into a charity that helps fund collaborative pediatric cancer research both locally and nationally. On June 28, 2012, after nearly five years of fighting, Isabella succumbed to the cancer. Erin continued to run ISF in her daughter’s

annual 5K/10K/Kids Run for Kids Cancer. This year’s slogan is “Cancer messed with the wrong city.” In the days leading up to the race, CL caught up with Erin to talk about how that slogan was inspired in part by the embarrassing passage of HB2, the limitations of treatment opportunities in Charlotte and why awareness still is and always will be a bullshit word. Creative Loafing: How did ISF begin and how has it evolved? Erin Santos: We started the first year to help with medical expenses because we were going to New York to get treatment. But then once we started to meet more families and

“I want people to be more knowledgeable about where their money goes and whether that makes the most sense. And to think that, ‘If my kid were diagnosed with neuroblastoma tomorrow, who’s doing something that’s going to save my kid?’ ERIN SANTOS honor, while also continuing to write. She maintained her blog and published a column in The Huffington Post in 2013 titled “Awareness… What a Bullshit Word,” lambasting the idea that raising awareness for pediatric cancer — or any given disease — can be an effective way of fighting it. On September 24, ISF will run its 9th

stuff like that, we saw that the treatment options were so terrible, so within that next year we switched it and had it all go toward research. It took about a year to have a turn to where it is now, which is more toward neuroblastoma research and stuff like that. Luckily, we’re a very grassroots effort, so we always had a great group of people around

us who were our foot soldiers. A lot of time we were traveling or we were in treatment and whenever we had downtime that’s when I would plug away at doing something for the foundation. Our races were always in September, and damn if she didn’t relapse every August. It just felt like we would work, work, work, and then she would have a brain relapse and I’d be off the map for 30 days. We really had to push it towards a lot of the volunteers to keep things moving and just hope that we could show up that day. But then after she passed away we decided to bring in an employee and once I came on board everything changed, because now I devote my full time to that. In the beginning it was hard because people were hesitant to give because they’d be like, ‘Oh, well the Santoses make more money than me so why would I give to that?’ But people didn’t realize flying to New York and all that type of stuff, it was insane. While people want to support the family, I think we transitioned as, “Let’s not just support her, let’s support all of them.” It’s more purposeful giving to people to know that they’re helping out the greater good instead of one person. So where does the money go? In the beginning we were giving to doctors that helped us along the way, but then as we started raising significant money we felt like it was our responsibility to become smarter about how we were giving. So that’s when we started to find doctors that were doing things that were collaborating with other hospitals. We give a lot of money to Giselle Sholler out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She heads up this group [[called the The Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium] with 25 other hospitals to where anything that she develops is eligible to go to any of those 25 hospitals, and Levine [Children’s Hospital in Charlotte] is one of them. This is the only way that we can give and make sure that kids in Charlotte can stay in Charlotte and the money that we raise is helping them but is also going to Charleston and Orlando and Columbus and Boston and all these different places. There have been stories of charities both big and small misusing funds in recent years. Do you run into skepticism? It’s tough being a charity nowadays because I feel like people are waiting for you to fail. We’re so hyper-aware of every dollar that we spend. We’re at the point now that we probably need to hire eight people because we’re so under water but we refuse to because we’re trying to see what all we can do with the minimal resources that we have. It’s insane, but I think it’s just important to us staying where between 80 and 85 percent

Isabella in March 2010.

HEATHER MATTHEWS

of our money goes to research. I just think that you can’t support organizations that aren’t doing that. What organizations give you pause, for example? Organizations that give big pots of money to other organizations like the American Cancer Society (ACS) or even St. Jude [Children’s Research Hospital]. St. Jude doesn’t have to raise another dollar for the rest of its life. They are PR geniuses. The ACS gives 3 percent of its budget to pediatric cancer research, and the majority of that goes to leukemia. So saying, ‘Oh, I’m not going to support ISF because I support the ACS,’ I want people to be more knowledgeable about where their money goes and whether that makes the most sense. And to think that, ‘If my kid were diagnosed with neuroblastoma tomorrow, who’s doing something that’s going to save my kid?’ How do you keep ISF relevant despite Isabella’s passing? There’s always going to be a shiny penny, and I know that people like to do what’s new and hip and I completely get that. There’s always going to be a kid behind Isabella that’s new and exciting and everything like that. People want to get behind that but I CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 11

NEWS

COVERSTORY

think that they need to think about what the support that their giving is doing. If it’s just a great, feel-good story and it’s just bringing awareness to kids who have cancer, those things are all great but they don’t do anything to save lives of kids. It’s not just about being on the Today Show and talking about a brain tumor or whatever, but what is that family doing that’s going to change the life of my son if he were diagnosed with a brain tumor tomorrow. I think that’s what we do a good job of; it’s not just telling people what neuroblastoma is, or telling Isabella’s story, it’s kind of like, if you have a kid diagnosed tomorrow, we’re the people that are helping you. That sounds like it coincides with your thoughts on the myth of “awareness,” which were well documented in your Huffington Post piece. Do you feel like that piece made a difference? I do, because the thing is, you can put stuff out there and people think they’re supporting you because they like your post, they share your post, they comment on something like that, but just being aware of what’s going on and actually doing something is completely different. We’re telling people, ‘While we appreciate you reading my blog, do something about it.’ I just think that too many people say they support children’s cancer research but they send $20 a month to St. Jude, I don’t know if that’s really doing what needs to be done to change the lives of people like Isabella. I truly believe kids like her pass away because people don’t do anything, or they think what they’re doing is enough … but it’s not really any action, they’re just being aware. How effective are the current treatment options for neuroblastoma and pediatric cancer in Charlotte? We were treated at Levine and Levine was absolutely wonderful in collaborating with [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City]. I think Levine knew when to take a backseat, which I think very few hospitals can maintain their egos well enough to do. Levine was great in that the care and bedside manner that we got there was unmatched anywhere that we’ve ever gone and so they’re absolutely great at that. But I think they knew that for the forefront of treatment and the new things that were coming out, we were going to have to go somewhere else to get that. I think you have to take your home city out of the equation and be the advocate for your child. Wherever the best treatment is is where your child should be. We need to make it to where that is Charlotte, and that’s what we’re trying to do. But as of tomorrow, it may not be the best place. Are you optimistic for Charlotte’s 12 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

CARRIE WATTS

Erin and Dream Team runner Christina Sloat during a visit to Isabella’s gravesite.

Isabella in March 2011. future in that sense? I think in the next three to five years, kids are going to be able to stay. Because I think it is a business, hospitals know that if they don’t offer the best … Like with Levine, thank God for Greg Olsen [Carolina Panthers tight end whose son was born with a heart defect, inspiring his founding of The Greg Olsen Foundation, which runs The HEARTest

HEATHER MATTHEWS

Yard at Levine]. I mean, if your child has a heart problem, you’re in one of the best places in the world. I think if we can get some foundations or charities backing Levine [in pediatric cancer research], we could be similar. I want to be helping push that cart up the hill. I don’t want to have anyone have to leave. So I think that [Levine] knows that that’s where they need to go and they’re trying.

This year’s race slogan is “Cancer messed with the wrong city.” Why? We try to do a different type of theme every year. We picked this initially because we just felt like the support that we get here locally is amazing. We don’t have to beg and plead to get sponsors anymore, which is great, because I think people are starting to know us. Of course, we always need more. But I think that with the recent things that are happening in Charlotte, I’m noticing when I travel that people are like, “Ughh, you’re from Charlotte?” I think because of HB2 and being in the South, we’re still dealing with a lot of black/white issues, and I think we just have a stigma against us. I try to tell people when I go somewhere, “That’s not Charlotte. That’s areas of North Carolina that I’ve never been to. I don’t know where those people live, but those people aren’t my friends. They’re not people who support our foundation.” I kind of feel like I just want people to know that good things are coming out of Charlotte. I feel like it’s been a long time since something new and innovative has come out of Charlotte that we can all be proud of. I know Girls on the Run was a great thing and I think that we’re due for something new coming out of Charlotte that people can be proud of and I want that to be us. To kind of show that we’re not the HB2 laws, that’s not us. What’s your wish moving forward as far as reaching the people of Charlotte in a more effective way? We don’t do well in your readers’ segment. We do really well with moms and kids, but for some reason we cannot figure out how to have your group of readers do something. It’s OK. You can use the M-word. (laughs) I hate to use the word millennial because it’s so broad and wide-ranging. It’s

hard to get people who don’t have children to believe in something like this. I know that these millenials, they love to have a purpose for giving. And I always feel like that once they find it, they are so into it. They’ll give anything for those things that they believe in, and it’s hard to get them to see, even if they don’t have kids, how important this is, because it is going to be them some day. Treatment options and funding and all this, it goes dog-ass slow and if you’re 27, you know what, things may not be different for the next two or three years but in five years it could be dramatically different. We need to get those people behind us and see that, even if you’re not raising a kid, that’s still important because this is your future too. And I think they’re doing so many different cross collaborations between pediatric and adult that it’s really not just neuroblastoma, everything deals with immunotherapies and it’s all starting to cross over. I think that age group needs to be behind supporting something in our community, making Charlotte great again, getting behind something that’s good and honest and true and what they believe in even if it doesn’t affect them personally. I don’t feel like you always have to have that “Oh, my kid went to school with Isabella and that’s why I’m involved with it.” What can people expect at this year’s race? First of all, getting people to come to a race is hard. There’s so much competition. There’s one every weekend, and I feel like races nowadays — I do the [Charlotte SoutPark] Turkey Trot, and I run it and I get my medal and my banana and I get in my car and go home. We’ve created an event that is completely different from that. People show up at 7 a.m. and by noon we’re like, “Hey, OK, it’s time to go.” We have a silent auction, a raffle, a kid’s zone; it’s a huge party and we want people to come there and have the experience of a different 5k/10k. Last year we had about 3,000 [people] and this year we’re expecting to have around 4,000. We really want the scenery of the race to change. We want it to be more millenials. It’s not all kid-focused. We want it to be something that applies to everybody. I also feel like when people come to our race, they come every year. They come and they’re like, “This is insane. I had no idea.” It’s just such a great community feel. No one finishes and gets in their car and leaves, they stick around. For more information about the Isabella Santos Foundation or to donate, visit www. isabellasantosfoundation.org.

ONE FOR THE HOME TEAM Levine Children’s Hospital aims to provide all of Charlotte’s cancer patients with home base to do battle BY RYAN PITKIN

TRAVELING WITH ANY child can be a tough experience. Traveling with an autistic child to and from New York for cancer treatments on a weekly basis can be extremely difficult, to say the least. That’s the situation Melanie Miller found herself in just under a year ago after her daughter Emily’s neuroblastoma returned for hopefully the last time. Following Emily’s original diagnosis in July 2012, she went though 16 months of treatment at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte. The cancer — originally a widespread disease ranging from Emily’s skull to her kneecaps — went into remission. It stayed that way for about 18 months before suddenly returning. The cancer returned so rapidly that it filled her entire sinus cavity before breaking through the back of her mouth, shifting her teeth. She returned to Levine for a month’s worth of daily radiation followed by more chemotherapy. “When you relapse there is no protocol,” Miller says. “The first cycle, the first year and a half of treatment, that was all very well-established protocol. The second time around you have to kind of just look at it, see what’s out there — which is not much — and throw the kitchen sink at it.” The family became desperate not to experience another relapse. They began looking for new preventative measures that aren’t available in Charlotte. They attended consultations in Atlanta and Philadelphia before deciding to undergo a new clinical trial called a “vaccine trial” at Sloan Kettering Memorial in New York City, where Melanie’s now-friend Erin Santos sought treatment for her daughter Isabella years ago. They’ve been flying to and from New York on a regular basis since last November. “It’s very disruptive. We have a new baby; he’s 1. So we started traveling within two months of his birth and have been ever since,” Miller says. “We would love if they could have

Melanie Miller and her daughter, Emily, in the fall of 2014. more stuff for her here right now. But with the way a relapse is, there’s so little.” It’s not that Charlotte is dragging behind other cities in its efforts to treat pediatric cancer; Levine Children’s Hospital has offered great treatment to child cancer patients for 10 years. Compared to institutions like Memorial Sloan Kettering and the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, each of which have operated for more than a century, Levine is just getting started. “Certainly our goal is to look at the Santos family and the Miller family and say, ‘You do not have to go to Philadelphia or New York. Everything you can get is right here,’” said Mark Griffith, director of funding at Carolinas Healthcare Foundation. “We aspire to have a reputation like Philadelphia and Sloan Kettering, so that people do not want to leave,” he says. “I think when you look at the actual care, there’s not a lot of difference between the level of care you get at those hospitals and Charlotte. What differentiates those hospitals from Levine Children’s Hospital is research and reputation. We’re just starting that research part and, being 10 years old, the reputation will come.” With the help of the Carolinas Kids Cancer Research Coalition (CKCRC), a group of 12 nonprofit organizations that funds clinical pediatric cancer research, Levine is growing closer to becoming a powerhouse in the fight against pediatric cancer. Within the last two years, the practice in the pediatric cancer ward at Levine has

LAURA STIKELEATHER

grown from two to 10 doctors. Sometime in the next year, crews will break ground on a new pediatric cancer research facility and within a few years, Levine will be able to hire its own scientist to carry out clinical research on the hospital’s campus. Griffith said it’s too early for him to discuss details about the lab, but it’s clear he believes it will change the way Levine operates. “I think once we open up this lab in the next year and we start doing our own research in the next couple of years and continue our partnership with the ever-expanding Levine Cancer Institute ... you’ll see the program continue to grow leaps and bounds,” he says. For Griffith, the work being done by Levine’s staff can’t be understated, but it’s the work being done by the Isabella Santos Foundation and others with the CKCRC that will allow Levine to take that next step in helping families throughout the southeast. “The difference between a good hospitalization — regardless of outcome — the difference between a good experience and an excellent experience are people like Erin Santos, it’s the community,” he says. “It’s people that come in and fundraise and elevate a program — whether it’s research or capital or equipment they’re helping to buy. It’s people that come in to do arts & crafts or read books with the kids. Most hospitals would agree; we have great doctors and great nurses, but it’s that extra love and that extra added touch that the community brings that makes families’ experiences excellent.”

RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 13

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NEWS

BLOTTER

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TRUCK A 57-year-old southeast Charlotte man was perturbed to find that people have been using his truck as a dumpster in lieu of an actual receptacle in his apartment complex. He told police that he woke one morning to find several full trash bags in the bed of his pickup truck that weren’t there when he parked it.

UBER A 26-year-old woman went to the

police last week after getting gipped out of some gas money in north Charlotte. The woman told officers that she asked a friend for a ride home from an address on Sugar Creek Road and the friend obliged. She gave the friend $5 for gas money and that’s when things got weird. The friend drove across the street and asked the woman to get out of the car for a few minutes because “she had something to take care of and didn’t want [the victim] to get involved.” The suspect then drove off and that was the last time the victim saw her friend or her $5 … or the handbag and jacket she had left in the car, for that matter.

filed a police report last week after becoming tired of the odd things she was finding on her front porch. The woman stated that during a two-month period between July and September, some unknown suspect repeatedly left pornographic pictures on her porch for her to find when she returned home or woke up in the morning. The woman told officers that the behavior was making her fear for her safety.

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14 | SEPT. 22- SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

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Charlotte called police after an unwanted houseguest made a mess of things on his porch. The man told officers that a woman knocked on the door of his apartment at around 11 p.m. and when he opened the door she walked right in and asked to use the bathroom. When he and his friend saw that she was holding a knife in her hand, they pushed her out the door and closed it. When she got outside, the woman squatted down and urinated on the man’s doorstep, then preceded to rip the light fixture off the porch wall and shatter it on the ground.

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GOT BEEF? A potentially armed robber in north Charlotte last week was in and out of a robbery at a local convenience store, and he knew what he wanted. An employee at a 7-Eleven on North Tryon Street told police that a man entered the business at around 7 p.m. and immediately threatened both employees, implying that he had a gun. After getting the message across, the man went straight for the beef jerky display, grabbed a single stick of jerky and left the store.

DRIVER’S ED A woman’s “joyride” through

east Charlotte turned expensive when she crashed through a fence and nearly found herself back in school. The woman told officers she was joyriding at 11:30 a.m. when she lost control of the car. After smashing clear through the fence around Northeast Middle School, she crashed right into the school’s storage building. Luckily, nobody was inside, but the suspect did a total of $20,000 in damage.

MOVING QUICK Two students were

caught having consensual sex at Myers Park High School on Sept. 14, setting a record at two and a half weeks for the quickest score from the first day of school.

SWITCH A woman filed a report against her own aunt last week in north Charlotte after auntie broke out some old school tactics on her child. The woman told police that the aunt was watching her 8-year-old son when he began acting up. The aunt broke a tree limb off the nearest tree and spanked the kid with it. But, much to the aunt’s surprise, it is no longer 1960 and people don’t play that shit anymore. She was charged with assault. ARSENAL During a Beatties Ford Road

traffic stop last week police found cocaine on the very last man that should be doing cocaine. During a search of the man’s vehicle, police found a 9-millimeter rifle, assorted ammunition and magazines and a fake grenade that’s meant to be used a paperweight. In an unrelated incident, a man’s car was broken into in south Charlotte and the list of things he reported stolen were radiation jumpsuits, a military camouflage net, bulletproof glass, multiple American flags and a pig mask.

SMOTHERED-COVEREDMOTHERFUCKER A woman came marching into a Waffle House in the University area last week with a score to settle and she settled it with $20 worth of food. Employees told police that a woman came in and placed a to-go order, but once she got her food, things went off the handle. The woman began yelling at the employees, telling them that she wasn’t going to pay for her food because someone had hung up on her when she called to place the order. She then left the store with her reparations.

MOVIEFONE A 21-year-old man in west Charlotte was ripped off by some bad actors last week. The man said he met some men he had negotiated a deal with on an app called Offer Up to sell them his old phone. The men bought the phone for $600 cash, but only after they left did the seller realize that the bills all said “For Cinematic Use Only” in big letters across them. 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

WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND One of the Islamic State’s first

reforms in captured territory has been to require adult women to dress devoutly — including the face-covering burka robe, which, in Western democracies famously presents security dilemmas because it hinders identification. Now, after two years of Islamic State occupation in Mosul, Iraq, the security problem has come full circle on ISIS itself. Dispatches from the town reported in September that ISIS has likely banned the burka because it hinders identification of anti-ISIS insurgents who (female and male) wear burkas to sneak up on Islamic State officers.

RECURRING THEME Barbara Murphy, 64, of Roy, Utah, is the most recent “dead” person battling the federal government to prove she is still alive, but seemingly getting nowhere. She said Social Security Administration bureaucrats, citing protocols, have been tightlipped about her problem and remedies even though her bank account was frozen, Social Security was dunning her for two years worth of Medicare premiums since her 2014 “death” and warning letters had been sent to banks and credit agencies. Nonetheless, Murphy told the Deseret News in August that, all in all, she feels pretty good despite being dead. Political connections in some Latin American countries have allowed convicted drug dealers and crime bosses to serve their sentences comfortably, and the most recent instance to make the news, from Agence France-Presse, was the presidential-suite-type “cell” occupied by Brazilian drug lord Jarvis Chimenes Pavao in Paraguay. When police — apparently not “politically connected” ones — raided the cell in July, they found a well-appointed apartment with semi-luxurious furniture settings including a conference table for Pavao to conduct “business”, embellished wallpaper designs with built-in bookcases, a huge TV

among the latest electronics — and even a handsome shoe rack holding Pavao’s footwear selection. Pavao also rented out part of the suite to other inmates for the equivalent of $5,000 plus $600 weekly rent.

SOUNDS FAMILIAR (1) Chris Atkins in Denver is among the most recent judicially ruled “fathers” to owe child support even though DNA tests have proven that another man’s semen produced the child. Atkins is in the middle of a contentious divorce/child custody battle in which his estranged wife wants both custody and support payments, and since Atkins did not contest his fatherhood until the child reached age 11, he has lost legal standing. (2) A high school girl and her parents told the Tallahassee Democrat (florida) in July that they were on the verge of filing a lawsuit demanding that the school district order the Leon High School cheerleader squad to select her even though she had fallen twice during tryouts. LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS Boyd

Wiley, 47, was arrested in August when he walked into the Putnam County (Florida) Sheriff ’s Office and, apparently in all seriousness, demanded that deputies return the 91 marijuana plants they had unearthed from a vacant lot in the town of Interlachen several days earlier. Until that moment, deputies did not know whose plants they were. Wiley was told that growing marijuana is illegal in Florida and was arrested.

NOT A TECHIE The most recent perp

to realize that cops use Facebook is Mack Yearwood, 42, who ignored a relative’s advice and uploaded his Citrus County, Florida, wanted poster for his Facebook profile picture, thus energizing deputies who, until then, had no leads on his whereabouts. He was caught a day later and faces a battery complaint and several open arrest warrants.

SUPER-SIZE ME Texan Monica Riley,

age 27 and weighing 700 pounds, is the

most recent “super-sized” woman to claim happiness in exhibiting herself semi-nude for “fans” — of which she claims 20,000 — who watch online as morbidly obese people eat. She told the celebrity news site Barcroft Media in September that her 8,000 calories a day put her on track to weigh 1,000 pounds soon, and that her loving boyfriend, Sid, 25 and a “feeder,” is turned on by helping her. Sid, for instance, feeds Monica her special 3,500-calorie “shake” through a funnel and supposedly will eagerly become her caretaker when she eats herself into total immobility. (“Safe For Work” website: SSBBW Magazine)

unsuccessful lawsuit against his dry cleaners was not frivolous — and he has still not come to the end of his legal odyssey. In June 2016, a D.C. Bar disciplinary committee recommended that Pearson be placed on probation for two years because of ethics violations, including having made statements “unsupported” by facts when defending his contention that the cleaners’ “satisfaction guaranteed” warranty made it liable for various negative occurrences in Pearson’s life following the loss of a pair of pants at the store. Not surprisingly, Pearson, now 65, announced that he would challenge the committee recommendation.

ANOTHER DIY OVERKILL Police in

RUSSIAN ICONS Russian performance

Centralia, Washington, arrested a man for reckless burning in August when, trying to rid his apartment of roaches, he bypassed ordinary aerosol bug spray in favor of making a homemade flamethrower, lighting the spray aflame. He fled the apartment when he realized he might have taken things too far. Firefighters were called, but the damage was minimal.

THE BIG SPILL Population grows; goods

must be hauled; traffic congestion is worse; and thus trucks keep spilling their loads on the highways. The really weird ones have set the bar perhaps unattainably high for this genre of news (e.g., the truck spilling pornographic magazines; the truck hauling ham colliding with the truck hauling eggs). In September, however, a tractor-trailer overturned on Interstate 295 in New Castle, Delaware, spilling a particularly low-value load. The truck, headed for the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, was filled with 22 tons worth of increasingly shunned U.S. pennies, but these were even less useful — though perhaps, by metal content, more valuable — because they were not-yet-engraved “blanks.”

LOST PANTS, LOST MIND Roy Pearson,

a former District of Columbia administrative law judge, may be the only person in America who believes that his 2005 $54-million

artist Petr Pavlensky’s most infamous moment was in 2013 when, to protest government oppression, he nailed his scrotum to the ground at Moscow’s Red Square. He had also once sewn his lips shut and, at another time, set fire to a door at Russia’s FSB security headquarters. In August, the Burger King company announced a series of four limitededition sandwiches inspired by Pavlensky for the artist’s hometown of St. Petersburg. The scrotum performance, for example, will be marked by an egg “nailed” to a burger by plastic spear. A company spokesperson said Pavlensky was chosen as the inspiration because he is popular with “the masses.”

DON’T UPSET THE ELVES Once

again, Iceland’s “little people” have, when disrespected, roiled the country’s public policy. In August, a road crew had inadvertently buried a supposedly enchanted elfin rock along a highway being cleared of debris from a landslide, and immediately, all misfortunes in the area were attributed to the elves’ displeasure. According to an Agence FrancePresse dispatch, crews were quickly ordered to re-set the rock. The incident was one more in a long series in which public and private funds in Iceland are routinely diverted toward projects thought to appease the elves.

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 15

FOOD

FEATURE

CHRISSIE NELSON

Hot wings from Wing King Cafe.

FLY ON OVER TO WING KING CAFÉ King of Wings in the Queen City BY CHRISSIE NELSON

OOTBALL AND WINGS

is a classic combination; just like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, spaghetti and meatballs, Muggsy Bogues and Space Jam. You always need to have some extra paper towels on hand during football season as you chow down on some spicy, saucy 16 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

goodness while cheering on your team So with the kickoff of football season last weekend, it was only appropriate that I write my September story about some of the best chicken wings in the Queen City. I know that this is a contentious topic (especially with all of the Charlotte residents that originally hail from upstate New York), but I feel confident

that Wing King Café is in the running for some of the best wings in Charlotte. First, you have to overlook the location, the gas station plaza perched on the corner of South Tryon Street and Carowinds Boulevard is questionable at best (but what can I say, some of the best food can come from hole in the wall joints in sketchy strip

malls). The location is probably why I drove past Wing King Café for about eight months after I moved to Steele Creek without ever going in, and those eight months could be in the running for one of my biggest life regrets. Second, Wing King Café is not a café. Instead, you’ll be walking into a sports bar

“This side of the pond” Trivia every tuesday 7pm

Champions league and Premiere League soccer

Back in play!

JOIN US!!!

CHRISSIE NELSON

Hot garlic parmesan wings from Wing King Cafe.

WING KING CAFE 13209 Carowinds Blvd. 704-5041954. wingkingcafe.net.

The Wing King sampler.

CHRISSIE NELSON

with an old school tavern vibe, sports on all of the TVs, quippy art (“No shoes, no shirt, no pants, no service. Unless you’re Cam Newton or Luke Kuechly”), a chatty and friendly staff and excellent wings. I highly recommend that you head to Wing King Café to catch the big game, grab a bar stool and a cold beer, and get a little messy while you chow down on saucy wings. But takeout is also a viable option; we often turn to Wing King Café to supply the Buffalo wing component of our game day-spread. Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first. If you’re not into wings (although I’m not sure why you wouldn’t be) Wing King Café also serves up traditional “bar food,” burgers, sandwiches, French fries, onion rings and other deep fried goodness. So if there is a wing hater in your midst, no worries, Wing King has tasty food to

accommodate them too. Now onto the main event, the wings. There’s something to please all of the wing lovers in your dining party or your Panthers’ tailgate; with over 30 flavors to choose from, you can go traditional or try something different. Their standard sauces like medium and hot pack the right amount of flavor and spice, but some of their best wings are creative flavors like hot garlic parmesan, Cajun, honey gold or Ming’s sweet chili. Although I am not a parmesan wing eater, my fiancé claims the only way to make decent parmesan wings is with actual parmesan cheese and you can bet that Wing King Café’s wings are covered in the good stuff. You can order batches of wings anywhere from 5 to 100, but beware, prices on the wings are just for one flavor; extra flavors are a dollar extra per flavor. We usually order the King Sampler, 25 wings of five different flavors so we can get a little variety without without having to pay a dollar extra. Wings come with their homemade bleu cheese or ranch, plenty of celery sticks, and a whole ‘lotta wet naps for when you’re done licking your fingers. Chrissie Nelson is a public defender by day and a food blogger by night. Read about her foodventures, restaurant reviews and other Charlotte musings at offtheeatenpathblog.com. CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 17

FOOD

THREE-COURSE SPIEL

OFF TO BRING HOME THE BACON Chef Corey Siegal joins Team USA and heads to Culinary Olympics in Germany BY MADELINE LEMIEUX

IF THERE’S ONE thing last month’s Rio Olympics drove home, it’s that athletes can spend years training for their brief moment in the spotlight. (That, and the fact that Usain Bolt might actually be a superhero). The upcoming Culinary Olympics, taking place next month in Germany, are no different. For Chef Corey Siegal, one of eight chefs competing together as Culinary Team USA, the dream of competing has been a decade in the making. “It started for me when I was 15, when I first found out I wanted to start cooking,” he says. “I was in a vocational program and I had a teacher that told me, ‘I think it’d be really awesome if you were the youngest to ever make Team USA. I was like, ‘Yeah, sure Chef, whatever it takes!’” Following the advice of his instructor, Siegal would go on to attend the Culinary Institute and intern under chefs who had previously competed with Team USA. The icing on the cake was securing an apprenticeship at the Greenbriar Resort. “If you can make it there,” he says of the resort’s competitive three-year program, “You can make it on the team.” Siegal’s hard work got him noticed, and he was one of 30 chefs invited to Charlotte’s Johnson & Wales University to compete for a spot on Team USA. “My goal was to be the youngest on the team,” he says, “And I ended up getting the letter that said I made the team the day before my 23rd birthday.” Now based out of the Queen City, the culinary Olympian splits his time between training for the upcoming quadrennial competition, and working as head chef at Electrolux. With the event less than a month away, Siegal’s schedule is hectic. Luckily, he’s good at multi-tasking (midway through our phone interview, he revealed that he was toiling over the stove in his kitchen as we spoke!) Creative Loafing: The Team USA chefs are based around the country — how do you communicate and work successfully as a team? Corey Siegal: We talk once or twice a week. We’re constantly sending pictures to each other. ‘Hey, what do you think of this, what do you think of that?’ We have a pastry chef, we have guys that are really good at butchering, guys that are great at making sauces, guys that are delicate so they work on a fish course. So we look at everyone’s 18 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

Chef Corey Siegal strengths and weaknesses and try to make the strongest team possible. My role in cold kitchen in Germany, I’ll do a three-course vegetarian menu. In the hot kitchen, I’ll assist with the pastry chef, so me and her will take care of dessert. Do you feel any pressure living up to the legacy of teams that have competed in prior years? Usually the U.S. places very well. We haven’t won since 1988, but we always do well. Usually we’ll win one of the two categories, either hot food or cold food. When we competed in the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg, we had the highest score in the cold kitchen — the highest score in the world! When we put up our food, we thought we had embarrassed our country. Our standard was so high we thought we weren’t good enough. We were aiming for the stars, we’re perfectionists, we dedicate our lives to this stuff. One little thing out of place drives you crazy. Then the score came out, and we were best in the world! What are your plans after the competition — training for the Culinary Olympics 2020? Absolutely not! (laughs) It’s a ton of work. Not that it’s a bad thing, but after this, I want to go in different directions. I’m going to take a break for a bit. It’s been six years of nonstop competing. You don’t get to see friends and family as much as you’d like to. So take a little time to catch up, then maybe open my own place eventually. MLEMIEUX@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 19

THURSDAY

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

SATURDAY

ALEXANDRA VALENTI

Kaleo TUESDAY

SATURDAY

DIRTY ART CLUB

LAKE NORMAN BEERFEST

HANNIBAL BURESS

FORLORN STRANGERS

What: “Soigné” (meaning elegant) is a good description of this fivecourse pop-up dining experience. Chef Shawn Harrison’s Tephra food events specialize in vegan dishes that are pleasing in both visual and edible form. With a menu that uses ingredients like sweet potato and squash, this is the perfect way for your taste buds to kick off the fall. Pastry chef Jason Lemon joins Harrison. Bon apetit!

What: The Charlotte-based duo, comprised of Matt Cagle & Madwreck released Heavy Starch back in 2011. Since then they’ve gone on to release other electronic, soul-psych, downtempo beatdriven tracks, as well as 2013’s instrumental experiment, Vermilion. They’ve got some new vibes up their sleeve and soon they’ll be heading to Europe for shows. With Blanket Fort, Camping and Don Telling’s Island Mysteries.

What: There are so many beer related events (Mecktoberfest at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Sept. 23-25; and the popular Waldhorn Oktoberfest at Waldhorn Restaurant, Sept. 23-Oct. 15) around this time of year. But this is a one-day only affair with unlimited sampling from local and regional participating breweries, barbecue and live music from Simplified, Blue Monday and headliner Southern Sauce.

What: Following up on last year’s “Comedy Camisado Tour” in Charlotte, Hannibal Burress is back with the “Hannibal Montanabel Experience.” The comic started to get shine as Ilana’s sort-of boyfriend on Broad City, but he’s built his own name up and become one of the nation’s most popular stand-up acts since. He’s come a long way from sleeping on the train in Chicago between stand-up gigs during his come-up.

What: This Nashville-based Americana quintet offers a blend of folk, country and bluegrass with strong harmonies laid overtop. Guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and bass provide the Appalachian atmosphere, but it’s the group’s vocalizations that provide the depth to the music. The band keeps it upbeat while their voices blend into one. The band’s debut album, Bottom of the Barrel, was released in August.

When: 7:30 p.m. Where: The Art of Vape, 1426 Winnifred St. More: $50. tephravegan.ticketleap. com/artofvape/.

When: 8 p.m. Where: Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave. More: $6. 704-332-6608. petraspianobar.com.

When: 5 p.m.-9 p.m. (VIP admission at 4 p.m.) Where: Galway Hooker, 17044 Kenton Drive. More: $35-$60. lknbeerfest.com.

When: 8 p.m. Where: Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. More: $25 and up. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

When: 9 p.m. Where: Double Door Inn, 1218 Charlottetowne Ave. More: $10-$12. 704-376-1446. doubledoorinn.com.

SOIGNÉ: TEPHRA VEGAN DINNER

— ANITA OVERCASH

20 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

— OVERCASH

— RYAN PITKIN

— JEFF HAHNE

Soigné: Tephra Vegan Dinner THURSDAY

NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS

Forlorn Strangers SATURDAY

Hannibal Burress SATURDAY

JENNIFER ELROD PHOTOGRAPHY

SATURDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

QUEEN CITY ANTHOLOGY

STAND AGAINST HB2

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

KALEO

THE STRUTS

What: Whether they know him or not, Charlotte music fans know Daniel Coston’s work. The local photog is just there, all the time. Ok, maybe not all the time, but if you go to concerts regularly then you’ve spotted him. With that said, he’s built up quite a catalogue of photographs of bands and musicians over the years. This photography retrospective showcases some of the ones he took in the ‘90s and beyond, many never before seen.

What: This grass-roots concert series was launched back in May, but you still have a chance to show your support for human rights and hear music from local musicians including Jon Lindsay, Alternative Champs, The Loudermilks, Dust & Ashes, The Eyebrows, Rapper Shane and more. The eclectic line-up drives home the point that opposing discriminatory laws is essential to all North Carolinians, and not just the LGTBQ community.

What: Every year during UNCCharlotte’s International Festival we remember that it’s a small world after all. That’s because crowds of cultures and countries are represented. You’ll find booths that have been transformed into colorful marketplaces and displays, alongside grills and sternos filled with savory grub. Come hungry and leave full. But be warned, this festival does stir up the travel bugs.

What: This Icelandic folk-rock quartet is also inspired by the blues, as evidenced by their hit single, “Way Down We Go.” The band’s show at the Whitewater Center a few months back was canceled, so this will be their Charlotte premiere. Be sure to get there early for the stunning songcrafting of Bishop Briggs. Her album hasn’t yet been released, but the strength of her first singles has gotten her opening slots on the summer’s hottest tours.

What: The Struts are the latest in a long line of England-based glam-rock bands. The music’s momentum feeds off big guitar riffs and the enthusiastic performance of frontman/singer Luke Spiller. The band’s hit single, “Kiss This,” has a familiarity to it that makes it perfect for a sweaty rock club singalong. I’d expect to see them in a bigger room the next time around. That being said, seeing them in this new, smaller venue is not to be missed.

When: 8 p.m. Where: The Underground, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd. More: fillmorecharlottenc.com.

When: 8:30 p.m. Where: The Underground, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd. More: $18. fillmorecharlottenc.com.

When: 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Where: C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St. More: Free. c3-lab.com. — OVERCASH

When: 12 p.m. Where: Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. More: $15-$20. 704-942-7997. neighborhoodtheatre.com. — PAT MORAN

When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Where: UNC-Charlotte’s Barnhardt Student Activity Center, 9201 University City Blvd. More: Free admission. http://ifest. uncc.edu. — OVERCASH

— HAHNE

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 21

ARTS

THEATER

SHAKESPEARE PENS A SITCOM Chickspeare craftily taps into Bard comedy BY PERRY TANNENBAUM

P ON NORTH Tryon Street at NoDa Brewing Company, Chickspeare is flipping the script

again. Founded upon the principle that Shakespeare’s works, originally performed by all-male companies in Merrie Olde England, can also be performed by all-female companies in Modern America, Chickspeare now propounds a new heresy. Although the Bard’s first great work, The Comedy of Errors, has its roots in Ancient Rome, why can’t we equate this trusty old farce with our own dopey TV sitcoms? Executing this audacious concept, Chickspeare director Andrea King decrees a modicum of pruning and reshaping upon the script, along with hefty helpings of mugging, styling, and profiling from her hambone cast. If that weren’t enough to win us over — and it definitely was last Saturday night — then there’s the free cupful of NoDa Brewing’s draft beer included in the ticket price to further lubricate our receptivity. Four different brews were flowing from the kegs. As the old story unfolds in modern dress, linkage to American sitcoms comes largely through familiar theme songs. When the luckless Egeon tells how his twin sons, both named Antipholus, were separated during infancy along with their parents, the fateful sea voyage is evoked by the familiar shipwreck of The Minnow immortalized in the ballad of Gilligan’s Island — plus an extremely cheesy scene change. Later when Antipholus of Syracuse marvels at the fact that everyone recognizes him in Ephesus, where he has never been before, his astonishment is punctuated by the theme song from Cheers, that Boston pub where everybody knows your name. Action comes fast and quick in this Shakespeare in the Park(ing Lot) production, so I didn’t keep track of all the sitcom and game-show themes that zoomed by, or whether references to The Jeffersons, Mission Impossible, Laverne and Shirley, and The Beverly Hillbillies were linked quite as cunningly to the text. These “Chicksbeer” shows are all outdoors, with a nearby food truck supplementing the brewery offerings, but the evening performances beginning at 7 p.m. make some extra buffoonery possible 22 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

as the Ephesian nitwits take multiple stabs at pointing to the setting sun. Two sets of identical twins scurry about during this carnival of confusion, for the two Antipholuses are served by two Dromios who were also separated during infancy. Their befuddlement can only be sustained if they don’t meet, so it isn’t until deep in act five that all four of our protagonists must appear simultaneously before us. Historically, directors have relied upon actors’ height, costumes, and grooming to bridge the inevitable gap in physical appearances. Only recently have I seen or heard of directors who explore the comic possibilities of radically mismatching the identical twins. King adopts yet another strategy. Perhaps inspired by her own recent experience in PaperHouse Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing, where she was briefly Dogberry and Leonato simultaneously, King has cast Caroline Renfro as both Antipholuses and Tania Kelly as both Dromios. Talk about flipping the script! In most productions of Comedy of Errors, we’re challenged to perceive the twins as identical in spite of their obvious physical differences. At the NoDa Brewing Company parking lot, we’re challenged to keep track of which identical twin is which. A couple of visual aids are helpful. When Kelly is the Dromio who dwells in Ephesus, she dons a dopey floppy hat, and when Renfro appears as the Syracusan Antipholus, she flips out a Clark Kent set of eyeglass frames. As you’ll see in the zany staging of her nativity, this Antipholus was actually born with eyeglasses. Additionally, the philandering Antipholus of Ephesus seems to be tipsy for nearly the whole evening. That extra degree of differentiation for Renfro seems justified. With all the thankless errands, unjust castigations, and slapstick beatings that Kelly absorbs as the two Dromios, it eventually ceases to matter which whipping boy is drawing the belly laughs. Except when Dromio of Syracuse is pursued by the amply padded Carmen Bartlett as Nell, Antipholus of Ephesus’ kitchen maid — and his manservant’s massive wife. Kelly works up a delightful lather as she gets most of the shtick, but Renfro

Chickspeare performances of Comedy of Errors continue on Sept. 24 & 25.

WELDON WEAVER

COMEDY OF ERRORS $20. Sept. 24, 7 p.m.; Sept. 25, 2 p.m. NoDa Brewing Company, 2921 N. Tryon St. chickspeare.com.

generates her share of zaniness, perhaps most memorably when she picks up a miclike prop and hosts an impromptu segment of ... let’s call it The Dating Game. Antipholus of Syracuse is less hotly pursued by his twin’s wife, but the scantily clad Alexandria White definitively stamps herself as the hottie of the house as Adriana, spurned though she might be by the look-alike Antipholus while her real husband is cheating on her. Theme music from Bewitched may have been cued up when the alluring Adriana invited her Syracuse brother-in-law to her home for dinner. Not only can’t Antipholus believe his good fortune, he is smitten by Adriana’s sister, Luciana. Some of the juice seems to be drained from this faux love triangle to trim this production to its desired running time, so we miss some of the sisters’ consternation when the Syracusan obeys his instincts and speaks his heart. Likewise, Dromio of Syracuse’s eventual relief seemed to overshadow his master’s delight in the denouement. So Kacy Southerland didn’t get the fullest opportunity to explore the virtues of Luciana — or their ultimate reward. But she moonlights as Amelia, the local abbess, so she can lavish additional virtue on Egeon’s long-lost wife and gush forth the bliss of her reunion with her children and her husband.

Arrested in the opening scene for being a Syracusan on Ephesian soil, Amanda Liles isn’t seen much as Egeon after narrating the hilarious sea saga that sets up the plot. Not to fear, she resurfaces as the frustrated goldsmith, Angelo, who can’t get paid for the necklace he fashions for the philandering Antipholus — and as the courtesan he’s twotiming with. Of course, Egeon must be there for the sentimental reunions, so Liles has her schizoid moment, splitting into Angelo as all is settled. Cara Wood is the Duke of Ephesus, who — mercifully? — grants Egeon 24 hours to raise the ransom money that will enable him to avoid execution for his trespass. We need more Duke at the end when the terrified Antipholus of Syracuse and his Dromio take refuge at the Abbey and the implacable Adriana wants her husband back. Wood tosses off the Duke — and an arresting officer in the necklace affair — with far more distinction than we usually see, never detracting from the merry mood. Chickspeare has a knack for broadly entertaining while duly honoring the Bard, making the texts accessible to common folk four centuries after they played to the groundlings. Symptomatic of the troupe’s sure touch here is how they treat the often intimidating soliloquies. Instead of making them occasions for declamatory orations, they’re prerecorded and presented as interior monologues, brought down to the level of cartoonish thought bubbles that pop with crass and delicious effervescence. Yeah, the Chix banditas understand what contemporary audiences crave, and their Chicksbeer series deftly taps in.

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 23

ARTS

FILM

LIONSGATE

Valorie Curry in Blair Witch.

INTO THE WOODS ... AGAIN Nary a scare in regurgitated Blair BY MATT BRUNSON

O QUOTE B.B. King, “The thrill is gone.” When The Blair Witch Project debuted in 1999, it created quite a sensation on a number of fronts. It brilliantly used the Internet to promote itself in unique ways. It exposed general 24 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

audiences to the “found footage” concept. It effectively positioned itself as a true story, so much so that many viewers didn’t realize it was fiction until they actually went to see the film. And, on a minuscule budget of $60,000 (in the same summer of the $170 million dud Wild Wild West, no less), it earned a sizable $140 million stateside and

an additional $110 million internationally. As for the picture’s effectiveness, while it didn’t live up to the usual nonsensical hype of being the scariest movie ever made, it was nevertheless a clever and creepy watch. The 2000 release Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (aka The Sequel That Time Forgot) wasn’t enjoyed by anyone, so here we are

with a new release that’s being promoted as a direct sequel to the original. Blair Witch (** out of four) opens with James (James Allen McCune), the younger brother of The Blair Witch Project protagonist Heather, discovering YouTube footage which he believes shows his sister in the cabin in the woods where she disappeared 15 years

earlier. Determined to locate her, he and his friends — filmmaker Lisa (Callie Hernandez), best bud Peter (Brandon Scott), and Peter’s girlfriend Ashley (Corbin Reid) — head to the area to meet Lane (Wes Robinson) and Talia (Valorie Curry), the locals who discovered the footage buried in the woods. The sextet are soon hoofing it through the thick forest, but it doesn’t take long for the omniscient evil presence to begin toying with them before attempting to take them out. As expected, Blair Witch is also presented in the “found footage” format, which was fresh back in ’99 but by now has grown exceedingly stale with its overuse in cinema. In fact, “stale” pretty much describes every aspect of this film, which basically follows the same patterns as its predecessor without adding much new to the equation. The tension between the four outsiders and their backwoods hosts is milked for some effective drama (the reaction of the black Peter to the Confederate flag hanging in Lane’s living room is perfectly played), but the trajectory of Lane’s character — pawn, puppet master or putz? — proves to be confusing and ultimately leads to more questions than answers. There’s next to no suspense in the film, although director Adam Wingard (who, incidentally, was all of 16 when the 1999 film debuted) loves to throw in tiresome attempts at cheap scares by having a person suddenly appear out of nowhere and get right in the face of somebody else (hasn’t anyone in scare flicks ever heard of personal space?). As for the finale, it’s largely a repeat of the climax from the first picture, conclusively demonstrating that Wingard and scripter Simon Barrett aren’t particularly interested in expanding the myth as much as regurgitating it. To quote James at one point in the picture, “Fuck this.”

IT’S NO MATCH for 2014’s Citizenfour, the Edward Snowden confessional that nabbed the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, but let’s say this about Snowden (*** out of four): It’s the best movie Oliver Stone has helmed since the 20th century. While it lacks the emotional wallop or technical prowess of Stone’s revered projects from the 1980s and ‘90s (Platoon, JFK and many more), it at least finds the controversial filmmaker shakily getting back on his feet following a post-Y2K resume that includes the disastrous likes of Alexander, W., Savages, and that Wall Street sequel with Shia LaBeouf. Snowden, with a script by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald (meshing together a pair of books), even uses as its starting point the meetings between the whistleblower (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Citizenfour director Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) and The Guardian journalists Glenn Greenwald

(Zachary Quinto) and Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson), thereafter employing flashbacks as Snowden (born in Elizabeth City, NC) explains how he progressed from a blinderson conservative to a man whose disgust in the government’s illegal surveillance of Americans led to him deciding to leak thousands of NSA files. The film clearly views Snowden as a hero rather than a traitor, and it cuts no slack for anyone on either side of the political aisle, particularly the Bush administration for implementation and the Obama administration for continuation (there are also sound bites of Hillary Clinton stating that Snowden needs to be held accountable and Donald Trump suggesting that he be “executed”). And if Stone has over the years lost the ability to infuse his pictures with righteous indignity, he at least has again applied his talents to a movie that actually matters.

IT’S BEEN 12 years since we’ve last seen Bridget Jones, and while that comes close to the 16 years since we last spotted the Blair Witch, it must be noted that the plucky Brit has certainly held up better. As with The Blair Witch Project, the delightful 2001 feature Bridget Jones’s Diary was followed by a dismal sequel (2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) — in this case, though, there’s a Happily Ever After in the form of Bridget Jones’s Baby (*** out of four), which proves to be a largely satisfying entry in the franchise. In this outing, Bridget (Renée Zellweger, again essaying the role that earned her an Oscar nomination) is older but not necessarily wiser, lamenting the fact that she’s alone on her 43rd birthday. But things soon improve on the romantic — well, at least sexual — front, as Bridget first hooks up with an American matchmaking guru (Patrick Dempsey) she meets at a music festival and then, a few days later, with her former lover Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), now unhappily married and on the verge of getting a divorce. Shortly thereafter, Bridget finds herself pregnant, and she sets about attempting to figure out not only which of her two beaus is the father but also which one has captured (or, in the case of Darcy, recaptured) her heart. Bridget Jones’s Baby takes its time hitting its stride, with early sequences proving to be awkward and forced. But as the plot complications pile up, so do the opportunities for Zellweger and an ace supporting cast (including Emma Thompson, hilariously droll as Bridget’s doctor) to strut their stuff, resulting in a film that ultimately does a fine job in delivering its developments with the right amount of comic kick. CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 25

ARTS

HAPPENINGS

COMEDY Bonkerz Comedy Club Jody Kerns. Sept. 23-24, 8 p.m. Hilton Charlotte Executive Park, 5624 Westpark Drive. 980-288-5653. bonkerzcomedyproductions.com. The Comedy Zone Rodney Perry. Sept. 22, 8 p.m. Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m.; Sept. 24, 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m.; Sept. 25, 7 p.m. Almost Famous Comedy Show. Sept. 28, 8 p.m. 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., Suite B3. 980-321-4702. cltcomedyzone.com. Knight Theater Jeanne Robertson. Sept. 23, 8 p.m. $24.50 and up. Hannibal Buress. Sept. 24, 8 p.m. 430 South Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

THEATER/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE ART Breakin’ Convention Lunchtime Performances Kickoff Breakin’ Convention early with these lunchtime break dancing performances. Sept. 26-27; Sept. 29-30. Held at Levine Center for the Arts Plaza in Uptown. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. Dirty Dancing Based off the movie, this romantic story about Baby and Johnny comes complete with dance moves and music. $29.50 and up. Sept. 23, 8 p.m.; Sept. 24, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sept. 25, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd. 704372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. First Date A musical comedy about Aaron, a newbie to blind dating, who meets with Casey, an expert blind dater, for a first date. A simple night of drinks turns into a chaotic dinner when the couple realizes they are not alone. The people in the restaurant turn into best friends, ex’s, and even parents in this comical musical about the chances we take to find true love. Sept. 27-29, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 30, 8 p.m.; Oct. 1, 2 and 8 p.m.; Oct. 2, 1:30 and 7 p.m.; Oct. 4-6, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 7, 8 p.m.; Oct. 8, 2 and 8 p.m.; Oct. 9, 1:30 and 7 p.m.; Oct. 11-13, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 14, 8 p.m.; Oct. 15, 2 and 8 p.m.; Oct. 16, 1:30 and 7 p.m.; Oct. 18-20, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 21, 8 p.m.; Oct. 22, 2 and 8 p.m.; Oct. 23, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-3721000. blumenthalarts.org. Forever 4 What? It’s a tale of dramatic love as 26 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

a couple tries to get through a family weekend without tearing each other apart. It’s called gut-wrenching and likely to start a conversation about unconditional love between a husband and wife. $21. Sept. 23, 7 p.m.; Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m. Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. Comedy of Errors Chickspeare presents this farcical comedy by Shakespeare. It’s about two sets of twins separated at birth who undergo a serious series of mistaken identity. Sept. 24-25. NoDa Brewing Company, 2921 N Davidson St. chickspeare.com. 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche It’s 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. Will they be able to keep their cool when Communists threaten their idyllic town? $15-$20. Through Sept. 24. Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216 Westmoreland Road, Suite A, Cornelius. 704-859-5930. warehousepac.com. Saturday Night Fever Get out your “Boogie Shoes” as this mega-hit musical hits the Theatre Charlotte stage. Featuring Songs by The Bee Gees, David Abbinanti, David Shire, Walter Murphy and Kool and the Gang. Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 23-24, 8 p.m.; Sept. 25, 2:30 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road. 704376-3777. theatrecharlotte.org.

MORE EVENTS Amazing Maize Maze Historic Rural Hill presents its Amazing Maize Maze, with other two miles of interconnecting paths on the 265-acre spread. Get lost and then found again or creep yourself out during nighttime maze hours on select nights. $8-$16. Through Nov. 6. Historic Rural Hill Farm, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville. 704-875-3113. ruralhill.net. Charlotte AutoFair Join other car enthusiasts at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a plethora of vehicles for sale and on show. Special parts and supplies not found anywhere else are also available. Sept. 22-25. Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Parkway South, Concord. 704-455-3200. charlottemotorspeedway.com. Charlotte Film Festival Screening a variety of films in varying genres. Sept. 22-Oct. 2. Ayrsley Grand Cinemas, 9110 Kings Parade Blvd. charlottefilmfestival.org.

Full Bloom Film Festival Statesville film festival geared towards nature. $25.50 and up. Sept. 22-24. Historic Downtown Statesville, 112 S Center St., Statesville. Festival in the Park In its 52nd year, the festival features arts and craft vendors. live music and family-friendly activities. Free admission. Sept. 23, 4-9:30 p.m.; Sept. 24, 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Sept. 25, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Freedom Park, 1900 East Blvd. festivalinthepark.org. Film Screening + Q&A: Devadasi_NOW An experimental documentary on the challenges of eradicating Devadasi tradition, a practice of religious servitude made illegal since the ‘80s. Free. Sept. 22, 7 p.m. The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film1817 Central Ave. Food from Home: Talk and Recipe Exchange Community historian Tom Hanchett leads a discussion with several newcomers he’s profiled in his “Food from Home” column about how food brings communities together. Participants can share recipes and enjoy samples from the featured speakers. $5 to attend. Registration required. Sept. 25, 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. Seventh St. Gantt Symposium 2016: Anna Deavere Smith Smith performs portrayals of people she has interviewed during the course of her presentation, recreating a diversity of emotions and points of view on controversial issues. $10-$20. Sept. 22, 7 p.m. Knight Theater, 430 S Tryon St. If This Dog Could Talk Dr. Jamie Laity of Animal Medical Hospital is hosting a free community event in partnership with Merck Animal Health. She, along with renowned photographer Elias Weiss Friedman (creator of the photo-documentary series “The Dogist”) will raise awareness of dog flu and stress the importance of speaking with your veterinarian about your dog’s lifestyle-associated risk factors. Free. Sept. 24, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Frazier Park, 1201 West 4th St. Kannapolis Cultural Arts Festival The festival brings together a variety of cultural acts and artists. Belly dancers, painters, pottery makers, clowns are just a few of the things you can see at the festival in downtown Kannapolis. Free. Sept. 24, noon-5 p.m. Downtown Kannapolis, 246 Oak Avenue, Kannapolis.

The Nourish Marketplace The event brings the small business community together to help support and connect women. Featuring a variety of local vendors and small businesses. Sept. 24, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oak Hill Business Park, 8757 Red Oak Blvd. nourishclt.com. Repticon Charlotte Reptile & Exotic Animal Show Repticon Charlotte is a reptile event featuring vendors offering reptile pets, supplies, feeders, cages, and merchandise as well as live animal seminars and frequent free raffles for coveted prizes. Sept. 24-25. Cabarrus Arena & Events Center, 4751 Highway 49 North, Concord. SCarowinds Carowinds is turning into a haunted “scream park” and setting up over 16 different spooky attractions throughout the park. Through Oct. 30. Carowinds, 14523 Carowinds Blvd. 704-588-2600. carowinds. com. Symphony on Tap Sample the Charlotte Symphony’s exciting 85th season with a free season preview. Music director Christopher Warren-Green will conduct an hour-long performance highlighting selections from across our diverse series, including Classical, Pops, and the newly announced altsounds. The concert will start at 7 p.m. with a fanfare on the Belk Theater plaza at the corner of Tryon and 5th streets. The in-theater portion of the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22, 7 p.m. Belk Theater, 130 N Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org. UNC Charlotte International Festival Over 50 nations will be represented during this colorful and diverse festival at UNC Charlotte. Games, food and performances will happen throughout the festival as the participants celebrate the growing diversity of the college and the city that surrounds it. Sept. 24. UNC Charlotte Student Union, 9201 University City Blvd. http:// ifest.uncc.edu. Uncorked Get ready to enjoy all varieties of vino at Uncorked, the USNWC’s wine festival featuring a variety of local, regional, and national wineries. The day begins with the Wild Vine 5k and half marathon trail races, followed by the wine tasting from 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Enjoy live music throughout the evening from our main stage on Belmont Abbey Island. Sept. 24. U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway. 704-391-3900. usnwc.org.

CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 27

MUSIC

FEATURE

SHERVIN LAINEZ

Kishi Bashi performs at Visulite Theatre on Sept. 28.

KISHI BASHI AND HIS HISTORY OF VIOLINS Pop artist reflects on love and a lifetime of playing BY PAT MORAN

STRANGE

THING

happeed to Kaoru Ishibashi as he sat down to write his latest album Sonderlust. His personal life blew up. 2015 had been a whirlwind year for 28 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

Ishibashi, who has released three studio albums of shimmering layered pop under the name Kishi Bashi. He was touring with a string quartet, playing acoustic arrangements of songs selected from his synthesizer-heavy albums 151A and Lighght. The tour yielded a spirited live album, String Quartet Live!, but

Ishibashi’s hectic schedule put such a strain on his 13-year marriage that the couple were forced to separate briefly. Turning to work only made matters worse. Trying to come up with new songs, he hit a wall. His old method of working — crafting tunes from loops laid down with his violin — no longer cut it.

So Ishibashi put down his violin and embraced samplers, sequencers and electronics. Sonderlust is the first Kishi Bashi album where the composer/violinist doesn’t play his violin — though a studio string section figures prominently on several songs. Ishibashi also stepped away from the

“GETTING A ROCK BAND TO BE SUCCESSFUL IS ALMOST LIKE WINNING THE LOTTERY. IT’S REALLY HARD, ESPECIALLY IN NEW YORK CITY WHERE THERE’S A LOT OF COMPETITION AND THE RENTS ARE RIGHT THROUGH THE ROOF,” SAYS ISHIBASHI. KISHI BASHI $16-$18. Sept. 28, 8 p.m. Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. 704-3589200. visulite.com.

surrealist and impressionistic lyrics he’d relied on in the past, and addressed the marital woes, hardship and heartbreak that had entered his life. The result is his most emotionally direct set of songs to date. On Sonderlust, Ishibashi sings about love. “The kind of things you do when you’re initially in love with someone — they’re different from the gradual trust and the emotional bond you create over time. I didn’t really realize that until recently,” Ishibashi says. “Older people — couples who’ve been married for 50 years — may not be in love (that entire) time, but they definitely love each other.” To complement lyrics that traced a straightforward story arc, the course of a romantic relationship through dissolution and hopeful reconciliation, Ishibashi sharpened his musical approach. “Sonderlust is a lot less dense than all my other material. My other albums are kind of crazy.” Ishibashi maintains. “My producer Chris Taylor is with Grizzly Bear. He produces their stuff, which is very minimal. So Chris was there to tell me when I went too far.” The songs, though simplified, are still lush. Sonderlust boasts a jazzy, soulful feel, where funk, disco and prog rock jostle for space on the dance floor. “Electric Light Orchestra and Pink Floyd have always been big influences,” says Ishibashi, who emulates the production techniques of those acts on his album. “With dry drums and really tight bass, the 1970s was the golden era of recording.” In support of Sonderlust, Ishibashi is

touring again this fall, this time with a full rock band. While he left the stringed instruments to other musicians on his new album, he will be playing plenty of violin on stage. It’s an instrument he’s been obsessed with since high school. “I was pretty serious about it,” he recalls. “I played a lot of chamber music and I was concertmaster of the orchestra.” But Ishibashi saw no future in playing classical violin. “The only professionals around me played for a local symphony. I didn’t think I was good enough to be a concert soloist.” Instead, Ishibashi grew fascinated with jazz violin. His interest led him to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he focused on swing violin. “I studied the Stephane Grappelli style of playing. It was a small group of people and it was great.” Graduating with a film scoring degree from Berklee, Ishibashi headed to New York. “I started a band, Jupiter One. It was initially an instrumental group, fusion drum and bass — something really unpopular,” Ishibashi says laughing. Soon Ishibashi started writing songs, and more people started coming to the band’s shows. He discovered that he enjoyed the songwriting process. “I could connect with an audience better singing songs, (as opposed to) playing wailing solos.” Even so, Jupiter One had difficulty achieving lift-off. “Getting a rock band to be successful is almost like winning the lottery. It’s really hard, especially in New York City where there’s a lot of competition and the rents are right through the roof. The band just wasn’t going anywhere. Every move we made would send us in the wrong direction.” As a side gig, Ishibashi started touring with Regina Spektor, playing violin in her live band. One night in Berlin, the opening act didn’t show, and Ishibashi filled the bill

SHERVIN LAINEZ

with an impromptu solo set. “They were freaking out. I said, ‘I can probably do 30 minutes, if you lend me a guitar.’ So I whipped something together.” With a mix of material — Jupiter One songs and some solo tunes — Ishibashi augmented his guitar-accompanied selections with a few numbers on his violin. The audience reaction was so enthusiastic that Spektor gave him the opening slot for the rest of the tour. “I got a taste of hearing my songs stripped down. I felt the orchestral accompaniments were supporting the songs a lot better, and I realized that this violinist/songwriter thing was a lot more unique than a rock band or a singing guitarist.” Now five years into his solo career, Ishibashi continues to push his music in challenging directions. Though he all but jettisoned the violin as a compositional tool for Sonderlust, he won’t rule out returning to it for songwriting in the future. In fact, Ishibashi returned to his roots as a “violin nerd” with last year’s Kishi Bashi Spring Fling Contest, launched in conjunction with his 2015 release String Quartet Live. For the contest, Ishibashi posted

sheet music for all nine tracks off his live album, making it available for download. Competing student orchestras were then tasked with learning any two songs and submitting videos of themselves playing the compositions. In the end, four schools won the grand prize — Kishi Bashi playing live at their school Spring Concert. “They made these compelling videos,” says Ishibashi of the four winning schools — one in Atlanta, one in Saratoga Springs and two in the Chicago area. The high quality and energy of the videos reinforced “the reason we did it this contest,” he says. “We wanted to give talented kids a professional performance opportunity.” “There’s always a couple of kids in each orchestra who are thinking about going into a music career. I wanted to connect with them,” says Ishibashi. He also hopes to introduce the next generation of players to avenues that didn’t exist when he was their age. “The idea is to give young people an opportunity to play the kind of music they might listen to for fun,” he adds. “I want to connect them to the pop world.”

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MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD

WED 9/21 FRI 9/23 SAT 9/24

RANSOM PIER , GROOVE 8 , GRUVE AND THE ENABLERS & LOVELY BUDZ WED 9/28

KISHI BASHI Thu 9/29

SEPT. 22 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Anni Piper (Double Door Inn) Charlotte Blues Society Jam (The Rabbit Hole) River Jam Series w/ Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band (U.S. National Whitewater Center)

FRI 9/30

COUNTRY/FOLK

SAT 10/8

DJ/ELECTRONIC

elephant revival SUN 10/30

NOW HIRING INTERNS. THE BRIGHTER, THE BETTER. EMAIL BACKTALK@CLCLT.COM

Gal Friday feat. Ben Stalets (The Evening Muse)

Cherub feat. Boo Seeka (The Fillmore Charlotte)

POP/ROCK Dirty Art Club, Blanket Fort, Camping Don Telling’s Island Mysteries (Petra’s) Jaxx N Jacks (Comet Grill) Lost in Society, Minimums & Cherbough Way (Milestone) Shiprocked (Snug Harbor) Thirsty Horses (Tin Roof)

SEPT. 23 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Live Latin Thursdays (BluNotes)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Stonecrest Summer Concert Series w/ Brubakers (Stonecrest Shopping Center)

COUNTRY/FOLK 3 Piece Buckett (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Brett Young (Coyote Joe’s) The Grahams (The Evening Muse) James Taylor (Tin Roof) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B The Go-Go 4th Fridays w/ Uptown Swagga (BluNotes) I Love the 90s feat. Vanilla Ice, Salt-N-Pepa, Color Me Badd, Tone Loc, Coolio, and Rob Base (Time Warner Cable Arena)

POP/ROCK ABACAB - The Music of Genesis, feat. Red Barchetta Rush Tribute Band (Amos’ Southend) Annabell Leigh, Blackwater Drowning, Shadows of Deceit & Exiles (Milestone) Ben Rector: The Biggest Tour I Have Done So Far feat. Jacob Whitesides (Charlotte Metro 32 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

Credit Union Amphitheatre) The Bleeps, The Mollywops, and the Nevernauts (The Rabbit Hole) Cosmic Charlies performs “Europe ‘72” (Visulite Theatre) Hardcore Lounge feat. It’s Snakes, Boxing (Double Door Inn) Inter Arma w/ Call of the Void, Black Fleet (Snug Harbor) Jay Mathey (RiRa Irish Pub)

SEPT. 24 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Kofi Burbridge’s Birthday Bash (The Rabbit Hole)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH The Rare Soul Concert Series w/ Eliah, Blanche J & Special Guests Big Mike and Kefia Rollerson (BluNotes) Stonecrest Summer Concert Series w/ Brubakers (Stonecrest Shopping Center)

COUNTRY/FOLK Forlorn Strangers & Old Salt Union (Double Door Inn) The Knockoffs (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Robbie Fulks (The Evening Muse) Swim in the Wild (RiRa Irish Pub) Wheeler Walker Jr. (The Underground)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Digital Noir feat. Michael Price & DJ Spider (Milestone)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Lyricist’s Lounge (Upscale Lounge & Restaurant)

POP/ROCK Groove 8 w/ Ransom Pier, Gruve and the Enablers & School of Rock Charlotte (Visulite Theatre) Hobonomo (Comet Grill) John McCutcheon (Stage Door Theater) Knowne Ghost w/ The Remarks, The Glazzies (Snug Harbor) Kris Hitchcock (Tin Roof) Michael Tracy Band w/ PreacherStone, Fairview Union (Amos’ Southend) Stand Against HB2 - North Carolina Musicians United for Equality NC (Neighborhood Theatre)

SEPT. 25

SEPT. 28

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

COUNTRY/FOLK

Sean Hayes (The Evening Muse)

POP/ROCK James Bay (The Fillmore Charlotte) Omari and the Hellraisers (Comet Grill) Sense of Purpose f. Paul Agee, Chris Allen, Joe Lindsay, Jody Gholson (Tyber Creek Pub) Spencer Rush (Tin Roof) The Sword (The Underground)

SEPT. 26 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor) #MFGD Open Mic (Apostrophe Lounge)

Holy Smokes & the Godforsaken Rollers (Double Door Inn) Open Mic (Comet Grill)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Ladies Flirt Wednesdays w/ Shableek (BluNotes)

POP/ROCK Funeral Chic, Antares & Born Hollow (Milestone) Kishi Bashi w/ Twain (Visulite Theatre) Lettuce feat. Michal Menart (Neighborhood Theatre)

POP/ROCK

Modern Heritage Weekly Mix Tape (Snug

Locals Live: The Best in Local Live Music & Local Craft Beers (Tin Roof) The Monday Night Allstars (Double Door Inn) Tiger Army, Creeper & Tijuana Panthers (Neighborhood Theatre) Wicked Powers (Comet Grill)

Harbor)

SEPT. 27 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH

Pluto for Planet (RiRa Irish Pub) The Struts (The Underground) VanLadyLove (The Evening Muse)

COMING SOON  Gov’t Mule (Oct. 1; CMCU Amphitheater) Korn w/ Breaking Benjamin (Oct. 5; PNC Music

Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Double Door Inn)

Pavilion)

COUNTRY/FOLK

Bad Religion & AgainstMe! (Oct. 8, The

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

Fillmore)

DJ/ELECTRONIC DJ Dance Party w/ Matt B (Tin Roof)

Charlie Puth (Oct. 6; The Fillmore)

Wednesday 13 (Oct. 10; Amos Southend) Andy Grammer & Gavin DeGraw (Oct. 22, The Fillmore) Die Antwoord (Oct. 25; The Fillmore) Bonnie Raitt (Oct. 26; Ovens Auditorium)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Genitorturers (Oct. 26, Amos Southend)

Post Malone feat. Jazz Cartier and Larry June (The Fillmore Charlotte)

Rae Strummond (Oct. 26, The Fillmore)

POP/ROCK Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Double Door Inn) Fairplay & Special Guests (Lucky Lou’s Tavern) Kaleo feat. Bishop Briggs, The Wind + The Wave (The Underground) Live at the Fillmore: The Definitive Tribute to the Original Allman Brothers Band (Neighborhood Theatre) Veiny Hands w/ Wahya’s, Gasp & Broke Jokes (Snug Harbor)

Phantogram (Oct. 29; The Fillmore) Machine Gun Kelly (Oct. 30, The Fillmore) Sonata Artica (Nov. 6, The Fillmore) * - CL Recommends

NEED DIRECTIONS? Check out our website at clclt.

com. CL online provides addresses, maps and directions from your location. Send us your concert listings: E-mail us at aovercash@clclt. com or fax it to 704-522-8088. We need the date, venue, band name and contact name and number. The deadline is each Wednesday, one week before publication. CLCLT.COM | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | 33

ENDS

MARKETPLACE

JOBS | POSTINGS | LISTINGS | RENTALS

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WAKE COUNTY MICHAEL SHANE COATS, Plaintiff, v. KIMBERLY COATS, HELEN ELAINE PANOS, AND JONI PANOS TSUMAS, Defendants. IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION File No.: 16 CVS 6380 NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION TO: Helen Elaine Panos

TAKE NOTICE that a civil action has been commenced against you in the above referenced court and file. The Plaintif has filed a Complaint for Slander, Libel, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Alternatively Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, Invasion of Privacy and Punitive Damages in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina. In order to participate in and receive further notice of the proceedings, including notice of the time and place of any hearing in these matters, you must prepare and file with the Clerk of Superior Court, P.O. Box 351, Raleigh, NC 27602, a response or otherwise make a defense to such Complaint no later than Oct. 24, 2016, said date being forty (40) days from the first publication of this notice. In the event you fail to respond, the Plaintif wil seek the relief sought in his Complaint without further notice to you. You should provide a copy of any response to the attorney for the Plaintif at the address indicated below. Deborah Sandlin, Attorney for Plaintiff Sandlin Family Law Group 5617 Departure Drive, Suite 109 Raleigh, NC 27616 (919) 850-9199

Published in the Creative Loafing, Charlotte, NC, on September 14, 21, and 28,, 2016.

34 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

ENDS

NIGHTLIFE

FROM COVERS TO CLOTHING RESTRICTIONS Challenges to having a great night in the Q.C.

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wanted some “time with his boys.” So I made EVER SINCE I was offered the freelance plans to grab dinner at my fave restaurant, position of Creative Loafing’s “paid to party girl” I’ve been obsessed with uncovering a Soul Gastrolounge. After being told I would good story. Granted, some readers would wait for at least two hours, I opted for a mule argue alcohol-driven adventures around the at the bar and placed an order to go. Queen City don’t make for a great story. I ate my Cubanini downstairs on a bench Others, however, have shared that the and looked for a place where I could meet a hilarity of those same adventures that are friend for a drink. I walked to Snug Harbor, fueled by alcohol and lowered inhibitions. Rabbit Hole and then Petra’s. Guess what? Personally, I just think alcohol alleviates They all had covers. At EpiCentre, I totally the stress of my condition — resting bitch would’ve expected it. In Plaza, not at all. face — opening up the door for conversation All I know is that every time there’s an and the cultivation of new friendships. Not unexpected cover, no matter the occasion, to mention, watching drunk people on any someone is bound to turn around. And given night is entertaining in and of itself. lately, I’ve been running into them a lot and When I “come out” as a writer for CL I never have cash on me. in random conversations with patrons at bars I frequent or with Uber drivers, nine • Dress codes suck (in some places). times out of ten someone asks, “What do Every time I head somewhere with you write about?” After explaining guys I’m hyperaware of potential that I write about all things dress code challenges. “Maybe nightlife related in Charlotte, you should leave your hat the next question is usually, at home,” I advise my “What would you say is boyfriend if we’re headed missing from Charlotte’s Uptown. That’s why I nightlife?” It never fails, wasn’t surprised at all to I’m always stumped. hear about the alleged After almost two years discrimination that took freelancing, you’d think place at Kandy Bar this I would’ve unpacked the past Sunday. A patron and question, sat down, came AERIN SPRUILL up with a crazy new concept her friends were turned away and joined the #winnerscircle and claims that the dismissal of Charlotte’s 30 Under 30. was racially motivated while Kandy But the truth is, mulling over a Bar’s latest tweets point to a dress code few ideas is one thing, actually putting a violation. When my boyfriend and I visited plan into action is a whole different beast. So the newest addition to EpiCentre not too instead of answering the question of what’s long ago, he was instructed to take off his missing from nightlife in the 704 and how I hat. After finally entering with our “new can fill that niche (for the time being), I’m membership,” we noticed two people wearing going to tackle the challenges that have kept hats — one was an employee. Whether an me from having a great night. issue of race or not, this isn’t the first time • Fridays suck. If you’ve lived in the the topic of dress code has come up at the Charlotte area for a while, you’ve probably EpiCentre. I’ll leave that there. heard murmurs of, “There’s nothing really to do in Charlotte on Friday night.” And I’ve yet • Bedtime sucks. The last complaint to figure out why. Sure you can go to Label, that comes up on a regular basis when Suite or Bubble, but chances are, you won’t it comes to Charlotte nightlife is that see anywhere near the amount of bodies everything closes at 2 a.m. Granted, my filling the space as you’ll see on a Saturday mom always said, “Nothing good happens night. Maybe it’s the fact that people are after 2.” And it’s probably for the best, but hungover after Alive After 5 on Thursdays. everyone who visits or moves to the Queen Or maybe it’s the fact that Fridays are set City from Northern states hate the fact that aside for date night. But you’re best bet for you can’t keep the party going past 2 a.m. a good time on Friday is at a popular dinner unless you go to Waffle House or a strip club. spot or a local neighborhood bar. • Covers suck. Last Saturday I decided What challenges have you faced when you’re to hit the streets solo. My boyfriend wanted looking for a good time in the Q.C.? to watch football and I got the vibe he

ENDS

CROSSWORD

CROSS-MULTI-PLICATION ACROSS

1 Sum total 7 Extra-large 12 Texter’s “No way!” 15 Biathlon pair 19 Flung 20 Negative particle 21 Large town with a harbor 23 “Absolutely out of the question!” 25 Says again and again 26 Lose all power 27 Sandra of “Gidget” 28 “For shame!” 29 1982 coming-of-age comedy 39 Nuptial beginning 40 Almost here 41 Parade site 42 Manhattan’s 229 West 43rd Street, familiarly 50 Up to, shortly 51 Calendar unit 52 See 117-Down 53 Debtor’s slip 55 Shop with cold cuts 56 Ding-a- -- (dopes) 58 Prefix with cycle 59 Suffered misfortune 63 Try hard 65 Ruin the secret 66 Bean holder 67 “Give -- buzz” 68 Almost always 72 Exploring aid 75 “Who am -- judge?” 76 Ballpoint fills 77 “Judging Amy” co-star 79 1978 #1 hit sung by Lionel Richie 84 Mont Blanc, for one 85 Interior look 86 Actresses Charlotte and Cassidy 87 L minus IX 88 Pricey 90 Slipper, say 91 TV plugs 92 Dickens novel opener 97 Makes irate 101 Salt’s call 102 Inspired stuff 103 Start of a parent’s rebuke to an insistent kid 111 Villains’ looks 112 Hall & Oates, e.g.

113 -- -ray 115 Unit of naval vessels 118 “Out with the old, in with the new” 124 With direct ancestry 125 Information stand, often 126 Nullify 127 Gem mined in Australia 128 “Rescue us!” 129 Trims, as text 130 Gorilla studier Dian

DOWN

1 Just barely 2 Design theme 3 Actor Milo 4 Mil. morale booster 5 Not old, in Germany 6 Gridiron stat 7 Leigh of “Psycho” 8 Lesser than 9 Jumble 10 -- mot 11 “Dear Yoko” dedicatee 12 Poppy drug 13 Watchword 14 -- Green (old eloping site) 15 Excoriate 16 Sewing -17 Suffix with Balkan 18 Part of CBS: Abbr. 22 “Hardcore Pawn” network 24 Idaho county 28 Garr of films 30 Shrub with milky latex 31 -- -la 32 Many Nam vets’ kids 33 Participating 34 Playa -- Rey 35 Rove (about) 36 Lay to rest 37 Part of SAG 38 DNA shape 42 Plant tissue 43 Paris’ river 44 Post-lecture session, for short 45 John of song 46 Wilkes- --, Pennsylvania 47 Prefix with cycle 48 Zippo 49 Liquidy gunk 54 Let out of a cage 55 Pop 57 “A votre --!” 59 Happening by chance

60 Grub 61 Wall St. takeover 62 Perfected 64 Withdrawn painkiller from Merck 65 Tie 69 First dynasty of China 70 N.J. borough 71 Laid-back sort 72 Like a stud 73 Not friendly 74 Ovenware glass 75 Pluralized -y, often 78 “-- Rides Again” (old western film) 79 Junked stuff 80 Didn’t get a choice 81 Stitch again 82 Prince in “Aladdin” 83 Soused 84 Part of NCAA: Abbr. 88 Eye irritation 89 Ring out 93 Infant cries 94 Sleuth’s cry 95 Like pre-1991 Russ. 96 Caesar of TV 98 Dutch beer 99 Major fad 100 Fishing lines 104 Mello -- (soft drink) 105 Inside looks? 106 That is, in Latin 107 Pulls up into a fold 108 “Wow!” 109 Tonys’ kin 110 Forearm bones 114 Grotesque 115 Rapper -- Rida 116 Cup edge 117 With 52-Across, tilted 118 Classic Jaguar 119 Give a hand 120 King, in Toulouse 121 Pound sound 122 Recent prefix? 123 Auto rental add-on

SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 38.

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and he keeps saying no. Am I being unreasonable asking for the snip? Seriously Not Into Pregnancy Maybe your husband wants children, SNIP, maybe he doesn’t. Or maybe he’s one of those guys invested in/aroused by the power of spunk to make babies they don’t want; these guys would rather see their shots intercepted than go unattempted. So while a vasectomy is an eminently reasonable way for a married man who wishes to remain childless to prevent himself from impregnating someone who isn’t his wife, SNIP, arousal often defies reason. And ultimately this is his decision to make — his body, his choice.

I’m a single gay male in my 40s. I have a good life and do good work. I’m not worried about finding the right guy to settle down If you live in a college with. I’m worried town, TENSE, there’s at about what happens least one bar where grad next. I’ve had three students hang out — look serious long-term for the bar where women relationships and are grading papers, not DAN SAVAGE several friends-withpounding shots, and hang out benefits relationships. there. And with more than one in In every single one, a time three new marriages beginning with has come, generally sooner an online meeting these days, and with rather than later, when I completely Pew Research telling us that 60 percent of lose interest in my partner sexually. It’s Americans approve of online dating, I don’t not a matter of him being less attractive see how your supervisors could possibly to me. It’s not a matter of us not being object to staffers scouring dating apps and on good terms — often we become very the interwebs for age-appropriate partners. close friends. It’s not a matter of my sex Unless we’re talking about a Catholic school drive shutting down — I’m all kinds of staffed entirely by nuns, which isn’t what turned on by other guys, just not the we’re talking about. one I’m with. It’s reached a point where I’m deliberately holding myself back I’m female, 26, and in an open marriage from getting into relationships because with a wonderful man. I am having a I’m tired of ruining good things. recurring fear that he’ll get some other Confirmed Bachelor woman pregnant and she will refuse to abort. I trust him, but condoms You could get your ass into therapy, CB, and break (or get holes poked in them). churn through several relationships while He inherited serious money from his you work on this — relationships that could father, and his father got “oops’d” into fail for this or some other reason — and having three kids. I would immediately not have anything to show for your effort divorce my husband if this happened. 10 years from now. Or you could find a (Yes, I’m an asshole, but my life plans guy who has the same problem you do have never included children, step or — your predicament is not uncommon — otherwise.) My solution is for him to and instead of breaking up when you lose get a vasectomy. He says he’s for it, but interest in each other sexually, you stay it’s been a year and he hasn’t made an together, you love each other, you take care appointment. I’m seriously considering of each other, and you both fuck other guys. yanking “open” until he’s sterile. Maybe he really wants children and Contact Dan Savage at mail@savagelove.net or find him on Twitter, @fakedansavage. he’s not telling me, but I keep asking

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FOR ALL SIGNS: Although Mercury turns direct tomorrow, it is remaining in what is called “stationary” position this week. That means that we will continue to have effects of the September retrograde until Oct. 6. It is still a challenge to get things off the ground. The closer we are to mid-October, the easier it will become to launch without stumbling blocks. This is the last stage of the retrograde in which we are asked to think things through carefully before plunging ahead. ARIES: Mars, the warrior, is your ruling planet and your personal avatar. He changes signs from Sagittarius to Capricorn on Sept. 27. Now is the time to clean up projects, clear your desk, and prepare for a moderate shift in direction. Now that Mars is moving further away from Saturn, you will find it much easier to move forward on your projects. TAURUS: Venus, your ruling planet, has

enters the 7th house of relationships on the 23rd and will be there until mid-May. She brings improvements in clientele, social life, and partnerships. This is a good time to ask for a professional consultation if you need it. You are especially able to balance with others during this period in order to gain win-win solutions.

GEMINI: Work and projects around the

home may need to be revisited and the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. You may give or receive gifts from family members or close friends. In general, life will move forward with greater vigor, given that Mercury, your ruling planet, is doing the same.

CANCER: This might be a week in which

you let yourself give into the temptations of chocolate bonbons and other yummy things. Self-discipline is not at its best. Travel ideas are especially appealing. Your partner or a good friend may be the one who presents temptations, but you are easily led right now.

LEO: Aspects particularly favor those

involved in teaching or learning, activities involving your siblings and your local neighborhood, interests related to anything high tech or of an electrical nature. You are at the hub of a wheel of communications. New media or a renewed form of communication will bring refreshment to your daily life. Aspects suggest adding a roommate or visiting with siblings.

VIRGO: Your concentration is good at this

time and will help you accomplish any mental project you need. Use of your hands to create artwork and/or gardening is also favored. Love life and time spent with children would go well this week. Nurturing will feel good to you.

38 | SEPT. 22 - SEPT. 28, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

LIBRA: Your mood is expansive and

optimistic this week. It is one of those “good luck” times that occasionally happen in life. You have a grasp of the big picture and could use this energy to promote your projects and gain support. Or you could simply kick back and enjoy the good feelings. Whatever you choose to do will be the right decision.

SCORPIO: Mars, your ruling planet, shifts

your attention on the 27th to fresh territory. During the next seven weeks, your activities and feelings will be intensified in the life sector related to vehicles, short distance travels, politics, communications, education, your neighborhood, and siblings. Use caution while driving because your accelerator foot may be a bit heavy.

SAGITTARIUS: A small cycle change this

week shifts your attention to the areas of community, contacts, and broader social relationships. This is a good time to develop your network of contacts. It is possible that after a long period of feeling in the background, others will be more open to you and seek your opinions.

CAPRICORN: You have positive aspects

related to higher education, the law, the Internet, and travel. It may be easier to reach people this week, even though Mercury is retrograding. Mars, the ancient god of war, enters your sign on the 27th. He will travel with you for seven weeks. This energy is especially helpful in defining our boundaries. In general, it increases courage and physical strength. Use this time to increase outdoor activities such as hiking and getting back to nature.

AQUARIUS: This is one of those weeks

in which you can choose to kick back and chill. There are no new planetary aspects to motivate you forward. You may feel a need for rest and relaxation after hardworking Mars has been in your sign for the last six weeks. Go for it and don’t let work interefere at all.

PISCES: This is a week of healing on

multiple levels, physical and emotional. You will be the healer at times and you may be the receiver of comforting healing from others as well. Your devotion to children, the arts, and lovers will be a source of pleasure. It is a time in which debts owed to you likely will be repaid. Desposit this money in the bank instead of rushing out to spend it. It will come in handy later.

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.

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