2016 Issue 42 Creative Loafing

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 VOL. 30, NO. 42

1 | DATE - DATE, 2015 | CLCLT.COM

ACTIVIST JOBS

*TO HELP STOP LGBT BULLYING*

FIGHT HATE GROUPS TEACH TOLERANCE SEEK JUSTICE Full Time & Career Opportunities Earn $360-$535 a Week Call 980-819-0959 GrassrootsCampaigns.com

Prix-Fixe Christmas Menu

2 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 3

4 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

COMPLIMENTARY MOVIE PASSES INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL SCREENING OF

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN PASSES FOR TWO VISIT clclt.com/charlotte/freestuff RATED PG-13 FOR THEMATIC ELEMENTS AND BRIEF STRONG LANGUAGE. Please note: Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit two passes per person. Each pass admits one. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early.

Theater is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person.

IN THEATERS DECEMBER 16 Soundtrack Available Now

CollateralBeauty-movie.com #CollateralBeauty CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 5

CREATIVE LOAFING IS PUBLISHED BY WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC. CHARLOTTE, NC 28206.

OFFICE: 704-522-8334 WWW.CLCLT.COM FACEBOOK: /CLCLT TWITTER: @CL_CHARLOTTE INSTAGRAM: @CREATIVELOAFINGCHARLOTTE

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

EDITORIAL

NEWS EDITOR • Ryan Pitkin rpitkin@clclt.com FILM CRITIC • Matt Brunson mattonmovies@gmail.com THEATER CRITIC • Perry Tannenbaum perrytannenbaum@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS • Corbie Hill, Erin TracyBlackwood, Vivian Carol, Charles Easley, Chrissie Nelson, Page Leggett, Alison Leininger, Sherrell Dorsey, Dan Savage, Aerin Spruill, Chuck Shepherd, Jeff Hahne, Samir Shukla, Courtney Mihocik, Debra Renee Seth, Vanessa Infanzon, Matt Comer

ART/DESIGN

GRAPHIC DESIGNER • Dana Vindigni dvindigni@clclt.com CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS • Justin Driscoll, Brian Twitty, Zach Nesmith

ADVERTISING

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

SALES MANAGER Aaron Stamey • astamey@clclt.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Candice Andrews • candrews@clclt.com Melissa McHugh • mmchugh@clclt.com Madeline Lemieux • mlemieux@clclt.com ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Pat Moran • pmoran@clclt.com

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

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

Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however Creative Loafing assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. Creative Loafing is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. Copyright 2015 Womack Newspapers, Inc. CREATIVE LOAFING IS PRINTED ON A 90% RECYCLED STOCK. IT MAY BE RECYCLED FURTHER; PLEASE DO YOUR PART.

A MEMBER OF:

FREE STUFF! CLCLT.COM/CHARLOTTE/FREESTUFF 6 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

23

10

Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte’s The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical is one of many shows happening in Charlotte this season.

COVER STORY 10 BEST OF THE BLOTTER 2016: The dumbest criminals committing the most bizarre crimes of the year

BY RYAN PITKIN, MADELINE LEMIEUX, COURTNEY MIHOCIK THIS WEEK’S COVER WAS DESIGNED BY DANA VINDIGNI.

14

NEWS&VIEWS

16

FOOD

14 THE CHRONICLE 14 TRANS & QUEER IN THE WORKPLACE 15 NEWS OF THE WEIRD

16 BONJOUR, LA MADELEINE: COUNTRY-STYLE FRENCH CAFETERIA OPENS IN NORTH CHARLOTTE

BY ANITA OVERCASH

18 THE GREENS OF WINTER: WHERE THE ODDS ARE GOOD, AND THE GOODS ARE ODD

BY ARI LEVAUX

22

ARTS&ENT 22 FILM REVIEW

23 12 DAYS OF THEATER: Seasonal shows to check off the list

BY ANITA OVERCASH

28

MUSIC 28 PULLING NO PUNCHES: Deep 6 Division

duo releases bruising debut album

BY RYAN PITKIN 30 CD REVIEWS 32 SOUNDBOARD

20

ODDS&ENDS

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

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 7

8 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

Winter is coming!

Be ready to snuggle up in style in one of our beautiful vintage coats.

Treat Yourself Our Location 6157 E. Independence Blvd. Charlotte NC 28212 704/567-9531

#buddhasbazaar.com

Visit www.thebuddhasbazaar.com for details.

Twelve Days of C HRISTMA S NEW DEALS EVERYDAY!

NOW THRU DECEMBER 12TH

WHITEHALL LOCATION

9124 South Tryon St | Suite F | Charlotte, NC 28273

UNIVERSITY LOCATION

9510 University City Blvd | Suite 105 | Charlotte, NC 28213

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 9

NEWS

COVERSTORY

There is a reason

the show Cops has been allowed to continue banging out seasons for nearly 28 years now. Sure, at first, before the days of reality TV, it was engrossing. But as the years went by, the show became predictable, a chase here and there but mostly just domestic violence cases and folks getting pulled over with crack pipes in their cars. However, it remained relatively popular because it provides an escape of sorts. No matter how bad your life is looking at any given time, you can probably turn that show on and find someone worse off to hold yourself up to. After a year in which our city witnessed an uprising, our state passed despicable laws and our country elected a vitriolic madman as president, what we need to know is that we’re doing alright. So, just maybe, if you didn’t make it into the list below, your year wasn’t so bad. And if you did, well, we didn’t use your name so nobody has to know.

DUMB CRIMINALS (AND A COP) That Burns (Jan. 7) A man was robbed by three suspects in northwest Charlotte who didn’t have firearms, but rather, arms of fire. The victim told officers the men struck him across the back with a tiki torch before stealing $105 in cash from his front pocket and fleeing the scene.

Let’s Be Friends (April 21) A Charlotte teen turned to the law last week after realizing that maybe being a gang member wasn’t for him. The 18-year-old called police out to his apartment and told them he had just received an alarming call from a rival gang member. The vicitm told officers he’s

“a member of the Bloods organization” and that a “member of the Crips organization” had just called him and told him that he planned to kill him the next time they should cross paths. It was our understanding that this is how it’s supposed to work.

Keep It Down (Oct. 13) Police responded to a south Charlotte home for a noise complaint last week, only to get more than they bargained for. The officers ended up uncovering a drug house hidden in the midst of a rich, suburban neighborhood. Police reported that, during the noise complaint, “a drug investigation ensued,” and officers ended up seizing over $1,000,000 worth of marijuana; $593,000 worth of crack cocaine, $1,000 worth of cocaine; a relatively small amount of ecstasy; four handguns; five cellphones; $8,000 in cash; ammunition; and paraphernalia. Two men in the house were

arrested. Next time, I’m sure they’ll keep the music down.

Back to the Academy (Jan. 21) A recent police report regarding the solicitation of a minor over the phone raises more questions about the education of some officers in the CMPD than it does about sexting behavior.

In the report, an officer reported that at some point during winter break, a West Charlotte middle school student “used an electronic devise [sic] in an attempt to sillicide [sic, wtf] sex for money.”

Shots Fired (June 16) When operating a large, marijuana-growing operation in your home, it’s best to keep a low profile and act, well, responsible, at least in public. Last week, a man threw a temper tantrum while in traffic in southeast Charlotte that not only put a woman’s life in danger but also led to the discovery of the man’s illegal horticulture business. Police say a woman was driving on Idlewild Road when the man driving in front of her stopped his car abruptly, got out of the vehicle and started yelling at her. When she attempted to drive around him, he allegedly

took a gun out of his car and fired a shot at her vehicle. The bullet struck the car but she was unharmed. She pulled over after driving a safe distance and called police.

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

Tracked (Nov. 3) Police last week arrested four males, two of them juveniles, for a string of robberies that occurred over the course of nine days. Reports of the arrest leave one to wonder not how they were caught, but how they were not caught sooner. According to a release, the group had called delivery drivers to the same address to rob them on at least four occasions. It was later found that one of the ringleaders of this operation was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet at the time of the robberies, so it was clear that he was there on every occasion. Once he was picked up, he flipped on his buddies, and all four are now facing armed robbery charges.

Flee the Scene (Aug. 4) A woman attempting to steal some beer in east Charlotte last week quickly found that she should hire a getaway driver for her next job. The woman allegedly ran out of a Sam’s Mart on The Plaza with four cases of Corona

10 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

a group of kids destroyed her daughter’s cellphone. She knew it was them, because the not-so-smart children posted videos of them shattering the phone on social media.

YOU’RE CUT OFF Breaking Bro-tocol (Jan. 28) A 22-yearold Pineville man was only a few miles from home when he woke up on the side of a residential street, but when he failed to recognize his surroundings or recall the events that lead to blacking out, he freaked.

The standard bro-cedure might be to call a friend or acquaintance for help. Instead, this guy called police and requested emergency treatment. When officers responded to the call, the man informed them that he had taken drugs 12 hours earlier, but wasn’t able to identify what substances he had taken.

Pissed Off (Sept. 15) An east Charlotte man made it known last week that he does not like to be disturbed while relieving himself ... in public. A CMPD officer wrote in a report that the suspect exposed himself in public in the presence of multiple police officers in order to urinate on a sidewalk. When he was told to put it away, he threatened one officer, stating that he would punch him in the face. He followed through on that threat, punching one officer in the left cheek. He then resisted being handcuffed and, during the ensuing struggle, allegedly assaulted yet another officer by placing her in a chokehold. and hopped into her car. While trying to make her escape, she collided with a Kia Sorento, causing $3,000 in damages, and then slammed into a concrete barrier. When she got out of the car, she assaulted the store manager who had been trying to chase her down.

Shove It (Aug. 11) A desperate shoplifter struck recently at a sex shop in University area after deciding he was not going to leave that store without a sex toy. Employees at The Red Door said the suspect attempted to walk out of the store with a toy and $10

worth of body oil that he had not paid for.

When an employee confronted the suspect, he pulled out a knife and waved it at the employee and customers in the store. For good measure, he knocked a display over on the way out of the store.

Open Up (Sept. 21) A 34-year-old man in east 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.

Heavy Sleeper (Nov. 17) A man in his midtwenties must have been passed out hard on the couch in a home just north of Uptown last week to have slept through a home invasion.

The man reportedly fell asleep on his buddies’ couch at about 1 a.m. and didn’t wake up until the two friends who live there returned home at about 9 a.m., probably asking him what the hell happened. What the group and investigators later decided happened was that someone tried to pry the front door open but couldn’t do so and then they went around to the back door and simply kicked the whole thing in. This still didn’t wake the sleeping man, however, but his presence alone must have been enough to scare the suspect away, because nothing was stolen.

WTF Fatal Attraction (Feb. 4) A 46-year-old woman filed a police report after finding a wild rabbit’s body in her front yard. That wouldn’t be news itself, except for one detail: the rabbit was decapitated and the woman told police she believes someone was trying to send her a message.

Breath Freshener (April 28) Police got involved in the case of a man who got sick

Selfie Smash Up (Aug. 25) A 15-yearold girl’s mother went to police last week after her daughter’s bullies made themselves easy to catch. The woman told officers that

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 11

NEWS

COVERSTORY

last week and quickly found the odd cause of his malady. The 53-year-old man told officers that a suspect intentionally altered his food before he ate it. The man told officers that the suspect sprayed Little Tree “Black Ice” air freshener into his ketchup before he applied it to his food. The victim ate the food and suffered from possible internal but minor injuries.

No Tip (Sept. 29) Employees at an Applebee’s in the University area got the runaround from a pair of cheap customers last week who seemed offended that anyone would even ask them to pay for their meal.

The employees told officers that the suspects ate $42 worth of food and then left the restaurant without paying. One employee followed the suspects outside and when it became clear that they weren’t planning to turn around, they started taking pictures.

One suspect said, “Don’t take fucking pictures of me, I will fucking kill you.” When the employee began taking pictures of the license plate, the suspect reached into the backseat of their vehicle, scaring the employee back inside. The suspect chased them back inside, and the employee had to run through the kitchen to get away.

Guilty Conscience (June 23) A 51-year-old woman turned in an interesting assortment of weapons and other goods to the police last weekend after second-guessing the necessity of owning such things. According to the report, the woman handed over a shotgun,

12 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

shotgun shells, a Taser, a three-ounce can of pepper spray, four box cutters, a two-foot chain, four gold chevron sergeant pins and a teddy bear dressed in army fatigues. She reportedly told officers that “she no longer needed the property because society doesn’t need it.” That’s never stopped anyone before.

Angry Mob (Aug. 18) A group of individuals had themselves a real 19th century uprising last week when they gathered to take out their anger on the local railroad company. The report states that a group of suspects vandalized a building belonging to CSX Corporation by shattering windows u s i n g “rocks, bricks, a crow bar and a pitchfork.”

It probably h a d something to do with the policies of James K. Polk. Thanks, Polk.

Sharp as a Tack (Sept. 1) A man who got away with shoplifting last week at Target in Metropolitan is pushing his luck by returning to the scene of the crime, apparently.

Someone filed a police report stating that

the man was caught on tape shoving two hunting knives down his pants (careful!).

He then picked up a case of Budweiser and walked out of the store without paying for any of it. He must have been ready for more after drinking those beers and playing with his knives, because someone — and it must have been the same guy, right? — walked out of the store three days later with a hunting knife, a hatchet and another case of Budweiser.

FRIENDS FAMILY

&

Failure to Launch (Feb. 18) Fed up that their adult son hadn’t moved out of the family home, an East Charlotte couple decided it was time to take drastic measures.

The couple called police to their home and formally banned their son from the property. The wayward son seemed to understand the warning and he agreed to leave the premises, only to immediately return. He probably just forgot his nightlight.

Mommy Dearest (March 3) A north Charlotte mom upped the ante when her teenaged son decided to skip curfew and party all weekend. The 17-year old sent his mom a text letting her know that he’d be spending the weekend with some friends and would be back Sunday — in direct defiance of house rules. Beating her hardpartying son to the punch, Mom decided that if he wanted to act lost, he could stay lost, and she registered the teen as a missing

person with CMPD. Protective Papa (Nov. 10) It’s an old cliché that a man might scowl at the thought of his daughter’s boyfriend pulling up at the house in a motorcycle, but one Charlotte family is going through a battle right now that seems to be built around this stereotype. A 39-yearold man called police and reported that he was driving his motorcycle near Uptown last week when his father-in-law suddenly swerved his vehicle towards him, causing him to have to slam the brakes and swerve out of the way. The victim told officers he would be seeking a warrant, making things a bit awkward for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks.

Unwanted Guest (April 21) A Northlake man was sitting at home one afternoon when he observed a school-aged boy approach his front door and attempt to gain entry to his house. The man immediately called police and reported the attempted break-in, but after a brief investigation, the responding officers informed the homeowner that “coming home from school” isn’t actually a crime. The boy was the homeowner’s son and a legal resident of the home.

Like Butter Baby (May 12) When an unnamed suspect invited a 31-year old north Charlotte man over for dinner, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Unfortunately, the hot-headed host tried to do just that when he allegedly sliced a dinner guest with a large knife. The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he was treated for stab wounds. The suspect must have used some force, because when police arrived to take a report, they identified the weapon as a butter knife.

Free Kid (Sept. 1) A 33-year-old man turned to the law last week after the mother of his child was not acting very motherly last week. The man told police that the woman had been texting him repeatedly asking for money. When she didn’t get any answer from him, she told him that if he didn’t give her some dough, she would not permit him to

see his child anymore and would, in fact, just give the child away to someone.

Out of Time (Oct. 13) A 66-year-old woman returned to her southeast Charlotte home last week to find that she had been robbed ... sort of. The woman’s 32-inch flat-screen television was nowhere to be found when she came home, but there was no evidence of any break-in. Later, a family member admitted that he had pawned the TV as soon as she left for vacation with the intention of buying it back before she returned. Clearly, however, that idea hadn’t played out and she would have to go buy her own TV back from the pawn shop for $300, assuming it was still there.

LOVE & WAR Can’t Regain the Flame (Feb. 25) The relationship may have ended, but the Netflix was still good. That may be how an east Charlotte woman justified her decision to move in with an ex-boyfriend after they had broken up. The man was under the impression that his former flame would just be crashing on his couch for a few days, but as more time passed, he realized she had no plans to leave; and she finally admitted so. Ready to ditch the deadweight, the man contacted police and was informed he would have to formally file eviction papers for the couch-crashing ex, even though she had never been on his lease. Changing the WiFi password would probably work, too.

One Woman’s Trash (Feb. 25) One-upping sleuthing spouses everywhere, a Lake Wylie wife decided to let police do the legwork and track her husband’s afternoon activities.

After watching her husband drive his pickup truck away from their home, the woman phoned authorities to report him missing.

Though the not-quite-missing man had explicitly outlined his plans to head to the city dump, the wife — perhaps reminded of the old adage, ‘one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure’ — asked police to treat her trash-picking husband as a missing person.

Drop Zone (Sept. 29) Employees at Carowinds filed a police report last week after an amateur spy had to ‘fess up to his sneaky behavior. Employees walking the grounds at the amusement park found a drone lying on the ground where it had apparently crashed.

Management told police that the drone’s owner had already contacted them at an earlier date saying the drone had crashed in the park and to be on the lookout for it.

Next time you’re at the highest point of The Fury, look around to see if the neighbors are watching.

Stripped (July 14) Tips weren’t enough for one dancer at a local strip club last week, according to a man who had spent an evening there and apparently didn’t spend enough money. The man told police that he was walking out of the club at 2:30 a.m. when a woman walked up to him and asked him why he didn’t ask her to dance for him when he was inside. She then hugged him and walked away. He claims that as he saw the suspect drive off he noticed that the $3,500 gold chain he had been wearing was no longer on his neck. He told police he believes she stole it.

ON THE ROADS, IN THE SKY Ride Rage (March 17) An Uptown man’s dream of breaking into the ride-share game came to a screeching halt when a passenger stole his car. The man wasn’t actually working as a driver, but when he saw a pedestrian flagging down cars on North Caldwell Street, he decided to stop and offer the stranger a ride. When the suspect got into his car, the driver decided to step out of the car and “relieve himself” on the roadside.

The suspect used this opportunity to climb into the driver’s seat and speed off with the vehicle. In an unrelated incident, a woman in southwest Charlotte took the smarter route by refusing to give a man a ride altogether.

Her gut reaction to refuse the man was probably the right one, considering that he threatened to stab her as she drove off.

Election 2016 (Oct. 20) A 30-year-old man from the Cotswold area suffered every rideshare customer’s worst nightmare last week when he got into an Uber car with someone who was rearing to talk a little politics. The man later told police that his Uber ride was rolling along E. 7th Street when he and the driver got into a political argument. He asked the driver to let him out of the car immediately, but the two argued more before they were even able to come to a stop. After

he got out, the victim told police the Uber driver began chasing after him while yelling that he was going to “beat his ass.”

Attack of the Drones (March 31) A passenger flight descending into Charlotte Douglas International Airport recently had one last crisis to avert before touchdown.

The pilot reported a near-miss with a drone above the 3400 block of Brookshire Boulevard. A second pilot descending onto the same runway contacted air traffic control to report that they also nearly hit the drone.

In an unrelated incident, a 26-year-old man was arrested after flying his drone too close to a police helicopter last week. Police found the man in the act, but he refused to land the drone or to show police any registration for his aircraft, despite FAA regulations requiring him to do so when asked by law enforcement. The man was also flying the drone at 12:40 a.m., despite FAA regulations against flying drones at night. He later told police he had listened to a police scanner and was trying to take close-up video of the helicopter in action.

Lavatory Law (April 21) Despite now having the most heavily-policed public restrooms in America, the bathroom crime syndicate continues their reign of terror on public toilets. Airport security at Charlotte Douglas International reports that some HB2-compliant suspects took their wrongdoing to a non-gendered family restroom to snort a few pre-flight lines of cocaine.

The suspect left behind a straw with powder residue on it, a tube of topical painkiller and a credit card with more powder (and her name) on it.

Pissed (May 19) When nature calls, sometimes you just have to answer — no matter where you are. Police officers responded to calls of a man urinating in public in southwest Charlotte last week, but this was not your average alleyway piss; the intoxicated man was inside the upper level terminal of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 13

NEWS

THE CHRONICLE

VIEWS

TQ IN THE WORKPLACE

WHAT HAPPENED TO COMING TOGETHER? Togetherness looks different in today’s reality

BY RHIANNON FIONN December with the Energy Transfer Partners After the election ended, which took a promising to finish construction as planned. little longer for us here in North Carolina, As Charlotte’s former Occupiers can tell calls went out to “come together,” to put you, an extended protest includes many aside our differences and give Trump a ups and downs. There were days when the chance (or unite against him). We were told group was united and many more when they that together we’re a powerful force, that we were arguing amongst themselves. So it was can change the world. Huzzah! no surprise when, following the Great Tent Did that spirit of togetherness last one Eviction, the group lost its momentum and full day? What the hell, you guys? fractured for good.

A month later and we’re still calling Will that happen to the #NoDAPL group? liberals “snowflakes” and the police “pigs.”

Will the pipeline lurch forward again when And the KKK is all, “Let’s rally!” We’re being no one’s paying attention? Only time will tell. told we should boycott a local business This is the way of us humans. We want because of one person’s products but that to identify with a cause, but living within we’re jerks if we don’t #ShopLocal. We’ve it is a challenge. It doesn’t take long got a controversial media organization before people are pointing fingers boycotting cereal while we watch asserting others are “doing it on Facebook as bank tellers and wrong.” It can often feel like protesters chest bump each more time is spent criticizing other in mutual frustration. allies than tackling the These days it seems matter at hand. everyone is protesting or People drift off boycotting something and and new folks with the idea of togetherness no understanding of a has been dropped like a group’s history drift in. hot mic. That’s because Togetherness stagnates and we imagine bridging the RHIANNON resentments fester. People tire Grand Canyon of political FIONN and go home. Small wins lead to divides while holding hands. cries of “Victory!” and people stop That sort of togetherness was paying attention. Soon the protest is a going to be difficult anyway, and memory. may not be possible in a time when we’re To effect change, no matter what side deeply entrenched on our side, unwilling to you’re on, you must bolster your numbers compromise. and find opportunities to compromise so I won’t discuss the merits of any protests you can move your cause forward. If you fail because all acts of resistance matter and it’s to figure out how to best communicate with your constitutional right to protest. I’m here sympathetic individuals who can bolster to tell you that ‘“togetherness” in today’s your numbers, if you can’t decide how to world doesn’t mean what we we thought direct their energy and if you refuse to it meant on Election Day. After covering compromise, your cause will fail. Period. numerous protests in Charlotte over the That’s also because the monied interests years, including the four-month Occupy and government are effective with their own Charlotte encampment, my observation is brand of togetherness. that togetherness is a fragile thing.

The togetherness sought by most involves The Standing Rock North Dakota Access allowing people to take on various roles and Pipeline protest began in the spring of 2016. accepting that everyone’s contribution won’t It eventuallt grew from a small prayer group look the same, but that it’s all crucial. This to an encampment of tribes from around kind of togetherness involves tempering the country. Then came the celebrities, the your angst within your group, a strong national media and others from various dose of understanding and some serious backgrounds including a couple thousand communication skills. Today, ‘togetherness’ American veterans vowing to act as human means really working together, recognizing shields to protect the Protectors. that everyone has something to contribute That surge of support led to the U.S. and avoiding the urge to fracture internally.

Army Corps of Engineers hitting pause on the It’s important that any and all acts of pipeline. But the Corps put things on pause resistance, no matter how small, still matter. in September, too, and yet here we are in 14 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

In our August 4th issue, we introduced CL contributor Lara Americo’s new Trans and Queer in the Workplace photo series. Check online for our interview with Americo about why she began photographing trans and queer Charlotteans in their work environment, as well as a slideshow of all the photos shared thus far. It was recently announced that the series will be shown in full as part of the Chrysalis exhibit planned to run at C3 Lab in South End between January 6 - 20, 2016. This week’s photo features Tamika Blue, project coordinator with Blueprint NC. Tamika uses they/them/theirs pronouns.

“My work is very important to the queer and trans community. I work everyday to make sure we have the ability to be heard, to amplify our voices, to build our community, and to advocate for the changes we need to make our lives safer.”

- Tamika Blue

NEWS

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

BY CHUCK SHEPHERD

WHEN A TEST FAILS Almost all law enforcement agencies in America use the Scott Reagent field test when they discover powder that looks like cocaine, but the several agencies that have actually conducted tests for “false positives” say they happen up to half the time. In October, the latest victims — husband-and-wife truck drivers with spotless records and Pentagon clearances — were finally released after 75 days in jail awaiting trial for baking soda that tested “positive” three times by Arkansas troopers.

It eventually tested negative in a state crime lab. Police have stuck with the test because it costs $2. The truck drivers had to struggle to get their truck back and are still fighting to be re-cleared to drive military explosives.

UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT Activists

told Vice Media in November that 100,000 people worldwide identify as “ecosexuals,” ranging from those who campaign for “sustainable”-ingredient sex toys to those who claim to have intercourse with trees — but sanding the bark for comfort might provoke concern about being “abusive”. A University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor studies the phenomenon and knows, for example, of humans who “marry” the Earth or prefer sex while rolling in potting soil or under a waterfall. On one “arborphilia” support blog, a female poster regretted her choice to have “convenient” sex with the sycamore outside her bedroom window instead of the sturdy redwood she actually covets. Yes, some “mainstream” environmentalists somehow are not completely supportive.

THE CONTINUING CRISIS Ricky Berry

and his roommate walked in to a CVS store in Richmond, Virginia, in November to ask if it carried sliced cheese but were told no.

Minutes later, all the employees walked to the back of the store, hid in a locked room, and called the police. Berry, his pal and a third customer with a toothache who desperately needed Orajel were bewildered by the empty store until a Richmond police officer arrived.

After observing that the three customers appeared nonthreatening, he mused along with Berry that “this is how weird, apocalyptic movies start.” WRIC-TV reported later that the employee who panicked and called police will “possibly” need retraining.

GROUNDBREAKING LEGAL WORK In October, a court in Australia’s Victoria state began considering an appeal on whether three deaf people might be too intellectually challenged to have planned a murder. The prosecutor offered surveillance video of the three in a lobby planning the murder’s details via sign language as they waited for an elevator to take them up to the eventual crime scene.

POSITIVE PORK Pigs are such complex animals that scientists are studying how to tell the “optimists” from the “pessimists.”

British researchers writing in a recent Biology Letters described how “proactive” porkers differed from “reactive” ones, and, as with humans, how their particular mood at that time distinguished them as “glass half full” rather than “glass half empty.” Unaddressed, of course, was specifically whether some pigs were actually “optimistic” that the chute at the slaughterhouse might lead to a pleasant outcome.

QUESTIONABLE JUDGMENTS The Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas, got the message in November and shut down its “world’s tallest waterslide” (17 stories; riders reaching speeds of 60 mph) after the neck-injury death of a 10-year-old rider in August. But comparably altitudeobsessed architects in Tokyo said in November that they were moving ahead with proposals for “Next Tokyo 2045” to include a one-milehigh residential complex — twice as tall as the currently highest skyscraper. A spokesperson for principal architects Kohn Pedersen Fox said he realizes that coastal Tokyo, currently in earthquake, typhoon and tsunami zones, would present a climate-change challenge, and especially since the building would be on land once reclaimed from Tokyo Bay. IRONIES San Diego police officer Christine Garcia, who identifies as transgender, was turned away in November as she attempted to enter the Transgender Day of Remembrance at the city’s LGBT Community Center — because organizers thought the sight of a police uniform might upset some people.

Garcia herself was one of the event’s organizers.

TRUST NO ONE Gary Zerola was arraigned

in Boston in November on two counts of rape.

He is a defense lawyer, former prosecutor, one-time “Most Eligible Bachelor” winner and finalist from the first season of ABC-TV’s “The Bachelor.” He was also accused of two counts of rape in 2006 but acquitted at trial and another in 2007, but the charge was dropped.

NOTW CLASSIC (February 2013) The Kerry, Ireland, county council voted in January (2013) to let some people drive drunk. The councillors reasoned that in the county’s isolated regions, some seniors live alone and need the camaraderie of the pub but fear a DUI arrest on the way home. The councillors thus empowered police to issue DUI permits to those drivers. Besides, they reasoned, the area is so sparsely populated that some drivers never encounter anyone else on the road at night. Coincidentally, or not, “several” of the five councillors voting “yea” own pubs.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 15

FOOD

FEATURE

BONJOUR, LA MADELEINE Country-style French Cafeteria opens in north Charlotte ANITA OVERCASH

O

N MONDAY MORNING,

folks gathered in the parking lot of La Madeleine Country French Café in anticipation for the chain’s grand opening in Charlotte and … for bread. The restaurant gave cards out with monthly slots for free bread for a year to the first 100 people to walk through its doors. “Rompre le pain,” 16 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

or as the French phrase goes “breaking of the bread together,” goes just fine with one of the restaurant’s signature jams — including, strawberry rhubarb and blackberry.

Located directly across from Northlake Mall — where Mimi’s Café was before shutting down due to a fire — La Madeleine brings something different to the table.

The 7,500-square-foot space has a country feel with vaulted ceilings, wood frames, a fireplace and cozy nooks with personal touches. It’s a chain, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and expanding fast through franchising ops. For Kyle Hakim, who is operating the new Charlotte location as a franchisee via his vice president title at R.

Hakim Corp., it’s a dream in the making.

He’s been eating food from La Madeleine locations in Texas, where he grew up, since he was a kid. The Charlotte location is his company’s third venture — they opened La Madeleine’s in Atlanta, Georgia in March and Cary, North Carolina in July of this year.

The first La Madeleine, named after the

LA MADELEINE COUNTRY FRENCH CAFE 10224 Perimeter Parkway. Hours: Monday-Sunday, 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

704-509-2360. lamadeleine.com.

historic church in France, was established in 1983 by Patrick Esquerré, who deems himself a “French country boy.” Over the years, dishes have been added to the menu and cooking has been fine tuned for expansion.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday-Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., it’s a different kind of French experience.

This is no Amelie’s French Bakery and it’s no Lumiere French Kitchen either.

“It’s more comfort type French food,” says Hakim. “There are sandwiches, soups, pastas, salads. For any new guest coming in, I’d suggest trying our café sampler, which includes three items — a soup, a salad, and a hot plate — from our café line.”

The Chicken Friand la Madeleine is listed under the “café classiques” section of the menu and is comprised of tender chicken,

mushroom, onion and Swiss filling in a flaky puff pastry shell that’s topped with a creamy wild mushroom sauce. It’s Hakim’s favorite item on the menu and having tried it, I can see why. Though it’s not quite a casserole, it has the feel of a hearty, chicken pot pie.

Breakfast is made from scratch anytime of the day and includes savory options like quiche. The Lorraine features ham, bacon and Swiss custard and the Florentine features spinach and Swiss custard. Both come in a flaky, savory pie crust. Homemade soups include options like country potato and tomato basil. Served in tiny shot-like cups during a recent media night, these are surely a go-to as winter weather approaches.

The Pasta la Madeleine is a penne pasta sautéed in a creamy wild mushroom sauce with balsamic marinated chicken or shrimp.

There’s also broccoli and diced tomatoes giving the dish a fresh, light feel despite being heavier with the starchier counterpart.

As cafeteria-style eateries grow more infrequent, La Madeleine brings something different to the tray as well. Growing up on K&W Cafeteria, a small NC-based

chain of Southern comfort foods, there’s a sense of nostalgia in the serving line at La Madeleine. But the “eyes are bigger than your stomach” rule applies as you pass by the many tempting food items this new café has to offer. La Madeleine’s also offers catering — from croissants and sandwiches to pastas and other menu items. All in all, this new Charlotte restaurant is worth visiting. And

while it’s not your classic and sometimes snooty French cuisine, it’s got good food in a laidback atmosphere. There’s something for everyone. You can come hungry and leave filled or, if that’s not enough, take some of the store’s bottled goods with you.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 17

FOOD

FEATURE

ARI LEVAUX

THE GREENS OF WINTER MARKETS Where the odds are good, and the goods are odd

BY ARI LEVAUX

T

EN YEARS AGO, winter was still a time of deprivation for those who aspired to follow a local, seasonal diet. With the passing of each summer, the farmers markets would shutter, and the range of produce would dwindle from plethora of plant parts to a precious few, mostly roots with dirt ground into their skins. While summertime farmers markets have been spreading nationally like a fibrous green 18 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

plague, the locavore’s wintertime diet was looking rather bleak until winter markets began appearing in their wakes.

Winter markets are a distilled version of the summer version, with all of the adventure and goofiness of the summer market, all the gossip, recipes and friendship of the cold season.

It was about this time last year that “Fungus” Charlie began bringing fresh white truffles to market, freshly dug from the

Oregon hills. He boasted that his truffles were so powerful you could enclose one with a dozen eggs in a plastic bag. The truffle flavor would pass through the shell and egg white, Charlie claimed, and accumulate in the yolks. It worked, and soon all the egg vendors at market were selling truffled eggs, for a premium. This type of intrigue is what we call entertainment at the winter farmers market.

Winter markets, and the evolving basket

of agricultural innovations that help supply them, are game-changers in the world of local, seasonal eating. Growers have an opportunity to produce income during what has historically been a dead period for the farming business. And for a farm on the edge of making it, every bit of extra cash makes a difference. The pace of a winter market is not as frenetic as it can be in its summer counterpart. The crowds are smaller. There are few pressing engagements to which

anyone has to rush off. With less going on, there is more time to talk. Relationships built indoors around steaming cups can pay future dividends for growers and consumers alike.

Nationwide, the number of markets has quintupled since 1994, according to USDA, to 8,669 markets in late 2016. While this growth has begun to slow in recent years, the number of winter markets has exploded.

If you do a Google News search of winter markets, the results are littered with signs of growth, including the announcements of new markets left and right, and young markets returning for their 2nd or 3rd years.

In the Queen City, the Charlotte Regional Farmer’s Market on Yokmont Road is open from October until April from Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

“We are seeing a lot of winter markets extending because farmers are putting up greenhouses and hoop houses,” Peter Wood of USDA’s agricultural marketing service tells me. “Now that farmers can grow food later into the season, they need places to sell it.”

Maine farmer Eliot Coleman, author of the seminal New Organic Grower, has pioneered many of the season-extending techniques that are allowing winter markets to boom, including the use of multiple row cloth inside hoop houses to extend the seasons. Three of his books deal specifically with the winter green lifestyle, including FourSeason Harvest, The Winter Harvest Handbook, and most recently, the Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook, co-authored with his partner Barbara Damrosch. When I reached Coleman, last week, he’d just sown seeds of kale, Asian greens and Asian broccoli in his greenhouse. He waxed about how pleasant it is to be inside a warm, sunny place amongst growing plants, and told me I could build one myself for $5 a square foot.

“A hoop house is the cheapest form of indoor structure you can build,” he said.

At their winter market the day before, their stand was so loaded with spinach, arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, baby leaf salads, kale and radicchio that they didn’t even bother with typical winter crops like potatoes or onions.

“Fresh greens are what really have made winter markets happen,” Coleman says. “If it was just carrots and beets and celeriac it wouldn’t draw in the crowds.”

I’ve always wanted a greenhouse, and I’ve always wanted a root cellar. But thanks to my hometown winter market, maybe I no longer need one. There is no need to stockpile squash and carrots, because I have weekly access to the roots cellars of several area farmers, via the market. I also have access to a sheep cheese creamery, multiple flocks of layer hens, several pastry chefs, a fermentologist and even a pack of giftmaking elves — the makers of soap, gourd-

the end of November.

POTATO AND CELERY ROOT MASH

craft, wooden carvings and other local art.

Our winter market even takes place in a bar, which pretty much seals the deal.

Perhaps nothing epitomizes a distillation of the summer market like little bags of dark green kale sprouts for sale, dense with kale flavor. But the dried morels and porcini mushrooms for sale were a close second. And then there is the potato lady of Mountain Spring Farms in Paradise, Montana.

Like a species of fish adapted to life at the bottom of the ocean, with no need for the surface, Mountain Spring Farms doesn’t even bother selling at the summer market. But in winter, they show up with their spectacular potatoes, and the people show up with their money.

Last week, I bought some of their huckleberry potatoes, with their thick purple skins and buttery yellow flesh. At another stand, I bought six golf ball-sized celery root balls for a dollar each. I also got greenhouse parsley, onions, a huge bag of spinach heads, a loaf of bread, some collard greens, a parsnip, a bunch of carrots, a sweet dumpling squash, and a potent and delicious fermented beet beverage called kvass.

At home, I perused the winter pages of Coleman and Damrosch’s Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook. Their recipes are simple, and easy to modify with whatever winter produce is available.

With my huckleberry potatoes and celery root, aka celeriac-which Coleman points out is not a root but an enlarged lower stem of a certain type of celery-I followed the directions for a potato celery root mash.

It was sensational, with an artichoke-ish aftertaste and a lusty decadence that made me thirst for red wine.

Then, following a red curry recipe, I put my squash, onions, garlic, carrots, celeriac, and squash to use, plus a bit of deer meat.

I finished the dish with wilted spinach and

garnished with kale sprouts. I’ve never seen my kids eat so much green, which, like the color itself, is all the more striking to see at

(From Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook. Used with permission; paraphrased for brevity.)

Bring water to a boil in a pot or saucepan.

Cut 1 pound of potatoes in to inch cubes.

Trim, peel, and scrub a half-pound of celeriac and cut into inch cubes. Add all cubes to the pot and simmer until soft. Drain and set aside.

In an empty pan, melt two tablespoons butter and add a medium-sized onion, minced. Stir often until onion is translucent, and add two bay leaves and a teaspoon of thyme. Then, a cup or so of heavy cream. Simmer for about five minutes, remove the bay leaves, add the potato and celery root chunks, and mash it all together. Season with salt and black pepper, and garnish with chopped parsley.

Coleman and Damrosch serve it with browned butter. I cooked parsley and garlic in butter with a squeeze of lime, for a sauce, and it was excellent.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 19

THURSDAY

8

SATURDAY

10

NODA KRAMPUS KRAWL

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA What: Tired of the same old Christmas carols sung the same old way? Wish there was a bit more metal and pyrotechnics involved?

Here’s your answer. For the last 20 years, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has wowed fans with its highenergy, visual spectacles filled with thunderous versions of holiday classics. How many bands can say they skipped the club scene and started playing arenas right away?

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St. More: $46.50-$74.50. timewarnercablearena.com.

— JEFF HAHNE

20 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

What: Alpine folklore was certainly less cheery when it comes to being naughty or nice for the holiday season. Hence, Krampusen, St. Nick’s monster-like partner in gift giving and scaring the living daylights out of the kids who didn’t behave. In 2015, a major motion picture was released about this dark alternative to Christmas. Dress up in your scariest and roam with others for this special crawl.

When: 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.

Where: North Davidson Street at 36th Street More: Free. nodakrampuskrawl. com.

— ANITA OVERCASH

THINGS TO DO

TOP TEN

Trans-Siberian Orchestra THURSDAY

SATURDAY

JASON MCEACHERN

SATURDAY

10

10

KATE VOEGELE & TYLER HILTON What: Maybe you’ve never been to the Double Door Inn because blues isn’t your thing and you’ve mistakenly thought that’s the only genre you’d find there. Well, here’s something on the pop end of the spectrum that’s a reason to go to the legendary venue one more time before it closes. Kate Voegele and Tyler Hilton may have both starred on One Tree Hill, but it’s music that’s been their driving force.

When: 9 p.m.

Where: Double Door Inn, 1218 Charlottetowne Ave. More: $25-$85. doubledoorinn. com.

— HAHNE

DECK THE WALLS: A HOLIDAY PHOTOGRAPHY SALE

SATURDAY

10

RIPPIN’ WEEKEND

What: The Light Factory is partnering with Hodges Taylor Art Consultancy for this one-day photography sale that features photographers who have been influenced by or actively involved with The Light Factory throughout its 40-year history. Featured artists include Byron Baldwin, Carl Bergman, Diana Bloomfield, Carolyn DeMeritt, and more.

What: If you’re going to headline the “Rippin’ Weekend,” you better be able to tear it up. Aqualads have been doing just that for 20 years with their solidly performed surf rock. Add to that the fantastic rock and strong songwriting of Amigo and tell people the night’s gonna start with the rock of Late Bloomer.

Three of Charlotte’s finest groups, under one roof, all on the same night. There should already be a line forming outside...

When: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: Hodges Taylor Art Consultancy, 118 E. Kingston Ave. More: All art under $500. hodgestaylor.com. lightfactory.org.

When: 10 p.m.

Where: Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. More: $7. snugrock.com.

— RYAN PITKIN

— HAHNE

NoDa Krampus Krawl SATURDAY

Charli XCX TUESDAY

NEWS ARTS FOOD MUSIC ODDS

Kate Voegele SATURDAY

OLIVIA MALONE

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

10

TUESDAY

11

TUESDAY

TUESDAY

13

11

13

GIRL TRIBE POP-UP

CHARLOTTE COMICON

STARVING ARTIST MARKET

KISSMAS CONCERT 2016

RAH DIGGA & LYRIC JONES

What: This Pink Social-hosted event consists of more than 60 local, female-owned businesses that pop up for one day to make for the ultimate girl’s day out.

Shop from your choice of fashion boutiques, jewelry designers, calligraphers, artists, makers and up-and-coming brands. This year’s holiday edition includes local brews, boy band holiday music, a fun photo booth, discounts and delicious snacks.

What: Have a comic book nerd in the family? Or, are you the one with comic wants and needs? Vendors gather to sell and trade new and vintage comic books and comic book-related items. Looking for a special toy or action figure to add to the bookshelf? You’ll find all kinds of things here. And, don’t forget to dress up. Clubs created around Star Wars, Star Trek and Ghostbusters will be there, too.

What: As we noted recently in our Holiday Gift Guide, Charlotte Art League is full of possibilities if you want to give the gift of art to someone this holiday season. But the options just got event better, as this event will feature 20 local vendors who are bringing out an assortment of items. There’s art (of course!) and there is also pet supplies, soaps, gem stones, candles, chocolate and more.

What: The female Flipmode Squad member with the iconic voice, Rah Digga’s career trajectory was harmed by her label’s refusal to release her second album in 2004 after most of the songs leaked to the web. The Lyricist Lounge veteran has remained a constant in the underground, however, and true hip hop heads recognize her as one of the most important female lyricists of her generation.

When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Embassy Suites Hotel, 5400 John Q Hammons Drive, NW, Concord.

More: $5; free for kids 12 and under. charlottecomicon.com.

What: In previous years, the Kissmas concert would roll into a venue like the Fillmore with a few one-hit radio artists along with a solid, pop headliner. When it was announced the show was moving to the Spectrum Center, you knew they’d have to be stacking up a more impressive lineup. This year features current, young, pop hitmakers Shawn Mendes, DNCE, Hailee Steinfeld, Alessia Cara, Charli XCX and JoJo.

When: 12 p.m.-4 p.m.

Where: Charlotte Art League, 1517 Camden Road.

More: Free admission.

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

Where: Sugar Creek Brewing, 215 Southside Drive.

More: $5. eventbrite.com.

— PITKIN

— OVERCASH

— OVERCASH

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St. More: $45-$150. timewarnercablearena.com.

— HAHNE

When: 10 p.m.

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

— PITKIN

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 21

ARTS

FILM

Jim the hair guy ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea.

Presents

1213 STUDIO

THE TIDE IS HIGH Powerful drama elevates movie season

BY MATT BRUNSON

T

HE YEAR-END awards season began in earnest a few days ago with the National Board of Review’s selection of Manchester by the Sea (***1/2 out of four) as Best Film of 2016.

It’s a choice I can enthusiastically endorse.

While I’ve seen better movies this year — though not many — this one is the sort of understated, under-the-radar drama that can use all the help it can get to stand out in an increasingly overcrowded marketplace.

Casey Affleck, Ben’s often overshadowed lil’ brother, has been excellent before — in 2007 alone, he delivered a remarkable performance in his sibling’s powerful directorial debut Gone Baby Gone and earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford — but his work in this picture is revelatory. He stars as Lee Chandler, a janitor/handyman 22 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

who returns to his Massachusetts hometown following the death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler). Soon after arriving, he learns that Joe has placed his 16-year-old son Patrick (Lucas Hedges) in his care — Lee balks at the news, since he wants to return to his lonely existence in Boston while Patrick wants to remain in Manchester-by-the-Sea. As Lee tries to figure out the proper course of action, he’s forced to come into contact with both his exwife Randi (Michelle Williams), with whom he shares a devastating history, as well as Joe’s former wife Elise (Gretchen Mol), who wasn’t much of a parent to Patrick but wants to try again since she’s now a born-again Christian.

A grouchy uncle and his flippant teenage charge — it sounds like the perfect set-up for an inane sitcom starring Charlie Sheen and some precocious flavor-of-the-month brat.

Instead, writer-director Kenneth Lonergan

has fashioned a film that cuts close to the bone, with gentle humor only occasionally serving as a buffer against the harsh realities of these characters’ lives. Lee Chandler isn’t some plastic movie saint — he’s shown to occasionally be quite the jerk even before the events that understandably and irrevocably alter the course of his existence — and Affleck and Williams are both sensational as they explore their characters’ shared pain.

Hedges is also exemplary, and the scenes in which Patrick tests the boundaries with his uncle (“Can my girlfriend spend the night? Dad always let her.”) feel particularly authentic. In fact, there’s not much that feels false in Manchester by the Sea, a beautiful bummer that nevertheless locates moments of hope and humility in a storm-tossed ocean of despair.

A co-op salon and spa in the heart of Plaza-Midwood

1213 STUDIO.COM

ARTS

THEATER

JOHN MCHUGH

Davidson Community Players’ Holly & Tinsel.

12 DAYS OF THEATER Seasonal shows to check off the list

BY ANITA OVERCASH

I

T’S THE TIME of year when most of us start to get a little crazy. Our savage, cosumerism instincts have kicked in and we’re in dire need of downtime.

Let this list serve as your reminder: don’t forget to take the time to kick back and relax as the holiday’s approach. And what better way to do that than by picking up tickets to a local show? While you’ve

been busy shopping, the folks who make up some of the Charlotte area’s finest theater groups have been learning lines and finetuning seasonal productions. We’ve put together a list of 12 shows going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area. There’s something for everyone, so we’ve divided the list in two groups — “Keeping it classy” for the folks who like more traditional fare and “Something different” for the folks

who like a twist to the seasonal offerings.

We also grouped a variety of Nutcracker performances together.

KEEPING IT CLASSY

A Christmas Carol This is the 10th year of this Theatre Charlotte production, which says a lot — largely that folks haven’t gotten tired of the show based on Charles Dickens’ classic. There’s something about seeing the

grumbly Ebenezer Scrooge visited by ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future that warms the spirit and will have you dropping the bah-humbugs in no time. $27. Dec. 7-9, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 10, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 11, 2:30 p.m. Theatre Charlotte, 501 Queens Road.

704-376-3777. theatrecharlotte.org.

SEE

DAYS P. 23 u

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 23

ARTS

THEATER

Charlotte Ballet’s Nutcracker.

DAYS FROM

P.22

PETER ZAY

t

The Birth This is the 11th year of this Starving Artist Productions performance, which was nominated as “Theater Event of the Year,” twice for CL’s Best Of Charlotte in previous years. Drama mixes with music and dance for this reason for the season showdown. $15-$25. Dec. 14-17, 7 p.m. Duke Energy Theater, 345 N. College St. 704-3721000. blumenthalarts.org.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte is notorious for staging this cat fight twist on Christmas shenanigans. The musical is focused around a holiday decorating contest takes a turn for the worst when someone starts sabotaging the area. Oh, and as noted on ATC’s website: “This year’s trashiest Christmas celebration will be held at the Charlotte Ballet’s Center for Dance. That’s right: Class meet Crass!” $28-$50. Dec. 7-8, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 9-10, 8 p.m.; Dec. 11, 2:30 p.m.; Dec. 14-15, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 16, 8 p.m.; Dec. 17, 2:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Dec. 18, 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 20-22, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 23, 8 p.m.

Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance, 701 N. Tryon St. 704-3721000. atcharlotte.org.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Matthews Playhouse of Performing Arts presents this 24 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

Hip Hop Nutcracker

show about an unusual family that’s chosen to host the church’s annual pageant. Wise men with pizza and an angel that’s straight out of a comic book? This clueless bunch might not have the story straight, but they sure as hell have some interesting ideas about how to give this Nativity some oomph. $11-$13.

Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 3, 2 p.m.; Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 10-11, 2 p.m.; Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 17-18, 2 p.m. Matthews Community Center (Fullwood Theater), 100 McDowell St. East, Matthews. 704-846-8343. matthewsplayhouse.com.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical Children’s Theatre of Charlotte are also staging an adaptation of playwright Barbara Robinson’s Yuletide show, but there’s a musical twist from Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner. Creative Loafing critic Perry Tannenbaum has already hit this show up and hails it as “a very gratifying achievement at Charlotte’s fantasy palace.” $22-$34. Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 10, 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.; Dec. 11, 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.; Dec. 17, 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.; Dec. 18, 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.; Dec. 22, 11 a.m. & 3 p.m.; Dec. 23, 11 a.m. & 3 p.m. ImaginOn (McColl Family Theatre), 300 E. 7th St. 704973-2828. ctcharlotte.org.

Soulful Noel If you’ve never been to one of OnQ’s seasonal Soulful Noel shows, this is the year to change all that. It’s full of classic songs that get a soulful spin. One-night-only! $18$30. Dec. 9, 8 p.m. McGlohon Theater, 345 N.

Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte’s Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical (2015 production picture).

College St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) This is a funny, fast-paced romp that’s filled with characters you’ve come to associate with this time of year. The Grinch, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, George Bailey and more are all targets. Take it all in with a cold one. $24-$28. Dec. 9-10, 7 p.m.; Dec. 11, 2 p.m.; Dec. 16-17. 7 p.m.; Dec. 18, 2 p.m. NoDa Brewing Company, 2921 N. Tryon St. chickspeare.com.

Holly & Tinsel Lake Norman’s Davidson Community Players are sprucing things up this year with Holly and Tinsel. When two families end up stranded at a diner due to a snow storm, they meet a waitress and a cook who remind them of the true meaning of Christmas.

Sounds like greasiness and gratitude all in one. $12-$20. Runs through Dec. 18. Armour Street Theatre, 307 Armour St., Davidson. 704892-7953. davidsoncommunityplayers.org.

Scrooge’s Christmas Trolley Tour Though it’s a bit of a tread to Salisbury, this was too good to skip past. The folks at Lee Street Theatre are presenting this theatrical experience that take folks on a trolley ride with stops at historic spots where scenes from the holiday classic will be acted out. $15-$20.

Dec. 9-10, 6 p.m.-6:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m.-7:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.-8:15 p.m., 8:15 p.m.-9 p.m.

Also on Dec. 16, 17 and 23. Salisbury-Rowan Convention and Visitors Bureau, 204 E Innes St., Suite 120. 704-310-5507. leestreet.org.

GO NUTS

Clara’s Trip: A Cirque & Dance Nutcracker The folks at Caroline Calouche & Co. like to put their own special twist on this seasonal classic. The storyline revolves around Clara, who trips and breaks her ankle before a party.

Her friends visit her in the hosiptal, which comes alive through twists and turns from professional dancers and aerialists. $25-$40.

Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 10, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Dec. 11, 2 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

Charlotte Ballet: Nutcracker In it’s most traditional form, the folks who make up Charlotte Ballet take an elegant approach to this classic. Complete with choreography from Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and live music from the Charlotte Symphony. $25 and up.

Dec. 13-16, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 17-18, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 22-23, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. 704372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

The Hip Hop Nutcracker This is one of the most entertaining adaptations of the Nutcracker that I’ve seen yet. You can envision a scene of hip-hop (provided by a DJ/emcee), breakdancing and graffiti as the story is told in a creative, new way. $19.50 and up. Dec. 27-29, 7 p.m.; Dec. 30, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St. 704-372-1000. blumenthalarts.org.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 25

Open tuesday- sunday ARTS

and for lunch on Saturdays

HAPPENINGS

Giftcards and Catering Available!

Alcohol Infused Cupcakes Artisan Chocolates Pour-Over Coffee Gourmet Teas

holidaysatthehall.com.

COMEDY Fort Mill Community Playhouse OTC Improv.

The holiday show playfully pokes fun at Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and ... Boxing Day in Canada. $12-$15. Dec. 10, 8-10:15 p.m.

220 Main St., Fort Mill. OTCimprov.com.

All Apparel, Accessories, and Footwear

The Comedy Zone Josh Blue. Dec. 8-10. Mike Speenberg. Dec. 11. Sid Davis. Dec. 13-14. 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., Suite B3. 980-3214702. cltcomedyzone.com.

MORE EVENTS Come visit us at 1520 South Blvd #130 (980)207-2211 railaythai.com

Breakfast with Santa Families are invited to spend some time with our friends from the North Pole and enjoy a delicious breakfast and a viewing of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Each child will have the opportunity to take a picture with Santa and create a holiday craft. $13-$18. Dec. 17, 8-11 a.m. NASCAR Hall of Fame, 400 E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. holidaysatthehall.com.

@scrbar

NOW OPEN!

NEW VAPORIUM AND LOUNGE 73 PROPRIETARY FLAVORS – FACTORY DIRECT

120 ML E-JUICE FROM $14.95 BEGINNER TO EXPERT HARDWARE FREE WIFI, BIG SCREEN TV’S, SNACKS, BEVERAGES Ph: 704-464-4558 5025 W. WT Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269 DIRECTIONS: FROM I77

wy

WS

ar Cre ek

Rd

W WT Harris Blvd

WS

ug

Old States ville Rd

ug

ar

Cre ek

Rd

Davis Lake Pk

Old States

ville Rd

DRIVING NORTH: Take Exit 18 and turn right onto WT Harris Blvd.

26 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

DRIVING SOUTH: Take Exit 18 and turn left onto WT Harris Blvd.

The Lounge will be on the right just past Old Statesville Rd.

BRING THIS AD AND SAVE 25% ON FIRST PURCHASE OF E-LIQUID

CL1123

Bustld Live The first Bustld Live event will include appetizers and two bubbles or beer; a panel on how to get started with your wedding planning from a local wedding planner, photographer and venue coordinator; and a question-and-answer session with the pros. Bustld, a new local wedding planning website based in Charlotte, eases many of the wedding planning stress-points for millennials by providing a clean, modern, easy-to-use site with a focus on local, personalized experiences. $15 advance/$20 at door. Dec. 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The Punch Room at Ritz Carlton, 201 E. Trade St. eventbrite.com.

Charlotte Pride Band’s Winter Concert The Charlotte Pride Band presents its annual free winter concert, featuring the band’s brass and woodwind ensembles. The groups will perform traditional holiday music as well as other selections arranged for small instrumental groups. Bring a toy or game donation. Dec. 18, 3-5 p.m. Temple Beth El, 5101 Providence Road.

Charlotte Symphony’s Magic of Christmas This festive celebration features holiday favorites such as “Sleigh Ride,” “Jingle Bells,” “We Need a Little Christmas,” plus rousing sing-alongs and much more. Dec. 9, 8-10 p.m., Dec. 10, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. & 8-10 p.m. and Dec. 11, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St. charlottesymphony.org.

Ghosts of Christmas Tour The “Ghosts of Christmas Tour” is an intimate candlelight tour of Charlotte’s historic 4th Ward, in the spirit of the beloved Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol with a ghoulish twist.

Guests will experience a candlelit journey of Christmas past, present and future and the timing is perfect for a tour of Charlotte’s oldest neighborhood, as the 4th Ward is decked out in an amazing array of holiday décor and lighting. $25 per person. Dec. 8-11, Dec. 13-14, Dec. 17. ghostsofchristmas.eventbrite.com.

Hip-Hop & Hookah: The Little Brother Edition DJ Steel Wheel & DJ Kato of AfroPop Nation are teaming up for the third installment of the “Hip-Hop & Hookah” series, celebrating one of Hip-Hops most iconic groups “Little Brother”.

Admission is just $5 before 12 p.m.; Tickets at https://goo.gl/ei3CZE. Apostrophe Lounge, 1440 S. Tryon St. Potions Pixels A night of video games and board games. There will be a wide variety of multiplayer games from all eras and for all skill levels. $5. Dec. 8, 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave. Second Annual Ugly Sweater Holiday Party & Clothing Drive The uglier the sweater, the better. There will also be Christmas carol karaoke. Music, ugly sweater contests, prizes, a photo op with Santa Clause and it’s all for a good cause. All clothing donations will be given to the Salvation Army. Free. Dec. 17, 7-11 p.m. Rooftop 210, 210 E. Trade St., Suite 230B. eventbrite.com.

Tosco Music Holiday Party Come celebrate the season with a Saturday night of great music and song. The evening will feature more than a dozen performers and plenty of singalongs.

Enjoy your favorite holiday classics, traditional Christmas carols as well as songs of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. $14-$24. Dec. 10, 8:30-10:15 p.m. McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square, 345 N College St. toscomusic.org.

WBT Holiday on Ice Charlotte’s outdoor ice rink returns with a breathtaking skyline backdrop. Lace up those skates for WBT Holiday on Ice, experience the wonder of the Hall’s 39-foot-tall tree during the second annual tree lighting and enjoy breakfast with Santa.

Race over to the Hall to fuel up on festive fun throughout the holiday season. $10-$14.

Through Jan. 8, 2017. NASCAR Hall of Fame Plaza, 400 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

GETTING IN SHAPE TAKES EFFORT, TIME AND PATIENCE. YES YOU ARE WORTH THE TROUBLE! SO...GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT: GET IN SHAPE WITH MUAY THAI AT BLACK BELT USA

WWW.BLACKBELTUSA.NET 11915 N. Tryon St. Suite A., Charlotte 28262 . 704-595-1945

DISHING FRESH FOOD AND BEVERAGE NEWS WEEKLY.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 27

MUSIC

FEATURE

JUSTIN DRISCOLL

Mike Astrea (left) and Rapper Shane of Deep 6 Division.

PULLING NO PUNCHES Deep 6 Division duo releases bruising debut album

BY RYAN PITKIN

I

T WAS IN the early morning hours of a recording session at Mike Astrea’s house in Plaza Midwood one night last winter that he and Rapper Shane watched a man and woman argue in the streets about how much the man was obligated to pay for the woman’s abortion.

28 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

The fight almost came to blows before the arguing parties spotted the duo sitting on the porch smoking between takes for their new album. Shane and Astrea were uneasy about the potential that they’d have to step in if the man became violent, but the couple walked off down the street when they realized they were being watched.

Incidents like this seemed to keep happening as the two musicians, who have teamed up to create Deep 6 Division, recorded their first album together.

“That’s one incidence, but there were several really random occurrences at like the wee hours of the night,” Shane says. “We’d go back in and be like, man, I don’t know it

just felt weird.”

With these odd happenings acting as inspiration, Deep 6 created a self-titled album that serves as an ode to Plaza Midwood — with songs like the short-butaggressive “Posse on Central” shouting out its main thoroughfare — creating a time stamp depicting a ‘hood in transition.

“I think a lot of people treat [Plaza Midwood] like Disneyland right now, where they come on the weekends and they come to check out all the freaks at the cool bars, but it’s still a neighborhood that is very much in a growth period and expanding,” Astrea says. “You have this huge influx of people from other areas moving in, so everyone is still feeling each other out and things are still coming into place. I think five to 10 years ago a lot of these people wouldn’t delve into this neighborhood. It just has an interesting perspective.”

Astrea does the production work for Deep 6 Division, as he does with his other outfit Astrea Corp, in which he produces and his wife Carly Astrea sings. Shane raps on the Deep 6 project, but Astrea’s production work is so boisterous that it serves as a personality in and of itself. It contrasts his work with Astrea Corp, which has a more soulful, trippy feeling. “[Astrea Corp is] a very personal process.

That’s a more meditative thing for us … That’s very much a different mood, a different vibe,” Astrea says. “With [Deep 6 Division], I get a chance to be a lot more aggressive and approach the production from a different angle than I can in the Astrea Corp continuum because it’s just a softer thing. It’s A and B, day and night kind of thing. But I really enjoy it. It gives me an outlet for doing the more aggressive bass stuff that I can’t do on a daily basis.”

He lists groups like Public Enemy and EPMD as inspirations for his work with Deep 6, but with a modernized twist. Bassheavy beats and disruptive editing in songs like the menacing opener “Bridge Burner” make for an unapologetically combative feel throughout the album that is sure to hype up the most sedated of listeners.

As for Shane, he commands attention with a confident presence that hasn’t always been present in past work. He’s more deliberate with his verses than ever before, and the result comes through in the work as he stakes his claim to each track.

Shane says he was aware of this progression as he recorded the album, and he believes it comes from the passion he feels for the new partnership.

That’s the reason Shane felt it was necessary to rebrand this project, as opposed to releasing it as a Rapper Shane solo album that was produced by Astrea.

“The sound and what I want to do continuing forward, is with him and what he does musically,” Shane says. “The sound I wanted, I couldn’t find it and I found it and it was like, ‘Oh shit, this is what I’ve been wanting to do,’ and so it deserves to be its own thing.”

Refresh Records, which has been firing out quality local music all summer from local

acts like Scowl Brow, Junior Astronomers and Ancient Cities, will release the Deep 6 Division vinyl, with 100 limited purple editions going on sale at the record release party at Snug Harbor on Dec. 15 and on the Refresh website the following day.

Shane says he’s appreciative of Refresh Records, not only for putting him on vinyl for the first time in his career, but for all that they do in a local music scene that he and Astrea, who moved here from Florida less than two years ago, are both fully committed about.

“I don’t think a lot of light is shined on the underground out here,” Astrea says. “I hate calling it the local scene because there’s a lot of bands and acts and groups that could hang nationally just as well as any of the big acts that come into town.”

For Shane, it’s a matter of getting the word out.

“I just don’t think a lot of people know what’s happening. It’s important, we need more people and publications like [Creative Loafing] that have a broad reach,” he says.

“We need it to be out there more, we need more attention on it. I think it’s a lot of musicians out here supporting each other, and that’s awesome, but we need more people.”

The group did their best to showcase some local talent — including acts with crossover appeal — on the new album.

Features include Mike’s wife Carly Astrea and Junior Astronomers frontman Terrence Richard. They even brought in former Pullman Strike guitarist Wes Hamilton in to play his pedal steel guitar on the track “Frequencies.”

For Shane, who helped found the Charlotte-based Permanent Vacation crew and has also released work as a collaborative called Dap City with his buddies in RBTS WIN, it’s all about spreading the love.

“I want [Deep 6] to be like a group project, I don’t want it to be like centered around me. We have the release party coming up and that will have special guests DJing at it, with all the people who have got cuts on the record, you never know who will play,” Shane says.

“I want it to be like him and I are the primary foundation of it but I don’t want it to be just a me thing, I want it to be an us thing. That can be ambiguous as to who gets involved at certain times, it’s a little more loose. Obviously, we’re the foundation of it, but I don’t want it to be centered around me. I don’t want that, because it’s not a just a rap album.”

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but it’s definitely an album that will refuse to be ignored.

DEEP 6 DIVISION RECORD RELEASE PARTY $7. Dec. 15. 9 p.m. Snug Harbor. 1228 Gordon St. 704-561-1781. snugrock. com

RPITKIN@CLCLT.COM

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 29

MUSIC

Ă 9 Ă H

Open for Lunch and Dinner!

MONDAY

NFL Football Bucket of Beer and 10 wings 19.95

TUESDAY

8 Ă Ă Ă " LIVE MUSIC

: Ă L g SATURDAY NIGHT 12/10

WEDNESDAY

Get Canned WEDNESDAY 16oz cans $2

THURSDAY

MUUY BIIEN AGE OF UNCERTAINTY

$2.00 Tuesday All Domestic Bottles

Thirsty Thursday $4 Wines and Margaritas

REVIEW

TANTRUM

SATURDAY

Saturday Collage Football Tailgate Specials

SUNDAY Sunday NFL Ticket Tailgate special and Halftime Rae

8:45 PM

AUTUMN TONE; RELEASE DATE: OCT. 28 Age of Uncertainty is the third album from Athens, GA band Muuy Biien. It was recorded by David Barbe, a producer, sound twister and legend among indie rockers. The dozen songs are a potent mix of punk, krautrock, post-punk and bluesy darkwave. In the opening track “Moral Compass� the band and singer Joshua Evans weave a brooding and layered track that showcases their loose blend of guitar rock, which, this song especially, is reminiscent of the Birthday Party (Nick Cave’s early band).

The guitars throughout the album are controlled, but take off on their own when the song begs it. “The Clocks� is an especially dark number and evokes some of the best works of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds while remaining wholly original. “Mara� is a finger-snapping song lodged about midway through the album and changes the tempo while acting as a pivot for the remaining songs. “The Sound of a Trenchcoat� is a jazzy instrumental that could be a scene backdrop in a B&W film noir or even a David Lynch film. “Robbed� is a bluesy slow burner holding its own territory. The title track “Age of Uncertainty� opens with a sustained note and flows into echoed vocals and acoustic guitar that’s got a psychedelic aura as it builds and fades away into the ether. “Skeleton Tissue� tosses

155 Pinnacle Ln. Mooresville, NC (704) 677-7648 30 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

keyboardish treatments around a bass line while the song is sung with spoken vocals reminiscent of Mark E. Smith and The Fall. Just after a few listens, Age of Uncertainty is, at this late in the year, elbowing its way into my top 25 recordings of the year. — SAMIR SHUKLA

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 31

MUSIC

SOUNDBOARD

DEC. 8 DJ/ELECTRONIC *Shiprocked (Snug Harbor)

DEC. 10

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL

Electric Soul Pandemic (Double Door Inn)

POP/ROCK Thirsty Horses (Tin Roof) *Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Spectrum Center) Tyler Boone with Human Resources and The Give and the Take (Visulite Theatre) Wolves and Wolves and Wolves and Wolves, Burns Like Fire, South Side Punx, Minimums (Milestone) Wood Robinson (of MIPSO) w/ Kevin Sandbloom (The Evening Muse)

DEC. 9 BLUES/ROOTS/INTERNATIONAL Eric Gales (Double Door Inn)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH *Charlotte Symphony Pops: Magic of

THU 12/8

TYLER BOONE-HUMAN RESOURCES THE GIVE AND THE TAKE FRI 12/9

8th Annual TWIRL TO THE WORLD Holiday Party & Fundraiser SUN 12/11

BALLANTYNE SCHOOL OF MUSIC Presents: WINTER JAM 2016 SAT 12/17

ACOUSTIC SYNDICATE WED 12/28

NEW YEARS EVE

32 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

*Parranda Navidena: 3rd Annual Venezuelan Christmas Celebration Juan Carlos Arcaya & SwinGaitero, Raices Venezolanas, UltimaNota (Neighborhood Theatre)

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Charlotte Symphony Pops: Magic of Christmas (Belk Theater) The 62nd Annual Singing Christmas Tree (Knight Theater)

DJ/ELECTRONIC 8th Annual Twirl to the World Holiday Party & Fundraiser (Visulite Theatre) Purgatory 73: Island of Misfit Toys w/ Sensual seasonal sounds by DJ Codec & DJ Drees, Djinn the NiteChylde, Devi Doll, Pole Dance Innovator, Pioneer and Champion Karol Helms, Arsin Sideshows, Kona Kyoto, House of Payne (Amos’ Southend)

Christmas (Belk Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill)

RECYCLE ME, PLEASE (Only after you’re done reading me)

SAT 12/10

Bushmen and Aqualads (Visulite Theatre) Trouble Maker (Puckett’s Farm Equipment)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B *Soulful Noel (McGlohon Theater)

POP/ROCK Abacab (The Music of Genesis) (Amos’ Southend) Anna Barnett and Jared Miller w/ Jeremy Vess (late show) (The Evening Muse) Blue Monday (Tin Roof) Jack Ingram w/ Rob Baird (Neighborhood Theatre) Jennifer Daniels (early show) (The Evening Muse) The Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Patriot, The Commonwealth, The Hooliganz, Unruly Boys (Milestone) *Rippin Weekend: Joshua Cotterino w/ Berdmajik, Diaspoura, TKO Faith Healer (Snug Harbor) *Rippin Weekend w/ Modern Primitives, Business People, The Beast, Pop Weirdos (Petra’s) Slippery When Wet (The Fillmore) *Southern Culture on the Skids with Woolly

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B *CLTure Music & Fashion Bazaar w/ Well$, Erick Lottary, Dorren Pierre, Jezu$, Shome and Fat Geoff (Snug Harbor) Gina’s Gospel Christmas Concert (Duke Energy Theater) Will Downing w/ Chante Moore & Alex Bugnon (Ovens Auditorium)

POP/ROCK Armory (Tin Roof) Brigades, Remembrance, WVRM (Milestone) The Broadcast (late show) (The Evening Muse) Jem Crossland (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) *Rippin Weekend: Aqualads w/ Amigo, Late Bloomer (Snug Harbor) *Rippin Weekend w/ Mall Goth, Jenny Besetzt, Wandcarver and Buck Gooter (Petra’s) Seth and Scott (Comet Grill) Solemn Shapes, Malhond, No More People, Iioioioii, Lovesucker, Joshua Cotterino (Milestone) The Stray Birds w/ Miss Tess & The Talkbacks (early show) (The Evening Muse) *Tosco Music Holiday Party (McGlohon Theater) Tyler Hilton & Kate Voegele w/ Gabrielle Ross

DEC. 14

DEC. 11

POP/ROCK

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH The 62nd Annual Singing Christmas Tree (Knight Theater) Charlotte Symphony Pops: Magic of Christmas (Belk Theater) An Evening with George Winston (McGlohon Theater) Jazz Workshop and Improv featuring John Shaughnessy (Petra’s)

COUNTRY/FOLK Kane Brown (The Fillmore)

POP/ROCK Ballantyne School of Music presents Winter Jam 2016 (Visulite Theatre) Copeland (Now/Then Tour) w/ Rae Cassidy (Neighborhood Theatre) Omari and the Hellrasiers (Comet Grill)

DEC. 12 HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B Knocturnal (Snug Harbor)

POP/ROCK Find Your Muse Open Mic w/ Emily Cope (The Evening Muse) Kerry Brooks (Comet Grill) *Mobley, Catch Fever, CAMPING, Porcelain (Milestone) The Monday Night Allstars (Double Door Inn) Wicked Powers (Comet Grill)

DEC. 13 CLASSICAL/JAZZ/SMOOTH Bill Hanna Jazz Jam (Double Door Inn)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B *Rah Digga & Lyric Jones (Snug Harbor)

POP/ROCK Jon Linker (Tin Roof) *Kissmas Concert w/ Shawn Mendes, DNCE, Hailee Steinfeld, Alessia Cara, Charli XCX, JoJo (Spectrum Center) Open Mic with Jeff (Puckett’s Farm Equipment) Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Sabrina Carpenter (McGlohon Theater)

Adam Lee, David Z Cox, The Whiskey Predicament, Tommy Trull (Milestone) *Children of Bodom w/ Abbath, Exmortus, Oni (Neighborhood Theatre) *Cuzco w/ It Looks Sad, Mineral Girls, america is a mistake (Snug Harbor) Open Mic Night (Comet Grill) Queen City Anthology: One More Time w/ The Loudermilks + The Houston Brothers (Double Door Inn) Songwriter Open Mic (Petra’s) Tosco Music Open MIC for the Holidays (The Evening Muse)

COMING SOON Chatham County Line (Dec. 16, Neighborhood Theatre Serfs (Dec. 12, Snug Harbor) California Guitar Trio (Nov. 18, Neighborhood Theatre) Tony Lanez, A Boogie, Kranium, Kurt Rockmore (Dec. 20, The Underground) Holy Ghost Tent Revival (Dec. 22, Visulite Theatre) Boy Named Banjo (Dec. 23, Visulite Theatre) Benji Hughes (Dec. 24, Snug Harbor) Matrimony (Dec. 26, Amos’ Southend) Andy The Doorbum w/ Sinners & Saints (Dec. 31, Snug Harbor) The Avett Brothers (Dec. 31, Bojangles’ Coliseum) Steep Canyon Rangers (Jan. 7, Knight Theater) Cracker w/ Camper Van Beethoven (Jan. 11, Neighborhood Theatre) Pop Evil w/ Red Sun Rising and Bad Flower (Jan. 11, The Underground) Aaron Lewis (Jan. 13, Coyote Joe’s) Mike Doughty w/ Wheatus and The Ragbirds (Jan. 14, Visulite Theatre) Dweezil Zappa (Jan. 20, Neighborhood Theatre) Breaking Benjamin (Jan. 21, The Fillmore) Circa Survive w/ Mewithoutyou and Turnover (Jan. 25, Amos’ Southend) * - 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.

DECEMBER 31

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

(Double Door Inn)

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

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

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

NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH! $1200 CASH GIVEAWAY & FREE MERCHANDISE FREE PARTY FAVORS & CHAMPAGNE TOAST AT MIDNIGHT

ALL FOR THE AMAZING PRICE OF $12 IT’S A BARGAIN!

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

JANUARY 6

OLD DOMINION LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $20 ALL OTHERS $23 JANUARY 14

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

AARON LEWIS LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $22.50 ALL OTHERS $25.50 JANUARY 20

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

CLAY WALKER LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $20 ALL OTHERS $25

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

FEBRUARY 17

THE LACS LIMITED ADVANCE TICKETS $15 ALL OTHERS $17

WILD1-2-3 NIGHTS DECEMBER 10, 16, 23 & 30

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

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

ON SALE AT COYOTE JOES AND COYOTE-JOES.COM COYOTE JOE’S : 4621 WILKINSON BLVD

704-399-4946

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

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 33

ENDS

MARKETPLACE

ENDS

JOBS | POSTINGS | LISTINGS | RENTALS

NIGHTLIFE

DON’T BE A SCROOGE IN THE Q.C. THIS MONTH Instead, make a December bucket list

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING To be conducted by the Charlotte Housing Authority Board of Commissioners PURPOSE:

To receive final comments on the Authority’s 2017 Proposed Operating Budgets DATE:

December 20, 2016

TIME:

5:30 P.M.

LOCATION:

CHA Administrative Office 400 East Boulevard Charlotte, NC 28203

Any persons wishing to speak during this public hearing should sign up in advance with Heather Franklin at 704-336-5233.

Please plan to limit your comments to a three-minute period.

A copy of the 2017 Operating Budget is available at the Authority’s Administrative Office at 400 East Boulevard, the Public Library-Main Branch and the CHA website.

34 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY Family Engagement Real Estate Events and more

www.JeffHahnePhotography.com

704-737-2145

The Perfect Combo.

If pop-ups are your thing, there are plenty It’s been a crazy couple of days for yours truly in the Q.C. My phone decided to stop for you to explore in the Q.C. this month, working, every hard disk I have access to is Google’s your best friend. either broken or full, my finger is jammed 3. “Magic of Christmas” – Until I’d came and the list goes on. “Bah! Humbug!” Now across a video on Facebook with the caption, that that’s out of the way, “It’s beginning “When you went to Juilliard, but you’re still to look a lot like Christmas!” And you know hood,” I’d completely forgotten how obsessed what that means, it’s time to spread some I am with the sound of violins. That’s why holiday cheer.

I’m trying to find the time to check out the Last week, I shared a few tips for “Magic of Christmas” brought to us by the avoiding the naughty list at your holiday Charlotte Symphony at the Belk Theater office party. Mine was last Friday at Suite in the Epicenter and believe it or not, I Dec. 9-10. Listen to some of your favorite managed to stay on my best behavior. Well, Christmas songs and even snag a selfie with minus a minor mishap after chugging a Santa. Anyone have a promo code? beer on the rooftop — I got lucky, only two 4. Nutcracker – It isn’t Christmas until witnesses were present. Otherwise, all was you’ve seen some version of a holiday classic, well. #winning right? It’s been years since I’ve seen On Monday, however, after all the Nutcracker. Catch it at the the chatter — read: gossip — Belk Theater Dec. 3-23 for as was over, I was left feeling low as $25. Based on the empty. What was I going pictures, this version of to focus on now that the the Nutcracker looks one thing I was looking forward to this month completely different than was but a distant, anything I’ve ever seen drunken memory? before. I think we’re in for I decided to pull out a real treat. my phone and search for 5. Speedway Christmas activities to keep me in the – Not a fan of intermissions Christmas spirit and ring in AERIN SPRUILL at a play? Your Southern the New Year vibes of, “New Christmas isn’t complete until year, new me.” you’ve watched a movie at the Every year, I’ve compiled a list of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Or maybe until fun things to do during the holidays in the Queen City, why stop now? you’ve feasted your eyes on over 3 million Below are a few things on my bucket list Christmas lights! Catch movies like Frozen this year, but this time around, I’m actually or A Christmas Story, explore a Christmas going to check them all off! Pull out the village and watch the light show from now eggnog or spiked hot cocoa and take some until 12/31. Cost? $25/car so pile in and notes. split the cost with friends or family.

1. Uptown ice skating — If you’ve kept up 6. The Dock – Nothing says warm with my articles, you know I’ve mentioned and cozy like a cocktail in an intimate this one before. Just like an ex that keeps atmosphere. The Dock is the Queen City’s popping up, so does my Christmas wish newest secret hangout and I CANNOT WAIT to ice skate, or try to do so, outside of to check it out. Apparently, the entrance is the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Holiday on Ice Uptown – sounds like the perfect date night, hidden in a loading dock at the Charlotte or coworker activity if you ask me.

Marriott City Center. If that doesn’t 2. VTGCLT Pop-Up Shop — Did you miss heighten your curiosity, right now, it’s only out on Vintage Charlotte’s Winter Market? open on Saturdays from 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. Très Me too! Luckily for us, the local favorite is exclusive! I don’t know about you but I plan giving us another chance to check off items on making my way over before it disappears on our Christmas list. Between Dec. 9-21, like other unique venues in the area. you can shop for your family — or self — in What do you have on your bucket list this Latta Arcade, aka French Quarter. See if any December in the Queen? Share your favorite of your fave local vendors are going to be spots or activities during the holidays with present by heading over to their Facebook page to check out the shop feature each day. me at backtalk@clclt.com!

ENDS

CROSSWORD

AS THE SAVING GOES ...

ACROSS

1 Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 Super deals 15 Stage backdrop 20 Aired in installments 21 Martial arts instructor 22 City near Dallas 23 Focus applied when covering a surface with concrete?

25 Styx setting 26 III, to Italians 27 Jai -28 Solo in sci-fi 29 Hanker for 30 Prefix for tax or charge 32 College between two hills?

36 Suggest 39 Puts forward as fact 40 Bakery decorator 41 Try to be like 43 “Pinball Wizard” band 46 Shrek is one 50 Great review from the wife of George Washington?

53 Scandinavian king’s lubricant?

56 Certain iPad 57 German coin 58 Harvest yield 60 Crooner Vic 61 Tailor, e.g.

63 Cut, as a 58-Across 65 Hitter Gehrig 66 Cause trouble to 67 Question to an animal doc at an amusement park?

71 Star, e.g.

73 “Illmatic” rapper 74 Drop-leaf table supporter 75 Chief city of the Ruhr 78 Butlers 80 Ruby and scarlet 81 See 31-Down 83 Crooner Perry 84 Caesar’s hail to a mariner?

86 Buck that’s toiling away?

88 Enumeration 89 Loafer liner 92 Grand Slam tennis events 93 Completely engrossed 96 President before Bush 99 -- -lance (pit viper variety) 100 Seamstress who was

Adam’s mate?

105 Downed 106 Italian cry at a dinner table 107 Canon -- (camera line) 108 Caspian Sea feeder 110 “Attack, mutt!”

113 Not as young 114 Tennis great Rod who keeps everyone safe?

119 Pixar figures 120 “In this way” 121 1970s-90s carrier to Lima 122 Collagist Max 123 Positive responses 124 Eased up on

DOWN

1 Month after Aug. 2 On -- with (equal to) 3 Paris’ -- Gauche 4 “-- already said ...”

5 Actor Voight 6 First name of Poe 7 Perfumery bottle 8 6x9-inch book size 9 One-eighty from NNW 10 “X” amount 11 Psych up 12 Like a Thai 13 Tea on TV 14 Moral error 15 Ball 16 School unit 17 Arm bones 18 Nonreactive 19 Amble along 24 Aunts, in Baja 29 Month after Nov. 30 More briny 31 With 81-Across, Beehive State NCAA team 33 Lo-fat 34 Suffix of ordinals 35 Cello forerunner 36 “Byzantium” actress Arterton 37 AOL letter 38 Hip-hop DJ’s equipment 39 Scrutinizes 42 -- kwon do (martial art) 44 Carpenter’s adhesive 45 Clued in 47 Is a little too proud of 48 Queen in a sari 49 Stunt master Knievel 51 Boot part 52 Sailors, say

54 Take too much of, for short 55 Member of an early-1900s art movement 58 Debt memos 59 Director Clair 62 “-- -Cop” (1988 film) 64 Commercial on the tube 65 Olympic sled course 68 “How -- to know?”

69 Celebration 70 Jailbreaker 71 Indy path 72 Shankar on the sitar 76 Edit, as text 77 Scandinavian 79 Hormones in some replacement therapies 80 Harry Potter pal Weasley 82 Draft inits.

85 Its cap. is Vilnius 86 Kaput 87 Toss high up 90 Brother of Iphigenia 91 Director Ang 94 Something novel 95 Sch. org.

97 Supply that’s too abundant 98 Operating skyward 100 Theatricalize 101 Courage 102 Finish with 103 Weird 104 Out-of-the-way corners 105 Bygone Olds 109 Bygone Chevy 110 Swedish film shooter Nykvist 111 French noun suffix 112 Gunky stuff 114 Use skillfully 115 Ending for Brooklyn 116 Abbr. in trig 117 Part of L.A. 118 Lemur cousin

SOLUTION FOUND ON P. 38.

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 35

Always FREE to listen and reply to ads!

ENDS

SAVAGE LOVE

NEVER TOO LATE Husbandry

WHO ARE YOU AFTER DARK?

DAN SAVAGE

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

redhotdateline.com 18+ FREE TRIAL

Discreet Chat Guy to Guy

980.224.4669

Always FREE to listen and reply to ads!

Dating Made Easy Charlotte:

(980) 321-7692

Playmates or soul mates, you’ll find them on MegaMates Charlotte:

(980) 224-4667

www.megamates.com 18+

REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.

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

Ahora español Livelinks.com 18+

36 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

www.megamates.com 18+

Meet sexy friends who really get your vibe...

Try FREE: 704-731-0113 More Local Numbers: 1-800-811-1633

vibeline.com 18+

I’m not being look-ist or bodyI’m a 37-year-old gay man who just fascist here—this isn’t about having got out of an abusive relationship.

Instagrammable abs or the best torso We were together five years, moved Grindr—but join a gym, GAYMAN. Or take to Portland together, got married up a sport that kicks your ass, cardio-wise. three years ago, yada, yada, yada. He Forcing your body to outrun your brain is a suffered a traumatic injury earlier this good way to get back in touch with yourself year, which led to PTSD, which led to a physically, emotionally, and sexually. And nervous breakdown, which led to our exercising—again, I’m not talking abs here— savings being depleted, which led him is good for us. It’s a natural antidepressant. to leave me in October. He moved back It gets blood pumping into our extremities. to the other side of the country, and (Your dick is an extremity.) And it gets us out I’m broke and on my own in a strange of our heads. It also creates a social space, city. I saw your dirty film festival when if you do it regularly, where you can make it played here, and it made me realize friends and connections without booze or something: At my age, I should still be drugs or the scourge of dance music. enjoying myself and evolving sexually.

If the gym isn’t for you, ride a bike. If I was unhappy in my marriage for the biking isn’t for you, run. If running isn’t last two years, but sexually I for you, walk. Just get your ass was unhappy for a long time. moving.

Recently, I had a decent Go volunteer somewhere, one-night stand. It was anywhere. Like someone or a drunken, stoned hot other once said, it’s hard to mess, but it got the job feel sorry for yourself when done—and there was you’re making yourself no guilt on my part, useful. Go volunteer at which to me signifies the ACLU or Planned that it really is over Parenthood, do some with my ex. But I can’t copywriting for an LGBT help feeling like I’m DAN SAVAGE civil-rights organization, starting over. Not just find out what orgs are dating, but starting over working with immigrants in your with my sex life and my community and ask them what kind writing. My ex had me switch from of help they need.

LGBT media—which I am very good Please don’t succumb to meth or any of at—to copywriting, which sucks but is the other stupid drugs. Pot and alcohol—in “steadier.” The point is: I want so much moderation—aren’t stupid drugs. sexually, because I’ve been starved Reach out to friends you lost touch with physically and psychologically, but I over the last five years, apologize for letting don’t know where to begin. I feel like my these relationships go, and ask if they’d like marriage eviscerated me sexually. Not to reconnect. Not all will, GAYMAN—some just the sex part of it, but the parts of might be too angry to reconnect right now my homosexuality that felt important (you may hear from them later), some might to my personality, not just my turn-ons. not have any extra friendship bandwidth Help. right now (ditto). Focus on friends who Grieving And Yearning Man Asking want to reconnect, and don’t be bitter about Nicely friends who don’t.

Masturbate. A lot. And don’t use You’re not too old to enjoy yourself and porn every single time—try using your evolve sexually, GAYMAN — you’re never imagination, flip through the ol’ solodex. too old to enjoy yourself or evolve, sexually or Be open to new experiences. Ask yourself otherwise. But it takes time to bounce back where you’ve always wanted to go. Pick a big after a committed LTR ends traumatically. gay event you’ve always wanted to attend— So don’t rush yourself. But as soon as you gay days at Disneyland, International Mr. can — sooner than perhaps it feels right— Leather in Chicago, the World Series of you’ll need to get out there. You’ll need Beer Pong in Las Vegas—and start setting to actively and intentionally reconnect to money aside so you’ll have that trip to look your homosexuality and the ways in which forward to. it shaped and continues to inform your Good luck, GAYMAN. personality, your perspective, and your joy. mail@savagelove.net And now some random tips…

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 37

LILLY SPA

ENDS

STARGAZER

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

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

SOLUTION TO THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE

FOR ALL SIGNS: Venus, ancient goddess

of love, luxury, beauty and money, continues to fall into one pit or another this fall. At this time she is in a challenging mix with Saturn and Pluto. These two planets are not the best of companions. One demands work and effort, while the other creates dramas and fear of the powers that be. This arrangement makes it hard to stand with honor and integrity in relationships but it can be done.

Remain with your values, even if they are threatened by a tsunami. Don’t succumb to pressure or make demands of others.

THE HOTTEST GAY CHATLINE

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

www.guyspyvoice.com

Ahora en Español/18+

TAURUS: For the next three weeks your

SAGITTARIUS: You are in a long term

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

Change is happening all around you and it may be a challenge to keep up with it all. Do the best you can. No one can expect more.

CANCER: You are in a reasonably good

place with yourself at this time. Your heart and mind are flowing together. You have no conflict between your feelings and your thoughts about those feelings. This is a time for reflection on important subjects. You can make good decisions now, but be aware of the upcoming Mercury retrograde and don’t commit the farm.

For reviews on the latest in home entertainment, visit

CLCLT.COM/CHARLOTTE/VIEW-FROM-THE-COUCH/

38 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM

SCORPIO: Drive and handle tools carefully.

occurring at work or among your friends. Do not fall into the “catastrophic” attitude with others. The issue is minor in the scheme of things. This is a good time to work on a solitary project that requires concentration and the use of the large muscles in your body.

GEMINI: You have likely been dealing with a decision concerning joint property or family issues. You have spent a few weeks in this process. Although you want to come to a final solution, that may elude you right now.

Be patient and know that the right answer will come soon. Set it aside to percolate before you take action.

VIEW FROM THE COUCH

into the sector of life related to children, recreation, and romance. This time the name of the game is “intensity” between you and anyone in these sectors. Relationships are challenging right now. Sidestep any temptations to manipulate others and avoid falling into traps of those who want to “play” you.

Your reflexes are a little off target right now. Changes may be occurring in your primary relationship. One or the other of you is probably trying to hang onto what is familiar. Changes and growth must be allowed to happen or the relationship will become stale. Let things flow naturally. No force allowed here.

ARIES: There seems to be minor agitation

60 MINUTES FREE TRIAL

LIBRA: Venus, your ruling planet, moves

LEO: You are concentrating on adding something fresh and new to an old activity or structure in your life. It is possible that the “structure” has to do with relationships. This week it is probable that you will have an “ah ha!” moment that helps you pull everything together with a fresh slant.

VIRGO: This is a time of cooperation between you and your lover or children.

If a spouse is in the picture, things may be strained but there is probably no overt disagreement. Let your intuition flow and guide you. Give attention to your dreams.

Ask your higher self for answers at night and they will be there in the morning when you waken.

process of building something important into your life. This week a friend or an acquaintance might offer a suggestion that could be valuable to your process. It may not be perfect, but could lead you to find a solution if you give it attention.

CAPRICORN: An individual who outranks you provides help in the background.

Concentrate on maintaining the straight and narrow in encounters of love or romance.

Lying and especially cheating, will bring you far more harm than good. For a breather from the fray, immerse yourself in movies, plays, or good books that bring you pleasure.

AQUARIUS: It is necessary that you give attention to an issue of control that threatens to split one or more of your relationships.

Either of you may be the one who is seeking power and it may be quite subtle. You may be attempting to get what you want through manipulation. Don’t pursue this and don’t let someone do it to you. Take the high road.

PISCES: This is a fine time to enjoy books and/or TV, meditate and journal. Give yourself time for self-exploration and even just “diddling around” and relaxing. Your dreams are meaningful and your intuition strong. Focus on art, music, dance, and color — whatever gives you pleasure.

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

CLCLT.COM | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | 39

AWARD WINNING BURGERS

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

“Cooked Outdoors Style” ™

100% FRESH ALL-BEEF HAMBURGERS

Corn Dog 5 Pc. Chicken Nuggets All White Breast Meat

BLT Sandwich

CHARGRILLED CHICKEN SANDWICH

99

¢

each

Chargrilled HAMBURGERS Fresh With Homemade Chili and Slaw!

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

40 | DEC. 8 - DEC. 14, 2016 | CLCLT.COM