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THE YEAR OF MISFITS , The ups downs and shameless clowns that made 2015 a year to remember (or forget)
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INSIDE NEWS & COLUMNS 7
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NEWS: Bidding adieu to Bob Wilson, resident whitesplainer at The Durham News
F E AT U R E S 5
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YEAR IN REVIEW: Comedy
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YEAR IN REVIEW: Performing arts
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YEAR IN REVIEW: Visual art
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YEAR IN REVIEW: Books
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YEAR IN REVIEW: Film
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Fire it up Fifteen food stories that shaped the year in local dining
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High 25 An album-by-album rundown of our favorite 25 local records of 2015
CALENDARS & EVENTS 29
The year of misfits The Triangle’s biggest stories of 2015, according to us
A R T S , C U LT U R E , F O O D & M U S I C YEAR IN REVIEW: Viral media
The Triangle: Year 1 Twelve things I learned in my first few months here By Jeffrey C. Billman
CITIZEN: Maybe 2015 wasn’t so bad after all (at least in Raleigh)
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VOLUME 32 NUMBER 51
WHERE WE’LL BE: The best arts and
By Grayson Haver Currin
culture events of the week 30
MUSIC CALENDAR
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ARTS CALENDAR
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FILM CALENDAR
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Our year in the arts 2015 trends and critics’ picks in the performing arts, visual art, books, film and more
The INDY’s Act Now and Food/Farmers Markets calendars can be found at indyweek.com.
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Raleigh Cary Durham Chapel Hill A ZM INDY, INC. COMPANY PUBLISHER Susan Harper
EDITORIAL
EDITOR IN CHIEF Jeffrey C. Billman MANAGING+MUSIC EDITOR
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Alex Boerner, Jeremy M. Lange OPINION Bob Geary THEATER AND DANCE COLUMNIST Byron Woods VISUAL ART COLUMNIST Chris Vitiello CHIEF CONTRIBUTORS
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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BY JEFFREY C. BILLMAN
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THE TRIANGLE: YEAR 1
12 things I learned in my first year here
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
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applied to be the INDY’s Raleigh news editor in January. I drove up for an interview in February. I moved from Florida to Raleigh in March. I was promoted to editor in chief in August. I bought a home in Durham in November. It’s been quite the year. But I can say without equivocation that in the nine months I’ve been here—has it only been nine months?—I’ve come to love this place, to think of it as home. I’m still learning, still figuring out the nooks and crannies, still exploring. I’ll be doing so for years to come: There’s much to see, to experience, to eat. (Been working on that last part, as my waistline can attest.) But as we kick off this Year in Review issue, I wanted to look back and reflect on some of the things I’ve observed about the Triangle since (and before, actually) my arrival, broken down by month. JANUARY: NORTH CAROLINA IS SURPRISINGLY SPREAD OUT. My wife and I had narrowed our target areas down to three: Colorado (pro: legal weed, con: cold as fuck), St. Petersburg (a city reminiscent of Durham with beaches and more old people) and somewhere in North Carolina,
enough to effectively shut this whole region down. MARCH: DOWNTOWN RALEIGH IS IMPOSSIBLY EXPENSIVE. We wanted to find a place downtown, or at least downtownish. And we wanted to do it for less than $1,000 a month. Not a chance, not unless we wanted a 600-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. An actual house? In Oakwood? No way. Time was short, and our options were limited. We ended up in a fine, if boring, townhouse outside the Beltline. PHOTO BY JEREMY M. LANGE
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which I knew little about except that we had friends near Asheville and Charlotte, and I instinctively hated Charlotte and loved Asheville. And for whatever reason, when I responded to a job posting in Raleigh, I imagined that these cities were all somehow grouped together. A Google search quickly disabused me of that notion. We still haven’t made it over to Asheville. Or to Charlotte. Or to the beach.
FEBRUARY: PEOPLE HERE CAN’T HANDLE SNOW. A few days before I was to drive up for my interview, I received an email from the INDY asking if I wanted to put it off. A snowstorm was coming. I checked the forecast: two inches. Nah, I responded, I’ll be fine. I’d lived up north, in Philadelphia; I knew what a real snowstorm was like. Two inches ain’t shit. But, as I came to find out, two inches was
APRIL: PEOPLE HERE ARE UNNERVINGLY NICE. I grew up in South Florida, which is in the South but not of the South. And I’ve come to realize that Florida adopted all of the South’s failings— the racism, the lackluster public education—without also adopting its greatest virtue: niceness. I noticed it everywhere: at my first Raleigh City Council meeting, at the corner store, from the mailman who knocked on my door to introduce himself to the panhandlers on the side of the road. Sure, it’s not universal—every place has its own assholes—but the niceness is exceedingly, sometimes jarringly, ubiquitous. And I
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think it’s worth remembering that you can’t say the same about most places. Not South Florida. Definitely not Philly. It’s taken some getting used to. MAY: RALEIGH HAS AN AWESOME GREENWAY SYSTEM. To celebrate my birthday and contemplate my ever-nearing mortality, I went on a 32-mile bicycle trek (by far my longest ever), following the Greenway along the gorgeous Neuse River from farNorth Raleigh down to Knightdale and back. I took shorter versions of this trip several times a week, accompanied by my headphones and the serenity of nature and the occasional deer that poked its head out. I mostly stuck to the trail nearest my townhome, but there was no real reason to: In place since the ’70s, Raleigh’s Greenway system now measures 114 miles all over the city.
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JUNE: RALEIGH IS A HUGE SMALL TOWN TRYING TO BECOME A BIG CITY. Raleigh, despite its recent progressive bent, can safely be called the Triangle’s most conservative major municipality. (FuquayVarina doesn’t count.) It’s not an ideological conservatism so much as a cultural one, at least in some corners, a sense of nostalgia that chafes at the new. And when there’s plenty of new happening—new tech companies, new condos, new dining scene, new food trucks—there’s plenty of opportunities for conflict. Such was the case with the DrunkTown debate that officially kicked off in June but was lingering beneath the surface of a resurgent downtown long before. The very character of the city was changing, and not everyone liked it. JULY: SO. MANY. HIKING. TRAILS. If you enjoy hiking, there are few places in the world better suited to it. Eno River State Park. Umstead State Park. Occoneechee Mountain. Durant Park. They’re all exquisite, majestic even. And in the heart of summer, when the sun’s rays are bearing down and the air is thick and humid, the tall canopies of oak and pine trees provide a welcome sanctuary. AUGUST: I-540 CAN GO RIGHT TO HELL. The promotion meant that my commute was no longer seven miles to downtown Raleigh but rather 30-some-odd miles to downtown Durham. And there are few things more infuriating than miles upon miles of a parked interstate that eventually empties out onto, well, another parked interstate, which in turn leads to an often-parked freeway.
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SEPTEMBER: SO. MANY. FESTIVALS. Hopscotch, SparkCon,Wide Open Bluegrass—all in one downtown, all cool on their own terms, all in one month. Which, for a midsize city like Raleigh, is pretty amazing, really. OCTOBER: PEOPLE HERE REALLY CARE ABOUT THE STATE FAIR. LIKE, A LOT. I didn’t go—“You make your own mistakes in life,” managing editor/fair enthusiast Grayson Haver Currin replied to my confession—but I’m fairly certain, from the way my office mates would not shut up about it, that I was the only one, that the N.C. State Fair, unlike most of the friedSnickers-bar-and-Vomitron shit shows I’ve been to, is actually worth investing your time in, because it is the one time and place where all of the magnificent weirdness of North Carolina is gathered and put on display. Next year, then. NOVEMBER: DURHAM IS A BIG CITY WRAPPED IN A LITTLE CITY. We bought an old, little bungalow just north of downtown Durham, within walking or biking distance of just about everything we like to do. (Our mortgage, by the way, is about $110 less than our Raleigh rent, so point Durham.) And it soon occurred to me that, in the same way Raleigh is a giant small town, and charming in that way, Durham is a tiny big city: diverse and innovative and weird, appreciative of its own eccentricities, earnestly progressive. Kind of like you took a big, post-industrial mid-Atlantic metro, shrunk it and infused it with hippies and a dose of Southern charm. DECEMBER: IT’S NOT ALWAYS COLD AT CHRISTMAS. Growing up in South Florida, you prayed that the temperature would drop into the 60s, cold enough that you could wear a sweater and say it felt like Christmas. In Philly, our first Christmas was heralded by an epic blizzard that dropped two feet in a few hours. In North Carolina, we hoped to find a happy medium: coldish, maybe some snow, but nothing overwhelming or brutal. Instead, the high on Christmas Day is expected to be 70 degrees. Which is almost like being back in Florida. s Jeffrey C. Billman is the INDY’s editor in chief. Email him at jbillman@indyweek.com. Twitter: @jeffreybillman.
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
BYE, MR. WILSON!
The year according to Bob Wilson, resident whitesplainer at The Durham News
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their own,” he wrote on the second day of the year, “but a national uproar occurs when a white police officer takes down a threatening thug-in-training.” That statement, at least, marked the beginning of the end for Wilson, who announced the closing of his column in late December. In that piece, he lamented the fall of journalism and the concurrent rise of “the radical Left’s obsession with reforging society, which includes suppressing speech it considers offensive.” That exiting zing was an appropriate one for Wilson, who has wasted many of his column inches abjuring social changes that make him feel old and in the way. The problem with the world, Wilson implied with most everything he wrote for The Durham News, is that it stopped bending to his will long ago. Wilson had reasonable, reasoned moments during his tenure. He could be convincing when writing about science, as in his advocacy of “natural beaches” or his appreciation of the space program. He once made an eloquent argument for upgraded buses as opposed to light rail, and his Durham development critiques were often sensible. Sometimes he offered interesting notions of the way things used to be, too, like an ornery old uncle sharing stories after a few glasses of brown liquor. But when Wilson stumbled into race relations—which he did at a frequency so high and with a tenor so bitter you wondered if he ever discussed this stuff with his editors—he sounded whiter than the septuagenarian fleece of his alabaster beard. For Durham, in a year where the hot-button issues became actual matters of life or death, of paying the bills or going into debt, of existing in dignity or without it, Wilson served as an embarrassing reminder of systems and stereotypes we’d do better to leave behind now. Wilson always meant well, I’m sure, like an overseer simply doing what he thought was best for his chattel, but painfully unaware that less and less of the world belongs to him or his kind. s Grayson Haver Currin is the INDY’s managing+music editor.
DECEMBER 23, 2015
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Y CARE t wasn’t very hard to find reasons to LOT. I protest in Durham this year: From mistakes withheld wages for construction workers usiast to union-stifling maneuvers at Duke, from my data that confirmed racial bias within the from shut up police department to the blue’s sometimes hat the mortally bungled arrests, from horrid conditions in the county jail to fights for fair friedows I’ve pay for service-industry workers, the city has served as the local showcase for the grinding g your and place gears of slow, significant, long overdue national change. Little of it has been pretty ness put on or quiet. Most of it has been necessary. Whenever the city administration or its very active citizenry began to lean to hard to the left, though, one clarion of old Southern CITY bought comfort consistently cut above the vox populi’s din—that of Bob Wilson, a retired f Mississippi-born journalist, Duke alumnus ng or and cantankerous blowhard. Most every thing he way, week for the past two-plus years, Wilson’s blanched brand of aging conservatism h rent, received validation with several column urred inches in The News & Observer’s Bull City h is a outpost, The Durham News. that In a year of unapologetic trolling from erse and the daily paper of record’s editorial section e of its essive. (see, for instance, DrunkTown or guns on dustrial campus), Wilson was the crank lodged infused it firmly beneath the bridge, shaking his fists n charm. at the ruckus-causing whippersnappers above and around him. He reduced, for instance, Black Lives Matter protesters COLD to “snowflakes” and “Robespierres” and outh erature essentially told them to get over it, that life was tough for everyone. He labeled Michael ugh Brown “a store-robbing thug transfigured say into a martyr” and blamed national first c blizzard increases in crime on Brown’s death. To Wilson, those who protested Confederate rs. In a happy monuments were only “neo-Maoists ow, but [raging] against history,” while East nstead, Durham was a pothole of “violent crime” cted to around which the good people of Durham e being should swerve. He was a Jose Lopez apologist, arguing that the town’s top cop had been besieged by a political ambush. Most of all, he argued that, if Africanor in week.com. Americans wanted to fix a few centuries of societal woes, they simply needed to stop shooting one another. “Somehow it has become acceptable for blacks to kill
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T H E I R O N YA R D . C O M G I V E U S A C A L L : 8 5 5 . 3 9 9. 2 2 7 5
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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THANK GOD THAT’S OVER
The Triangle’s biggest stories of the year, blow by crushing blow BY BILLY BALL, JEFFREY C. BILLMAN, GRAYSON HAVER CURRIN, DANNY HOOLEY AND JANE PORTER
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he Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Fifteen is now very nearly in the books, after we dispense with the binge eating and football watching and familial squabbling and borderline alcoholism that the holiday season brings with it. And, if we’re being honest, that thought doesn’t make us sad. Much of the news this year sucked: mass shooting after mass shooting, including one in Chapel Hill; cringe-worthy debates over the merits of Confederate monuments; the inexplicable replacement of esteemed UNC president Tom Ross with Dubya lackey Margaret Spellings; the passing of Dean Smith and UNC’s cheating scandal; basically everything the Legislature did. Oh sure, some good stuff happened, too: Coach K bagged win No. 1,000 and a national championship; the Carolina Panthers are kicking all kinds of ass; Durham finally kicked Police Chief Jose Lopez to the curb; Raleigh got Dix Park squared away; we got a new Star Wars movie. But trying to find a silver lining to a year that saw Donald Trump become a legitimate presidential frontrunner (!) is like trying to find a diamond at the bottom of a Porta-Potty: You have to first wade through a whole bunch of shit. Still, like Monty Python, we always look on the bright side of life. And so the turning of the calendar gives us hope for a brighter tomorrow, hope that will probably be crushed the day Ted Cruz wins Iowa. But for now, let’s take one mercifully final look in the rearview at the year’s most important—or at least most talked about— state and local stories. And then let’s never speak of 2015 again.
#drunktown
In the end, it was a lot of sound and fury signifying almost nothing. But for a couple of months this summer, the debate over Raleigh’s sidewalk-drinking restrictions seemed poised to consume the fall’s Council elections, even though there were clearly further-reaching issues at play (e.g., the Unified Development Ordinance). It didn’t—aggrieved bar owners, who rallied under the banner Keep Raleigh Vibrant, largely failed to alter the election’s trajectory. But
what came to be known as #drunktown, a name owing to an asinine late-game ad campaign financed by Raleigh businessman Dean Debnam, nonetheless generated considerable heat. City staffers first proposed the new sidewalk-drinking rules—modeled after Austin’s, as all things in Raleigh must apparently be—in June, but the debate started months before that, when Empire Properties proprietor Greg Hatem and some downtown condo-dwellers began complaining that the bars’ noise had rendered downtown “unlivable.” And even after Council, in November, conceded that it had gone too far, walked back the weekend sidewalk curfew it had passed three months earlier and promised to look anew at occupancy limits, it seems unlikely that the central point of contention undergirding this mess—that is, what kind of downtown does Raleigh really want to have—will pass from the main stage anytime soon.
The governor’s prison scandal
Earlier this month, Gov. Pat McCrory’s campaign website began hawking $5 bumper stickers that read, “I don’t believe the Raleigh News & Observer.” Indeed, McCrory’s longstanding beef with the N&O is by this point pretty well established. Actually, he has beef with much of the state’s media: Earlier this year, for example, the INDY joined a coalition of news organizations suing the governor and his administration over their handling of publicrecords requests. But McCrory has fumed at the N&O in particular over that paper’s reporting on a meeting the governor brokered for his pal and political backer, Charlotte developer Graeme Keith, who was seeking to renew a $3 million prison-maintenance contract.
Long story short: McCrory, we learned, intervened over the objections of state prison officials, including Secretary of Public Safety Frank Perry, who said his staffers thought having outsiders handle maintenance posed a security risk. At the meeting McCrory facilitated, the N&O reported, Keith informed state officials that he “had given a lot of money to candidates running for public office and it was now time for him to get something in return.” Perry eventually bent to what he called his “marching orders” and extended the contract. The FBI is investigating. And how did the governor react to the newspaper’s reporting? By lashing out at the big, bad, liberal media, of course.
Legislature kills light rail, screws the environment
There’s nothing like a stretch of sunny, 70-degree days in mid-December to remind us of the realities of global climate change. Could there be a more fitting backdrop to revisit the Legislature’s disastrous track record on environmental policy in 2015? Our lawmakers let the Renewable
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news Energy Tax Credits expire. Our governor signed into law a bill that lets polluters off the hook, scales back protections for wetlands and streams and shuts down half of the state’s air-quality monitors. The state negotiated the sweetest of sweetheart deals with Duke Energy on coal ash, and North Carolina won’t be complying with the federal clean power plan, thank you very much. Added bonus: Expect the assault on Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards to resume as soon as lawmakers return to Raleigh this spring. To add insult to injury, the Legislature passed a bill slashing the state’s support of the long-awaited DurhamOrange light rail plan to $500,000, because we can’t have nice things. (This provision may be revisited in next year’s legislative session, so hope springs eternal.) Not only is this bad PR—why would clean-energy companies want to come here if this is the way our lawmakers behave?—but dirty air and polluted water threatens public health and the natural habitats of animals. Nice work, guys.
Legislature goes full culture warrior
If you’re gay, or a woman or an immigrant, state lawmakers gave you the legislative equivalent of a fat lump of coal this year—you’re welcome! It began with Sen. Phil Berger’s “religious freedom” bill for magistrates who don’t want to officiate same-sex weddings. That bill, passed over the governor’s veto, came as a response to a 2014 federal court ruling that struck down Amendment One. But then, the U.S. Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land in June, and, unsurprisingly, the state is now being sued over Berger’s Senate Bill 2. Also in June, North Carolina women got the gift of a 72-hour waiting period before they can access an abortion, apparently so they can have a nice, long think about their life choices or whatever. That’s insulting to women’s intelligence, medically unnecessary, and, in signing the bill, McCrory broke a promise not to impose more restrictions on abortion. Finally, the guv also signed a bill that limits the kinds of IDs immigrants can use to identify themselves to government officials and prohibits cities and counties from limiting enforcement of federal immigration laws. Civil liberties experts say that legislation jeopardizes individual rights and deepens the wedge between immigrants and law enforcement; advocates for children say the ID provision could block kids from receiving basic human services like education and medical care. But hey, at least the Legislature intervened to protect monuments to the Confederacy, because nothing says inclusiveness quite like the state honoring a treasonous rebellion whose founding principle was the enslavement of other human beings.
Legislature gerrymanders Wake County
That the General Assembly hasn’t exactly been a friend to the state’s major metros isn’t quite news.
From proposals to reallocate sales taxes and economic incentives to less urban counties to the repeal of business privilege taxes, rural lawmakers have been almost gleeful in their animus. Here’s a particularly jarring example: Last November, a progressive Democratic coalition wrested control of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. A few months later, the Republican empire struck back. The General Assembly, in a shamelessly partisan measure pushed by Sen. Chad Barefoot, passed a law that rejiggered Wake elections in a manner that will make it easier for Republicans to win, no matter what the voters think. Assuming a federal lawsuit filed in April by a group of Wake voters doesn’t succeed, instead of seven countywide elections, Wake will now elect two at-large commissioners and seven more from single-member districts, the same gerrymandered districts the Legislature previously drew to help elect Republicans to the school board.
The Chapel Hill shootings
It’s telling that we close 2015 with a wellspring of antiimmigrant rhetoric, propped inexorably by the perpetually foundering Republican Party and its brain-melting frontrunner, Donald Trump. Syrians and Muslims—all of them—will threaten our freedom. Never mind that, in a grueling year chockablock with mass-casualty events— several of them the work of white dudes with a racial or political agenda—North Carolina’s most notorious shooting (allegedly) involves a white man, Craig Stephens
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Hicks, murdering three Triangle college students of Syrian descent in February over something maybe as trivial as a parking dispute, though it’s also possible the killings were racially motivated. Point is: The red-meat chomping over killer immigrants neglects the very real danger of the United States’ unchecked “more guns!” mentality. And the deaths of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha are a sobering reminder of how no town, not even idyllic Chapel Hill, is immune.
Affordable housing
If there’s one lesson the Triangle has learned over the last few years, it’s that success begets its own challenges. Sure, it’s better to have a thriving entertainment district than a ghost town. But as more and more people want to live in and around those districts, rents become unmanageable. And nowhere around here is this phenomenon more pronounced than in the formerly low- and middle-income neighborhoods near downtowns in Raleigh and Durham that are being swallowed by gentrification. Across the region, few issues this year seemed quite as beguiling and intractable as affordable housing. In Durham, the City Council wrestled with whether to turn over land near the transit station to Self-Help, which had proposed building 80–100 affordable units. The council ultimately punted, foreclosing Self-Help from receiving the federal tax credits it needs to finance the project this year. In Chapel Hill, UNC loaned $3 million to a local nonprofit to purchase and preserve increasingly rare affordable units. Beyond that, however, town leaders are still waiting for an inclusionary-zoning policy passed in 2010 to show results. And in Raleigh, Larry Jarvis, the city’s director of housing and neighborhoods, put forward a $20 million plan to encourage developers to include affordable units in their projects, although Council has been cool to Russ Stephenson’s proposal to use density limits to force developers’ hands. There’s no easy answer, which means this issue will likely stay on our radar for years, if not decades, to come.
The Chapel Hill insurgents take all
David Schwartz insisted this was coming. Schwartz, the co-founder of Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town—a local PAC that chafed loudly at the prospect of being pigeonholed as anti-incumbent busybodies— liked to predict that CHALT-backed candidates would win in a landslide over longtime Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and the incumbents on the Town Council. His reasoning? The yard signs, of course. No one had any Kleinschmidt signs. But politics is more complicated than that, right? Right? Maybe not. While Schwartz didn’t win, three of CHALT’s favored hopefuls—mayoral candidate Pam Hemminger and council candidates Nancy Oates and Jessica Anderson—rode a wave of discontent into office. While it’s hard to gauge the longterm impacts of CHALT’s big year—after all, they’re still just a vocal minority on the Town Council—the message would
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news seem to be clear. Many Chapel Hill voters are mad as hell at the town’s tilt toward highdensity condo development, and they’re not going to take it anymore.
Chief Jose Lopez forced out
To many Durhamites, when word leaked this September that embattled Police Chief Jose Lopez would soon be out of a job, it probably seemed like a long-awaited exhale. No matter where you stand on his performance, Lopez has had a tumultuous eight years. And, in a year that was very, very bad for police public relations, Lopez seemed the archetype of the clueless, snarling old cop backed into a corner, dogged by poor relations with minorities and struggling to respond to increasing public pressure for reform. During his stay in Durham, his office was embroiled in racial-profiling allegations, multiple controversial shootings, internal bickering and a perpetual sense that the city’s top cop was completely out of touch with the public he was serving. Beyond the fact that the violentcrime numbers were none too flattering, Lopez’s ability to communicate with the public and City Council seemed more than strained. Durham officials began the search for his replacement this month, with at least one council member saying that the city needs, first and foremost, a chief more responsive than Lopez. Next year figures to be a year of great change for Durham law enforcement.
Wake County unveils its transit plan
Two years ago, when the then-Republican Wake County Commission declined to join Durham and Orange counties in their light-rail plans, it wasn’t clear when or whether the county would finally begin shedding its addiction to sprawling highways. One Democratic sweep later and mass transit was back. No light rail this time—too expensive—but there was plenty of debate over whether a regional rail line or expanded bus service, or both, would best meet Wake’s burgeoning transportation needs. Ultimately, county leaders decided to go with what’s known as bus rapid transit—22 miles of dedicated bus lanes and buses that have priority over other traffic—with the promise of regional rail somewhere down the line. This, they hope, will be enough to entice voters to sign off on a half-cent sales tax increase in November.
The overhaul of Raleigh’s Warehouse District
Change is a-comin’ to the Warehouse. This May (somewhat prematurely) marked the groundbreaking for the $80 million Union Station transit hub, a service station for Amtrak trains and buses. In the fall, when construction bids to build the station came in higher than expected, Raleigh’s City Council stepped up and committed another $7.2 million. Construction is expected to begin early next year and to be completed—maybe—in 2017. The old Dillon Supply Co. warehouse will also undergo a major revamp, thanks to North Hills developer John Kane. After tussling with some Warehouse District residents over a design that initially seemed too vague, Kane won approval for a $150 million proposal to construct The Dillon—a 17-story commercial building and a nine-story, 260-unit residential complex on the 2.5-acre lot. Kane is also in talks with the city to provide parking spaces for Union Station, and the developer has promised to offer ground-floor space for retail and restaurants as well. All of this will pretty dramatically alter the nature of the Warehouse District, luring more foot traffic and, inevitably, more car traffic, too.
The Dix Park deal is finalized
It took years of negotiations, but, in what could be considered Mayor Nancy McFarlane’s greatest achievement, the state of North Carolina finalized the sale of the 307-acre Dorothea Dix property to the city of Raleigh in July. The price tag: $52 million. The Dix site, located just south of downtown Raleigh, housed stateoperated mental health facilities up until 2012, and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will continue to use part of the land for 25 years. The state, meanwhile, is donating all proceeds from the sale to mental health services. Acquiring the Dix property is a huge deal for Raleigh. City leaders and activists from the advocacy group Dix306 want to transform the property into a world-class destination park, along the lines of Central Park in New York City, both a tourist draw and an urban oasis for Raleigh residents.
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Raleigh passed its hated UDO remapping
It came in with a bang and went out with barely a whimper. In July, hundreds of people crowded into Raleigh’s City Council chambers—and later, into the larger Fletcher Hall at the Duke Energy Performing Arts Center—to complain about the city’s massive remapping under the new Unified Development Ordinance. Their concerns ranged from more bars and nightclubs being allowed in a city that, in their view, is already too loud and drunk, to cutting down old trees and tearing down old houses, to property tax increases forcing people out of their homes in Southeast Raleigh. A group of North Raleigh residents was particularly enraged that the remapping would rezone an intersection at Falls of Neuse and Dunn roads to allow a shopping center 10 times the size of what’s currently allowed. But then, in November, the City Council adopted the remapping with barely a peep from anyone except the North Raleigh folks. Does this mean the council was able to mollify fears by tweaking the UDO? We’ll find out soon enough, when the new construction proposals begin to roll in.
Sylvia Hatchell takes the fall
And to think, all of this began with a football player’s illthought tweet in May 2010: “I live in Club LIV so I get the tenant rate … bottles comin like it’s a giveaway,” declared then-Tar Heel defensive tackle Marvin Austin. Austin may have been reaping gifts at a Miami nightclub or simply quoting Rick Ross. But his words brought attention to an unchecked, give-the-players-whatever-they-want sports culture at North Carolina’s flagship university. Austin’s gone now, on to a middling career in the NFL, but the effects of UNC’s calamitous athletic scandal continue today. The football freebies spun out into evidence of fake classes, suspicious connections to sports agents, allegedly organized wrongdoing by academic advisers and, best-case scenario, more than a few negligent coaches. Yet this year’s long-awaited Notice of Allegations from the NCAA yielded little in the way of consequences for UNC’s cash-cow sports. Men’s basketball coach Roy Williams signed a contract extension through 2020, and football coach Larry Fedora inked his own seven-year deal this month. Both programs were featured in the NCAA’s notice. Yet Sylvia Hatchell, the school’s most successful women’s basketball coach ever, was left with no extension, ostensibly because her program was among the most targeted in the NCAA’s report. But you’d be forgiven for suspecting that the school wants the lower-profile Hatchell to take the fall in hopes of ending its five-year nightmare.
Tom Ross gets the boot
The 2015 ouster of Tom Ross as UNC’s system president could perhaps be traced to Oct. 14, 2010, when the conservative Civitas Review Online posted “Tom Ross Revealed: An Agent of Far-Left Change.” Ross, who served as director of the Z. Smith Reynolds
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news from 2001–07, had just been chosen for the UNC job. Civitas writer Andrew Henson warned that Ross “played a lead role in diverting the focus of Z. Smith Reynolds from a wellrespected philanthropy foundation to a sweetheart of liberal activist groups of all flavors.” That case against Ross continued in January 2015, when Civitas launched its McCarthyist website Mapping the Left to shed light on a “vast, shadowy network” of “the radical liberal left in North Carolina.” Ross was “mapped,” along with other shadowy types, such as the late Dean Smith. Progressives reacted with appropriate ridicule. But the laughs didn’t last long. That same week, Ross was ousted by the Republicandominated UNC Board of Governors. Board Chairman John Fennebresque denied it was political, but the N&O The News & Observer later exposed emails in which conservative lawmakers expressed delight. Next came the whirlwind. In October, Bush administration Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was named UNC’s new president. The Karl Rove protégé had overseen No Child Left Behind and supported the idea of workforce/commercial-based higher education. Her outrage over a kids’ show featuring a lesbian couple led to the resignation of a PBS CEO. Fennebresque was forced out for mishandling the hiring process. UNC faculty and students have been staging protests against Spellings. Last month, The Washington Post ran a story with the headline “Naming of Margaret Spellings as UNC system president called ‘a disturbing new low.’” Spellings starts in March. We’ll soon find out how low we can go.
Coach 1K
In mid-March, a little more than a month after iconic UNC basketball coach Dean Smith died at home in Chapel Hill, envelopes from a Charlotte accounting firm began arriving in the mailboxes of his former players. Each contained a check for $200, with the directive to “enjoy a dinner out.” The move served as a welcome post-mortem
reminder of a life well lived beyond the basketball court. Smith was a beneficent and brave human, as invested in the civil rights of and respect for his players (and all people, really) as he was in the game. It’s hard to imagine, for instance, that Smith would have stayed silent about Indiana’s discrimination-legitimizing Religious Freedom Restoration Act when his team was playing in a Final Four in Indianapolis. But that’s what Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski did, rebuffing reporters attempting to solicit his opinion days before the game. At least later in the year—having already secured his 1,000th win, another national championship and a grade-A recruiting class—he did come out in support of Chris Burns, the first openly gay Division I coach. Good for you, Mike. Maybe next time, use the bigger platform to talk about more than Jahlil Okafor’s inside moves. s backtalk@indyweek.com
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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The INDY’S GUIDE to ALL THINGS TRIANGLE
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW citizen 2015: NOT SO BAD, AFTER ALL
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At least in Raleigh (minus the Capitol, of course) BY BOB GEARY
F
or purposes of this column, Raleigh is the center of the universe, which is as it should be. Is there a trendier city or state capital? In a bigger swing state than North Carolina? In the greatest nation on earth—except if you’re listening to The Donald, who tells us we’re stupid. But I digress. Looking back at my columns in 2015, my view, naturally, is out from Raleigh as we make our mark on the world. My obsessions are: 1) carbon emissions, which imperil the planet; and 2) the growing divide between the rich and the rest of us, a phenomenon so out of control that, as the Pew Research Center reported this month, America’s once-dominant middleclass no longer includes a majority of the population. Separately, scholars Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page studied how public policy decisions are reached in the U.S. and concluded that we can’t even claim to be a democracy. We’re an oligarchy, where only the rich have influence. Yikes! But I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom at the Christmas dinner table. Carbon emissions worsened in 2015, the economic divide is wider, and I agree with the pastoral letter issued by the United Church of Christ, whose congregations— including United Church of Chapel Hill, where I visited—are examining “the ongoing manifestation of racism evident in tragic and painful ways in our communities.” Still, 2015 was a year for restoring hope that the future will be better. And Raleigh, if not the driving force, is poised to do our medium-size-city bit. Ditto Wake County. State government remains a white hole. (Not a black hole, since every top Republican is white.) But the year saw real headway at the presidential-election level thanks to Bernie Sanders, who’s got presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton stealing his best lines about trade, climate change, the scourge of the rich and racial injustice. Feel the Bern! Too bad the mainstream media is letting the Republicans’ fear
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for the environment. The new council has pledged to get serious about inclusive housing. But we’ll need some transit. Wake County: Transit. Last fall the voters tossed out the Republican majority on the Wake commission, electing four more Democrats to what is now a 7–0 Democratic body. The Republicans were against public transit. The Democrats have spent 2015 building consensus for a plan to create highfrequency, high-quality bus transit using a half-cent sales tax, which will be on the ballot in 2016. The bus routes should help spur development in Southeast Raleigh and up Capital Boulevard, where affordable housing is a must. The plan also calls for bus transit on Western Boulevard, where it can link to Dix Park and development that’s already begun outside the park’s periphery. And it will link to Blue Scholars studied how public policy Ridge Road—see above—where the city has yet another chance to decisions are reached in the U.S. achieve dense development, with and concluded that we can’t even affordable units included, that’s claim to be a democracy. supported by first-rate transit, not just lots of cars. The State: SMH. Republican nd on further review: policies are a disaster. But what’s really Raleigh: Housing and Dix. Most galling is that, after Democrats won of what Raleigh can do to combat the Wake elections (and, a year earlier, economic inequality falls under affordable the school board elections), Republican housing. The City Council whiffed twice legislators stepped in with new this year on chances to add affordable gerrymandered districts designed to return units to downtown projects. First, it sold a all of Wake to GOP control starting with parking lot at 300 Hillsborough St.—near the 2016 elections. The switched districts the Capitol—after rezoning it for a 20-story are a giant screw you to Wake voters. But if building with zero affordable housing that’s not reason enough for U.S. District required. Later, it rezoned the whole Court Judge James Dever to strike them downtown for up to 40 stories with, again, down—and he heard arguments last no affordable-housing mandates. week—here’s another: They’re a blatant But that was the old council. In October, case of racial gerrymandering. They pack voters replaced a trio of shopworn as many black voters as possible into incumbents with fresh faces (Corey screwy-looking districts so the all-white Branch, David Cox, Dickie Thompson). Republican Party can prevail in other Meanwhile, the state is about to sell some districts. sweet fixer-upper properties to developers, Race-based gerrymandering unrelated including 42 acres next to the fairgrounds to any reasonable public purpose is on Blue Ridge Road. This follows the sale, unconstitutional, Judge Dever. s to the city, of the 325-acre Dorothea Dix tract, which will become a park. Bob Geary is an INDY columnist. Reach him Parks are good for rich and poor, and at rjgeary@mac.com. campaign highjack the election season and evade the real issues of climate change and wealth inequality. Globally, Pope Francis issued an encyclical on climate change and its causes. “Ecological sin is due to human greed,” the pope declared. It followed a Solar Summit in Raleigh (coincidence?), where climate-change activists have been on the case for years, led by—to name a few—Karen and Joe Bearden of 350.org, Jim Warren of NC WARN and 13-yearold Hallie Turner of iMatter, a youth-led national advocacy group, whom I first interviewed when she was 11. On Dec. 12, representatives of 195 nations signed the landmark climate accord in Paris, the most significant achievement of the year.
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
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DISHING IT OUT
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he Triangle’s food community continues to thrive and expand, as does its national acclaim. New spots seem to open every week, from pricey downtown digs to cheap strip mall eateries. National lists continue to broadcast the hottest spots in the area, while features in The New York Times and the like consistently regard the area with the glee of a naïve discoverer. This growth, of course, brings glorious new spots, failed old favorites and curious scenarios that make us say things like, “Well, why would you name your restaurant that in the first place?” In 2015, these 15 stories fed, frustrated, delighted and disappointed us around the table.
The 15 stories and trends that defined the Triangle’s food scene in 2015
mouth-watering pieces of property, so long as new tenants can scrub away 32 years of noxious seafood smells. —Grayson Haver Currin
Tap lord
Is there a local bar owner with more gumption than Niall Hanley? The completion this year of Raleigh Beer Garden—a towering Glenwood Avenue pub that pushes his restaurant-and-bar total past the halfdozen mark—suggests not. In a meticulously designed if gaudy space, for which entire trees were cut down, At Death & Taxes, and several other Triangle restaurants, big grills and big fires were ... hot? PHOTO BY JILLIAN CLARK sawed apart, carted in and reassembled and preserved, Hanley’s production and get closer to the city’s upstairs, exotic liquors) for Dashi. But with Hibernian-honed team serves nearly 400 craft-beer crowds. Gonza, Rise and Jubala its sixth location set to open next year, Rise Alternate empires draft beers on three levels. In November, all homed in on downtown spots, too— emerged as perhaps the region’s fastestThis certainly wasn’t the year when the that total was enough to earn the Garden reversing urban flight while there’s still real growing enterprise—proof positive that Empire struck back; Greg Hatem’s transtwo Guinness World Records (and estate to be found. —Curt Fields the Triangle can help carry great chefs and Triangle food operation, Empire Eats, probably several jokes about an Irishman their ideas far. —Grayson Haver Currin stayed still as its architect argued for and his love of Guinness) for most beer Final course draconian drinking restrictions rather types and most beer brands on tap. Before Downtown creep Growth entails some measure of failure, as than open a new spot. But other area the Garden could open, Hanley spoke of Anyone trying to live in or near downtown real estate prices rise and either force prerestaurateurs made big steps with their expansions, franchises and next ventures— Raleigh or Durham knows the price to do existing businesses away or cause owners own empires. In a massive project just a steps on his way, it seems, to becoming so has climbed considerably. The same simply to opt out and take someone else’s few doors down from Hatem’s flagship, Raleigh’s pub king. —Grayson Haver Currin holds for the cost of business space. This offer to pay rent. And so, old standbys Ashley Christensen opened the upscale year, especially in Raleigh, it seemed that serve their final dish. In Raleigh, that Order in Death & Taxes, while, on the other side new restaurants opening near the city happened throughout the year, from of downtown Raleigh, Vansana and If you live here, the region’s sudden center stemmed from already established Helios’ exit just before New Year’s Eve Vanvisa Nolintha made plans to expand upscale hotel blooming might not mean businesses making a move to get into, or 2014 to the departures of beer-heavy spots beyond Bida Manda. Angela Salamanca a lot, unless you need a reservation for a closer to, downtown. Past success, after all, like Tir Na Nog, Tyler’s, Brewmasters and added the Southeast’s first mezcaleria relative or a special occasion—or, well, makes a new business loan easier to come by. Natty Greene’s. Square Rabbit received above Centro, while the proprietors of if you just want to eat. From Andrea Taverna Agora had long been a fixture its final notice. 518 West—once one of Taste and The Oak added a third, aptly Reusing’s ambitious breakfast-brunchon Glenwood Avenue near the strip of Raleigh’s premier date spots—gave way named venture, more. Neomonde offshoot dinner-drinks-and-snacks program on the furniture stores and car dealerships, but it to Google’s need for a local headquarters, Sassool ventured into Cary, and Slim’s ground floor and rooftop of The Durham seized the opportunity to move downtown and certain corners of Glenwood remain proprietor Van Alston partnered with his Hotel to chef Teddy Diggs’ reinvention to Hillsborough Street. (The same group revolving doors for spots that don’t employees to open a new bar. In Durham, of Il Palio in Chapel Hill’s Siena, many will soon open two new spots across from survive. In Durham, tax issues shuttered Gray Brooks announced two upcoming local resting places also include high-end the PNC Tower.) While Lynnwood Brewing Fishmonger’s, an institution whose quality places, Cocoa Cinnamon added a second restaurants. On UNC’s campus, Carolina Concern is keeping its Grove Barton had flagged but whose prime location location, and the culinary forces behind Inn’s Crossroads got an overhaul and a Road location, it has also commandeered suggested it would never actually fail. Toast went with high-end ramen (and, fresh menu. In Raleigh, another iteration the BlackJack Brewing spot to expand Now it’s one of downtown Durham’s most
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music& drink eat of the lackluster Gonza Tacos y Tequila in an Aloft hotel will soon by joined by the spectacular Jubala Coffee, while Durham earned a very good bar, restaurant, art museum and a waddle of pink penguins with 21c. If the rise of drab condo complexes has a real payoff, it’s the same–—exciting restaurants at the bottom. —Grayson Haver Currin
Local yield
Triangle residents have started seeing new options that make buying and eating locally easier and more interesting. Farmers markets continue to pop up in shopping mall parking lots and empty suburban spaces. And after more than six years in the making, the Durham Co-op opened its doors in March, bringing North Carolina products and small vendors directly to consumers. Likewise, Standard Foods in Raleigh partners with local farms to ensure that its goods, from the meats to the herbs at the restaurant and in the small neighboring grocery, are
DECEMBER 23, 2015
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for Benevolence Farm with a menu of the farm’s own herbs, vegetables and edible flowers. There’s no telling how much shelf life “farm to fork” has as a term, but let’s hope cooking good food for good causes is forever. —Tina Haver Currin
Pour me a cold one
On fire
When Michael Pollan wanted to learn about fire’s culinary history, he came to North Carolina. Indeed, fire runs deep in these parts—beyond the blisters and into our souls. This year in particular, what was tradition has resurfaced as trend, with the fascination spreading like, well, wildfire. At Ashley Christensen’s Death & Taxes, a custom J&R grill scents guests with smoke as they dine. Il Palio in Chapel Hill acquired its own wood-fired wonder from Aztec Grill to fuel grilled crostini and bistecchiera. At Tazza in Cameron Village, a wood-burning brick oven churns out crab cakes and nachos. And despite two separate fires of the bad variety, Pizzeria Toro didn’t give up on its massive oven or burnt-edged, bubbly-crust concept. Burning wasn’t limited to restaurants, either. At Wild Yonder’s camp program for adults, participants gather around an open flame and cherish bourbon and scorched marshmallows. Maybe we were all raised to love char, and we’re just remembering. —Emma Laperruque
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Vanish, Triangle drinkers, into the void of infinite bottle shops.
fresh and sustainably sourced. Mobile groceries like LoMo Market and Relay Foods are increasing their impact, with Relay doubling its Triangle customer base this year. Bull City Cool opened as a food hub for farmers supplying produce to restaurants, and The Farmery—a cafe, farm and grocery that grows vegetables and herbs on-site—finalized plans for an RTP launch in early 2016. Local food for restaurants and customers isn’t always easy, but it offers a welcome payoff on environmental, social and economic fronts when it happens. —Iza Wojciechowska
Up with empanadas
South and Central American dishes played large roles in the expansion of the Triangle’s food scene this year, from the sprawl of the Gonza chain to the docking of longtime favorite food truck Captain Poncho’s in Southern Village. Hell, even The News & Observer got around to surveying the area’s taquerias, even if the tone was a bit embarrassingly tourist. Through it all, though, empanadas seemed to be the new star, with Calavera opening a second location in Carrboro and Luna Rotisserie cranking out imaginative combinations in downtown Durham. And just before year’s end, Makus—a veritable
PHOTO BY JEREMY M. LANGE
empanada emporium—is expected to open in Durham. If you want to learn about these hand-held wonders while you eat them, local writer Sandra A. Gutierrez explored their history at length in one of two books she published in 2015. —Grayson Haver Currin
Farm to fundraiser
During the last decade, Farm to Fork, the annual picnic that pairs local chefs with local farms, has funded many educational programs. This year, the event expanded from a one-day picnic to a three-day festival; around the Triangle, nonprofit organizations are beginning to take notice. Leveraging the cachet of the fundraiser du jour, SEEDS created the Fork Less Traveled dinner series, which couples Durham chefs like Piedmont’s Greg Gettles and Geer Street Garden’s Andy Magowan with local farms to raise money for the nonprofit’s garden-based programming. The Fiction Kitchen’s Caroline Morrison sourced Raleigh City Farm’s annual fundraising dinner directly from the farm, and next door, Scott Crawford of Standard Foods offered up fixings from his restaurant’s garden in service of Alliance Medical Ministry. And in Saxapahaw, Isaiah Allen of The Eddy Pub hosted a fundraiser
First it was craft coffee, then craft beer. Now it’s cold-pressed juice, the jewel-toned, in-vogue drink that boasts health benefits and a high cost. Cold-press juice is celebrated for its ability to pack five pounds of produce into one grab ’n’ go bottle. It wasn’t long ago that access to the stuff was limited to vending machines and a wooden box pulled by tricycle through downtown Raleigh. But this year alone, the area’s first coldpress juice outfit, Humdinger, found itself on the shortlist for Martha Stewart’s American Made Awards. Element Juice opened in Durham, Happy + Hale celebrated its second location, and Raleigh Raw announced a first storefront. You can have juice delivered to your doorstep in a specially designed cooler, purchase it in coffee shops or even practice yoga alongside your main squeeze. —Tina Haver Currin
State of beer
Craft breweries have infiltrated the Triangle like kudzu. And like that pervasive Southern plant, they’re turning up in some places you wouldn’t expect, ballpark included. Bull Durham Beer Co. started brewing inside the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, turning out a crisp kolsch and a malty wheat. The nanobrewery at G2B Restaurant and Brewery, which opened in January, creates excellent pairings for its small plates. While Ponysaurus had been brewing for a while in modest digs at The Cookery, its recently opened brewing space and taproom on Hood Street has become a big Durham attraction. Expect the same in Raleigh from the new Trophy expansion. Also in the capital city, where you can’t turn a downtown corner without running into a brewmaster, Compass Rose dodged the crowd and debuted in suburban North
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Raleigh. Closer to downtown, but still removed from the congestion, Neuse River Brewing found a spot in Five Points’ burgeoning brewery district. Hillsborough got a new brewery in Regulator, while Fuquay-Varina—which may now have more craft breweries per capita than anywhere in the Southeast—got two. The trend doesn’t appear to be ending yet, with new breweries already in the works for Raleigh, Apex, Carrboro and Durham next year. —Curt Fields
Bottle shop blues
Peace Street Market—a small convenience store with an inconvenient parking lot—has long been the go-to place to buy craft beer near downtown Raleigh, much as Sam’s Quik Shop serviced Durham. Discovering an intriguing Trappist brew next to a can of baked beans had a grubby charm. But these days, there are so many bottle shops in the area that a Google search’s red pins make the Triangle look like a chickenpox victim. To compete in this saturated market, many shops have taken up irritating events, from a fake “Taco Tuesday” where you can “taco ’bout your day” (this from a place named “Drink Drank Drunk,” mind you) to noisy open-mic nights and pub quizzes. Isn’t the primary purpose of a bottle shop to provide great beer while eliminating the antics of bars? It takes more than an ultrarare, Randall-infused, cask-aged special reserve to get me to taco ’bout my feelings with strangers. —Tina Haver Currin
Artisinal upgrade
Across the Triangle, food artisans are scaling up operations and offerings. This goes for the craft beer and spirits niches, but far beyond them. Slingshot Coffee Company continues to expand the reach of its cold-brew product line, while Durham’s Mati appears poised to reinvent the energy drink industry. In Apex, Tequila Dale’s is making excellent, unfamiliar hot sauce, and you should spend $3 for a satchel of “bourbon-barrel smoked black pepper” from Robin’s Kitchen Lab in Raleigh. This year, we saw new stock makers, pie cooks, chocolatiers, honey vendors, vegan bakers, spice providers and tempeh sellers. Many of them are after-hours, labor-oflove works; it’s a welcome side-project economy, worthy of our taste and time. —Grayson Haver Currin
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Stiffer drinks
October 1 marked a pivotal moment for distillers across the state, as a law that finally allows distilleries to sell products directly to customers took effect. Scott Maitland, the founder of Chapel Hill’s TOPO Distillery, authored the bill and made the state’s first in-house sale. Perhaps because of the change, this year saw huge growth of local liquor production. TOPO came into its own as a distillery, proving that it’s more than just a nice restaurant on top of Franklin Street. Durham Distillery opened to acclaim, and its flavor-forward gins (and liqueur collaborations with Slingshot Coffee Company and Videri Chocolate Factory) are filtering into bars across the Triangle. Tyler Huntington, of Tyler’s Taproom, began work on Two Doors, and Brothers Vilgalys, which makes spiced-honey Krupnikas, ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for a tasting room. Raleigh Rum, the city’s first rum distillery, opened in May, and Pittsboro’s Fair Game Beverage Company got in on the rum game by replacing sugar with sorghum. Such innovations seem only to be a beginning— to that, a toast. —Iza Wojciechowska
Politics, served fresh daily
Between area fast-food workers showing solidarity in the nationwide Fight for $15 strikes and Triangle citizens taking to social media to voice their grievances with area pub, cafe and restaurant owners, this year the Triangle’s food and drink scene served as an unexpected protest outlet. During the summer, for instance, many Raleigh residents outed The Flying Saucer for its flippancy in featuring Bruce Jenner on its annual “father of the year” pint glass. The company removed the promotion from its social media accounts after distributing the glasses to 16 locations. A whole lotta backpedaling happened in the Bull City, too. Not long after Durham restaurateur Gray Brooks announced he would name a forthcoming eatery “Hattie Mae Williams Called Me Captain,” Brooks wrote an open letter admitting that the name could be construed as racially insensitive. He would change it. After Cocoa Cinnamon teamed up with the Durham Police Department for a “good” ticket system, the coffee shop penned a letter: “We understand how it could come off as counteracting the work we do to build a diverse community.” A restaurant’s character, turns out, hinges on more than a Yelp review. —Eric Tullis
2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
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25 TO GO
The Triangle’s 25 best albums of 2015
BY GRAYSON HAVER CURRIN
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ach year, when I begin compiling the list of my favorite local LPs and EPs, I initially question how I will ever make it to 25: Were there even 25 great “local” releases this year? Ones that hung together beyond including a notable song or two? Ones that I will remember when the calendar soon flips? A few weeks later, though, I invariably start whittling down, reducing a roster that sometimes swells beyond 50 to the 25 spaces I’ve allowed. And so it went this year, when I had to cut at least 15 area titles I liked a lot in order to get to my list’s upper limit. To compensate, at least, I’ve included a list of honorable mentions—necessary, it seems, during a year when compelling music and stories seemed to emerge from every corner of the Triangle.
friends speaking in a supposedly secret language that everyone else can understand.
1. PHIL COOK, SOUTHLAND MISSION
5. DES ARK, EVERYTHING DIES
4. BOULEVARDS, BOULEVARDS EP (self-released)
The four cuts that Jamil Rashad, aka Raleigh funk lover Boulevards, delivers on his introductory EP clock in collectively at less than 12 minutes. But put them on a loop, and you can party for hours. From the stop-time delirium of “Sanity” to the lascivious-but-loyal “Honesty,” Rashad has the enviable ability to make deep grooves bounce and spring into life. His voice is likable enough, and his lyrics do more than toast the room. But it’s the way he wedges both into his electrofunk vision that makes him a likely bet to be one of next year’s breakout successes. Makes sense, as his career began with this total exclamation mark.
(Thirty Tigers/Middle West)
(Graveface Records)
Did anyone else have as much fun this year while making music as Phil Cook? With the memory of Megafaun fading, and with added gumption from the support of an ace backing band, Cook seemed to delight in every second of Southland Mission, his nine-song debut as a bandleader. “Ain’t It Sweet” ripples with the energy of both backwoods blues and front-porch gospel, while the horns, harmonies and handclaps of “Sitting on a Fence” suggest a slowly gathering grin, which arrives by way of the song’s exalting exit. Cook sometimes gets tender or sad, nostalgic or prophetic, but sheer joy—in the craft, in the moment, in the communion of bringing together his buddies to make a modern Americana classic—anchors all those far-flung feelings. From the album’s front cover, Cook smiles out sheepishly; drop the needle, and it’s hard not to smile back.
Many of the songs on Everything Dies, the first Des Ark album in four years, initially existed as solo folk numbers, delivered only by Aimée Argote with a guitar or banjo. Here, though, rich orchestrations recorded in several states and over the course of several years give the tunes new flesh and renewed connective power. So many of Argote’s best songs are acute portrayals of individual agony, where the victim seeks support and solidarity in abysmal situations. Everything Dies gives these characters what they need—a chance to have a bigger voice and to find community in the midst of catastrophe.
6. MAKE, THE GOLDEN VEIL (self-released)
2. SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS, SIDELONG (self-released) During the last two years, America has expressed a growing interest in outlaw country upstarts, from the hirsute Chris Stapleton to the metaphysical man Sturgill Simpson. But Sarah Shook’s brilliantly written and rendered Sidelong boasts more attitude and aplomb than works by either singer. Backed by the stainless, versatile Disarmers, she apologizes to Mama, swears off a halfdozen bad lovers, begs for death or prison and pours down the whiskey and beer until she’s left only with water. Shook crafts these words into classic songs, moving from bouncy country-rock to forlorn honky-tonk as each despondent declaration requires. If you want to experience country’s roughest frontiers, Shook is a vital tour guide.
3. EARTHLY, DAYS (Noumenal Loom) Edaan Brook and Brint Hansen, or Earthly, revel in the possibilities of sound. On Days, the debut from the Carrboro duo, the pals and collaborative producers build beautifully throbbing ambient pieces, turn a preponderance of tiny samples into pointillist pop and manipulate voices and found sounds into electronic music’s equivalent of hokum. They alternately suggest popular counterparts like The Field, The Books, DAT Politics, Four Tet and Ratatat—signposts as to just how jubilant and enjoyable their curios can be. Days feels intimate and esoteric but strangely accessible, too, like
MAKE pays little mind to boundaries on its second LP, the brazen and excellent The Golden Veil. Pulling at liberty from doom metal and drone metal, post-rock and psychedelia, the alternately heavy and heavenly MAKE turns all of those factors into long, arching, seamless pieces. They churn and drift, scream and sing, float and fight, finding unlikely connections between Spacemen 3 and Sleep. The Golden Veil is as much about escapism, or getting high and floating off, as it is about actuality, or reckoning with one’s own faults and dilemmas. It’s a difficult interstice to explore, let alone express, but on these seven tracks, MAKE takes its time—and the sounds it needs—to do just that.
7. LACK, PERHORRESCES (More Records/Hot Releases)
Warning: When listening to Perhorresces, the more abstract of Philip Maier’s two 2015 releases under the name Lack,
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Sa 26 PULSE: Electronic Dance Party 9p Su 27 NANTUCKET w/Monika Jaymes+ 7p Th 31 BIG SOMETHING w/Groove Fetish
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Sa 2 WINTER METAL FEST F r 8 ZOSO Ultimate LED ZEPPELIN exp Feat: Albums I-II-III
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LIQUID STRANGER/Space Jesus STRUTTER (A Tribute to KISS) THE BREAKFAST CLUB 80’s 8p STEEP CANYON RANGERS 7p ANI DIFRANCO w/Hamell on Trial LUKE COMBS w/Blake Kearney7p REEL BIG FISH GRAVEYARD w/Spiders 7p
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AMERICAN AQUARIUM 8p FOR TODAY w/Like Moths to Flames CHERUB w/Bibbz @ THE RITZ THE SHAKEDOWN (Mardi Gras) WHO’S BAD Michael Jackson Trib. BOOMBOX THE MACHINE performs PINK FLOYD MOTHER’S FINEST + 7p NEVER SHOUT NEVER + 6:30p KELLY HOLLAND MEMORIAL SISTER HAZEL 7p GEOFF TATE’S OPERATION MINDCRIME Sa 27 DAVID ALLAN COE 7p Su 28 MIKE GARDNER BENEFIT 7p MARCH
T u 1 Y&T 7p We 2 RANDY ROGERS BAND + T h 3 TITUS ANDRONICUS w/Craig Finn We 9 JUDAH AND THE LION 7p Sa 12 JOHN MAYALL BAND Su 13 CEE-LO GREEN Th 17 MAC SABBATH Th 31 STICK FIGURE w/Fortunate Youth 4 - 1 START MAKING SENSE 4 - 3 THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS 4 - 7 ELLE KING Advance Tickets @Lincolntheatre.com & Schoolkids Records All Shows All Ages 126 E. Cabarrus St. 919-821-4111
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you may begin to question if the rhythms you hear are real or illusory. Maier drapes his electronic drums in distortion so that they linger, then disrupts them with smaller beats that sound like popping static or skipping discs. During “Escutcheon,” he does this all over an organ’s sustained pitch, creating an uncanny headspace in which time seems to spin in a slow oval. These productions are as imaginative as they are unapologetic.
8. AMERICAN AQUARIUM, WOLVES (self-released)
Steep Canyon Rangers Thu Fri Jan 22 Feb 11
@ THE RITZ Sun Mar 13
CeeLo Green
On Wolves, the burden of great expectations weighs heavily on American Aquarium leader B.J. Barham. He worries about overcoming the addiction-plagued ghosts of his gene pool, the small-town strictures of his home and the toil of the road. He doesn’t want to let down his bandmates or fans, his wife or family. These troubles define his lyrics, and for the first time, he sings as though he’s trying to be no one but himself. Aided by a team of imaginative producers, the band steps up, wrapping his words in a sort of art-country glow that’s afraid neither to be simple nor sophisticated. For years, the roadloving American Aquarium has been a popular, club-filling band; Wolves is the first guarantee they can be a great one, too.
9. THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE, TALES FROM THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY (+FE Music/Hard Boiled)
More than a decade after the The Foreign Exchange started as a file-sharing duo between Little Brother’s Phonte Coleman and Dutch producer Nicolay, the pair’s artistic preferences have been validated by the mainstream. Scan the dial or Spotify
charts, and you can hear reflections of their love of old-school soul, updated for a generation with smartphones and new mores. Tales From the Land of Milk and Honey, The Foreign Exchange’s fifth album, is a crucible of such trials, a place where peppy party anthems and apologetic pleas mingle beneath the same bright, modern glow of Nicolay’s production. Tales scans like a busy Twitter timeline, populated by an intriguing mix of lofty loverboy fantasies and harsh relationship realities. Coleman, as always, is a righteous narrator.
10. DANIEL BACHMAN, RIVER (Three Lobed Recordings)
Solo instrumental guitar albums can often land too squarely on one side of a line or another. They can be too reverent to the likes of Fahey or too revisionist, as if trying to ignore the past. They can be overly narrative and direct or grossly abstruse, like no story worth telling ever existed. But River, the album that firmly establishes Daniel Bachman as a frontrunner in his busy field, makes no such distinctions. He covers some heroes, including Jack Rose, but builds winding songs that don’t adhere to structural limitations. He balances bright eyes and heavy hearts during a twosong suite, and positions “Won’t You Cross Over to That Other Shore” as an anthem for emotional ambiguity. It’s a complete, complicated work.
American Aquarium
11. POLYORCHARD, COLOR THEORY IN BLACK AND WHITE (self-released) Polyorchard was born a collective. Founded by upright bassist David Menestres, the always-evolving, forever-improvising Friinto&a big Sat ensemble could sprawl lineup or shrink into modest formats. For 6 Feb 5&
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Polyorchard’s debut, Menestres anchored two distinct trios—a “Black” trio with viola and cello and a “White” trio with trombone and saxophone. The string-based group is more prone to dig deep into ideas, as when they explore every millimeter of a textural drone late in “Black 1.” With horns, though, Menestres’ crew grows only more conversant and communicative. “White 4,” for instance, is a low and slow fireside circle, while “White 5” suggests a gaggle of chattering birds, sending signals to one another across an otherwise blank space.
of weed rap? Does he want to be fiercely original or work as a musical magpie, borrowing bits from mainstream hits? He does all of this on Analog Youth: Yesterday Is Over, an uneven but considerably entertaining listen that suggests he’s got the rapping chops, production ear and gusto level to follow some of the trails out of “local rap” already blazed by the likes of King Mez, Rapsody and perhaps Phonte. Many great rap songs stemmed from the Triangle this year. But end-to-end, Analog Youth is its finest album-length moment.
12. WHATEVER BRAINS, LP
14. HOUSEFIRE, BURNTHEMASTERS
Recorded in the month following Whatever Brains’ last show, the band’s fourth and final LP finds the wonderfully nettlesome five-piece throwing any cares they ever had about perception (which were always very few) out of the window. These synthesizerand-drum-heavy permutations on postpunk lambaste malevolent cops and bands with plans on one side and send up scene guardians and self-made prognosticators on the other. No one gets off easy here, either as victim or listener, as these songs qualify as some of the most compulsive and twisted in Whatever Brains’ entire— and now, done—run.
On burnthemasters, Durham-via-Asheville beatmaker and beatbreaker Luci Waldrup samples thunderstorms and YouTube clips, incidental sounds and pop songs to build rhythms that rise into monuments only to shatter them—through distortion, obliterative repetition or slow and steady fadeaways. Waldrup uses a barrage of sound to engulf an audience with each of these five thoughtful productions, ultimately shifting the systems to push listeners back into a void at will.
(Sorry State Records)
13. ACE HENDERSON, ANALOG YOUTH: YESTERDAY IS OVER (self-released) As both an emcee and an artist, Raleigh rapper Ace Henderson seems to be a bit undecided. Does he want to lean into hard, caustic rhymes or lean back into soft, pensive bars? Does he want to embrace boom-bap classicism or float off on a cloud
(Hot Releases)
15. BIRDS OF AVALON, DISAPPEARANCE (Third Uncle Records)
For their first release in half a decade and for new home Third Uncle Records, Raleigh’s Birds of Avalon kept it low-key, selling just 50 lathe-cut vinyl versions of the five-song Disappearance. But the sounds and songs are perhaps the most intriguing and magnetic the band has ever committed to tape, with florid psychedelic flourishes such as big veils of reverb and oscillating instrumentals suggesting a bold
new flight path forward.
16. SEE GULLS, YOU CAN’T SEE ME (PotLuck Foundation)
“Another romantic fail/It’s nothing new,” sings Sarah Fuller near the start of “Karate Kicks,” the second marcher on her band’s debut EP, You Can’t See Me. A river of romantic disappointment runs through See Gulls’ first batch of songs, from boys who just bailed with no notice to others who deserve a little extra surveillance. Self-pity, however, does not last; this sharp, elemental indie rock transmutes disappointment into defiance, with the band daring dastardly love to try and get it down again.
17. NATURAL CAUSES, NATURAL CAUSES (Snot Releases)
On their self-titled debut LP, the three members of Natural Causes—a splendidly defiant outgrowth of the relatively sunny Last Year’s Men—seem to smile as they talk shit. These eight songs brim with wry observations and winked imprecations, all shouted and howled in harmony over a splintering mix of drums, guitars and emulsifying synthesizers. But there’s a devilish glee to Natural Causes, too, a quality that gives the band’s debut an irrepressible, must-hear-again urgency.
18. BLACKBALL, 3 SONGS. (self-released) One of the year’s most exciting new arrivals, the five-piece Blackball gathers young punk veterans from Raleigh and Richmond and launches them into a snake pit of atavistic riffs, bruising rhythms and acerbic tirades. Two guitars work in close concert, providing a pivot point for the invective of the electrifying Ericka Kingston, who sells
her diatribes in screamed ecstasy. After a feedback impasse, these three songs— recorded in a practice space, released in two tiny cassette editions—race by in less than five minutes. They all leave a heavy mark.
19. JENKS MILLER & ROSE CROSS NC, MUSIC FOR SNOWDRIFTS (Ba Da Bing Records)
Jenks Miller and Elysse Thebner recorded Music for Snowdrifts in their rural Orange County home during the year’s unseasonably stormy late winter. For these three psychedelic guitar-andkeyboard washes, the structure hinges on a smattering of acidic riffs, luminescent keyboard melodies and Miller’s impressionistic poetry. Snowdrifts is a record of quiet contemplation and heavy questions. It’s as if the couple sat in the living room and improvised softly while staring out of a window, contemplating the shape of the world beneath the white.
20. THE CHARMING YOUNGSTERS, MIDDLEWEIGHTS (self-released) The Charming Youngsters began nearly a decade ago, with a few college kids in Greenville, North Carolina, launching it to some extent as a vehicle for parties. But the 10 tracks of Middleweights perfectly capture the woes, prospects and decisions of the period when late adolescence begins to slip into adulthood. Ennui battles anxiety. Real-world exigencies mitigate snuggles. Faithfulness stares down doubt. A nervy mix of jangling pop and shoegazing rock soundtrack this internal turmoil as bandleader Nolan Smock airs both worry and wonder.
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“WHAT A GREAT IDEA TO ENCOURAGE LOCAL GIVING! I was referred here by one of my ‘regular’ charities, and when I got here I found two other organizations I wanted to make donations to. Thanks for putting this website together.” —Julie N., Rougemont. Give!Guide donor
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In The Dirty Little Heaters, Reese McHenry serves as a barnstorming rock ’n’ roll bandleader, her audacious and gripping voice providing old-school bombast over a power trio’s measured aggression. But after serious heart problems sidelined McHenry for years, she re-emerged under the catchall solo moniker “The Second Wife” to express
North Carolina, does exactly that on his self-titled start. He turns inherited tunes into crackling new visions of folk-rock, traversing swamps and the Piedmont and the Appalachians to arrive near a winning intersection of Johns Hartford and Prine.
24. HANZ, REDUCER (Tri Angle Records) A little like DJ Shadow for listeners obsessed with visions of dystopia, Triangle
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herself more robustly. The nine-song Tourist finds her flirting with forlorn country and rambunctious soul and reverting at times to her Strummer-meets-Jett basics. Like Lucinda Williams after rounds of label woes, McHenry returns with a broad new vision— and a voice that can sell any version of it.
22. MAC MCCAUGHAN, NON-BELIEVERS (Merge Records)
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Nearing the fourth decade of his recording career, Mac McCaughan doesn’t seem content to rest on mighty laurels—like co-founding Merge Records or Superchunk or writing Portastatic’s great “Through With People.” In fact, he breaks the brand of that former solo identity for Non-Believers, the first LP under his own name, and the results are fresh and telling. As though setting old diary vignettes to personalized reflections of the sounds that might have scored them, McCaughan delivers tales of young-adult enthusiasms in his breaking voice above cheap synths and drum machines, four-track power pop and slow little symphonies. The radiating bittersweetness of “Real Darkness” and playful antiphony of “Only Do” qualify as some of the best work of his career.
23. JAKE XERXES FUSSELL, JAKE XERXES FUSSELL (Paradise of Bachelors) It’s one thing to learn traditional folk songs from aging sources and form a reliquary of numbers worth preserving. It’s another thing entirely to spend your young life learning those songs and then having the reverence and gumption to reinvent them, to make them speak to an audience beyond old folks and folklorists. Jake Xerxes Fussell, an itinerant Southerner new to
producer Hanz nabbed a deal with Tri Angle Records, a label whose interest in the darker shades of electronica has offered a platform for the likes of The Haxan Cloak, Forest Swords and Balam Acab. On the challenging Reducer, disembodied voices, disjointed drums and disorienting textures build into pieces that introduce you to a logic all their own. Drums hang in hazes of distortion, while break beats splinter over samples that drift into the ether. It’s a nuanced, singular record—and a firm rejoinder to EDM’s current moment of melodrama.
25. NECROCOSM, DAMNATION DOCTRINE (self-released) Four years after forming, Raleigh quintet Necrocosm went for grandeur with its latearriving debut LP, the 10-track Damnation Doctrine. Anchored by a rhythm section that’s fluid but forceful and accented by a two-guitar tandem that locks into thick riffs before peeling off to spiral into pealing solos, Necrocosm delights with its melodic death metal revivalism. Like a harder, more guarded Skeletonwitch, Necrocosm hangs out serratedvoice hooks and then drives them in deep.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
BEDOWYN, Blood of the Fall; BODY GAMES, Local Love Vol. 1; CALAPSE, You Know How I Feel; DEMON EYE, Tempora Infernalia; FLESH WOUNDS, In the Mouth; GNØER, Tethers Down; JACK THE RADIO, Badlands; KOOLEY HIGH, Heights; KNURR & SPELL, Ought; LILAC SHADOWS, Brutalism; MAGNOLIA COLLECTIVE, An Old Darkness Falls; SAGAN YOUTH, Cela; THE WYRMS, At Wizard Island
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
FIVE THINGS THAT MATTERED: VIRAL MEDIA BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY
Holderness, it’s time to folderness: the awful “Ultimate Thanksgiving Mashup”
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elieve it or not, the Holderness family’s wacky-ass holiday videos aren’t the only trending topic going viral from around here. There were many times this year, ranging from very silly to very serious, when people from the Triangle got their 15 seconds of social-media fame. #R-E-S-P-E-C-T One of the most delightful viral videos of the year is a clip of 6-year-old Raleigh native Johanna Colon upstaging two other girls in a dance recital by shaking, shimmying and sassing it up to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Viewed 22 million times since it hit YouTube, the video earned Colon a ticket to the daytime-TV circuit, where she showed off her moves on Good Morning America and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. #PlaneBreakup In August, New York’s Kelly Keegs took to Twitter to provide blow-by-blow commentary of a man breaking up with his girlfriend on a delayed flight from RaleighDurham International Airport. According to Keegs’ tweets, the couple went from arguing to hurling accusations (“Is that what you’re starting to do with me? Just slow fade me OUT? Just like the others?”) to apparently reconciling and making out while chugging copious Bloody Marys. #SwimTeamSpirit Another instance of people using the Internet creatively while waiting for a flight: The University of Louisville swim team made a video of themselves goofing off on the people-movers (pretending to row
a boat, showing off their swimming skills and so on) while stuck at RDU. The video was viewed almost 2 million times after they posted it on Facebook last month, and it certainly provides inspiration for keeping busy the next time you’re in a terminal. #LostInTheGame Durham Academy a cappella group XIV Hours composed a three-act performance that mashed up 18 songs for a national competition in Tampa—and they lost. But they didn’t get down for long. They decided to make a music video of their performance, titled “Lost in the Game: A Musical Story of Relationships, Sex and Gender Politics.” It became an oft-shared favorite since debuting in September, with 38,000 views on Vimeo and features or promotion from MTV, The Huffington Post, Seventeen and various rapecrisis and domestic-abuse centers. #MuslimLivesMatter The murder of three Muslim students at an apartment complex near UNC-Chapel Hill last February was one of many senseless shootings that took place this year. One of the victims, dentistry student Deah Shaddy Barakat, had a charity crowdfunding site set up to provide dental care for Syrian refugees. After Barakat was murdered by Craig Stephen Hicks, whether over a parking spot or religious prejudice, the campaign exceeded its $20,000 goal the next day. It ultimately went on to raise $533,144, and the #MuslimLivesMatter hashtag was born on social media. s Craig D. Lindsey writes about comedy, film, TV and more. Twitter: @unclecrizzle
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Seeking Duke students to participate in an 8-week study on exercise adherence using digital tools to track progress. You may be eligible for this research study if you: • are over 18 years old • have a personal iOS or Android device • exercise fewer than 5 hours per week • are able to exercise, i.e., no recent injury or limitations on exercise Participation includes: • Coming to our office to enroll in the study and take a survey • Accessing information and tracking your exercise behavior through your mobile device for 6 weeks • Taking part in brief surveys daily and weekly during the study • Coming back to our office to take one final survey and complete the study You will be compensated for your study participation. To sign up, go to http://bit.ly/the_exercise_study, email BEresearch@duke.edu, or call 919-681-9521 Protocol # Pro00064774
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
FIVE THINGS THAT MATTERED: COMEDY BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY
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ometimes you have to remind people that, all over the Triangle, there are creative, ambitious comedians determined to make folks in and out of the state take notice. Numerous people and projects made the local scene shine this year. “Ladies Night” was every night. In a year when Amy Schumer became a breakout movie and TV star, proving once and for all that there’s a wide audience for feminist comedy, local women played leading roles in booking, hosting and performing in stand-up shows, with both the periodic Eyes Up Here Comedy Showcase at Kings and the monthly Ladies Night at DSI Comedy Theater featuring a steady stream of female comedians. Carrboro comedian Michelle Maclay Herndon ran the Chuckle and Chortle Comedy Show at the ArtsCenter, and Deb Aronin booked comedy at Motorco and elsewhere. Comedy got out of the clubs. Bars and nightclubs weren’t the only places where you could see Triangle stand-ups do their thing this year. The monthly Bulltown Comedy Series is still alive and well at Fullsteam brewery. For a little while, Durham’s Village Lanes was home to the Pins and Needles Comedy Series. And last May, Schoolkids Records in Raleigh presented a night of stand-up. It’s only a matter of time before someone finally does a comedy night at a laundromat. (It happens all the time in California.) The NC Comedy Arts Festival turned 15. You can always count on DSI Comedy Theater’s yearly gathering of comedians and improv groups from all over the country to enhance the Triangle’s growing reputation as a comedy hotbed. Last February, the festival celebrated its 15th anniversary, with venues in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham presenting an eclectic nightly roundup of live humor. The festival continues to draw star power: Maria Bamford and Emo Philips, perhaps two of
The women of the Eyes Up Here Comedy Showcase PHOTO BY ERIN TERRY GARRITANO
the quirkiest famous comedians around, served as headliners. Local comedians earned national notices. As much as Triangle-based comics love being the funniest cats in the area, a few of them made major career moves outside of the region. “Mello” Mike Miller, who hosts a very amusing open-mic night at Mac’s Tavern in Cary, opened for worldfamous comic Russell Peters at Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Raleigh’s Thomas Dixson opened for the pimpalicious Katt Williams at PNC Arena. But the biggest mover-and-shaker was Raleigh’s Andy Woodhull, who had his own half-hour special on Comedy Central. And they started making animated shorts. Raleigh comedian Adam Cohen already has his hands full co-organizing the monthly Dangling Loafer showcase at Kings. But this year, he decided to make a name for himself online by launching Band Candy, a YouTube channel that features animated shorts voiced by local comedians. He isn’t the only local comic doing silly cartoons on the Interwebs. LA-based Asheville boy Crazy Boris (who just performed at December’s Loafer show) also has a YouTube channel, Crazy Boris Productions, which features absurd animated shorts for the fanboy crowd. s Craig D. Lindsey writes about comedy, film, TV and more. Twitter: @unclecrizzle
2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
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FIVE THINGS THAT MATTERED: ON STAGE BY BYRON WOODS
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n regional stages, there were changes aplenty this year, as artists came and went and innovated when faced with challenges old and new. Here are five signs of life and struggle that dominated 2015, onstage and off. Local artists made waves in New York. StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance took playwright Howard L. Craft’s Freight: The Five Incarnations of Abel Green for an off-off Broadway run in late July after its January premiere in Chapel Hill. The Big Apple noticed: The New York Times called the show “rich and thoughtful” in a critics’ pick. The Village Voice was “surprised and moved,” calling Alphonse Nicholson’s work in the solo show “expertly performed.” It launched the next phase of Nicholson’s career; in the fall, he appeared on CBS’ Blue Bloods and in shows at Actors Theatre of Louisville and City Theatre in Pittsburgh. Two years after Monica Byrne made a splash at the New York International Fringe Festival with What Every Girl Should Know, Raleigh’s Allan Maule upped the ante in August when his video-gamer drama, EverScape, was tapped as one of the festival’s top five productions by Playbill and won a “Best of Fest” extended run in October. With its New York premiere out of the way, look for a local run in the new year. Companies sought new venue solutions. Sustainable, affordable rehearsal space remained the final frontier for regional
theater in 2015. The 15-year-old Deep Dish Theater Company had to go dark in November after the transforming University Place declined to renew its lease. Deep Dish had been mentioned as a possible tenant of a proposed arts and innovation center in Carrboro, but town leaders killed the project in February, and plans to renovate a potential space at Northgate Mall also fell through. Deep Dish’s future remains unclear. Progress remained incremental in the ongoing renovations at Tim Walter’s Durham Fruit Company space at 305 S. Dillard St., which has nevertheless already presented photography and art exhibits as well as live shows from Duke Performances and Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern. The latter also began to manage MULE, a rehearsal space in the Regulator Bookshop’s basement. The Carrack Modern Art and NRACT joined the likes of Burning Coal and Manbites Dog Theater in hosting itinerant independent companies. Meanwhile, Sonorous Road Productions added more studio and performance space to the region; Michelle Murray Wells’ smart new Raleigh venue staged two fall productions, and presents South Stream’s Time Stands Still starting on New Year’s Day. Local theater faced its racial issues. Triangle theaters contributed to America’s soul-searching on issues of race this year. In January, the world premiere of Freight: The Five Incarnations of Abel Green took its
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civil rights movement. In September, PHOTO BY ALEX MANESS Black Ops, a new black theater company in Durham, staged Young Jean Lee’s The Shipment. The controversial, confrontational play mocks various representations of African-Americans across 20th-century popular culture. It ignited a controversy when Pamela Vesper, a critic for Triangle Arts and Entertainment and Triangle Review, walked out early and blasted the work as “racist hate speech” in a later-retracted review. Finally, in December, Destiny Diamond shattered the glass slipper at Raleigh Little Theatre as the first second alto—and the first black actor—in 32 years to play the title role in the annual production of Cinderella. Ron Lee McGill in The Shipment
title character on a 20th-century odyssey through minstrelsy, lynch mobs, religious hucksterism, AIDS and blaxploitation. PlayMakers’ Trouble in Mind called out American theater for perpetuating crowdpleasing racial fictions while burying truer tales. In February, Common Ground Theatre hosted the local staged reading of Hands Up: 6 Playwrights, 6 Testaments, a national initiative sponsored by The New Black Fest in Brooklyn, before Justice Theater Project’s new Voices That Challenge told the story of Operation Breadbasket during the
Leadership changed at PlayMakers. Outgoing artistic director Joseph Haj halted a financial and creative downward spiral after the departure of David Hammond from PlayMakers Repertory Company. Haj doubled the number of shows and increased company funding from $1.6 to $2.8 million over nine years. Just as significantly, PlayMakers gradually opened its doors to regional artists. Increasingly, it waded into the public conversation on the controversial issues of our time, from gun control (Mike Daisey’s The Story of the Gun) to racial and ethnic prejudice (When the Bulbul Stopped Singing, this season’s Trouble in Mind and Disgraced).
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2015:
music performance visual arts performance books filmINsports A YEAR REVIEW Then, in February, Haj was tapped to lead the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, one of the country’s major regional venues, precipitating a six-month national search for his successor. At the end of October, PlayMakers revealed its choice, Vivienne Benesch. Benesch enhanced the academic and artistic reputation of New York’s Chautauqua Theater Company during 11 years as its director, establishing a noted new-plays festival. In the company’s 2014 season, it produced four works by female playwrights, and half of the season was directed by women. In our interview last week, Benesch said she looked forward to taking works outside of Paul Green Theatre (gasp!) and into regional communities, hospitals and prisons.
The INDY’S GUIDE to ALL THINGS TRIANGLE
The INDY’s Guide to Dining in the Triangle
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TOP 9 OF 2015: ON STAGE
Our performing arts critic’s nine favorite shows of the year in chronological order: Delta Boys: Love and Information (The Carrack Modern Art)—A gifted quintet played a compelling game of human pinball as Caryl Churchill’s characters got the news (or didn’t) in 65 relationships, ranging from snarky lovers to torturer and victim. It returns next month in an encore production at Manbites Dog Theater.
StreetSigns Center for Literature and Performance: Freight: The Five New groups and artists flourished. Incarnations of Abel Green (UNC’s New faces help keep a creative ecosystem Swain Hall)—Local playwright Howard L. vital. This year saw notable first Craft created a black everyman and sent performances from Raleigh’s Sonorous Road Productions and Durham’s Black Ops and Bartlett Theater. But the main story of the year was about two grassroots, artistdriven organizations achieving unprecedented results helping performers develop, produce and present their work in the context of a quickly cohering regional community and a larger international scene. In its first official year of operation, Saxapahaw’s Culture Mill sparked an ambitious series Faye Goodwin and Carly Prentis Jones in The of initiatives, hosting regional Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls PHOTO BY ALAN DEHMER and European choreographers, musicians, technicians and five iterations of him on a mystery train designers, and taking mystified patrons on through 20th-century America. Joseph odysseys of discovery in the Trust the Bus Megel directed Alphonse Nicholson in a performance series. Culture Mill will start production that impressed New York critics the new year with the inaugural Haw River after a five-star run here. Tango Marathon, featuring teachers and artists from across the country, Jan. 1–3. PlayMakers Repertory Company: Trouble The second curated season from Durham in Mind (Paul Green Theatre)—As the Independent Dance Artists, or DIDA, country braced for a year of soul-searching united local artists, garnered greater media unseen since the civil rights movement, attention and drew larger audiences than PlayMakers Rep publicly indicted the local modern dance has seen in years. Soldracism in the theatrical community. out November productions of Knightworks’ Kathryn Hunter-Williams gave the voice of Eurydice Descended demonstrated conscience to Alice Childress’ gripping 1955 momentum, as DIDA developed plans drama. to add workshops in grant writing and fundraising for choreographers to an Manbites Dog Theater: The Fairytale intriguing nine-show season. Lives of Russian Girls (Manbites Dog Theater)—Director Jules Odendahl-James
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took a cast of strong women through a Cyrillic looking glass in Meg Miroshnik’s provocative meditation on heritage, identity and the not-so-innocuous gender narratives encoded in folk and fairy tales. Triad Stage: Common Enemy (Triad Stage)—In Preston Lane’s Ibsen-esque, ripped-from-the-headlines drama, a sociology professor uncovered evidence of corruption in Division I basketball, mounted a campaign to expose it and learned a different set of troubling truths about our culture, and a small college’s struggles to stay alive. Burning Coal Theatre Company: Dark Vanilla Jungle (Murphey School Auditorium)—A winsome young woman matter-of-factly related her experiences of neglect and abuse. As she did, something dark and monstrous slowly blossomed in Caitlin Wells’ amazing and harrowing solo performance under Staci Sabarsky’s direction. Paperhand Puppet Intervention: A Drop in the Bucket (Forest Theatre)—One of the strongest shows in Paperhand’s 16 years of puppet pageants reminded us of what the I Ching calls the taming power of the small. Adults revisited the vivid worlds of imagination they knew as children, tiny towns raised their political voices, and a chorus of owls asked gentle, insistent questions about our future. Jennifer Curtis’ soundscape was a bonus. PlayMakers Repertory Company: Disgraced (Paul Green Theatre)—In another shining moment of artistic leadership at PlayMakers, Ayad Akhtar’s characters wrestled with the darkness and light—and American xenophobia and bigotry—in conflicting takes on contemporary Islam and the experiences of immigrants of Muslim heritage. PlayMakers Repertory Company: Seminar (Paul Green Theatre)—A wake-up call and commitment check for aspiring artists. Ray Dooley’s tour de force performance in this hard-nosed look inside a high-stakes writing seminar confronted its characters and audience with the gantlet artists must run in presenting their work to the public. Byron Woods is the INDY’s theater and dance columnist. Twitter: @ByronWoods
visual arts
2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
INDYweek.com
TOP 5 OF 2015: VISUAL ART
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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The INDY’s Guide to Dining in the Triangle
BY CHRIS VITIELLO
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he Triangle visual art scene continued Bill Thelen with Jason Polan its modernization of (Curators): The Nothing That Is recent years in 2015, with the (CAM Raleigh)—I wanted this emergence of agile new spaces sprawling, madcap show from like Raleigh’s Pink Building Lump’s Bill Thelen to never leave and Chapel Hill’s L.O.G., CAM Raleigh. Packed with work renovations at Duke’s Nasher from dozens of artists, Thelen’s Museum of Art (it turned 10 this curatorial opus brought together year as Raleigh gallery Lump every imaginable form of drawing turned an astounding 20) and and playfully displayed it in UNC-Chapel Hill’s Ackland “chapters” all over the museum. Art Museum, and large-scale It appealed as much to a general construction projects at N.C. audience as it did to initiates. State’s Gregg Museum of Art & I visited five times and always Design and the North Carolina left smiling—and reaching for a Museum of Art. notebook and a pencil. “Machine Dream,” by Brian Gonzales, from the Durham Art Factor in Triangle Guild’s juried show COURTESY OF THE DURHAM ART GUILD collaborations with other art Susan Harbage Page/Rachel centers in the state, like UNC’s Meginnes: Recent Work; Various Allcott Gallery’s retrospective of the Southern Constellations artists: Butterflies Are Free: Women in Photography (LIGHT residency series from Greensboro’s Elsewhere, or Guatemalan Art + Design)—Two terrific shows highlighting women artists at performance artist Regina José Galindo’s public talk at Durham’s Chapel Hill’s LIGHT Art + Design merged in my mind. Page and 21c Museum Hotel during her career retrospective at Charlotte’s Meginnes showed subtle, interrogative mixed-media work, while Davidson College, and you see the Triangle scene building the Butterflies Are Free: Women in Photography gathered challenging, strong connections it needs in order to thrive. beautiful imagery from Leah Sobsey, Tama Hochbaum, Barbara The arts found novel ways to go small, too. Two of my favorite Tyroler and Sarah Cioffoletti. exhibitions this year were tiny: André Leon Gray’s unrelenting A Nation Under Our Feet at 21c (just four assemblage works) and MJ Various artists: Scanners (The Carrack Modern Art)—Sobsey Sharp’s unnerving The Terror Triptych at Durham’s Chet Miller and Hochbaum were also part of the eye-opening Scanners at the boutique (only three large photographs). We have a growing Carrack, along with Jim Lee and John Gallagher. In a cameranumber of one-room options, from the steady stream of “Off the obsessed culture, these artists used scanners as an image-capture Radar” pop-ups in vacant studios at Golden Belt to the Ackland’s device, reconnecting current technology with photography’s “Adding to the Mix” alcove series, which showed a Marcel origins to compose an alternative vision. Duchamp valise this year. It’s a wonderfully active time, but an anxious one as well. Durham Art Guild: 61st Annual Juried Show (SunTrust After you get a drink or two into any Triangle gallery owner, Gallery)—I was impressed by the rising quality of juried shows conversation will turn to the escalating cost of space, with an around the area this year. The Durham Art Guild’s 61st, selected admission of always being on the lookout for the next building to by 21c Museum Hotel curator Alice Gray Stites, had the best one. occupy. Perhaps consolidation should become a theme in 2016— This shouldn’t take anything away from a consistent cycle of great Flanders Gallery already moved under Lump’s roof to mutual juried shows at Raleigh’s tireless Visual Art Exchange, which creative and financial benefit. added the fun and informative Ignite creativity conference to its That anxiety aside, there were more noteworthy shows this year annual street fest, SPARKcon. than one could reasonably see. Here are five that spring immediately to mind, which is to say, five that genuinely stuck with me. So many other gems bear mentioning, from Richard Mosse’s devastating Nasher video installation, The Enclave, to the double Chris Watts: “Nee Nee” (Flanders Gallery)—My favorite individual whammy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester and M.C. piece of the year was Watts’ video in So Much to She, a two-person show Escher’s retrospective at NCMA; from Gideon Mendel’s moving at Flanders with Aaron Fowler. Watts’ bleary depiction of studio rituals portraits of flood survivors at SPECTRE Arts to Justin Cook’s Made seemed both futuristic and ancient, combining familiar materials into in Durham photographs wheat-pasted on the Cordoba Center visionary imagery. Any concerns about Flanders leaving its cavernous for the Arts’ outdoor blast wall. If we can keep these innovative warehouse space at the end of Martin Street for the low-ceilinged galleries and art spaces from turning into condos and bistros, 2016 intimacy of Lump were erased by this show, as well as by Stacy Lynn should offer even more variety to keep our minds tingling. s Waddell’s marvelous LVMH (or Lovely Views Make Holograms). Chris Vitiello is the INDY’s visual art columnist. Twitter: @ChrisVitiello
PUBLICATION DATE
MAY 26, 2016
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2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
books
INDYweek.com
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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TOP 10 OF 2015: BOOKS BY SAMUEL MONTGOMERY-BLINN
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his year, we didn’t quite get a novel that reached the heights of last year’s best, John Darnielle’s National Book Award-nominated Wolf in White Van and Monica Byrne’s The Girl in the Road, though Julia Elliott’s The New and Improved Romie Futch and what I’ve read so far of Sean Jackson’s Haw come close. We did get a fascinating variety of very good books, far too many for a definitive list. So here’s a, not the, top 10, mostly from my bailiwick of speculative fiction—our region’s most active, close-knit writing scene—with something for everyone: horror, short stories, mythopoeia, nonfiction, weird fiction, memoir, comics and even a prose B-movie. For a snapshot of the year in (for lack of a better term) literary fiction, see Brian Howe’s blog post at www.indyweek.com. Nathan Ballingrud: The Visible Filth (This Is Horror)— This Asheville author’s stories should come with a physician’s warning. His 2013 collection, North American Lake Monsters: Stories, won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Collection and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. I have similarly high hopes for this novella, in which a bartender’s life descends into nightmare when he discovers a cellphone left behind after a brawl. The book slowly drowns you in rising dread, an unease born of infidelity, weakness, inadequacy, irrevocable violence, inevitable mistakes and decay. Dale Bailey: The End of the End of Everything (Arche Press)—Shards of hope glimmer in Bailey’s grim worlds and poetic words in this collection of nine of his best stories. “A Rumor of Angels” is a melancholic Dust Bowl fantasy that leaves your mouth full of grit and your eyes glinting with sunlight on wings. The titular, Shirley Jackson Award-winning novelette, “The End of the End of Everything,” is an unshakable vision of personal disintegration—and perhaps, redemption—amid decadent house parties at the end of the world.
Teresa Frohock: In Midnight’s Silence (Harper Voyager)—Reidsville’s Frohock has been quietly perfecting a blend of dark fantasy and horror since her 2011 debut novel, Miserere. She conjures up another original mythology in this first installment of her “Los Nefilim” series, where the fate of mankind rests on the inhuman shoulders of Diago Alvarez, half angel, half “daimon,” who wants nothing more than to be left alone in Barcelona with the man he loves. Unfortunately for Diago, fortunately for us, neither angels nor daimons are content to leave him out of their spiritual civil war. Adam Morgan: North Carolina’s Wild Piedmont: A Natural History (The History Press)—Charlotte’s loss was Chicago’s gain this summer, as Morgan now calls the Windy City home, but his time hiking and exploring in North Carolina leaves us with this slim, accessible, essential guide to the formation and ecology of state parks and “other wild places” in the Piedmont that need preservation. Julia Elliott: The New and Improved Romie Futch (Tin House)—I have to nod to South Carolina for Julia Elliott’s remarkable debut novel. The New and Improved Romie Futch (following her collection The Wilds, one of the best books of 2014) is a dark comedy complete with taxidermy, cybernetics, biotechnology and a quasi-mythical “Hogzilla.” In weird, delightful prose, Elliott summons an all-too-near “New South” that’s by turns hilarious, wondrous and frightening.
Mark L. Van Name (Editor): Onward, Drake! (Baen Books)—This tribute anthology features many local authors, including its subject, longtime Chapel Hill and Pittsboro author David Drake, who contributes both a comedic historical fantasy and his first new “Hammer’s Slammers” military science-fiction story in years. Edited by Raleigh author Mark Van Name, the stories range from avant-garde (Gene Wolfe’s “Incubator”) to homage (Wake Forest author Tony Daniel’s “Hell Hounds”) to tie-ins (Larry Correia’s “Hammers” story) to something delightful between memoir and tall tale (Sarah Van Name’s “The Village of Yesteryear,” which takes as its starting point a real trip with Drake to the state fair). Van Name’s moving “All That’s Left” encapsulates what the military fiction of Drake, a Vietnam “Black Horse” veteran, is all about: reportage, not advocacy, about the horrors of war—the price paid that you wouldn’t trade for blissful ignorance. We are who we are, in part, for our wounds. Jeremy Whitley: Princeless Vol. 4: Be Yourself (Action Lab Entertainment)—Despite being in demand on higherprofile comics (My Little Pony, Powerpuff Girls, Marvel’s Secret Wars: Secret Love) Durham author Jeremy Whitley keeps returning, with artist Emily Martin, to his Eisner Awardnominated all-ages Princeless series. See if you can guess some of the themes of his work based on the book titles so far: Save Yourself, Get Over Yourself and Be Yourself. Issue titles like “Girls Who Fight Boys,” from spin-off series Raven: The Pirate Princess, may also provide a clue that Whitley’s princesses do not sit around waiting to be rescued.
David Niall Wilson: Crockatiel (Crossroad Press)—This Hertford, North Carolina, author has written dark, lyrical, award-winning horror and dark fantasy for decades, but this isn’t that. This is (intentionally!) a Syfy Channel B-movie at its best/worst. It concerns a biologist trying to clone some ancient crocodile DNA (because of course he does) when a hurricane hits his Outer Banks lab (because of course it does). He needs an incubating genome to make it work, and he chooses his beloved pet cockatiel. Let the feathers fly! Renée Ahdieh: The Wrath and the Dawn (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)—UNC-Chapel Hill graduate Ahdieh’s reimagining of One Thousand and One Nights and The Arabian Nights turns both the original story of Scheherazade, and perhaps even Stockholm Syndrome itself, a bit on their heads, combining mystery, myth and romance in a lushly textured, quick-witted story that dares you to belittle “YA” fiction.
J.J. Johnson: Believarexic (Peachtree Publishers)— Durham’s J.J. Johnson is the author of the YA novels This Girl Is Different and The Theory of Everything, but before fiction, she earned a graduate degree in education from Harvard and counseled at-risk teens, having passed through treatment centers herself. In Believarexic, she draws on that period of her life to create an “autobiographical novel” expanding on her journal entries while hospitalized in 1988. It’s part horror—what we know now about mental illness makes the ’80s unbelievably cringe-worthy in retrospect— and part hope. We do know more now, and the conversation about mental illness grows more open every year.
Honorable Mentions—The Last Days of Video by Jeremy Hawkins (Soft Skull Press); Dawnbreaker by Jay Posey (Angry Robot Books); The Mussorgsky Riddle by Darin Kennedy (Curiosity Quills Press); Hashtag by Eryk Pruitt (280 Steps); Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty (Disney-Hyperion). s Durham’s Samuel Montgomery-Blinn is the editor of Bull Spec, an online journal of speculative fiction, and hosts Carolina Book Beat on Carrboro’s WCOM-FM. Leaning tower of literature
PHOTO BY SAMUEL MONTGOMERY-BLINN
2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
film
INDYweek.com
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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THREE THINGS THAT MATTERED: FILM BY NEIL MORRIS
State film incentives were gutted. North Carolina’s tax incentive program for film, television and commercial productions paid out more than $60 million in credits in both 2013 and 2014, a boon to the state’s film industry. According to the N.C. Film Office, production companies spent more than $316 million and created more than 3,000 jobs in North Carolina during 2014 alone—24 percent more than in 2013. More than 50 productions registered with the film office and shot in North Carolina in 2014. In September 2014, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the 2014–2015 state budget, which eliminated the tax credits and created a grant program where productions receive up to 25 percent of their qualified in-state spending. However, the grant program was funded with only $10 million, and, as a result, productions dried up. Only three qualified for grants before the funds were exhausted. TV series like Sleepy Hollow and Secret and Lies left for Georgia and California, respectively. At least five feature films shot in N.C. during 2014 or earlier were released into theaters this year. In 2015, no major motion pictures were produced in the state. Recognizing the devastation wrought on an Silverspot Cinema, one industry that PHOTO BY JEREMY M. LANGE benefits both urban and rural regions, the General Assembly increased grant funding to $30 million for the 2015–16 fiscal year, plus another $30 million for 2016–17. The additional funding may lure smaller independent productions, short-run television series and commercials. But motion pictures like The Hunger Games and Iron Man 3, both partly filmed in North Carolina, won’t be coming back anytime soon. The former tax incentives, already proven to work, were not revived.
Luxury cinema reached the Triangle. After years of gestation, the boutique movie theater movement finally reached the Triangle. Three new so-called luxury theaters opened this year: CinéBistro in Cary’s Waverly Place shopping center, CineBowl & Grille in Cary’s Parkside Town Commons and Silverspot Cinema in Chapel Hill’s University Place. Each offers plush reserved seating and upscale food offerings. To keep up with the times, the Raleigh Grande renovated its theaters to include the sort of comfy seating and food tables found in these new premium movie houses. The Carolina Theatre in Durham crowdfunded $60,000 for new seats. Even the North Carolina Museum of Art got in on the act with its newly renovated SECU Auditorium, which opened in November with all-new seating and a 2K digital projection system. However, with such seeming
Local filmmakers and festivals shined. The Triangle’s cultural and academic landscape makes it a hotbed of filmmakers and festivals. Raleigh native Peyton Reed padded his directorial resume with the Marvel Studios summer hit Ant-Man. Durham-based filmmaker Cynthia Hill enjoyed another breakout year, as her popular PBS program, A Chef ’s Life, won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Lifestyle/ Culinary/Travel Program. Meanwhile, Hill’s latest documentary feature, Private Violence, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for a news and documentary Emmy. Burgeoning and established fests dotted the area in 2015, with several enjoying notable anniversaries. The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, one of the largest and most enduring LGBT movie events in the country, celebrated its 20th anniversary in August. The Full Frame
Documentary Film Festival, one of the largest doc-only festivals in the country, held its 18th edition in April. The Carrboro Film Festival turned 10 in November. The 16th Nevermore Film Festival returned to the Carolina Theatre, as did the popular RetroEpics Film Festival, screening classic cinema for more than a decade. A newcomer to the area’s festival scene was the Longleaf Film Festival, which debuted at the N.C .Museum of History in Raleigh. The Strange Beauty Film Festival explored the quirkier side of short film for its sixth year, and, most important for experimental cinema, the new Unexposed series brought challenging fare and the people who make it to intimate spaces in Durham. Look for big news about Unexposed in the new year. s Neil Morris writes about film for the INDY and others. Twitter: @ByNeilMorris
DUKE P ERFORMANCES I N D U R H A M , AT D U K E , A R T M A D E B O L D LY
of the Triangle’s new boutique theaters
progress comes casualties. Ambassador Entertainment will close the two-screen Colony Theatre in Raleigh, which has operated under various formats and owners since 1942, this month. Ambassador owner Bill Peebles says part of the savings from shuttering the Colony will go toward improving the alsovenerable Rialto Theatre in Raleigh’s Five Points area. No word if reclining chairs and mahi soft tacos are in the works.
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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Reality of My Surroundings THE CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION On view through July 10, 2016
2001 Campus Drive, Durham I nasher.duke.edu Ebony G. Patterson, ...shortly after 8- beyond the bladez (detail), 2014. Museum purchase with additional funds provided by Blake Byrne (T’57) and Marjorie and Michael Levine (T’84, P’16, P’19, P’19). Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago. © Ebony G. Patterson.
Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq caps a fantastic year in black cinema.
BOOM YEAR IN BLACK CINEMA The year started off poorly for black cinema. The critically lauded Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma, directed by African-American filmmaker Ava DuVernay, received Academy Award nominations for best song (which it won) and best picture. But it was shut out in all the other major categories. While that looked like a bad omen of things to come—things like the backlash against the casting of a black leading actor, John Boyega, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens—as the months progressed, 2015 turned into a year when black filmmakers were dropping not only fresh, original movies but also acclaimed studio blockbusters that successfully brought diverse crowds to theaters. My favorite film of the summer was the black comedy (pardon the pun) Dope. Basically Risky Business for black kids, this Sundance favorite by Rick Famuyiwa (Brown Sugar) has a nerdy inner-city teen (Shameik Moore) and his friends trying to move some dangerous weight and praying they don’t get caught. While that sounds like standard, depressing “hood movie” fare, Famuyiwa mostly plays it for laughs, reminding audiences that films about ghetto life don’t have to be wall-to-wall tragedy. Surprisingly, audiences flocked to multiplexes to see how N.W.A. became hiphop legends. The musical biopic Straight Outta Compton, directed by F. Gary Gray (who directed N.W.A. founding member Ice Cube in Friday 20 years ago) was a box-office smash, raking in $200 million and staying in the No. 1 slot for several weeks.
PHOTO BY PARRISH LEWIS
And two of the best films currently in theaters are directed by African-Americans— one a seasoned veteran, the other an ambitious new kid on the block. I thought the days of Spike Lee turning out audacious, provocative, brilliantly made films were long gone. That was before I saw ChiRaq, which is my pick for best film of the year. Lee transports Aristophanes’ play, Lysistrata, to the mean streets of Chicago and creates his own hybrid of satire, musical and wake-up call, with great performances, even greater set pieces and a heavy, hilarious mission to get black people to put down the guns and increase the peace. Ryan Coogler, who won over Sundance in 2013 with his debut, Fruitvale Station, brought back the beloved saga of Philly fighter Rocky Balboa, but told it mostly from the perspective of his late rival’s kid. In Creed, Coogler reunited with his Fruitvale star, casting Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son, looking to make a name for himself in the ring and getting Balboa (Sylvester Stallone himself!) in his corner. The combination of a rousing boxing picture and a nicely executed melodrama has been winning raves and generating Oscar buzz. Let’s hope the Academy will be kinder to this crowd-pleaser than it was to Selma. By the way—remember Ava DuVernay? Mattel released a limited-edition Barbie doll of her likeness a couple of weeks ago, and it quickly sold out. She may not have any Oscars, but she will still inspire little future filmmakers of different races and genders, and that’s certainly a wonderful way to close out this awesome year in black cinema. —Craig D. Lindsey
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12.23–12.30
LUMIÈRE CINEMATOGRAPHS
Where we’ll be
DEEP SOUTH THE BAR, RALEIGH FRIDAY, DEC. 25
PHOTO COURTESY OF DURHAM CINEMATHEQUE
MOTORCO, DURHAM | SATURDAY, DEC. 26
It’s too late to catch Runaway’s holiday pop-up shop, which ran for two weeks in downtown Durham next to The Parlour. But don’t worry. The majority of the clothing brand’s distinct Bull Citypride pieces in the Holiday 2015 Collection are available online— and, even better, will be available in the line’s flagship store, scheduled to open early next year on West Main Street. Brand heads Gabriel Eng-Goetz and Justin Laidlaw have kept Runaway’s headquarters mobile, too, vending throughout the Triangle and occasionally treating supporters to a party or dance bash like this weekend’s holiday soiree. Maybe it’s an evil entrepreneurial plot—sell the people clothes, watch the people stain said clothes with beer and sweat, sell the people replacement items, repeat until rich. But who wouldn’t want to party with such geniuses? Runaway’s DJ pals Treee City, PlayPlay, Shahzad and Nevy fashion the night’s sounds, along with a rare visit from a former local favorite, DJ Chela. 9 p.m., $7–$10, 723 Rigsbee Ave., Durham, 919-901-0875, www.motorcomusic.com. —Eric Tullis
ANIMAL PARTY DOG SHOW
KINGS, RALEIGH | SATURDAY, DEC. 26
Great news for all Triangle hounds interested in awards: You actually stand a chance this year during Kings’ third-annual dog
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be surprised if sitcom offers start coming his way in the future. We just hope he won’t forget the little people he tried out his material on in these parts. 7:30 and 10 p.m. Sat.; 7:30 p.m. Sun., $15–$28, 861 W. Morgan St., Raleigh, 919-828-5233, www. goodnightscomedy.com. —Craig D. Lindsey
THE DURHAM HOTEL, DURHAM MONDAY, DEC. 28
VERY FUNKY CHRISTMAS
RUNAWAY HOLIDAY PARTY
•
DURHAM CINEMATHEQUE
MUSIC
MUSIC+FASHION
DECEMBER 23, 2015
FILM
CALENDARS MUSIC 30 VISUAL ARTS 33 PERFORMANCE 34 BOOKS 34 FILM 34
Itching for some libations? Sick of holiday music? Seeking an excuse to dodge in-laws who make Cousin Eddie seem dignified? Find some relief at Deep South, which hosts the fifth-annual Very Funky Christmas jam on Christmas night. The free, festive party sidesteps the seasonal fare that dominates airwaves and shopping malls, instead promising plenty of funk favorites from the ’70s and ’80s performed by a rotating cast of area talent in an open-mic format. And those let down by a delivery of coal get a second chance, thanks to Deep South, which gives gifts for the first 50 folks through the door and a grand-prize raffle at night’s end, whether you’ve been naughty or nice. 9 p.m., free, 430 S. Dawson St., Raleigh, 919-833-1255, www.deepsouththebar.com. —Spencer Griffith
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show. For each of the first two runs, Rudy—an adorable and trick-happy mutt belonging to Michelle Scaraglino and Matt Watson—owned the contest, even overcoming the hijinks of a controversial contestant last year to win again. But this year, Rudy isn’t entering, opting instead for the comforts of the Paws of Fame. And so 15 other area dogs will have their chance for a supreme treat. To pick a winner, a panel of three judges delivers a composite score based on the animal’s “dogsonality,” its backstory, its cute factor and its ability to stun with at least one stunt. The event’s producer, Kings booking agent Michael Perros, was inspired by a Thanksgiving night spent in, watching The National Dog Show—and, well, probably his own pedigree. “My last name is Perros,” he says. “I feel like it’s my destiny to be a dog show producer.” Proceeds go to the SPCA. 8:30 p.m., $8, 14 W. Martin St., Raleigh, 919-833-1091, www.kingsbarcade.com. —Grayson Haver Currin
COMEDY
ANDY WOODHULL
GOODNIGHTS COMEDY CLUB, RALEIGH SATURDAY, DEC. 26–SUNDAY, DEC. 27
We wouldn’t be surprised if Goodnights rolls out the red carpet for Andy Woodhull. After all, the Indiana-born Woodhull, who previously worked on his comedy skills in the Chicago and LA stand-up scenes, is now based right here in Raleigh, where he lives with his wife and two stepdaughters. He’s also been getting a lot of TV screen time as of late. He’s done sets on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Conan. He also took center stage this year on Comedy Central’s The Half Hour. Considering that the clean-cut Woodhull mostly does relatable stand-up about being a regular guy coping with everyday life, we also wouldn’t
Paris, Dec. 28, 1895—it’s a dateline true cinephiles will recognize immediately. It’s when the Lumière brothers’ cinematograph, more or less the first practical motion-picture technology, was introduced to an awed public at Salon Indien du Grand Café, with 10 short 35mm films hand-cranked through the device, a wooden box that is basically an all-in-one camera, film printer and projector. Durham Cinematheque, the project of filmmaker and archivist Tom Whiteside, has a long record of presenting early cinema oddities and technology in the Triangle, and appropriately, Whiteside pulls out all the stops to celebrate the 120th birthday of cinema. On the mezzanine level of The Durham Hotel, he shows four different programs that include early French films by the Lumière brothers (some from that 1895 screening), Georges Méliès and Ferdinand Zecca. There’s also a tribute to France and experimental films made since the 1920s by the likes of Stan Brakhage, plus a touchable display of antique cameras and projectors. The idea of “going to the movies” begins here, and no one in the area is better equipped to celebrate it than Whiteside. Find Durham Cinematheque on Facebook for further details. 2, 4, 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., free, 315 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham, 919-768-8831 (reservations), www.thedurham.com. —Brian Howe
THEATER
THE BOOK OF MORMON
DURHAM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DURHAM TUESDAY, DEC. 29–SUNDAY, JAN. 10
There’s no denying that the spectacularly lewd The Book of Mormon caters to our dark side. As the 19-year-old whitebread naïf Kevin Price arrives in northern Uganda as a Mormon missionary with nothing to offer a suffering, war-torn populace besides his overconfidence and his holy book, we’re basically hoping for a really big fail. But when his geeky sidekick, Arnold Cunningham, makes a more genuine connection with the people he encounters and starts to morph the scriptures—by way of some of his favorite sci-fi films—to reach out, comfort and affirm them, what co-creator Matt Stone (of South Park fame) has called “an atheist’s love letter to religion” makes a salient, unexpected point. Faiths evolve over time; Mormonism’s own existence reflects this fact. And that evolution is continuing. We recraft our thoughts on meaning and humanity over time on the basis of what we’ve learned and experienced—and what we can imagine. It’s an interesting moral to find at the heart of one of the more scabrous shows of recent years. 7:30 p.m. Tues.–Thurs.; 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat.; 2 p.m. Sat.; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sun., $45–$170, 123 Vivian St., Durham, 919-680-2787, www.dpacnc.com. —Byron Woods
INDYweek.com
[JAKEEM.]
SAGE THE 64TH WONDER / CROSBY 9pm $5 th 12/31 A 506 NEW YEARS WITH
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fr 1/8
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FROM THE
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fr 1/15
‘HEAVY LINES’ ALBUM RELEASE SHOW:
tu 1/19
SEEPEOPLES 9pm $7 WILD ADRIATIC 9pm $8
SA 1/9
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XOXOK / SISTER DAVID 9pm $5/$7
we 1/20 th 1/21
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BONING: SEX ED WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR 9pm $10
fr 1/29
DR. BACON / THE TAN AND SOBER
WE 1/13
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sa 1/30
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IN THE WHALE / HEAVYWEIGHTS 9pm $13/$15
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VINYL THEATRE
sa 2/20 su 12/21
FINISH TICKET / IRONTOM 7pm $16 DAVID RAMIREZ / LUCETTE 8:30pm $13/$15
DOUG TUTTLE • THE QUEERS THE WEEKS • MASS GOTHIC • GREG HOLDEN
COMING SOON:
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SA 1/23 SA 1/30 WE 2/3
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NO SHAME THEATRE TRIANGLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA TRANSACTORS IMPROV FOR FAMILIES 6PM THE CHUCKLE & CHORTLE COMEDY SHOW 8PM SOUTH CAROLINA BROADCASTERS JOSH OLIVER
THE MONTI TRIANGLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA TRANSACTORS IMPROV NORTH CAROLINA COMEDY ARTS FESTIVAL BOOKER T. JONES JEANNE JOLLY
Gift Certificates available for the holidays! Find out More at An Adult Nightclub Open 7 Days/week Hours 7pm - 2am
www.teasersmensclub.com 919-6-TEASER 156 Ramseur St. Durham, NC
www.ArtsCenterLive.org 300-G East Main St. Carrboro, NC Find us on Social Media
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music
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WED, DEC 23 SLIM’S: Noctomb, Chateau; 9 p.m., $5. See indyweek.com. SOUTHLAND BALLROOM: Smell the Glove, Midnight Snack; 8:30 p.m., $5. STATION AT SOUTHERN RAIL: The Arcadian Project; 8:30 p.m. Yeaux Katz Trio; 6 p.m.
THU, DEC 24 DEEP SOUTH: DJ Damu, Samson, OC from NC, B Squared, King Fresco, Drugs Beats, Frost the Realest; 10 p.m., free. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BAND
BAR OPEN DAILY STARTING AT 4 we 12/30
• DECEMBER 23, 2015 •
THE BONDSMEN | SUNDAY, DEC. 27 MOTORCO, DURHAM—The last time The Bondsmen played a show in their hometown of Durham, Richard Nixon was riding high in his first term. Formed in the mid-’60s by a group of junior high and high school students, The Bondsmen worked up more than 100 songs, had a regional hit and broke up under circumstances that band members have trouble remembering. In fact, according to founding member Ken Haywood, he and his bandmates can find little consensus on key Bondsmen history as a whole. “Every time the group gets together and we’re sitting around talking, someone will bring up some event or some gig, and someone else will have a totally different recollection of it,” he says in a bemused tone. The Bondsmen might have remained an obscure memory for a contingent of aging North Carolinians had it not been for Ken Friedman, a self-described music geek who got into the curating business in 1984 when he put together a compilation of 1960s regional rock bands called Tobacco A-Go-Go Volume 1. The set led off with The Bondsmen’s smoking cover of Five Americans’ “I See the Light.” While these comps (there are now three volumes) attest to a vibrant demimonde, according to Friedman, The Bondsmen stood out. “Making a 2:30 slab of fun was within the reach of many young bands,” Friedman says. “The Bondsmen, in particular, had the chops, won contests and made two cool records. Fame and sales are fine, but absent that, talent is talent.” Though The Bondsmen received some late recognition among a rising garage rock community galvanized by the resurgence of specialty labels, it seemed unlikely the group would share a stage again. But that return occurred last June in Charlotte for a revue featuring acts from that distant scene. Somehow, The Bondsmen—all eight former members—were available. Turned out, each of The Bondsmen had continued to pursue music in the years since they parted, so they didn’t have to work too hard to sound like their old selves. For their first Durham show in a half-century, catch another glimpse of their unfettered rockin’ thrills. With Thee Dirtybeats. 7 p.m., $10, 723 Rigsbee Ave., Durham, 919-901-0875, www.motorcomusic.com. —David Klein
FRI, DEC 25 DEEP SOUTH: Very Funky Christmas; 9 p.m., free. See page 29. IRREGARDLESS: Gene O’Neill; noon. Elmer Gibson; 4 p.m.
POUR HOUSE NUCLEAR HONEY In the realm of bands that lace rock with jam impulses, Raleigh’s Nuclear Honey isn’t very original. You could find similarly smooth guitar licks and affable grooves with a quick flip to your classic rock radio station of choice. Still, Nuclear Honey has conviction, and they don’t want for talent, bringing an earnest and engaging energy that helps them stand out, however slightly, from many peers. Openers The Debonzo Brothers counter with crunchier, more lived-in rock ’n’ roll. $5–$7/9 p.m. —JL
THE STATION AT SOUTHERN RAIL KODIAK FARM B0YS As Carrboro’s Southern Rail begins its final week of business, so does The Station, the bar that hosts free music nearly every night (but not for long). If you’ve had enough of Christmas Day family time, Durham’s Kodiak Farm Boys take the stage with ramshackle folk. The band is bluegrass at the core but ragged enough to add an edge to its songs. With Aaron LopezBarrantes. Free/7 p.m. —AH
SAT, DEC 26 BEYÙ CAFFÈ: The Stephen Anderson Trio; 8 p.m.
BLUE NOTE GRILL JOSH PRESLAR BAND Former bassist for the enigmatic and eccentric band Bez-Mongold and a longtime local roots music
INDYweek.com impresario, Josh Preslar now carves out more traditional blues with his own outfit. Along with playing bass with the Lil’ Dave band and Rev. Slick, Preslar also served as president of the Triangle Blues Society and ran the Berkeley Cafe blues jams for nearly a decade. His résumé also includes a stint with Diunna Greenleaf’s International Blues Challengewinning Blue Mercy. You can hear Lowell Fulson, Albert Collins and Buddy Guy in the Clayton native’s guitar work, punctuated by the harp of Mike “Howlin’ Wind” Davis. $8/8 p.m. —GB
CAT’S CRADLE (BACK ROOM) THE MERCH DANCE PARTY The Carrboro-based design and screenprinting outfit The Merch has long put its stamp on local music. Through posters for concerts, T-shirts and the occasional event, The Merch feels like a part of the area music scene in the same way as a band or venue. The company’s annual holiday dance party is meant for music and merriment. This year’s entertainment, DJ One Duran, ought to offer plenty of both. Using spare percussion samples to build a versatile foundation, One Duran dips between genres. With vocal samples forged into hooks above that constant momentum, the underlying minimalism leaves plenty of space to explore dub echo and Italo disco glow. Free/10 p.m. —BCR
DEEP SOUTH I AM MADDOX All I want for Christmas is a mismatched bill. I Am Maddox headlines with muscle-headed concept rock that delivers sci-fi and fantasy themes with the subtlety of an 18-wheeler on fire, parked in a handicap zone. Think latter-day Soundgarden watching grindhouse cinema with Josh Homme. For its slow-dance indie rock, The Long Drive borrows chiming guitars from post-rock.
Openers the Unlucky Seven push strummy alt-rock toward cussin’drinkin’-and-shoutin’ modern outlaw country, like Third Eye Blind wading through Hank III’s catalog. $5/9 p.m. —CH IRREGARDLESS: The David Klingman Quartet; 9 p.m. Michelle Cobley; 11 a.m. Gen Palmer and Melvin Holland; 6 p.m.
LINCOLN THEATRE PULSE ELECTRONIC DANCE PARTY Devoutly local EDM party Pulse is known for its campy seasonal themes, and the holiday rager “Winter Wonderland WhiteParty” looks to keep that reputation intact. Bass music maestros Dream State Of Mind, Mt Crushmore, VAL and Virulent spin an eclectic mix of trance, dubstep and house, perfect for shaking off those December blues. So, is Christmas EDM a genre now? And how do you put bass in “Silent Night?” Great minds struggle with these mysteries still, but maybe we get some answers tonight $10–$13/9 p.m. —DS MOTORCO: Runaway Holiday Party; 9 p.m., $7–$10. See page 29.
POUR HOUSE URBAN SOIL Though Urban Soil’s earthy fare has footholds in both roots and jam camps, the Raleigh quintet understands that brevity can still be a virtue. While sprinkling its sets with ambling Americana tunes, the band’s feisty fiddle and funky guitar ensure that the energy level rarely sags. Meanwhile, the D.C. dudes of Dale and the Z Dubs deal in dynamic alt-rock anthems riddled with relaxed dub grooves and spiked with ska outbursts. $6–$8/9 p.m. —SG STATION AT SOUTHERN RAIL: Twilighter; 8 p.m.
NANTUCKET | SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27 LINCOLN THEATRE, RALEIGH—Rock ‘n’ roll brims with coulda-beens, and that includes Jacksonville’s Nantucket. From the mid-’70s through the early ‘80s, Nantucket seemed to be the next big thing. The band’s horn-laden hard rock drew as much from Southern funk and R&B as it did “More Than a Feeling,” offering a perfect parallel to the mid-’70s golden age of classic-rock radio. Nantucket opened for Kiss, Journey, AC/DC and Styx. Epic and Atlantic fought over them in 1977, and Epic won, releasing the band’s self-titled debut the next year. A few hundred thousand Nantucket records sold, but a hit never materialized. In the mid-’80s, when Nantucket packed it in, the band seemed destined for footnote status as an unsung regional favorite. But Nantucket eventually got its due, at least in its home state: The band picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Charlotte Music Awards in 2008 and was enshrined in the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, ostensibly the state’s highest musical honor, in 2012. Those awards followed a mid-’00s reunion and gave old Nantucket new life. Much of the original band has since left; in June, Durwood Martin, of beach music band The Embers, even replaced singer Mike Uzzell. Given the band’s freewheeling early years, the turn to beach music might be surprising, but Nantucket has simply gotten softer with age. A few years back, the band released You Need a Ride to Raleigh, which gave nods to the breezy beach music title track and some snazzy island rock à la Jimmy Buffett. Three of the record’s nine songs reference the beach or shag dancing in the title. Indeed, with more relaxed tempos and brassy horn arrangements, it’s music meant for shagging. Still, that Nantucket persists at all is admirable. No, Kannapolis, home to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, isn’t Cleveland, but there are worse places to find yourselves in your fourth decade as a band. 7:30 p.m., $15–$25, 126 E. Cabarrus St., Raleigh, 919-821-4111, www.lincolntheatre.com. —Patrick Wall
SUN, DEC 27 BEYÙ CAFFÈ: Marcus Anderson; 8 p.m., $50.
DEEP SOUTH FIRST IN FLIGHT HIP-HOP SHOWCASE Earlier this year, Raleigh’s Keaton
moved across the country to a state known for another first in flight: America’s recreational weed haven, Colorado. This weekend, Keaton returns to a hip-hop scene that’s been buzzing with national attention ever since he left. He’ll be reunited with rap peers S. Gold, Jrusalem and Tuscon, as well as the man behind the beats (DJ Manifest Beats)
WE 12/23 TH 12/24 FR 12/25 SA 12/26 SU 12/27 TU 12/29 TH 12/31
www.baxterarcade.com
919.869.7486
from Keaton and Phil Good’s 2013 EP, Life. With Pragmaddix, Big Bradd and Anderson Burrus. $5–$8/9 p.m. —ET
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
LINCOLN THEATRE: Nantucket, Monika Jaymes, Blue Flame; 8 p.m., $15–$25. See box, this page. MOTORCO: The Bondsmen, Thee Dirtybeats; 7 p.m., $10. See box, page 30.
NEPTUNES PARLOUR CHARLIE SMARTS & DJ ILL DIGITZ As one-half of Kooley High’s emcee pair, Charlie Smarts spent much of the last quarter hyping the local crew’s long-awaited EP, Heights , on which the charismatic Raleigh emcee laced his lyricism with newfound social justice commentary. Though it had been years since an official Kooley release, Smarts stayed busy with singles, features and remixes. Here, he’ll show off his evolving style in a rare solo set. DJ Ill Digitz—Smarts’ longtime partner in both Inflowential and Kooley—spins stylish beats to back Smarts’ smooth bars. $5/9 p.m. —SG POUR HOUSE: Tennessee Jed, Emma Dream; 9 p.m., free. STATION AT SOUTHERN RAIL: Doug Largent Trio; 7 p.m.
MON, DEC 28 SLIM’S: Low Key Locals, Joey Molinaro; 9 p.m., $5.
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TUE, DEC 29 POUR HOUSE MACHINEGUN EARL Machinegun Earl’s magazine comes loaded with garage rock in a full metal jacket. Earl is nowhere to be found in this four-piece led by Colin Bunting. His rapid delivery on “Mechanical You” blends the Ramones with Black Flag, while “Sift” has a murky Southern rock vibe countered by Bunting’s raw outbursts. With Hold Back the Day and Safe Word. $6–$8/8:30 p.m. —GB
WED, DEC 30 LOCAL 506 JAKEEM Raleigh rap upstart Jakeem White vented this summer, “Niggas are not gonna like what I say. Like I give a fuck. Those people aren’t important to me. All I care about is the fans I have now.” Whoa there, fella. I’m not sure if he’s calmed down, but at least he’s temporarily distracted by relationship drama on the revengesex anthem “TBH,” where he raps with a cold, broken heart over an even icier electro beat. If there’s more of that on his upcoming Long.Live.Cobain, he might frighten everyone. Sage the 64th Wonder and Crosby open. $5/9 p.m. —ET NASHER MUSEUM OF ART: Hip-Hop Hooray; 10:30 a.m. STATION AT SOUTHERN RAIL: Yeaux Katz Trio; 6 p.m.
During the holiday season, the schedule for some events may change. Call or check venue websites before making plans.
CLARK STERN & CHUCK COTTON’S DANCE PARTY CLOSED HOWLIN’ WIND’S B’DAY PARTY WITH THE JOSH PRESLAR BAND BO LANKENAU & FRIENDS OPEN BLUES JAM NEW YEARS EVE WITH THE WILLIE PAINTER BAND
CONTRIBUTORS: Grant Britt (GB), Spencer Griffith (SG), Corbie Hill (CH), Allison Hussey (AH), Bryan C. Reed (BCR), David Ford Smith (DS), Eric Tullis (ET)
8PM
8PM $8
614 N. WEST ST RALEIGH | 919-821-0023 WE 12/23 NEW YEARS EVE!
5PM 7:30PM $25/40
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EMMA DREAM FREE!!
TU 12/29 WE 12/30 TH 12/31
SPOK AND FRIENDS DJ DANCE PARTY FREE!! MACHINEGUN EARL HOLD BACK THE DAY / SAFE WORD MEDIAN / SPECTACLES FREE!!
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SA 1/2 WE 1/6 TH 1/7
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STRING BAND
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DEVON ALLMÄN BAND DOWN BY FIVE / THE BIG TAKEOVER
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
SA 12/26 SU 12/27
TH 12/31
12.23 12.25 12.28 12.29 12.31 1.4 1.5 1.8 1.9
CRAPPY XMAS MOVIES YOLO KARAOKE XMAS EDITION! MONDAY NIGHT SHOWCASE TUE NIGHT TRIVIA: WIN $50 BAR TAB/TIX NEW YEARS EVE! CHEAP DATE PARTY DJ PLAYPLAY / DJ BITCHCRAFT MONDAY NIGHT SHOWCASE TUE NIGHT TRIVIA: WIN $50 BAR TAB/TIX CAROLINA SOUL RECORDS GRAND OPENING DANCE PARTY ROWDY SQUARE DANCE: TEARIN’ UP XMAS COMING SOON:
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SA 1/23
PHIL COOK
TH 1/28 YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND
TU 1/19 @ THE RITZ RATATAT
3RD ANNUAL KINGS DOG SHOW LIVE AT NEPTUNES: AN EVENING WITH CHARLIE SMARTS & ILL DIGITZ OF KOOLEY HIGH 7 STORIES: HANGOVERS & PROMISES 6:30 ACID CHAPERONE / DEEP SLEEPER 9:30 NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH! TOW3RS / HEADS ON STICKS / WOOL NEW YEAR’S EVE AT NEPTUNES! DEEJAY MIKEY + A FREE CHAMPAGNE TOAST!
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W/ CHERRY GLAZER ($30) SA 2/20 WKNC DOUBLE BARREL BENEFIT 13 DENIRO FARRAR, SKYBLEW, EARTHLY ($12/$15) FR 2/26 TIFT MERRITT PERFORMS 'BRAMBLE ROSE' ($25) TH 3/3 KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS ($20) TU 3/8 RA RA RIOT ($17) SA 3/12 PENTAGRAM ($18/$22) SU 3/13 X AMBASSADORS W/ SEINABO SEY, POWERS ($20) TH/FR 3/17/18 (TWO SHOWS!)
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UNKNOWN HINSON NASHVILLE PUSSY ($20/$25) WE 2/3 LOW **($20) SA 2/6 BOB MARLEY'S
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CHEAP DATE PARTY
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REVEREND HORTON HEAT
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12.31 NEW YEARS EVE!
DECEMBER 23, 2015
SA 1/16 @ HAW RIVER BALLROOM
919.821.1120 • 224 S. Blount St CHRISTMAS WITH NUCLEAR HONEY & THE DEBONZO BROTHERS SA 12/26 URBAN SOIL / DALE & THE ZDUBS SU 12/27 TENEESSEE JED EP PREVIEW PARTY FR 12/25
MO 12/28
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DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS ($25/$28)
SA 3/26 MOUNT MORIAH W/ ELEPHANT MICAH ($12) MO 3/28 JUNIOR BOYS W/ JESSY LANZA, BORYS ($15/$17) TH 3/31 G LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE **($25 / $30) SA 4/2 DAUGHTER (SOLD OUT!) SA 4/9 THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS **($23/$25) MO 4/18 THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN ($15/$17) WE 4/20 MURDER BY DEATH W/ KEVIN DEVINE & THE GODDAMN BAND($15/$17) TH 4/28 POLICA W/ MOTHXR ($16/$18) FR 5/6 STICKY FINGERS ($13/$15)
SA 1/9 @ CAT'S CRADLE BACK ROOM
AU PAIR
CAT'S CRADLE BACK ROOM
1/23 LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS ($17/$20) 1/27 JULIEN BAKER ($10) 1/29 JON STICKLEY TRIO W/ STEPHANIESID AND HNMTF 2/7 THE PINES 2/13 HEY MARSEILLES W/ BAD BAD HATS($12/$14) 2/16 PROTOMARTYR W/ SPRAYPAINT ($10/$12) 2/18 DRESSY BESSY AND PYLON ($15/$18) 2/21 HONEYHONEY ($15) 2/22 THE SOFT MOON ($10/$12) 2/26 GRIFFIN HOUSE ($15/$18) 2/27 THE BLACK LILLIES W/ UNDERHILL ROSE ($14) 3/11 PORCHES / ALEX G W/ YOUR FRIEND ($13/$15)
4/3 KRIS ALLEN 4/5 CHON W/ POLYPHIA, STRAWBERRY GIRLS ($13/$16)
ARTSCENTER (CARRBORO) 2/4 BOB SCHNEIDER
CAROLINA THEATRE (DURHAM) 2/25 JOSH RITTER & THE ROYAL CITY BAND
PINHOOK (DURHAM) 1/29 DYLAN LEBLANC W/ JOSH MOORE
HAW RIVER BALLROOM 1/16 BRIAN FALLON AND THE CROWES W/ CORY BRANAN 1/22 JOE PUG AND HORSEFEATHERS 4/3 ANGEL OLSEN ($17/$20)
THE RITZ (RALEIGH) 1/19 RATATAT W/ JACKSON AND HIS COMPUTERBAND
LOCAL 506 (CHAPEL HILL) TU 2/16 THIRD MAN RECORDS PRES: TIMMY’S ORGANISM VIDEO, REGRESSION 696
CATSCRADLE.COM ★ 919.967.9053 ★ 300 E. MAIN STREET ★ CARRBORO
**Asterisks denote advance tickets @ schoolkids records in raleigh, cd alley in chapel hill order tix online at ticketfly.com ★ we serve carolina brewery beer on tap! ★ we are a non-smoking club
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visualarts
Martin St, Raleigh. 919-928-5279, www.tippingpaintgallery.com.
TYNDALL GALLERIES: Thru Dec 31: Lynn Boggess, new landscape paintings. 201 S Estes Dr, Chapel Hill. 919-942-2290, www.tyndallgalleries.com.
St, Durham. 919-286-4837, www. cravenallengallery.com.
Galleries
THE ARTSCENTER: Thru Dec 31: Amy Keenan-Amago, collages. 300-G E Main St, Carrboro. 919929-2787, www.artscenterlive.org. ARTSOURCE FINE ART GALLERY: Thru Dec 31:
ArtSource 25th Year Celebration, new works by James P. Kerr. 4351107 The Circle at North Hills St, Raleigh. 919-787-9533, www. artsource-raleigh.com.
ARTSPACE: Thru Jan 23, 2016:
Carpe Diem, work by Rachel Campbell, Judith Condon and Jane Paradise. — Thru Jan 16, 2016: The Forest for the Trees. Free. 201 E Davie St, Raleigh. 919-821-2787, www.artspacenc.org.
CARY ARTS CENTER: Thru
Jan 24, 2016: Cary Photographic Artists. — Thru Jan 21, 2016: Synesthesia: Connecting the Senses. 101 Dry Ave. 919-4694069, www.townofcary.org.
CARY GALLERY OF ARTISTS: Thru Dec 31: Celebrating Color, Nuanced and Bold, work by Dan Rice and Donna Schultz. 200 S Academy St #120. 919-462-2035, www.carygalleryofartists.org.
CRAVEN ALLEN GALLERY:
Thru Jan 9, 2016: Moving Pictures/ Figure and Forest, work by Dan Gottlieb. — Thru Jan 9, 2016: Animal, Vegetable, Mandible, work by Iris Gottlieb. 1106 1/2 Broad
During the holiday season, the schedule for some recurring events may change. Call or check venue websites before making plans.
UNC WILSON SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY: Thru
DUKE CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES:
Thru Feb 27, 2016: South Side, photographs and writings by Jon Lowenstein. — Thru Feb 28, 2016: Aunties: The Seven Summers of Alevtina and Ludmila, photographs by Nadia Sablin. 1317 W Pettigrew St, Durham. 919-660-3663, www. cdsporch.org.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ENO GALLERY
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DURHAM ART GUILD: Thru Jan 9, 2016: 2015 Members’ Holiday Market. 120 Morris St. 919-560-2713, www. durhamartguild.org. DURHAM ARTS COUNCIL:
Thru Jan 3, 2016: I Am Quixote - Yo Soy Quijote, work by North Carolina artists celebrating the 400th anniversary of El Quixote. Free. 120 Morris St. 919-5602787, www.durhamarts.org.
DURHAM CONVENTION CENTER: Thru Apr 14, 2016: I
Want Candy, work by Stacy Crabill. 301 W Morgan St. 919-956-9404, www.durhamconventioncenter.com.
ENO GALLERY: Thru Jan 15,
2016: Celebrating 40 Years, work by Nancy Tuttle May. — Thru Jan 15, 2016: Fine Southern Clay, studio ceramics and sculptural clay by Southern artists. 100 S Churton St, Hillsborough. 919-883-1415, www.enogallery.net.
“REVOLUTIONS/LAYERS” BY NANCY TUTTLE MAY, ON VIEW AT ENO GALLERY THROUGH JAN. 15. Chapel Hill. 919-636-4135, www. frankisart.com.
GALLERY C: Thru Dec 31: A
NeOn NOel, works by Louis St. Lewis and Nate Sheaffer. 540 N Blount St, Raleigh. 919-828-3165, www.galleryc.net.
GOLDEN BELT: Thru Jan 3,
2016: The Spirit of Lolong, work by Maready Evergreen. 807 E Main St, Durham. www.goldenbeltarts.com.
HILLSBOROUGH GALLERY OF ARTS: Thru Jan 3, 2016:
FLANDERS GALLERY: Thru
The Art of Giving, art for the holiday season by HGA’s 22 member artists. 121-D N Churton St. 919-732-5001, www. hillsboroughgallery.com.
FRANK GALLERY: Thru Feb 7, 2016: The Human Touch: Portraits of Care. — Thru Feb 7, 2016: Intersections, work by Sasha Bakaric, Shelly Hehenberger and Suzanne Krill. 109 E Franklin St,
LEE HANSLEY GALLERY: Thru Jan 23, 2016: Acclaimed Artists, works by celebrated deceased North Carolina artists — Thru Jan 23, 2016: George Bireline Revisited, abstract expressionist, color field, figurative and narrative paintings by the late Raleigh artist. 225 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh. 919-8287557, www.leehansleygallery.com.
Jan 18, 2016: Near Mint: In Lucas We Trust. 505 S Blount St, Raleigh. 919-757-9533, www. flandersartgallery.com.
LIGHT ART + DESIGN: Thru
Jan 16, 2016: Metal V, Annual exhibition of metal artists with works from sculpture to jewelry. 601 W Rosemary St, Chapel Hill. 919-9427077, www.lightartdesign.com.
LITTLE ART GALLERY & CRAFT COLLECTION: Thru
Dec 31: The Classics, work by Stephen White. 432 Daniels St, Raleigh. 919-890-4111, littleartgalleryandcraft.com.
ROUNDABOUT ART COLLECTIVE: Thru Dec
ACKLAND ART MUSEUM:
2016: Fine Arts League of Cary’s Annual Member Exhibition. — Thru Jan 2, 2016: Functional Art Pottery, work by Kenneth Neilsen. 119 Ambassador Loop, Cary. 919-460-4963, www. friendsofpagewalker.org.
MIRIAM PRESTON BLOCK GALLERY: Thru Jan 14, 2016:
THE SCRAP EXCHANGE: Thru Jan 9, 2016: $24 Art Show. 2050 Chapel Hill Road, Durham. 919-6886960, www.scrapexchange.org.
NCSU DH HILL LIBRARY:
Thru Jan 4, 2016: Life’s Little Dramas: Puppets, Proxies, and Spirits. 2 Broughton Dr, Raleigh. 919-515-3364, www.lib.ncsu.edu.
Art Related
THE EL QUIXOTE FESTIVAL:
Thru Apr 23, 2016: art exhibits, performances and more in various locations celebrating Don Quixote. See website for more details. www.iamquixote.com.
LOCAL COLOR GALLERY:
National Arts Program, works by City of Raleigh and Wake County employees and their families. 222 W Hargett St, Raleigh. 919-9963610, www.raleighnc.gov/arts.
VILLAGE ART CIRCLE: Thru Dec 31: Art for the Holidays. 200 S Academy St #130, Cary. www. villageartcircle.com.
PAGE-WALKER ARTS & HISTORY CENTER: Thru Jan 2,
31: King Nobuyoshi Godwin, paintings. free. 305 Oberlin Rd, Raleigh. 919-747-9495, www. roundaboutartcollective.com.
Thru Dec 31: Let It Snow!. 311 W. Martin Street, Raleigh. 919-8195995, www.localcoloraleigh.com.
Jan 10, 2016: Chronicles of Empire: Spain in the Americas, featuring more than 50 early printed volumes from UNC’s Rare Book Collection. 201 South Rd, Chapel Hill. www.lib.unc.edu/wilson.
THROUGH THIS LENS:
Thru Jan 9, 2016: Industrial Blues, photographs by Gunther Cartwright. — Thru Jan 9, 2016: Trees, photographs by JJ Raia. 303 E Chapel Hill St, Durham. 919-6870250, www.throughthislens.com.
TIPPING PAINT GALLERY: Thru Dec 31: Y’alltide. 311 W
Museums
Thru Jan 3, 2016: Testing Testing, survey of paintings and sculpture since 1960. — Last Sundays, 2-4 p.m.: Family Day, museum tour, story time, activities at creation station, scavenger hunts in the galleries. Free. 101 S Columbia St, Chapel Hill. 919-843-1611, www. ackland.org.
CAM RALEIGH: Thru Jan 3, 2016: The Imaginary Architecture of Love, mural by Sarah Cain. 409 W Martin St. 919-261-5920, camraleigh.org. NASHER MUSEUM OF ART: Thursdays, 5-9 p.m.: Free
Thursday Nights, Admission is free to all. — Thru Sep 18, 2016: The
Capital Cabaret Presents
The INDY’S GUIDE to ALL THINGS TRIANGLE
Thursday, December 17th 2 for $40 Dances all night long after 10PM! Prizes and Giveaways all day long!!! Champagne Toast at Midnight!!! Complimentary Dinner Buffet!!! Doors open at noon for our Complimentary Lunch Buffet from 12-2PM 6713 Mt. HERMAN RD RALEIGH, NC 27560
INDYweek.com New Galleries: A Collection Come to Light. — Thru Feb 28, 2016: Reality of My Surroundings: The Contemporary Collection. — Thru Jan 10, 2016: Richard Mosse: The Enclave. 2001 Campus Dr, Durham. 919-684-5135, nasher.duke.edu.
NC MUSEUM OF ART: Thru
Mar 20, 2016: Chisel and Forge: Works by Peter Oakley and Elizabeth Brim. — Thru Jan 17, 2016: Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester and the Creative Mind. — Thru Jan 17, 2016: The Worlds of M. C. Escher: Nature, Science, and Imagination. 2110 Blue Ridge
Rd, Raleigh. Info 919-839-6262, tickets 919-715-5923, www. ncartmuseum.org.
NC MUSEUM OF HISTORY:
Thru Jun 19, 2016: Treasures of Carolina: Stories from the State Archives, public records and private archival materials from the state archives. — Thru Feb 28, 2016: Hey America!: Eastern North Carolina and the Birth of Funk. — Thru Jul 10, 2016: North Carolina’s Favorite Son: Billy Graham and His Remarkable Journey of Faith. 5 E Edenton St, Raleigh. 919-807-7900,
performance
Murphy School Rd, Durham. 919616-2190, www.sharedvisions.org.
Dance PA R T I C I PATO RY DURHAM DANCE WAVE:
Mondays, 7:30-9 p.m.: $7. www. durhamdancewave.com. The Murphey School at the Shared Visions Retreat Center, 3717
film Special Showings
120TH ANNIVERSARY OF CINEMA CELEBRATION: Mon, Dec 28, 2 p.m. The Durham Hotel, 315 E. Chapel Hill St. 919-7688830, thedurham.com. See p. 29.
I HOPE YOU DANCE: Tue, Dec 29, 7 p.m.: free. The Oasis at Carr Mill, 200 N Greensboro St A5, Carrboro, oasisatcarrmill.com.
Film Capsules
Our rating system uses one to five stars. Signed reviews are by Brian Howe (BH), Laura Jaramillo (LJ), Kathy Justice (KJ), Craig D. Lindsey (CDL), Glenn McDonald (GM), Neil Morris (NM), Zack Smith (ZS) and Ryan Vu (RV).
SUNDAY AFTERNOON SALSA: Second & Fourth
Sundays, 3:30-6:15 p.m.: $6–$10. 919-494-2300, wesleyboz@ musicanddance.com. Raleigh Elks Lodge, 5538 Leadmine Rd.
SUNDAY SALSA SOCIAL:
Sundays, 6:30-9:30 p.m.: Every Sunday social featuring mostly Salsa with sides of Bachata,
Opening
THE BIG SHORT—Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt star as the men who predicted (and tried to prevent) the mid-’00s collapse of the housing market. Rated R. CONCUSSION—Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith) fights the NFL over his discoveries about football’s long-term effects on the brain. Rated PG-13. DADDY’S HOME—Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell go toeto-toe in this comedy pitting dad against stepdad. Rated PG-13. THE DANISH GIRL—Eddie Redmayne (last year’s Oscar winner for best actor) stars as landscape painter Einar Wegener, one of the first recipients of gender reassignment surgery. Set in 1920s Copenhagen, the tale is inspired by actual events, although director Tom Hooper (Les Misérables) takes liberties to present the story as a tender portrait of a remarkable marriage. Alicia Vikander plays Einar’s wife, Gerda, and her performance is every bit as vulnerable and wrenching as Redmayne’s. As Einar begins his gradual transformation into a woman, the
Merengue, Cha Cha, and Kizomba. Lesson at 6:30 for beginners plus sometimes intermediate. DJ Dance at 7. $6. www.dancegumbo.com. Triangle Dance Studio, 2603 S Miami Blvd, Durham.
PERFORMANCE CAROLINA BALLET: NUTCRACKER: Wed, Dec 23, 2
& 7 p.m., Sat, Dec 26, 1 & 5 p.m. & Sun, Dec 27, 1 & 5 p.m.: $23–$105. Memorial Auditorium, 2 E South St, Raleigh. 919-996-8700, www. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.
COMMON GROUND THEATRE: Sat, Dec 26, 2 p.m.:
Transactors Improv: For Families!. $6–$10. 4815-B Hillsborough Rd, Durham. 919-384-7817, www. cgtheatre.com.
DSI COMEDY THEATER:
Fridays, 10 p.m.: Mister Diplomat. Free. — Fridays, 11 p.m.: The Jam. free. — Saturdays, 10 p.m.: Pork, 5 NC comics perform. Free. 462 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill. 919-3388150, www.dsicomedytheater. com.
FLEX NIGHTCLUB: Thursdays,
midnite: Trailer Park Prize Night, comedy drag show with gag prize giveaways. 2 S West St, Raleigh. 919-832-8855, www.flex-club.com.
Comedy
COMEDYWORX THEATRE:
Fridays, 8 p.m. & Saturdays, 4 & 8 p.m.: ComedyWorx Improv Show, 2 teams of improv comedians earn points by making the audience laugh. $6-12. — Fridays, 10 p.m. & Saturdays, 10 p.m.: The Harry Show, Ages 18+. Improv host leads late-night revelers through potentially risque games, with audience volunteers brought onstage to join in. $10. 431 Peace St, Raleigh. 919-829-0822, comedyworx.com.
story becomes a psychologically complex love triangle between two people. But Hooper’s overwrought visual strategy keeps the film from really soaring. The style is too composed and conventional for the material. Rated R. —GM JOY—Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) must balance life as a single mother and an entrepreneur in this biographical drama directed by David O. Russell. Rated PG-13. POINT BREAK—Édgar Ramírez and Luke Bracey star in this action-heavy remake of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 original. Rated PG-13. YOUTH—Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) is a retired conductor who is unexpectedly called to return to work while on vacation with his friend and his daughter. Rated R.
Current Releases
1/2 BROOKLYN—John Crowley and Nick Hornby capture the nostalgic melancholy of Colm Tóibín’s novel in this elegiac oldschool melodrama. Saoirse Ronan is Eilis, an Irish girl who goes to work in Brooklyn in the 1950s, thanks to the sponsorship of a
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GOODNIGHTS COMEDY CLUB / THE GRILLE AT GOODNIGHTS: Saturdays, 10:30
p.m.: Anything Goes Late Show. free. — Sat, Dec 26, 7:30 & 10 p.m. & Sun, Dec 27, 7:30 p.m.: Andy Woodhull. $15–$28. 861 W Morgan St, Raleigh. 919-828-5233, www.goodnightscomedy.com.
LONDON BRIDGE PUB: Fourth Thursdays, 8:30 p.m.: Under the Bridge Comedy Night Showcase. 110 E Hargett St, Raleigh. 919-8335599, thelondonbridgepub.com.
DECEMBER 23, 2015
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ONGOING
Theater OPENING THE BOOK OF MORMON:
Tue, Dec 29, 7:30 p.m., Wed, Dec 30, 7:30 p.m.: $50–$130. Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 Vivian St. Info 919-688-3722, Tickets 919680-2787, www.dpacnc.com.
RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: Wed, Dec 23, 11
a.m., Thu, Dec 24, 11 a.m., Sat, Dec 26, 11 am & 2 p.m., Sun, Dec 27, 11 am & 2 p.m., Mon, Dec 28, 6:30 p.m., Tue, Dec 29, 6:30 p.m. & Wed, Dec 30, 11 a.m.: $23–$55. Fletcher Opera Theater, 2 E South St, Raleigh. 919-996-8700, www. dukeenergycenterraleigh.com.
books Literary Related CITY SOUL CAFE POETRY & SPOKEN WORD OPEN MIC:
TOOTIE’S: Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.: ComedyMongers Open Mic. $5, free for comedians. 704 RigsbeeAve, Durham. 984-439-2328.
Wednesdays, 8-10 p.m.: Poets, vocalists, musicians & lyricists welcome. All performances a cappella or acoustic. $5. www. citysoulcafe.splashthat.com. Smokin Grooves Bar & Grill, 2253 New Hope Church Rd, Raleigh.
U.S.-based priest (Jim Broadbent). Leaving behind a mother and sister she adores, she’s initially homesick, living in an all-female boarding house. That changes when she meets a sweet-natured Italian plumber who falls for her. Striking work by cinematographer Yves Bélanger and costumer Odile Dicks-Mireaux makes Ronan— with her moony, wholesome looks—the brightest thing in the movie. Things get complicated when she starts seeing a suave Irishman (Domhnall Gleeson), turning the story into an intercontinental torn-betweentwo-lovers affair. Like so many films about immigrants looking for a better life, this one lays out a wondrous and romantic (if oddly minority-free) vision of America’s past. Rated PG-13. —CDL CREED—The boxing-film genre reached its narrative limits long ago. But by using conjoined character arcs, the Rocky series’ seventh film ably honors, updates and even deconstructs its legacy. Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), the son of late champ Apollo Creed—Rocky’s respected nemesis—is rescued from a delinquent childhood by Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), Apollo’s widow. Haunted by her husband’s death in the ring, she discourages Adonis’ impulses. But
he moves to Philadelphia to coax an aging Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to train him. Balboa runs an Italian restaurant and doesn’t visit Mickey’s gym anymore. Still, he reluctantly agrees to train Adonis, though his guilt over failing to prevent Apollo’s death is a motivation the film doesn’t sufficiently explicate. Ryan Coogler, who also directed Jordan in Fruitvale Station, reclaims the blackness of a franchise originally framed through the prism of the Great White Hope. It’s not only the first Rocky film in which Rocky doesn’t fight, but also the first that doesn’t spotlight a white boxer. Jordan and Stallone, utterly at ease, conjure an alchemy of wit and poignancy. The film doesn’t conclude with a celebration in the ring. Instead, a movie icon haltingly climbs the same steps he once galloped up to glory, in an elegy for a cultural phenomenon. Rated PG-13. —NM THE GOOD DINOSAUR— The publicity materials for Disney and Pixar’s latest focus on the fact that it’s set in a world where an asteroid didn’t hit Earth and dinosaurs continued to evolve. What goes unmentioned is that the premise is an excuse for an old-fashioned children’s adventure story—a “boy and his dog” tale where the dog is the
RADICAL READERS: Last Tuesdays: Durham People’s Alliance book group meets at night to discuss books. RSVP for location, time & car pool. 682-7777. YOUR STORY: Fourth Saturdays, 10 a.m.-noon: Informal writers’ group facilitated by Gaines Steer. Flyleaf Books, 752 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill. 919-9427373, www.flyleafbooks.com.
boy and the boy is a dinosaur. Set in an untouched American West, The Good Dinosaur is a simple story of a dino homestead where a four-legged Apatosaurus family is apparently quite good at irrigation and growing corn despite a lack of opposable thumbs. Family runt Arlo (voiced by Raymond Ochoa) is terrified of everything and despairs of never “making his mark,” a point the film illustrates literally. An encounter with a loin-clothed “critter” (Jack Bright) leads to a tragedy, and then Arlo is swept downriver, where he discovers that the cave-boy he resents is a surprisingly loyal companion on the long, dangerfilled trip home. Like the Cars films, this one seems aimed at a tradition-loving Middle American audience. But there’s a darkness to this story that contrasts with the soft, toy-like pastel dinosaurs; Arlo suffers about every physical and emotional trauma possible in a Disney flick, dead parent included. It’s all a little old-fashioned for Pixar, which has done its best work breathing fresh life into tired ideas. It doesn’t feel particularly innovative, or even interested in exploring the dinosaur-based society it’s created. But it’s nice to see that old-fashioned children’s adventure stories aren’t, well, extinct. Rated PG. —ZS
THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2— Drenched in violence and darkness, this last installment of the teenage wasteland franchise finds our heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) wearily slouching to her final bloody victory over the Capitol. Bombs shred refugees, cannibals devour soldiers and children kill children in what is essentially a war picture marketed as YA sci-fi adventure. The heaviness that worked so well in Part 1, released last year, is unbalanced and off-kilter here. Lawrence is her usual bad-ass self and manages to hold the center for a while, but the story finally collapses under its own weight. That PG-13 rating has nothing to do with viewer discretion. It’s a marketing tag that says the Hunger Games are open for business one last time, to all teenagers and their parents’ credit cards. Rated PG-13. —GM 1/2 THE MARTIAN— Director Ridley Scott’s latest is one nerdy-ass science fiction movie—in a good way. In a recognizable near future, NASA sends interplanetary space ships on regular trips to Mars. Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is separated, presumed dead and left behind by his crew. But he survives, and most of the movie documents his ingenuity in gathering and creating what he needs to stay alive. As you get swept up in the story, it’s easy to forget how amazing Scott’s visuals are—he has created a new world onscreen. The film has a few weak spots: Some dodgy cloakand-dagger elements toward the end strain credulity. But overall, the film delivers what it should. A thinking person’s big-budget sci-fi movie, it’s talky and intelligent. The filmmakers worked with NASA to make the science as accurate as possible. The story is compelling, the visuals are spectacular and the movie even manages to make math exhilarating. Rated PG-13. —GM 1/2 SISTERS—Sisters stars Amy Poehler and Tina Fey as Maura and Kate Ellis, terminally immature siblings whose empty-nester parents decide to finally sell their childhood home. Poehler sweetly plays the straight woman to Fey’s not-totallybelievable middle-aged lady gone wild. It’s a completely competent comedy that occasionally hits some very funny notes, though it mostly stays within the triedand-true formula of mainstream American comedy: toilet humor meets family values. Directed by Jason Moore, Sisters mobilizes a cadre of Saturday Night Live talent in bit parts, including Maya
Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and Bobby Moynihan. Unfortunately, none of them are allowed enough screen time to really let their jokes rip. The famed chemistry between Poehler and Fey remains; it’s best expressed when they’re obviously going off script. The pair has an uncanny gift for physical comedy, but the script by Paula Pell seriously hampers Fey’s comedic gifts, stifling the brainy absurdist humor that is at the heart of her appeal and shoehorning her into the Sarah Silverman-esque territory of dick and pussy jokes. Fey and Poehler have been writing some of the best comedy of the aughts on 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, respectively. Television seems to be a more nurturing context than movies for weird talents like theirs. Though female comedians have gained tremendous ground in the past few years, Sisters highlights how limited a category “funny” remains for women in Hollywood. Rated R. —LJ SPECTRE—Until now, Ernst Stavro Blofeld and the rest of the SPECTRE global crime syndicate hadn’t appeared in a James Bond film since 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. But after decades of rights-wrangling, MGM and the estate of film producer Kevin McClory finally reached a legal settlement, allowing Bond’s original infamous foes to return to the franchise. The 24th Bond film is overeager to reintegrate its birthright, shoehorning it into the narrative reboot that began with Daniel Craig and temporarily rejuvenated the franchise. But the slapdash Spectre is a nostalgic deviation that rolls back the Craig films from a reinvention to a mere rehash. A power struggle threatens to render the 00 section obsolete. With the help of Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Bond (Craig) goes rogue (again) on a globe-trotting search for the mastermind behind the worldwide tentacles of criminal mayhem dogging him. A few moments prove memorable: An extended tracking shot through Mexico’s Day of the Dead festivities, a train-car brawl between Bond and henchman du jour Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista). Otherwise, the action scenes fall flat. The film has a basic appeal for aficionados, with its copious callbacks to Bond lore, but this distended 140-minute theme-park ride doesn’t leave us shaken or stirred.Rated PG-13. —NM STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS—Director J.J. Abrams has delivered a triumph by flouting the usual reboot expectations and essentially making a disco remix of franchise
mythology. Three decades have passed since the events of Return of the Jedi, and the galaxy is still in turmoil. The collapse of the Empire has created a power vacuum, and the fascist First Order has stepped in. Most worrisome—Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi, has disappeared. On the desert planet of Jakku we meet our new heroes. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), a hotshot Resistance pilot, finds an unlikely ally in the morally conflicted Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega). We also meet the resourceful scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), who plucks bits of high-tech debris from derelict space cruisers half-buried in the sand. The early scenes of wrecked Star Destroyers and Imperial Walkers are like ruin porn from a galaxy far, far away. Over on the Dark Side, the mysterious Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) wears a mask and cape that evoke Darth Vader. Details on his actual identity are among the first of the script’s many unsettling surprises. Ren’s master is a menacing alien with the unfortunate title of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis in a motion-capture performance). As the story progresses and more characters are put into play, it becomes clear that Abrams isn’t creating a new Star Wars so much as he is retelling the original saga, but with all the components mixed up. Rey is a little bit Luke and little bit Leia. Poe is a little bit Han and a little bit Luke. Snoke is part Vader and part Palpatine. Rey’s companion droid, BB-8, is R2-D2 with a new form of locomotion. The narrative shape of the movie is familiar, too, set in motion by a droid with coveted information. Harrison Ford is one of the very best parts of a very good movie. For the first time in a long while, he looks like he’s having fun. Not everything clicks into place: As Leia, Carrie Fisher isn’t given much to do; the political state of affairs between the First Order and the Republic isn’t clear; the pace is a twinge too speedy. But it builds to satisfying crescendo—watch how Abrams updates the series’ signature cross-cut editing in the final battles. And the quiet coda is just about perfect. The last image is a gorgeous visual metaphor for what the filmmakers have accomplished. It’s helpful to keep in mind the notion that myths are stories we tell ourselves over and over again, in different guises and different eras. Star Wars is one of the great tales of our modern mythology, and The Force Awakens successfully re-imagines the legend for a new generation. Rated PG-13. —GM
INDYweek.com
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DECEMBER 23, 2015
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RALEIGH GRANDE
Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Big Short • Joy • Concussion Daddy’s Home • The Danish Girl Point Break • Youth The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Creed • Sisters • The Chipmunks: The Road Chip For times please go to website
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RALEIGHGRANDEART.COM
N ewYears Hours
ChristmasHours
D E C 2 4 OPEN 1 1: 3 0 A 1 0 P
D E C 25 OPEN 7P
J A N. 1 O PE N 7 P
S Y A D S E U T A L TEQUI NYE 2016 $ 24 Naughty
$40
$4
OPEN TILL 5AM
NAUGHTY PACK
FREE PARTY FAVORS
INCLUDES
COMP. AFTER HOURS ADMISSION
CORONA BUCKETS
CUERVO SHOTS
$ 1 TACOS
Free champagne toast at midnight
BOTTOMLESS DRAFT BEER MUG COMP. CLUB ADMISSION
VOTED “BEST OF THE TRIANGLE”
HEALTHY, FUN ADULT ENTERTAINMENT!
3210 Yonkers Rd. | 919.250.9826 | MensClubRaleigh.com M O D E L S
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