NEWS & OPINION

FEATURE to get involved. He began to write grants to buy equipment and fund teaching opportunities for Dessi-Olive’s students to work with underserved youth that have a passion for augmented reality and design in STEAM and STEM programs.

“It’s one of these secret squirrel things that goes on around here that not a lot of people know about yet, but when they find out what is going on with it, it’s gonna blow their minds,” Dukes said.

Dessi-Olive said he’s grateful for Dukes’ support, which came without question, and for the space lent before and after the shows for visitors to explore the augmented art gallery. Tickets are $8 and free for UNC Charlotte students. Dessi-Olive’s structure will remain available for viewing at CAL beyond the date of the show.

The future of myco

Dessi-Olive hopes to one day put his house parts together to build a complete house, but in the meantime, he is happy with the ever-growing popularity of myco-materials. The material is already being used by eco-conscious companies all over the world as a replacement for the styrofoam used in packaging.

Beauty companies and subscription services use the material. Furniture companies have started using it as well.

“It may not be as popular as concrete or vinyl or two-by-fours but it’s getting there,” Dessi-Olive said.

He explained that he views his role in working with myco-materials as testing its ability to work at scale. He wants to go far beyond packing peanuts and living room furniture, and he is pushing the limits of size with every project, especially with his work for the Charlotte Art League.

Though he is extremely passionate about sustainable architecture, his biggest passion is teaching. He hopes to continue to offer students knowledge that could improve the world, and their lives.

to him by Charlotte Art League, which will be home to his biggest project yet.

“In my career (this is) the biggest experiment with this material,” Dessi-Olive said, “not by volume of material itself, but by volume of deploying that material. The amount of space that this material is going to take is, for me, the largest that it will have ever occupied.”

When finished, the structure will be 20 feet by 20 feet in area and 6 feet deep in volume. It will be on display during the two dys/connect shows on Jan. 30. The first showing will be at 6 p.m., and the last at 8 p.m., but the doors will be open

“The magic is not even the piece itself, it’s the process and it’s the kind of community of people who have the knowledge that come out of that process,” he said, “so even sending 20 more architects out into the world and into the professional workspace with skills that other people don’t have, to me I think that is really special because I think it can, one, advance the field and, two, provide North Carolinians with better opportunities for jobs later on.”

Other than his hope to see myco-made houses, he is excited to see the material take on other forms. He is thrilled about talk of the material replacing foam and fiberglass, and hopes that sustainable materials become the new normal, and that we see them in places like restaurants and office buildings.

“It’s not that it’s surprising that there’s mushrooms there. It’s surprising that they’re not,” he said.

MODERNISM + FILM: ‘MUR MURS’

Returning to Los Angeles from France in 1979, Belgian-born director, screenwriter and artist Agnès Varda began to lens Mur Mur, her kaleidoscopic documentary about the city of angels’ striking murals. Bursting with color and vitality, Mur Murs does more than catalog unusual public art. It’s an invigorating study of community and diversity. Varda travelled to Compton, training her curious camera on a series of murals whose defiance, beauty and simple existence recontextualized L.A. With a punning French-language title that translates as “whispering walls,” Varda captured an unspoken history hidden in plain view.

More: $8-$10; Jan. 26, 7 p.m.; Knight Theater, 420 S. Tryon St.; bechtler.org

Science On The Rocks

According to Discovery Place President and CEO Catherine Wilson Horne, one of the questions she’s heard most from visitors since 2020 is, “When are you bringing back Science on the Rocks?” On Jan. 27, the adults-only science event returns with exclusive preview access to Discovery Place’s new exhibit, Top Secret: License to Spy, plus music, cash bar and engaging experiences that include live science shows and hands-on science lab activities. Trust us, the museum gets a lot cooler without a bunch of ankle biters running around.

More: $18-$22; Jan. 27, 6-10 p.m.; Discovery Place Science, 301 N. Tryon St.; discoveryplace.org

NERDY NIGHT OUT: THE SHARK APPRECIATION SHOW

Sure, a shark’s “got lifeless eyes … like a doll’s eye … until he bites ya and the black eyes roll over white,” but did you know sharks first appeared 455 million years ago, and that they go into a trancelike state when you flip them upside down? Celebrate Kiss a Shark Week with more selachimorpha trivia from marine biologist Andrew Goff and comedians Hype Barnes and Solid Dad Improv Troupe. Goff serves up shark history like buckets of chum, while Solid Dad and Hype Barnes perform shark-themed improv and stand-up.

More: $25; Jan. 28, 8 p.m.; Carolina E-Sports Hub, 3401 St. Vardell Lane; blumenthalarts.org

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, MOMMA

With a knack for sensitive lyrics, memorable melodies and Ben Gibbard’s wistful vocals, Death Cab for Cutie could have phoned it in anywhere along its 20-plus-year career. That the band never did is a testament to its creativity and integrity. Bittersweet and grungy, Death Cab was a respectable progenitor of emo when Transatlanticism catapulted the band to the big time in 2003. Since then, they may have come down commercially, but never creatively. Hell, even impossible-to-please Pitchfork called Death Cab’s masterful 2022 Asphalt Meadows an album that “mostly satisfies.”

More: $45 and up; Jan. 29, 8 p.m.; Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd.; boplex.com

Fashion Night At The Mint

A night of fashion and design programming celebrates the exhibit Fashion Reimagined: Themes and Variations, 1760-Now, which runs through July 2. Five houses from the regional/ local ballroom scene perform the five categories of vogue: catwalk, hands, spins and dips, duckwalk and floor performance, with looks inspired by the 18th-century designs on display in Fashion Reimagined. The opening reception for the Graphic GarMINT installation honors the work of 11 regional/local Black designers. Plus, a guided tour of Fashion Reimagined and MacFly Fresh Printing Co. performing live screen-printing on site.

More: Free; Feb. 1, 5 p.m.; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; mintmuseum.org

‘THE MEN INSIDE’

Inspired by the Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth exhibition at the Gantt through March 12, The Men Inside is a live stage production that honors the paths of Black men who have become change-makers in their community. Presented by Epoch Tribe, Levine Museum, and the Gantt, the production shares personal stories of a group of Black men in Charlotte, and through those few, connections to multitudes are embodied. The show is an open-hearted display of emotional and interpersonal journeys, as well as a beautiful and bold theatrical exploration of the hearts and minds of real Black men.

More: $20-$30; Feb. 2, 7 p.m.; Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St.; ganttcenter.org

‘HEY YOU! AN AFROSTEREOPHONIC JOURNEY’

A work-related incident spurred actor/writer/ director/producer and voice talent Brian Daye to conceive this deeply personal and award-winning one-man play. As Daye traced his upbringing, background and life experiences as a Black man in America, the show came into focus. Charlotte’s OffBroadway, led by producer, writer and director Anne Lambert, presents the show, which is receiving its regional premiere, while Charlotte-based director and theatrical costumer Dee Abdullah directs the production. Previously, Hey You! won Best Performance and Best Playwright from Los Angeles’ Peach Theatre and Film International Festival in 2022.

More: $25; Feb. 3-5, various times; COB’s Black Box Theater in the VAPA Center, 700 N. Tryon St.; charlottesoffbroadway.com

Church Of Sinetology

With cleverly punny branding that conflates geometric oscillating wave forms (sine waves) with that creepy narcissistic cult forever linked to the grinning rictus of Tom Cruise, Sinetology presents a self-described “night of electronic dance-floor therapy featuring live performances and DJs.” The bill features magisterial tone poems from Sinetology head honcho Benjamic Sochko/Lon Lon, plus Leo Wolf’s airy, chiming and moody ruminations on memory, time and dreams. Also, percussionist Ryan Persaud, aka Sweat Transfer’s whirling mad gamelan moves amid windchimes-ina-hail-storm tintinnabulations. We suspect we’re just scratching the surface of this experimental yet welcoming event.

More: $7-10; Feb. 4, 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com

EGO DEATH MACHINE, THE CULT OF CHUNK, MODERNEVERYTHING, JACKSON FIG

With their Bandcamp page devoted to an absurdist deconstruction of an answering machine message, NYC’s Cult of Chunk promise artsy weirdness in the vein of giant eyeball-sporting goofball terrorists The Residents. Charlotte’s stripped-down proto grunge trio Jackson Fig summons the elemental force of an earlier era, when indie was forming and not yet classified — think Greg Sage’s Wipers threading the perfect guitar attack through a maelstrom of noise. Two more Charlotte outfits — post-rock noise trio Ego Death Machine and spiky new wave-accented rockers Moderneverything — fill the bill.

More: $10; Feb. 6, 8 p.m.; The Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road; themilestone.club

ARLIE, WHITEHALL & THE SEWING CLUB

What began as a buoyant solo project from songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Banks has blossomed into Nashville-based band Arlie. The combo keeps touch with Banks’ retro-pop influences while stretching out in experimental lo-fi directions. While Arlie’s 2018 debut EP Wait gave listeners the soaring straightforward single “Poppin,” the title track from the group’s 2022 full length release Break the Curse is a moodier affair. Here, catchy yet candid pop is filtered through hazy haunted production that suggests a journey through mist shrouded forests and an echoing fractured hall of mirrors.

More: $15; Feb. 7, 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Jason Scavone w/ Carly Taich (Evening Muse)

Night Moves w/ Shady Cove (Snug Harbor)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Babytron (The Underground)

FUNK/JAM BANDS

House of Funk (Middle C Jazz)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

We Came as Romans (The Underground)

Dirtybutt w/ Mazerot, ApolloIsLame, Deep October, Quinn Rash (The Milestone)

JAZZ/BLUES

Right to Party (Middle C Jazz)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Savannah Harmon (Comet Grill)

John Craigie w/ Grace Rowland (Visulite Theatre)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Sci-Fi Night (Snug Harbor)

Open Mic

Open Mic Night w/ Chase & “Sug” Aleeia Bolton Brown (Tommy’s Pub)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Lenny Federal (Comet Grill)

Dollar Signs w/ Off With Their Heads, Alright (The Milestone)

Angry Chair (Alice in Chains tribute) w/ Badmotorfinger (Soundgarden) (Visulite Theatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Evening Muse)

GloRilla (The Underground)

Alan Charmer w/ Lofidels, Black Haus (Snug Harbor)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Colt Ford (Coyote Joe’s)

Malcolm Holcombe w/ Bruce Hazel (Evening Muse)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

One Direction v. 5 Seconds of Summer (Amos’ Southend)

The New York Bee Gees (Bee Gees tribute) (Knight Theater)

Shadow Play (Crown Station)

JAZZ/BLUES

Norman Brown (Middle C Jazz)

Ryan Saranich Trio w/ Big Nasty Horn Driven Groove Machine, Rhiannon Dewey (Petra’s)

FUNK/JAM BANDS

Electric Dynamite (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Trent Thompson w/ Rigometrics (Evening Muse)

Doubting Thomas (Neighborhood Theatre)

Knowne Ghost w/ Crenshaw Pentecostal, Featherpocket (Petra’s)

Waking Tera w/ Solarist, State of Illusion, Dovecage (The Rooster)

The Coyotes w/ Secret Guest, Pet Bug (Snug Harbor)

Van Huskins w/ Bog Loaf, Neon Deaths (Tommy’s Pub)

JAZZ/BLUES

Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Knight Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Randy Franklin & the Sardines (Comet Grill)

Lucy Kaplansky (Evening Muse)

JAZZ/BLUES

Norman Brown (Middle C Jazz)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

The Breakfast Club (‘80s tribute) (Amos Southend)

Figure w/ ill.Gates (Crown Station)

Diital Noir w/ DJ Spider, DJ Valefor (The Milestone)

Rocky Horror Music Show w/ Double Love & the Trouble (Visulite Theatre)

FUNK/JAM BANDS

Chris Reed & the Bad Kids (Smokey Joe’s Cafe & Bar)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Death Cab for Cutie w/ Momma (Ovens Auditorium)

Steel Panther (The Fillmore)

Violent Life Violent Death w/ Severed by Dawn, Reflect//Refine, Neverfall (The Milestone)

Fault Union w/ Fear Illusion, Victim Complex (The Rooster)

Kevin Marshall & Friends (Tommy’s Pub)

JAZZ/BLUES

Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill)

Frank McComb (Middle C Jazz)

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band w/ Paleface (Neighborhood Theatre)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Way Down Wanderers w/ Hustle Souls (Evening Muse)

MONDAY, JANUARY 30

JAZZ/BLUES

The Bill Hanna Legacy Jazz Session (Petra’s)

Matt Postle’s Monthly Jazz Jam Session (Tommy’s Pub)

OPEN MIC

Find Your Muse feat. John Brewster (Evening Muse)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Neko Case w/ Indigo Sparke (Knight Theater)

FUNK/JAM BANDS

Red Rocking Chair (Comet Grill)

Cosmic Jam Session (Crown Station)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Rob Leines (Snug Harbor)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Token (The Underground)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Pony Bradshaw w/ Grayson Jenkins (Evening Muse)

JAZZ/BLUES

Stephanie Streater & the Phil Howe Quartet (Middle C Jazz) FUNK/JAM BANDS

Tauk Moore w/ Funk You (Neighborhood Theatre)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

The Real Dolls w/ North By North, Benton (Petra’s)

Comino w/ Mel Machete, Mystery Girl, DJ Fat Keith Richards (Snug Harbor)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Infinite Soul (Middle C Jazz)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

NC Bluegrass Jam Night (Birdsong Brewing)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Hullabalo0, Joneses, Poetic, & Expand (Crown Station)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

True Lilith w/ Wastoid, Babe Haven, Oh! You Pretty Things (The Milestone)

Lucero w/ Justin Wells (Neighborhood Theatre)

Roman Candles w/ Shake the Dust (The Rooster)

Gel w/ Big Laugh, Mutant Strain, Plan B (Snug Harbor)

Jeremy’s Ten (Pearl Jam tribute) (Visulite Theatre)

HIP-HOP/SOUL/R&B

Fantasia w/ Joe (Bojangles Coliseum)

JAZZ/BLUES

Adam Hawley (Middle C Jazz)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Charlotte Symphony: Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 (Knight Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Scott McCreery (Coyote Joe’s)

Caroline Keller Band w/ Jordan Allen & the Bellwethers, The Jenkins Twins (Evening Muse)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Trash Panda w/ Brooke Garwood and Babe Honey (Evening Muse)

Seneca Burns w/ Circuit, Home for the Day, Subvertigo (The Milestone)

Harriet RIP (The Rooster)

‘90s Invasion (Alice in Chains, No Doubt, Pearl Jam tributes) (Amos’ Southend)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Bikini Bottom Rave (The Underground)

Sinetology (Petra’s)

Break Free (Snug Harbor)

JAZZ/BLUES

Patrick Lamb (Middle C Jazz)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Nicholas Jamerson w/ Pierce Edens (Evening Muse)

CLASSICAL/INSTRUMENTAL

Charlotte Symphony: Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 (Knight Theater)

LATIN/WORLD/REGGAE

Vive Chihuahua (Bojangles Coliseum)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Aurora’s Hope w/ XBound, Momophobia (The Milestone)

JAZZ/BLUES

Maria Howell sings Billie Holiday (Middle C Jazz)

Shana Blake Blues Jam (Neighborhood Theatre)

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Big Gigantic (The Fillmore)

Hazy Sunday (Petra’s)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Ego Death Machine w/ The Cult of Chunk, ModernEverything, Jackson Fig (The Milestone)

OPEN MIC

Find Your Muse Open Mic feat. Sam Brasko (Evening Muse)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

POP/DANCE/ELECTRONIC/DJ

Arlie w/ Whitehall, The Sewing Club (Neighborhood Theatre)

FUNK/JAM BANDS

Cosmic Jam Session (Crown Station)

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