5 minute read
LIFELINE
JONATHAN GREEN’S ‘SWEET GRASS CARRIERS’ Artwork by Jonathan Green
12/03
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The latest in a long list of movies-turned-musicals, An Officer and a Gentlemen follows in the choreographed footsteps of musicals made from Flashdance and Dirty Dancing. It’s based on the 1982 Academy Award-winning film where Richard Gere’s Navy pilot Zach sweeps Debra Winger’s factory worker Paula off her feet. Before reaching that Cinderella moment, the plot touches on the desperation of people trapped in a dead-end existence. Officer the musical flopped in 2012 when it debuted with an original score, and has since been retooled as a jukebox musical featuring an array of ’80s hits. More: $25 and up; Dec. 7 -12 ; Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd.; blumenthalarts.org
GET SAD Y’ALL Courtesy of Amos’ Southend
12/04
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Chameleon Street, the only feature produced, written and directed by Black filmmaker Wendell B. Harris Jr., won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1990, but never got a distribution deal. Harris stars as Douglas Street, a real-life impersonator who assumed the role of lawyer, journalist, athlete and doctor — performing 36 successful hysterectomies. According to Harris, Street was successful in these roles because he knew white people as well as himself, and understood what whites expect from a Black man. Ahead of its time in 1990, Chameleon Street is ahead of its time now. More: Free; Dec. 1, 5 p.m.; Mint Museum Uptown, 500 S. Tryon St.; mintmuseum.org
NIGE HOOD AND THE FOLK RAP BAND
In February, Nige Hood and the Folk Rap Band, comprised of vocalist Hood, guitarist Zach Willard, bassist Maxwell Williams and drummer Eugene Speer, dropped their ebullient single “Bowl in the Woods” as a valentine to their listeners. The song, which garnered a feature from stoner icon Afro Man, weaves a laidback slinky groove with curls of honey-toned guitar, bouncing bass, jazzy hip-hop drums and Hood’s finegrained croon: “I took a day trip from this crazy city / I’ve got my girl, my friends and my bud with me.” More: $7; Dec. 2, 8 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com
AN EVENING WITH JONATHAN GREEN GET SAD Y’ALL
Acclaimed for his vibrant depictions of everyday life in the Lowcountry, artist Green boasts a modern and cosmopolitan perspective as he looks to the familiar images of his ancestral home for the subjects of his paintings. Through his narrative style, Green captures and records the rich cultural heritage of the Gullah community in which he was raised. Green’s work has been embraced by collectors and critics throughout the world. The intimate evening with the acclaimed artist celebrates the release of his newest book, Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green. More: $25-$50; Dec. 3, 6 p.m.; Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St.; ganttcenter.org Remember when you struggled mightily to squeeze into your skinny jeans, wouldn’t leave the house without painstakingly applied eyeliner and were into Sonny Moore long before he became Skrillex? Get Sad Y’all hosts a holiday-themed emo night featuring two bands. Atlanta pop-rock combo Glimmers draw influences from the melodic sounds of Mayday Parade and the lyrics of All Time Low. Greensboro alt-pop three-piece Lowborn cites PVRIS and Twenty One Pilots as inspirations. A DJ will also spin classics from Taking Back Sunday, Paramore, My Chemical Romance and more. More: $12-$15; Dec. 4, 7 p.m.; Amos’ Southend, 1423 S. Tryon St.; amossouthend.com
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MODERNISM + FILM: ‘YOUNG SOUL REBELS’
A man is stabbed to death in a London park where gay men cruise in 1977. Unbeknownst to his killer, the victim has recorded his murder on a cassette tape. Meanwhile, a pirate radio station spins soul and reggae in de ance of the oppressive BBC. Isaac Julian’s 1991 thriller/musical/romance/coming-ofage story Young Soul Rebels features enough plot to fuel 12 movies, and it also investigates gay Black themes, a rarity today, much less the 1990s. More: Free; Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m.; Bechtler Museum, 420 S. Tryon St.; bechtler.org
BARAN DANCE PRESENTS TWO X FIVE
Audrey Baran and Baran Dance have achieved much more than earning Best Dancer/Dance Troupe in last year’s Best in the Nest. Baran’s troupe has embraced dancers of diverse genders, identities, races and backgrounds, and has applied this open-door policy to present cutting-edge experimental pieces. Two x Five is billed as a series of tiny dances. The evening is comprised of ve duets featuring 10 dancers for one night with two showtimes. The afterparty features indie-rock powerhouse Modern Moxie. More: $10-$15; Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.; Petra’s, 1919 Commonwealth Ave.; petrasbar.com
HELLFIRE 76, OCCULT FRACTURE
Our forebears celebrated Yule/The Winter Solstice when the lifegiving sun returned after the darkest, shortest day of the year. So, why not embrace the darkness with a pair of dark-noise/metal bands with occult-inspired names. Hell re 67 boasts “taboo lyrics served over blues-infected sludge.” The jittery drums and buzzsaw guitars of tunes like “Wicked Mystic” recall the bloodcurdling assault of Killing Joke. Fronted by Crystal Crosby’s banshee wail, Occult Fracture ranges from the pitched combat cacophony of “Suicide Pact” to the stuttering guitar grind of “Chrysalis.” More: $10; Dec. 11, 8 p.m.; Tommy’s Pub, 3124 Eastway Dr., Ste. 710; facebook.com/tommyspub
CLASSIC BLACK CINEMA: ‘SOUNDER’
A 1972 family lm that is not merely for children, Sounder focuses on a Black sharecropper family in 1930s Louisiana. A 13-year-old boy undertakes an odyssey to nd his father, who’s been hauled o to a labor camp for stealing food for his poverty-stricken family. Along the way, the boy (Kevin Hooks) encounters a teacher who opens his eyes to Black accomplishments — the kind of thing that today’s conservatives are trying to blot out with their movement against so-called Critical Race Theory. For her performance as the mother of the struggling family, Cicely Tyson garnered an Oscar nomination. More: $9; Dec. 12, 2 p.m.; Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St.; ganttcenter.org
‘YOUNG SOUL REBELS’ Film still
12/08
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PRESERVATION HALL ALL-STAR CHRISTMAS
Keepers of New Orleans’ traditional Dixieland jazz ame, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band has been holding court at their titular French Quarter venue since the 1960s. Preservation Hall also hosts the All-Stars, an ensemble drawn from 50-plus practitioners of traditional New Orleans jazz. Think of the Preservation All-Stars as a landing party drawn from The Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s mothership. Combining the trad jazz repertoire with the Crescent City’s genre-blending, cross-pollinated musical landscape, the All-Stars perform holiday favorites with a traditional New Orleans jazz twist. More: $20; Dec. 9-10, 8 p.m.; Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St.; blumenthalarts.org
THE PRESERVATION ALL-STARS Promotional photo
12/09-12/10
