5 minute read
LIFEWAVE
A DOSE OF VIRTUAL REALITY People have always relied on our Lifeline and Soundwave to give them ideas on what to do. We like to say there’s no excuse to stay at home, but now that’s not the case. However, there are still plenty of things to do from the comfort of your couch, and we’ve compiled a few ideas to help you pass the time.
CHILDREN’S THEATRE SUMMER CAMPS
What: Children’s Theatre of Charlotte’s summer camps are still a go; they’ve just moved online. Primary Camps for K-2nd grade help kids develop primary acting chops with a sprinkling of additional dance, music and art activities. For 3rd-6th grade, Performance Camps teach campers to create characters and stories with their own scripted scenes and monologues. Lightning strikes and thunber rumbles for the Teen Studio Radio Play, where campers create a spine-chilling adaptation of Frankenstein, incorporating live sound effects like an old-time radio drama. All camps meet via Zoom and include performance showcases. More: $149; June 19-26; ctcharlotte.org/Online
THE CURRENT
What: Charlotte New Music presents its weekly show The Current: Classical to Contemporary & Beyond every Tuesday night. Each live show features a mix of local and nationally recognized musicians and composers working in fields ranging from classical to contemporary and beyond. Three amazing guitarists - David Torn, Troy Conn and Dom - are on deck for June 9. The audience is encouraged to participate with ongoing chat and Q&A sessions. More: Free; June 9 & 16, 8 p.m.; tinyurl.com/TheCurrentCLT
SAPPY HOUR WITH NIC ROBINSON
What: Petra’s continues its popular pairing of virtual music and digital mixology lesson with Sappy Hour. Nic Robinson of The Business People plays his brand of melodic muscular alt rock, and the featured cocktail is the Pomegranate Margarita, one of the most popular drinks on Petra’s menu. Sip away while swingin’ to the songs. Donations are not required but would be deeply appreciated. More: Venmo: @nichospaceace; June 8, 6 p.m.; tinyurl.com/SappyHour
QUEEN CITY TELETHON-ROOFTOP DRIVE-IN CONCERT
What: Three businesses — Hattie’s Tap & Tavern, Abari Game Bar and Tommy’s Pub — have banded together with Four Finger Records to throw one amazing drive-in concert. The show, limited to 35 cars, will feature rooftop performances by Solis, Petrov and more. Proceeds go to the participating bands and bars, and the accompanying livestream offers raffles and other fundraising efforts. More: $40 per car; June 13, 3:30 p.m.; Abari Game Bar, 1721 N. Davidson; tinyurl.com/QCTele
DRIVE-IN NIGHTS AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
What: The last time I was at the drive-in, my friend Lori fell off the playground’s swing set, we all drank too much beer, and the feature was the 1983 misfire Stoker Ace, a purported comedy where Burt Reynolds drives a race car dressed as a chicken. At least it was shot at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But that was then. Nowadays CLT Motor Speedway hosts two family-friendly movie nights featuring the animated smash Despicable Me on Saturday, and Soul Surfer, a faith-based biopic about a surfer who survives a shark attack, on Sunday. Of the $100 per car fee, $70 goes to support the recovery programs at Charlotte Rescue Mission. More: $100 per car; June 6, 6 p.m. & June 7, 6 p.m.; Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Pkwy S., Concord; tinyurl.com/CMSDriveIn
GOODYEAR ARTS ‘JOYRIDE’
What: Goodyear Arts bridges the gap between virtual happening and face-to-face experiences with a drivethru art and performance show. audience members will cruise through Camp North End’s sprawling warren of streets, encountering dance pieces, poetry readings, live music, theater performances and films projected on warehouse walls — all from the comfort and safety of their cars. More: June 6 & 7; Camp North End, 1824 Statesville Ave.; www.goodyeararts.com/joyride
What: As the Charlotte Film Society rejuvenates their Virtual Screening Room collection of foreign and indie art films that you can’t see anywhere else, one of their new movies feels particularly relevant in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. American Trial: The Eric Garner Story is an unscripted courtroom drama that imagines a criminal trial that never happened — one against the police officer who choked Garner to death in 2014. The audience is the jury, providing a verdict that Garner’s family never had the chance to hear. More: $12 for 48 hours; charlottefilmsociety.com
What: Charlotte rock band Phantom Friends has always drawn on jazz, funk and progressive rock; and all these influences are brought to bear on the latest single “One Drug,” a swinging slice of melodic alt rock that pack a serious, and ultimately uplifting, message. With a filmed-in-quarantine music video completed in late May to coincide with the single’s release, the song tackles anxiety, depression and overcoming addiction with an easy assuredness. This is a rarity: adult-themed rock that remains vital and surprising. More: tinyurl.com/PhantomOneDrug
PHANTOM FRIENDS: ‘ONE DRUG’
What: Really, love is all our animals want. Okay, they also want food, water, attention, playtime, walks and the opportunity to bite our toes and run away. But underpinning it all is uncritical love. Now kids can immortalize their close and furry friends with art. Instructor Molly Partyka shows kids how to personalize their pets step-by-step. Pre-K-2nd graders will learn to draw textured fur and unique details for collars and tags on top of the basic lines and shapes that form dogs, cats and bunnies. More: $20-25; June 10, 10 a.m.; tinyurl.com/ McCollFurryFriends
CONNECTED ART WORKSHOP: FURRY FRIENDS
XOXOK: ‘RIGHT ON’
What: XOXOK, otherwise known as North Carolina musician Keenan Jenkins, released his latest single in late May, but “Right On” is likely to remain vital and thought-provoking for years to come. With plangent guitars, crystalline keyboards and his smooth and soaring vocals, Jenkins laments a life — and light — gone out. In 2016, the day after he defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of North Carolina, Jenkins learned that Philando Castile was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer and the news evoked feelings of anger, helplessness and grief. “I wrote this song as a reminder that my education is not a shield, and that I could be next,” Jenkins wrote. All these emotions and more are contained in this lilting, spiritual and haunting R&B tune. More: tinyurl.com/XOXOKRightOn
What: Normally it’s not a big deal when a national electronic music artist comes rolling through town. But these are not normal times, so literally anyone playing any venue is a big deal. How does Marc Rebillet do it? The secret lies in the venues he chooses. The artist best known for layering humorous improvised vocals over tracks composed on a loop station, keyboards and percussion, is undertaking a drive-in only tour. The tour brings him to Hounds Drive-in in Kings Mountain, where his set should fit in nicely with the venue’s diet of retro family flicks and R-rated horror movies. More: Sold out; June 11, 8 p.m.; Hounds Drive-In, 114 Raven Circle, Kings Mountain; iwannahotbox. com; nightout.com/events/marc-rebillet-drive-intour-charlotte-nc-june-11/tickets
