Josh Lanier on Charlotte Arts & Culture
RevueDecember 2011
 |
12/27/11Tosco Music Party Rings in 2011
John Tosco has been inviting people into his living room -- first, his literal one and later a figurative one -- to hear live music for more than twenty years. Many local and regional singer-songwriters have gotten their start with and because of Tosco. His music parties are always all about the music. This New Year's Eve variety show is a little different. (A clairvoyant will be there, for one thing.) Tosco stopped in for a chat about his upcoming party. All are invited. Learn more. Revue: Your Tosco Music Party is legendary for featuring well-known and new talent. How is your New Year's Eve party similar and/or... Read more » Posted at 02:16 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/26/11Weekend Top Picks for Dec 30-Jan 1: Spongetones, etc.
Me? Oh, I'll be going to visit one of my BFFs in Savannah and doing what we usually do for New Year's weekend: Planting ourselves on her sectional sofa and practically taking root. On New Year's Day 2010, we got off the couch and out of our PJs only because the delivery guy was there with our Chinese takeout -- for dinner -- and we thought it bad form to still be in our pajamas. So, we changed into something much dressier: sweats. But generally, elastic waistbands are our attire for the weekend. Sharon and I will get off the couch this weekend for two reasons. One is to get more wine. (Preferably, one of her kids will walk by right as we need a refill, and we'll get them to do it. But, they're not always reliable.) The other is to get a... Read more » Posted at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/20/11Weekend Top Picks for Dec 23-25: Be Joyful!
I know I'm a holiday curmudgeon. I can own that label. I'm not a full participant in the holidays: I don't get a tree (although I have been feeling an odd sense of sadness for the misfit trees that won't be chosen). I don't send cards. I'd rather see a movie about a homicidal Santa than a feel-good holiday favorite. But even a Grinch like me isn't immune to O, Come All Ye Faithful, the excitement my nephew and other kids in my life (my dear Godson and his siblings) feel about Santa's annual visit, and the hope that is inherent in Christmas morning. So, this weekend, my best bets are: Love your family and the friends who make up your extended family. What would life be without... Read more » Posted at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/18/11Sing it, Mama
Talk about versatility. Julie Johnson, who plays "Mama" in the touring company of Memphis, has also played Patsy Cline in eight productions of A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline and Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show, and she's the voice of Baby Bop on Barney and Friends. Oh, and she's appeared on As The World Turns and appeared at Carnegie Hall with Skitch Henderson. Johnson brings her big voice and considerable talent to Charlotte when she comes to town Jan 3-8 with the rest of the touring company in the Tony-winning musical. She dialed in... Read more » Posted at 06:42 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/13/11Weekend Top Picks for Dec 16-18: A Not-to-be-Missed Movie and More
Sit down. Take a load off. You've been out there fighting the crowds at the malls. Wrapping gifts. Attending parties -- some of which you didn't want to attend. (Admit it.) Give yourself a little gift this weekend, and head to one of Charlotte's best cultural bets -- one of which has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. Koolhaas: Houselife. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art's Architecture + Film series is packin' em in one Friday each month. This film promises to be the best of the lot they've screened all year. It's the tale of a famous modernist house in Bordeaux designed by the uber-cool Rem Koolhaas, as told from the point of view of the housekeeper. Friday. Cocktails at 6 p.m.; screening and discussion at 7... Read more » Posted at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/12/11Rock On!
Born in 1988, Dominique (Dom) Scott didn't rock out through the decade of big hair and big music, but he has an innate appreciation for it. Part of that comes from his dad, who was a rock star back in the day. His father's band, Hollow Spirit, toured in Europe throughout the decade. Scott describes their sound as "hair metal meets British invasion." Dom Scott, who plays "Drew" (a role originated by American Idol's Constantine Maroulis on Broadway) in Rock of Ages, talks as is he lived through the era of parachute pants, guyliner, and leg warmers. "The era was a huge part of American culture," he said. Here's what else he told us about the show, the decade,... Read more » Posted at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
 |
12/09/11The World's Most Over-Educated Band
One listen to The Balsa Glider's new EP, Photographic Friends (and specifically to the song, "Maybe Ted and Ashley"), and you'll wish the guys would quit their day jobs, make more music, and tour constantly. But, then you realize the guys have an M.D., J.D.s, and a Ph.D. (and there's also a graduate degree in divinity) and that they probably didn't get all that schoolin' not to use it. Which is too bad for their fans. They play maybe four or five gigs a year and rehearse nine or ten times a year. That's how it goes when your bandmates live in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Philly. But, their songwriter... Read more » Posted at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/09/11Q&A with Rebekah Newman
Rebekah Newman is the Charlotte Symphony's newest member and its principal violist. When the Charlotte newcomer isn't playing with the orchestra, you might find her at Dean & Deluca, Amelie's, or salsa dancing. On Dec 14, you'll find her with the rest of the symphony -- and the Oratorio Singers -- performing the majestic Messiah. Details here. Charlotte magazine: What led you to Charlotte? Rebekah Newman: When I saw that the Charlotte Symphony was holding a principal viola audition, I didn't hesitate sending... Read more » Posted at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/07/11Weekend Top Picks for Dec 9-11: It's A Wonderful Life, and More
Are we having fun yet? There is boundless joy in addressing holiday cards, decorating the tree -- and then watering it and trying to keep it from toppling over -- navigating the mall, remembering to move the Elf on the Shelf each night, enduring the holiday office party and planning the family get-togethers. It's enough to make anyone say, "Bah, humbug." Get your holiday spirit back with one (or more!) of many holiday classics being staged around town. It's A Wonderful Life. Don't just settle for the TV version -- although no one has ever looked more radiant than Donna Reed as Mrs. George Bailey. (With the possible exception of Grace Kelly in Rear Window.) The live adaptation of the... Read more » Posted at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/06/11"Mr. Christmas" Brings Glad Tidings to The Queen City
Pianist Jim Brickman blends his knowledge of the classics with his penchant for pop and New Age. He enrolled in the Cleveland Institute of Music in his late teens. The focus was classical, but Brickman was drawn to more mainstream music. At nineteen, he went commercial--literally--when he began writing jingles for such corporate giants as the Gap, Sprint, and Kellogg's. But, he really hit the big time when he started working with Jim Henson and the Muppets. In 2007, he found what may have been his true calling: Christmas music. He released the holiday-themed Homecoming. Since then, there have been more holiday-themed recordings -- The Gift, Joy,... Read more » Posted at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/04/11The Angel Clarence and The Richest Man in Town
The story of George Bailey is the story of failing banks, crushing unemployment, and a shortage of affordable housing. Ripped from today’s headlines, you say? Well, yes, but Frank Capra’s screenplay was set during the Great Depression. In the stage adaptation at Booth Playhouse, it’s Christmas Eve 1945, and a handful of radio actors have braved the blizzard to perform that evening’s broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life. Charlotte native Willie Repoley, who wrote the play, chatted with us about his madcap version and the timeless themes inherent in the tale of an everyman who finds out one snowy Christmas Eve just how lost his family, friends, and hometown would have been, had he never lived. ... Read more » Posted at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/02/11When A Sporting Event Is In Our Ten Best Bets ...
I owe readers and Jim Brickman an apology. But, I'll get to that in a sec. First, I hate sports. I don't understand them. In a sports-obsessed world, there was a time I tried to feign an interest. I'm beyond that. Over the years, acquaintances who know I went to Wake Forest have said to me, "How 'bout those Deacs?" I've wanted to ask if they were referring to football or basketball. A nine-year-old friend of my nephew's recently told me he had a doubleheader. I congratulated him. Someone who overheard whispered, "Um, that just means he played two... Read more » Posted at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
12/01/11The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Sick of the season yet? No? We'll give it time. It's still early. There are plenty of shows and concerts that celebrate the Christmas season. (And, I'll be blogging about those.) But, what if you just don't feel like being jolly? Here's what I plan to see to sustain my Grinch-hood. Rachael Yamagata. Her new album is nicer and gentler than Elephants ... Teeth Seeking into Heart, but I'm betting she still has her angry edge. ("If the tiger shall protect her young/Then tell me how did you slip by?/All my instincts have failed me for once./I must have somehow slept the whole night./And, I am dreaming of them with their kill/Tearing it all apart/Blood... Read more » Posted at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
11/30/11BFD of the Month: Rachael Yamagata
Everyone's short on cash and time these days. If you have just one cultural outing this month, let it be our BFD. There's plenty of holiday-themed stuff going on this month to get you sufficiently into the spirit of the season. But, I'm just Scrooge-y enough to bypass the holly and the ivy to recommend instead a decidedly anti-holiday outing as your BFD. Rachael Yamagata sings -- and beautifully -- of heartbreak and isolation. (Some would say that's about right for this time of year.) Although the singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist has toured with Mandy Moore, she's not in the least bit "bubble-gum." And, her latest release, Chesapeake, finds her a bit happier... Read more » Posted at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
 |
11/28/11Opera Newbies Have a Chance to Win Free Tickets to Madama Butterfly
No one in the audience for the Jan 28, 2012 performance of Madama Butterfly at Belk Theater will have paid to be there. That's because The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Opera Carolina are out to deflower any opera virgins. They're collaborating to make it possible for opera newbies to experience one of the grandest operas ever written. At no charge.
The Knight Foundation has reserved every seat for the Jan 28 performance of Puccini's masterpiece. Every. Seat. Anyone who has never attended an Opera Carolina performance is eligible to enter online (one entry per person) for a maximum of two free tickets at Posted at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
