Queen City Nerve - February 26, 2020

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7; FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 10, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

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DISH GOES DARK PG. 24

CIAA GUIDE 2020: PARTY LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST CHANCE ARTS

GEORGIE NAKIMA PAINTS THE TOWN PG. 14

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Out of this world dentistry finally in your neighborhood!

-Offering Whole Family Dentistry & Oral Surgery specialty care on an extended schedule

-Locally owned

NEWS& OPINION

7am-7pm and select Saturdays

6 RAISING THE ISSUE BY RYAN PITKIN Clearing up confusion about Raise the Age

7 FELINE FEUD BY RYAN PITKIN Southern Tiger Collective points fingers after vandalism, theft 8 LEGALIZE IT BY D. MICHAEL BROOKS 9 THE SCANNER BY RYAN PITKIN

10 CIAA GUIDE 2020: THE FINAL HURRAH Party like it’s your last chance

ARTS

14 A KINDRED SPIRIT BY PAT MORAN

Georgie Nakima connects people, places and plants

No Insurance? No Problem! Ask about our in-house Dental Savings Plan

16 HOW TO NOT KILL YOUR SOCIAL LIFE

www.StellarDentalCLT.com

University

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MUSIC

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18 LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON BY GRANT BRITT David and Robert Childers bond somewhere between heaven and hell 20 SOUNDWAVE

24 DISH GOES DARK BY RYAN PITKIN Lewis Donald invites the night crowd into popular daytime diner

Tune in to WCCB News Edge every week night at 10:30 p.m.

Get a glimpse at the next issue with our editor-in-chief every other Tuesday night

LIFELINE

25 THE NEWBIE FOODIE: BARGAIN BURGER SHOWDOWN BY DARREL HORWITZ

LIFESTYLE

FOOD& DRINK

26 THE BUZZ 27 SUDOKU 27 CROSSWORD 28 HOROSCOPE 29 THE SEEKER BY KATIE GRANT 30 SAVAGE LOVE

FOOD

DISH GOES DARK PG. 24

CIAA GUIDE 2020: PARTY LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST CHANCE ARTS

GEORGIE NAKIMA PAINTS THE TOWN PG. 14

COVER DESIGN BY: JAYME JOHNSON

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE RAISING THE ISSUE Clearing up confusion around Raise the Age

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BY RYAN PITKIN

It first appeared in a release sent to media

by CMPD on Jan. 16 about two teenage boys who had carjacked a man at gunpoint in the Ashford Place apartment complex in southwest Charlotte. After describing how the two boys pulled a gun on the victim and drove off in his car before later being found and arrested, the release stated, “Both suspects were 17-year-old males and were charged as juveniles due to ‘Raise the Age’ legislation placed into effect in late 2019.”

The statement was a reference to legislation that went into effect on Dec. 1, 2019, that made it so that 16- and 17-yearolds charged with crimes were no longer automatically charged as adults and would be held in custody at North Detention Center, as opposed to Mecklenburg County Jail with the adult population. The legislation was passed with bipartisan support from all three branches of government and many law enforcement groups. In fact, North Carolina was the last state in the country to pass Raise the Age legislation.

But the releases seemed to be hinting that there was a problem.

The department continued to reference the legislation in press releases such as one from Jan. 18: “Five Teenagers Charged as Juveniles in Armed Carjacking.” Then on Jan. 20: “Three Teenagers Shoot, Rob Teenage Victim during Drug Transaction.” Every few days, the department would work in a reference to Raise the Age, until on Feb. 5, they came out and said it.

At a CMPD press conference held that day, the department brought on Maj. Mike Campagna to discuss the effects of Raise the Age, citing requests for data from local media. Campagna stated that, at that point, there had been 38 violent cases involving juveniles aged 16 or 17 since the legislation went into effect, 32 of which were armed robberies and one was a murder.

He referred to the “burden” that Raise the Age has

put on CMPD officers.

“When you have a juvenile in the system, they have a lot more rights and protections and there’s a lot more time involved in dealing with juveniles, so a simple arrest of an adult may take two hours when you get to the jail, a simple arrest of a juvenile may take five hours to get them through the process,” he said. “Understandable when you’re dealing with a juvenile, but we have to manage that time, and it’s well known that we’re already strapped for manpower. So it does create a burden for us, but I can assure you that we’re working through it.”

The response was predictable. In the Facebook comments of the press conference live-stream, a user named Kevin Boyd was the first to sound off: “These juvys[sic] get away with it all. They know there’s no punishment. There has to be some new laws enacted for juveniles who routinely break the law.”

That night, WCNC ran a story in which reporter Alex Shabad stated, “Since the law passed, police say it’s too early to tell about the long-term impact, but it’s already having a short-term impact,” before going into a story about two teenagers committing a violent crime spree that ended in an attempted carjacking in

charged with felonies ranging in class from A-G, including murder, rape, robbery and assault — are sent directly to superior court to face those charges, as has always been the case.

Those charged with H or I felonies — including larceny, domestic violence and fraud — or other crimes may face the Superior Court but will most likely be sent through the juvenile justice system.

Dr. Keith Cradle, youth program director with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, cleared it up for us when we sat down with him and Sheriff Garry McFadden recently.

“It’s the same court system, I think people are just neglecting that fact,” he said. “The fact is just that they’re under the juvenile system, and those cases will go through juvenile court, meaning that there could be possibly less time and they won’t be charged as adults.” He added that the suspect may have a chance to have a charge taken off their record as an adult, in certain circumstances.

McFadden emphasized that charges do not change based on age under the new law.

“We’re going to not place 17 year olds down in the same facility with adults.

They still get charged with the crime.,” he said. “If a 16-year-old shoots and kills someone, he is going to be charged with murder, he’s not going to be charged with junior murder. Now he’s going to be housed differently, because he’s not going SHERIFF GARRY MCFADDEN (CENTER) WITH GUARDS AT THE CENTRAL DETENTION CENTER PSYCHIATRIC UNIT. to be housed with the 35-year-old murderer PHOTO BY YEN DUONG/N.C. HEALTH NEWS downtown, and that’s the difference.”

Cradle has been working with A reporter then asked Campagna whether Raise Ballantyne. One of the suspects was 17 years old.

McFadden on a number of progressive programs, the Age would be harmful or hurtful from a law“I had no idea he was a 17-year-old guy until the such as his Camp Cradle summer recreation program, enforcement standpoint. middle of the day,” said resident Burton Fulton, who a full-service high school and barber training at “That’s a challenge,” he answered. “I believe the held the suspect at gunpoint along with another the detention center where juveniles are held. For spirit of the law is that we put juveniles in a different neighbor, who then shot the suspect. “To me he just McFadden, having access to those programs and environment when they come into contact with the looked like a big guy who was there to do bad things.” keeping young suspects separate from the adult ones criminal justice system, so hopefully long term what we It’s the kind of quote that reporters love, as it ties in Uptown is key. find is kids aren’t spending time incarcerated learning right in with the narrative that Raise the Age has left “I think that’s where people get mixed up by to become better criminals. They have different Charlotte police dealing with a growing population saying that it is a different program, then all of a opportunities, they have different interventions. That’s of violent teenagers. But that’s a false narrative. sudden we’ve got more violent youth,” McFadden our hope for the long term. Short term it’s a challenge, The idea that anyone has to “deal with” violent said. “It’s the same thing happening, we’re just because a lot of our violence unfortunately does occur teens in some new way, as Campagna stated, is built housing them, placing them differently. I’m at the hands of young people … so we have to be able on a misconception that Raise the Age is allowing speaking not from research, I’m speaking from to balance those two things; think about those long- violent criminals back out onto the streets. experience. These kids that I dealt with in the ’90s, in term goals, getting kids out of the system early and In reality, Raise the Age only changes the process the 2000s, they were violent kids then too, we’re just hopefully they don’t get back into the system, but in the through which people aged 16 or 17 who have treating them differently, as we should, and then we short term we have to deal with dangerous people who been charged with crimes go through the system. give them a better platform to spring from.” happen to be 16 and 17 years old.”

Suspects in violent crimes — those who have been RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE FELINE FEUD Southern Tiger Collective points fingers after vandalism, theft

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BY RYAN PITKIN

A dispute between neighboring businesses in Optimist Park was made public on Feb. 17, as the owners of the local artist co-op Southern Tiger Collective (STC) took to Instagram to speak out about an incident that occurred on Feb. 10 in which they say thousands of dollars worth of property was STC’S TWO-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY. damaged or stolen.

STC owners accused Cathy Tuman, who owns Moates told Queen City Nerve they believed Tuman Smelly Cat Coffee House in NoDa and rents damaged the property because it was blocking the warehouse space in the same building that’s home delivery of a large shipment to her loading dock on to STC, of destroying thousands of dollars worth the morning of Feb. 10. of property that was left outside following the Though there is no surveillance footage or collective’s two-year anniversary party on Feb. 9. witnesses to the There is no evidence incident, they say that Tuman was that when they first behind the incident, contacted Tuman though the public about it on Feb. 10, feud has brought a she stated that they situation to light that should have cleaned appears to leave STC’s up their mess and future at its home hung up the phone. on North Davidson In an Instagram Street in question. story post put up In a police report

by STC after going filed on Feb. 10, the public with their artists stated that allegations, a man unknown suspects made a delivery stole two tents worth to the front door $450 total, one of of Smelly Cat’s which belonged to warehouse and the party’s sponsor, confirms that he the Carolina Equality usually delivers DEALING WITH THE DAMAGE through the front on PHOTO COURTESY OF STC Festival. They also Monday, as opposed listed a $2,000 Big to using the loading dock in the back.

Green Egg smoker grill as stolen. That item belonged For her part, Tuman would not speak directly to Justin Zalewski, a friend of the collective who about the situation, telling Queen City Nerve that often cooks at parties hosted in the space.

Listed as damaged in the report were two murals she would allow the police to do their job.

“We just were robbed at Smelly Cat,” she stated valued at $2,000; a tiger sculpture valued at $3,500; over text message. “We filed a police report, had a mural cube frame used for live-painting events camera footage, and let the police handle it. This such as Battle Walls, valued at $1,000; chairs; a clothing rack and a wooden block display. In total, is what people do. I did not involve social media or the items damaged amount to more than $9,000. print in order to social bully.”

DeLarge said he only publicized the incident STC co-founders Alex DeLarge and Dustin

because he has not heard anything from the police about the case and Tuman does not return his calls.

Delarge admitted that he and other STC members should have cleaned up the mess from the party on the night it was held, but stated that if Tuman would have contacted him, he would have moved the stuff out of the delivery truck’s way and reimbursed PHOTO BY JUSTIN LAFRANCOIS her for any losses her business suffered due to the delay.

There are other people with potential motive for targeting STC, including a small group of men who were kicked out of the anniversary party as it was wrapping up on Feb. 9. After refusing to leave the property, one of the two men reportedly punched Zalewski before finally departing.

DeLarge said the latest incident has gained the

attention of the building owner, and he’s no longer sure that Southern Tiger Collective will have a future in the building, where they currently sublet their space from a neighboring business.

Other tenants in the building told Queen City Nerve that issues between STC and the property owner had been ongoing and were not necessarily related to the Feb. 10 incident, and DeLarge confirmed that he has been in arguments with Tuman and other tenants in the past due to parties hosted at the space, marijuana use and other issues.

“We tenants just cannot wait until it’s over,” Tuman said.

As for DeLarge, he says all he wants is to be reimbursed for damaged property, returned the stolen goods and allowed to continue making art.

In a post about the incident on Feb. 13, he wrote: “To be clear: We love our home. We love the community around us. We want to keep doing what we do. We’re not looking to destroy anyone. We’re looking to be compensated for stolen and destroyed property and to be given the same liberty to live our lives that we give our neighbors. If anyone has a much larger warehouse that could serve as our new home we are open to ideas…”

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION COLUMN

LEGALIZE IT IN THE WEEDS

It’s time to get out of the war we’ve been stuck in at home

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BY D. MICHAEL BROOKS

We live in a polarizing time, and I don’t believe weaponizing a topic like cannabis, which can truly benefit so many, is helpful at all. That being said, as we continue to discuss marijuana reform in Charlotte, we will have to discuss uncomfortable topics like institutional racism and political ideologies. My goal is for readers to take the forthcoming information and use it as a tool to hold our city leadership accountable. You know, speak truth to power, all that important stuff.

It’s no secret that Charlotte votes blue, and as I look over a list of of our elected officials, the following are all registered Democrats: our mayor, district attorney, our sheriff and nine of 11 city council members. In the 2016 election, Charlotte voted for now-Governor Roy Cooper almost 2-1 against Republican incumbent and former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCory. As for our representation in Raleigh, we have supported Rep. Becky Carney and Rep. Kelly Alexander for decades. Rep. John Autry and Sen. Jeff Jackson are Charlotte Democrats, too.

Charlotte votes as blue as San Francisco or Denver, Colorado.

This being an election year, we are hearing from lots of Democratic presidential hopefuls, some of whom have already been campaigning within our charming Southern city. And what do I hear those Democratic candidates say? Bernie Sanders, for one, has promised to federally legalize marijuana through executive order on his first day in office.

A new policy plan unveiled by Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Feb. 23 aims to legalize marjijuana, right some of the wrongs of the drug war and promote involvement in the newly growing industry by those communities harmed most by prohibition.

Most Democratic candidates agree that the War on Drugs has disproportionately and drastically affected our black and brown communities, although it can’t be forgotten that former New York

City mayor and current presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg, whom Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles has already endorsed for president, oversaw “Stop and Frisk,” one of the most racist and harmful policies to be implemented in the War on Drugs since the Clinton administration’s Three-Strikes laws.

Bloomberg has since “apologized” for that policy (believe that if you wish), and for the most part, all signals from Democrat leaders on the national level are consistent: Marijuana enforcement as it stands is wrong and laws need to change. Left and right, cities all across the US are ending marijuana enforcement, while on the homefront, Charlotte’s current marijuana enforcement policies and implementation remain a form of institutional racism.

U.S. drug policies were devised to be racist and discriminatory. Drug arrest statistics, and particularly those tracking marijuana enforcement, are staggering.

After CMPD officers apprehended and cited national superstar and Charlotte native DaBaby for simple marijuana possession following his concert in late December, people began paying attention.

A Charlotte Observer story stated that over a twoyear period, 762 African American “suspects” were cited for simple marijuana possession, while only 64 white people were cited in the same period. I promise you, 92% of marijuana users in Charlotte are not black. These stats are not justice, they are racism by design. The mayor, the D.A. and the city council are well aware of these horribly disproportionate statistics, yet they do nothing.

Currently, our city leaders are working toward fixing some of the major symptoms that Charlotte has historically been unable to overcome. Issues like inequity, immobility and affordable housing are all currently being addressed — or at least heavily discussed — by our leaders, and rightfully so. But these issues are just symptoms of the real cancer within Charlotte: institutional racism, the symptoms of which are the above-mentioned issues. They will continue to plague our future unless our leaders move forward and confront issues on inherent bias and systemic racism.

So why aren’t our city leaders addressing the marijuana issue? One obstacle is the fact that North

Carolina is a “Dillon Rule” state as opposed to a home rule state. This means our lawmaking directives have to come from Raleigh and our state’s constitution, whereas in a home-rule state, a municipality has the power to legislate matters of local concern.

The last battle between Charlotte and the state over these matters was about the infamous House Bill 2. For those of you are new here, the fight began when the city passed amendments to its nondiscrimination ordinance protecting the rights of transgender residents and visitors, then were swiftly met with HB2, passed down by state legislators to shut down any chance that Charlotte had of expanding rights for its own citizens.

City leaders put up a fight against HB2, and Charlotte residents along with national leaders in the public and private sector stood behind them, but in the end, their compromise with the state meant the heinous law would be repealed only along with the nondiscrimination ordinance that inspired it.

Our transgender neighbors still don’t enjoy the rights that they would have under the nondiscrimination ordinance amendments, but the fight showed that Charlotte is willing to stand up to the state — they just need to stand a little stronger next time.

The ghastly HB2 repeal deal also barred cities like Charlotte from passing nondiscrimination ordinances, raising the minimum wage or expanding workers’ rights. It did so by prohibiting local governments from enacting or amending ordinances regulating private employment practices or public accommodations, plunging us further into Dillon Rule. Those limitations on our city’s autonomy, however, expire in December of this year.

Just something to keep in mind.

In the meantime, now is as good a time as ever to stand against harmful, racist drug policies that target Charlotte’s most vulnerable populations. I strongly encourage all readers of this article — black and white, red and blue — to take the time to call Mayor Vi Lyles, D.A. Spencer Merriweather and your city council representatives to ask them why they are willing to focus and deploy our city’s resources to merely address symptoms of discrimination, when they could be removing a real cancer that is creating the racial inequality issues within our beloved Queen City, and they could do so for no price at all, by ending the criminalization of simple marijuana possession.

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NEWS & OPINION COLUMN

THE SCANNER

BY RYAN PITKIN

PUT THIS ON

A woman in southeast Charlotte was alarmed at what she found on the ground in front of her home one recent Friday morning, but it could be a nice addition to her wardrobe since she’s been unable to find an owner. According to a report, the woman found a black bulletproof vest made by Safariland, a company that manufactures products for law enforcement, and it had an EMS patch on it. She contacted police, who contacted Medic, who informed them that the vest did not belong to them. This is not the type of omen I would like to receive.

CONGRATULATIONS

An equally confused man called police to turn in some property that he had also found in front of his home, although this delivery seemed to be targeted at him. The man told police that he opened his mailbox one afternoon and found a purse, and inside the purse was a purple bag, and inside the bag was a single ring with the words “Tharros Bijoux Firenze,” which appears to be a shop in Florence, Italy. Sir, your journey begins now.

KNIFE AT A GUNFIGHT

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Police responded to North Tryon Street near West Sugar Creek Road on a recent Thursday afternoon after an anonymous caller told 911 dispatch that someone near the intersection had been overheard talking about robbing people with a gun. When officers arrived, they spotted a man who fit the suspect description and searched him. He was found to have two knives on him but no gun (lyin’ ass), but was still charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

GUNS GALORE

A Wilmington gun dealer came to Charlotte recently to participate in the cringeworthy Dixie Gun and Knife Show, but little did they know someone would clean them out of their inventory before the show could even start. According to a report, at around 4 a.m., someone shattered a window at the Park Expo & Conference Center where the big gun orgy was scheduled to take place and climbed inside. The two suspects hit the jackpot when they came across the collection of Fred Pickler & Associates, which was already on display. They shattered that glass, as well, and got to grabbing guns.

The thieves originally took 18 handguns, five revolvers, a knife, a parachutist bag, an AR-30 magazine and $200 in cash, but dropped 12 of the guns during their getaway.

In the end, they made off with 11 guns and the abovementioned accessories, for a total valued at more than $7,500.

SLENDERMAN

A 10-year-old girl at Ashley Park Elementary School learned an embarrassing lesson recently after technology shut down a stunt she tried to pull for attention, or she just might be able to see dead people. According to the report, the girl told teachers that she was approached by a strange man while playing outside for recess one morning, but when police and school staff members went back to check the surveillance footage, they found that no such interaction occurred.

MAKE IT RAIN

A University City man’s planned trip to the strip club was apparently ruined on a recent Sunday night after his car was broken into and all his bills stolen. The man told police that he parked his car on South Tryon Street near the center of the city at 11:30 p.m. and left it there for just 20 measly minutes. In that short time, someone broke into the car and stole $600 worth of dollar bills that he had in a Harris Teeter bag. And just to make things personal, the thief also stole a Congratulations card addressed to the victim.

TORE IT RIGHT OFF!

Employees at Primary Care Solutions, a multi-service provider for the community in east Charlotte, called police after someone broke into their office overnight and did some serious damage. Apparently, the suspect broke in at some point on a Saturday night/Sunday morning and just went to town, tearing and discarding window blinds and window accessories before targeting the shower by ripping down the shower head, accessories, the shower rod and curtains. The suspect then punched a hole in the wall. The officer who filed the report must have been impressed with what this suspect was able to BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE pull off, because the report even includes an exclamation A buyer at a local car auction would have gotten a point when it states how they got into the building past big surprise with their new car if not for the eagle eye of the alarm system: “He tore the censors off the window an employee working at ADESA Charlotte, the auction inside and out after just replacing!” company in southwest Charlotte where the incident occurred. Someone who was preparing the car for auction ERASERHEAD found a plastic baggie filled with white crystals that they A 60-year-old Ballantyne woman will have to wait believed to be methamphetamine and turned them over even longer now to erase whatever mistake she made to police. after a porch pirate struck her home. The woman said that she was notified that a package was delivered to her THE WRONG STUFF on Feb. 12, but when she got home from work at 6 p.m., One car breaker-inner (What do you call them? Car there was nothing there. Inside the box were 25 animalburglars?) had to have been upset after thinking that they shaped erasers she had ordered from Japan, valued at $10 had found some good weed in a victim’s car in southeast total.

Charlotte, only to be underwhelmed by its effects. A 35-year-old south Charlotte man said his car was broken ALL SCANNER ENTRIES ARE PULLED FROM CMPD into one afternoon while parked at Hendrick Acura of REPORTS. SUSPECTS ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Charlotte on East Independence Boulevard and the thief stole $20 worth of CBD flower — which looks just like marijuana but has no THC — plus a cigarette that had been rolled with the same flower, also worth $20.

PARTY LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST CHANCE THE CIAA TOURNAMENT IS LEAVING CHARLOTTE AFTER A 14-YEAR RUN AND HEADING NORTH TO BALTIMORE. IF YOU HAVEN’T EXPERIENCED THE WEEKEND OF BASKETBALL, PARTIES AND PERFORMANCES THAT COME ALONG WITH CIAA WEEK, HERE’S YOUR LAST CHANCE. IT’S TIME TO GO HARD.

WED

THE LIFE POWER HOUR

THURS FRI

Berry + Company invites alums from all 13 CIAA schools for the release of the new CIAA adult coloring book and a night of networking and relationship building.

More: Feb. 26, 6-10:30 p.m.; Free; Max & Lola Bodega, 1501 S. Mint St.; tinyurl.com/TheLifeCIAA

The artist formerly known as Bobby Valentino celebrates his 40th birthday during CIAA. More: Feb. 27, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; $20-$500; 321 Uptown Lounge, 321 N. Caldwell St.; tinyurl.com/BobbyVBirthday

BLUWEDNESDAY WARMUP

You don’t want to get too drunk on your first night out. Celebrate Tipsy Thursday with beautiful ladies from around the region.

More: Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m.; $10; Fusion Lounge, 6432 E. Independence Blvd.; tinyurl.com/TipsyThursday

Get stretched out for the tournament festivities with one last BluWednesday CIAA warm-up event, this time at one of Charlotte’s hottest new venues, featuring music from the Middle C Afterband.

More: Feb. 26, 6-11 p.m.; Free; Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.; tinyurl.com/BluWednesday

CUFFLINKS & COCKTAILS

Kick off your CIAA week with a classy party hosted by 92.7 The Block’s DJ Glory at the newest local Topgolf facility.

More: Feb. 26, 8 p.m.; Free-$250; Topgolf Swing Suite, 314 N. College St.; tinyurl.com/CufflinksCocktails Pg. 10 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BOBBY V BIRTHDAY BASH

CLOUD CHECK WARM UP PARTY

Blow smoke at this hookah party to get the week started off right.

More: Feb. 26, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; Free-$11; Fantasy Lounge, 2415 W. Morehead St.; tinyurl.com/CloudCheck

TIPSY THURSDAY

XHALE: TOURNAMENT EDITION

Hosted by Domonique Brooks, Brenton James and Gorgeous Slore, ladies are free until midnight, with food, hookah and drinks available.

More: Feb. 27, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; Free-$20; Section @ Recess, 832 Seigle Ave.; tinyurl.com/XHaleTourney

WELCOME TO THE CITY

This is being billed as a celebrity tournament kickoff party, but the only names listed thus far are model Ari Fletcher and a special guest rapper, who is clearly going to be her man Moneybagg Yo, right?

More: Feb. 27, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; $10-$65; Oak Room, 200 E. Bland St.; tinyurl.com/WelcomeToCLT

PREGAME SIP AND SHOP

Shop Luxe’s newest collection before it hits the website️, with food catered by Tasty G’s and free with purchase, and a make-up artist on site so you can get your hair and makeup done before the night’s parties.

More: Feb. 28-March 1, times vary; $5, ticket price goes toward purchase; Luxe Lust Boutique, 4822 Albemarle Road; tinyurl.com/SipAndShopLuxe

DAY LA SOUL

This day party features DJ Envy and an appearance from Yancy Thigpen, former Pittsburh Steelers All-Pro and a member of the Winston-Salem State University Hall of Fame.

More: Feb. 28, Noon-7 p.m.; Free-$800; Studio Movie Grill, 210 E. Trade St.; tinyurl.com/DayLaSoul

LAST GREEK STANDING

Hosted by Natasha Renee, former Murder Inc. president and four-time Grammy Winner Kal Dawson will be the special guest, with music from DJ Freddy Chapo.

More: Feb. 28, 1-7 p.m.; $20-$500; Hollywood Nights Sports Bar & Lounge, 7631 Sharon Lakes Road; tinyurl.com/LastGreekStanding

HBCUS VS. EVERYBODY

Darren Brand of MTV’s Wild’n Out hosts this party, featuring music from DJ N Genius, DJ Jayy Hawk and DJ Rayvon.

More: Feb. 28, 2-8 p.m.; $15-$150; Explict Lounge, 1000 N.C. Music Factory Blvd.; tinyurl.com/DarrenBrandCIAA

BLACK FOOD TRUCK FRIDAY

The Black Business Owners of Charlotte hosts this regular event, giving local residents (and CIAA visitors) the opportunity to taste an array of cuisines ranging from seafood to soul food to amazing desserts and everything in-between, not to mention all the local vendors.

More: Feb. 28, 4-10 p.m.; Free; Freedom Lounge, 3148 Freedom Drive; bboclt.com

THE FINAL ACT

Hosted by the Paraison and Douglas couples from OWN Network’s To Have and To Hold: Charlotte, enjoy music and cocktails in two separate lounges and outdoor space as you mingle with hundreds of people from in and out of town.

More: Feb. 28, 4 p.m.; Max & Lola Bodega, 1501 S. Mint St.; tinyurl.com/ParaisonDouglas

GRAVITATE

This monthly dance party is welcoming CIAA guests with music from DJ Shaanti, Charles Gatling and Steve Howerton, and percussion by Claudio Rafael and Sweat Transfer.

More: Feb. 28, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.; Free; Salud Cerveceria, 3306-C N. Davidson St.; tinyurl.com/GravitateCIAA

FREAKY FRIDAY

Friday night is time to get freaky, and this event aims to get all the sexiest ladies together in one spot. If you can’t make it, hit the Luxury Friday day party at 3:30 p.m.

More: Feb. 28, 9:30 p.m.; $10; Fusion Lounge, 6432 E. Independence Blvd.; tinyurl.com/CIAAFreakyFriday

HBCU BRAWL: THE LAST DANCE

A final showdown between dance and step teams from all participating HBCUs. More: Feb. 28, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; $5-$20; location TBA; tinyurl.com/HBCUBrawl

THE LINK UP

This weekend kickoff features music from DJ Mungo and DJ Lowkey.

More: Feb. 28, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; $10-$20; La Revolucion; 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd., #1; tinyurl.com/CIAALinkUp

TREY SONGS

Start your Saturday day-partying with Tremaine.

More: Feb. 29, Noon-8 p.m.; $40-$50; Q.C. Social Lounge, 300 N. College St., #105; tinyurl.com/TreyCIAA

Let CLT’s best incubators quiz you on all things black TV and cinema.

More: Feb. 29, Noon-2 p.m.; $10 to play, $20 to brunch; Dupp&Swat, 1824 Statesville Ave.; tinyurl.com/DuppSwatTrivia

LAST CHANCE DAY PARTY

QUEEN CITY MEETS BROOKLYN

JADAKISS

BLACK INK TAKEOVER

Hollywood Hemi, Sky and Caesar host this day party featuring drink and hookah specials.

More: Feb. 29, 2-9 p.m.; $20-$60; Bakadi Lounge, 4205 Monroe Road; tinyurl.com/BlackInkTakeover

THE CULTURE UNDERGROUND MUSIC AND VENDOR FEST

Hosted by rapper Slade the Supreme and 601 the Band, the event was created to celebrate all forms of black art including music, art, poetry and entrepreneurship.

More: Feb. 29, 1-5 p.m.; $10; Studio 1212, 1212 E. 10th St.; tinyurl.com/TheCultureIV

SPRITE DAY PARTY FEAT. FOR THE CULTURE: BLACK TRIVIA FABOLOUS

This one is billed as the “Ultimate Tournament Day Party,” featuring Jadakiss and hosts @onlyonerori and @alisahchanel_, plus spins from DJ Chuck T. More: Feb. 29, Noon-7 p.m.; Free-$30; Studio Movie Grill, 210 E. Trade St.; tinyurl.com/BossesBottlesBaddies

AUXTAILS AND GRAVY

Pg. 11 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

NO REASON DAY PARTY

It’s cool that everyone else is making their titles very dramatic and inviting and these folks are just like, fuck it, we don’t need a reason for a party. Hosted by Avant, with music by The Big DM, DJ Prince Ice and DJ Tron.

More: Feb. 29, Noon-6 p.m.; Press Box Bar & Grill, 9609 N. Tryon St., Ste. A; tinyurl.com/NoReasonDayParty

BOSSES, BOTTLES & BADDIES FEAT. JADAKISS

Local musicians are welcome to attend the party and simply plug into the aux cord to have your music heard by music execs and you never know who else in the crowd.

More: Feb. 28, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.; $40-$1,000; 4949 Albemarle Road; tinyurl.com/AuxTailsandGravy

Hosted by Puff the Mayor, featuring appearances by Lou Got Cash, Day Pesos and Juwop. Spins from DJ Will from 105.1 in NYC and DJ Polo from 92.7 The Block.

More: Feb. 28, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; $25-$2,500; Brooklyn Lounge, 225 N. Caldwell St.; tinyurl.com/BrooklynMeetsQC

SAT

Party with a purpose, as this day party features live music from X-Treme Effect, a soulful buffet and a cash bar, plus you’ll be supporting the Central State University Carolinas Alumni & Literary Festival of Charlotte.

More: Feb. 29, 2-6 p.m.; $35; Club Nile, 5147 N. Graham St.; tinyurl.com/LastChanceDayParty

Quench your thirst traps with this day party featuring a performance from Fabolous, music from DJ Ronnie B and DJ Six30, and hosted by KODiNE of 102 Jamz.

More: Feb. 29, 1-7 p.m.; $10-$2,000; Rooftop 210, 210 E. Trade St.; tinyurl.com/SpriteDayParty

KANDIE SHOPPE CIAA EDITION

This “sexy and educated” party will feature tons of vendors and performances from author KANDIE Marie, Mary Mack, Will P, Big Bag Brickz and poet Da Geechie.

More: Feb. 29, 1:30-4:30 p.m.; Free-$40; NoDa@28th Creative Arts Studios, 2424 N. Davidson St.; tinyurl.com/KandieShoppe

THE BREAKFAST CLUB DAY & NIGHT PARTY

Join Charlamagne tha God and the rest of the Breakfast Club crew for the 9th annual celebrity party, which touts a yearly average of 1,200 guests.

More: Feb. 29, 2 p.m.-2 a.m.; $35-$300; Sage Restaurant & Lounge, 505 E. 6th St.; tinyurl.com/BreakfastClubDayNight

THE LAST CRAWL

Hit four different Music Factory venues for four different genres of music: Soundz of the South, R&B, international and ’90s vs. 2000s.

More: Feb. 29, 2-8 p.m.; $10-$500; Avid Xchange Music Factory, N.C. Music Factory Blvd.; tinyurl.com/TheLastCIAACrawl

DA BADDEST PARTY

SUN

Trina will be there. That’s really all you need to know.

More: Feb. 29, 2-9 p.m.; Free-$1,200; Whisky River, 210 E. Trade St., #A-208; tinyurl.com/DaBaddestParty

THE MAIN EVENT

RESET SUNDAY: BRUNCH & TRAP 2 PRETTY 2 PAY

A bottomless brunch menu followed by four hours of trappin’ from DJ Flexman mixing with reggae/Soca on the first floor, Tramare the DJ remixing twerk classics inside on the second floor and DJ B-Kirk integrating Afro beats upstairs on the patio.

More: March 1, Noon-7 p.m.; Free-$150; Clutch Kitchen and Pour House, 601 S. Cedar St.; tinyurl.com/ResetSunday

Hosted by Mahogany, Sport E Odie, Domonique Brooks and DJ Holiday, one ticket gets you into five DRIP SATURDAY venues: Scarlett, Odells, Monarch Room, Halftime and If you can’t make it on Saturday night, no worries, they’re The Garden.

RNB & JAZZ FAREWELL BRUNCH More: Feb. 29, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; $40-$1,600; getting things kicked off with a day party. Followed by A solid brunch menu plus music from DJ Kool, The the One Night Stand night party at 9:30 p.m.

Graham Street Station, 2016 N. Graham St.; Tre’King Band and Shableek.

More: Feb. 29, 3:30 p.m.; $10; Fusion Lounge, 6432 E. tinyurl.com/CIAAMainEvent More: March 1, Noon-7 p.m.; Press Box Bar & Grill, Independence Blvd.; tinyurl.com/CIAADripSaturday 9609 N. Tryon St., Ste. A; tinyurl.com/RnBJazzFarewell

HOLLIPALOOZA

BROOKLYN TAKEOVER FAREWELL PARTY

DJ Holiday gets some friends together for a party in east Charlotte featuring performances from Derez Deshon, Luke Nasty, Jhonni Blaze and more.

More: Feb. 29, 8 p.m.-3 a.m.; $40-$1,500; 4949 Abemarle Road; tinyurl.com/Hollipalooza

Sponsored by DUSSE CHARLOTTE, this party features special guest DJs, hookahs and exotic drink specials.

More: March 1, 2-6 p.m.; $20-$800; Brooklyn Lounge, 225 N. Caldwell St.; tinyurl.com/BrooklynTakeover

AN EVENING WITH Q PARKER

CHARLOTTE VS. GREENSBORO BOTTLE WARS

The Bag Boyz present “an enchanted evening” with Q Parker, formerly of 112.

More: Feb. 29, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.; $20-$300; Red@28th, 9539 Pinnacle Drive, #203; tinyurl.com/QParkerEvening

Hosted by Bobbie Bugatti and KODiNE of 102 Jamz, featuring music from DJ Six30.

More: March 1, 2-9 p.m.; Free-$15; Fantasy Lounge, 2415 W. Morehead St.; tinyurl.com/CIAABottleWars

Pg. 12 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

NY TAKEOVER 2020

Hosted by Tone X, with music from Kid Capri, DJ Spinderella and DJ Doo Wop. More: Feb. 29, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; $50-$600; Harvey B. Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St.; tinyurl.com/NYCTakeoverCIAA

CLIMAX: THE HIP-HOP FINALE

TALE OF TWO CITIES

KRS-ONE

FINALE GOODBYE

KRS-One brings his friends, including Greg Nice of Nice The main event for all alumni of participating HBCUs. & Smooth, DJ MellStarr and Will Traxx.

More: Feb. 29, 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; Free-$20; Taproom More: Feb. 29, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; $30-$65; Amos’ Social, 430 W. 4th St.; tinyurl.com/FinaleGoodbye Southend, 1423 S. Tryon St.; tinyurl.com/KRSOneFinale

Ladies are free all night with an RSVP for this tournament farewell party.

More: March 1, 9 p.m.-Midnight; Free-$15; Fantasy Lounge, 2415 W. Morehead St.; tinyurl.com/2Pretty2Pay

LIL’ BOOSIE & STUNNA 4 VEGAS

Two big names help wrap up the tournament weekend plus music from DJ KGrady and DJ Jayhawk.

More: March 1, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; $30-$50; Oak Room, 200 E. Bland St.; tinyurl.com/BoosieStunna

TOURNAMENT FAREWELL PARTY

DJ Kool and Will Traxx perform live, with opening sounds from DJ Mello Dee. More: March 1, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; $10-$500; Vibrations Night Lounge, 5237 Albemarle Road; tinyurl.com/DJKoolWillTraxx

TOURNEY FAREWELL GRAND FINALE

The Mashout King DJ Skillz, Mr. Cheeks of the Lost Boyz and internet sensation DJ Cleve come together for a sendoff party.

More: March 1, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.; $20-$200; Press Box Bar & Grill, 9609 N. Tryon St., Ste. A; djskillzdjcleveandmrcheeks.eventbrite.com

SUNDAY GAME NIGHT

Saying goodbye to the CIAA with a Sunday Funday to The Release team hosts a party representing The Chi end all Sunday Fundays. and The Bricks featuring appearances from DJs Terry More: March 1, 9:30 p.m.; $10; Fusion Lounge, 6432 Hunter, Wayne Williams, Roc Anthony, Charles Gatling, E. Independence Blvd.; tinyurl.com/CIAAGameNight Badala B and Gary Wallace.

More: March 1, 2-10 p.m.; $15-$20; Crown Station, YO GOTTI GRAND FINALE 3629 N. Davidson St.; tinyurl.com/TwoCitiesCIAA The name is pretty self-explanatory. This ain’t just a party, either. This is a show.

More: March 1, 10:30 p.m.; $102 and up; Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

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ARTS FEATURE A KINDRED SPIRIT

Georgie Nakima connects people, places and plants

informal lecture by Johnathan Shepard about the evolution of the educational system in Charlotte’s Historic West End. West Charlotte had been home to many black schools and educators, Nakima says, but that changed when the color barrier was crossed.

While integration ushered in resources, it also inadvertently undermined the unifying force behind black communities. Communities that once focused on teaching and nurturing their own began to splinter.

building on West Trade Street less than half a mile from Mechanics and Farmers Bank. It will feature historian Maarifa Kweli’s lecture on the AfricanAmerican Diaspora and a face mask demonstration guided by artist Micaila Ayo Thomas.

It all happens Feb. 29, or Leap Day, which thrills Nakima’s inner math nerd.

“I thought it’s just a fun day because it’s rarely the 29th,” she says laughing.

Pg. 14 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BY PAT MORAN

It’s not always about choosing one side of the brain or the other. The two can go hand-in-hand, as can be seen in the work of local muralist Georgie Nakima.

“I like to tell people that art is a science and science is an art,” Georgie Nakima says. The Charlotte-based artist and community organizer has drawn on her science background in creating colorful public art that can be seen throughout Charlotte, from the west side to NoDa, paintings that seamlessly fuse wildlife and the natural world with spiraling geometric shapes.

For Nakima there is scant difference between the organic and the mathematic.

“Things that we think [of as] different worlds are actually parallel and there’s a line between them,” Nakima maintains. That line is math, she explains, a divine code which humans did not invent. “We discovered it. It’s the underlying force of how we exist. It’s an invisible line of how we’re connected.”

Nakima extends that line of connection to encompass community and history with Kindred, her multidisciplinary public art project located in west Charlotte’s Biddleville neighborhood at Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Charlotte’s first minority-owned financial institution. “[The project] brings artwork outside of art districts and directly into the communities that can truly use it,” Nakima explains.

Funded by the Knight Foundation through the Celebrate Charlotte Arts Grant, Kindred kicked off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a workshop featuring collages by local artist CHD:WCK!, at which he will lead a free immersive community experience.

At the core of the series is the concept of connecting, Nakima stresses. Being part of the Charlotte art community for many years, she kept encountering the barriers that divided and isolated creators. Far too frequently, artists worked in silos, off doing their own thing.

“That’s really what started Kindred,” she says. “It is the first step in coming together and seeing our beauty and how dynamic we are.”

The January workshop also showcased an

GEORGIE NAKIMA

“We were learning about the resources of the West End and its legacy and how it’s changed,” Nakima says about the workshop, “and we were creating art around it.”

Befitting the location and topic covered by the inaugural event, history is an important part of Kindred. The workshop series is designed to pool local creatives under one umbrella, Nakima says, then connect those artists with historic AfricanAmerican communities to draw a through line from each neighborhood’s past to its future.

The next Kindred event takes place at Johnson C. Smith University’s Arts Factory, a renovated

Further workshops under the Kindred banner will culminate in a community festival in April that will incorporate visual arts and dance workshops.

That same month, Kindred will present a workshop geared toward a subject dear to Nakima’s heart: gardening and plant life.

Pursuing a degree in biology from WinstonSalem State University, where she also minored in chemistry, Nakima immediately grasped how biology was entwined with chemistry, and how mathematical constructs were ensconced in the plant world. She’s no stranger to fractals and sacred geometry. Not only does she understand

the Fibonacci spiral, a logarithmic pattern found everywhere in nature and derived from a mathematical sequence where each number is the sum of the two numbers that precede it, she professes to love it.

The science of plants and gardening is inextricably entwined with Nakima’s art, and her work has extended beyond conceptual gardens to real ones. Last July, she worked with children from the Rams Fitness Academy summer camp to create two murals at the Simon’s Green Acre community garden at the Enterprise Center in Winston-Salem.

Reinforcing the garden connection are Nakima’s murals, which have appeared across Charlotte under the moniker Garden of Journey. The title is a kind of brand, Nakima explains. Since she didn’t want her professional website to be bannered with just her first and last name, she devised a thought piece, a name that would explain what her work entailed.

Hence Garden of Journey. For the journey part, Nakima says she had broken out of society’s success-driven rat race and decided that her life was a journey.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN COOPER “The garden part represents how diverse the ecosystem can be if we nourish it,” she explains.

“When you think about it, Garden of Journey is pretty much a short poem.”

Given her affinity for gardens, plants and nature, Nakima is also a proponent of conservation and environmentalism, causes and concerns that appear in her artwork in the guise of wildlife like wolves, tigers and other big cats.

We live in a world in which we’re disconnected from nature and the consequences of our choices, she maintains. For example, we make trips to the grocery store unconcerned with the debilitating effects factory farming has on our land, livestock

ARTS FEATURE and water.

“We need to get back to indigenous processes,” Nakima asserts, “falling back in love with our land to nourish ourselves and our communities.”

With that thesis, she dovetails back to the lessons of history, coming full circle like the graceful curve of the Fibonacci spiral. The Historic West End boasts a rich agricultural history, she says. “It was mainly farmland, which is ironic because now it’s a food desert.”

She hopes that one consequence of the Kindred events will be that people will patronize local businesses, including the nearby Rosa Parks Farmers Market, and begin thinking more about what they’re supporting with their money.

Nakima’s own history has been a spiral dance with art ever since she was old enough to pick up a crayon. She started off with realistic paintings and drawings, but her fascination with biology,

“You can even say Afrofuturism is in the present of telling a people’s story, because it’s trending,” she says “It’s popping up a lot Nakima says, but also asking because people are ready for positive change.” what that means for the Collaboration has also exerted an influence on people that are already there.

Nakima’s artistic development. In 2018 she teamed The flip side of this with two other black women artists, Sloane Siobhan positivity is the pressure and Janelle Dunlap, to create Manifest Future, an exerted by gentrification Afrofuturist mural at the site of the Rosa Parks and displacement, she Farmers Market at 1600 West Trade Street in west maintains, both of which cast Charlotte. a shadow over the Historic The artists rallied neighborhood residents to West End. That’s why she come together at weekly painting parties where believes it’s important to they could create, connect and foster a sense of include the existing West End community. community in the art spaces Perhaps her most high-profile piece is a created by Kindred. mural she created last fall on the McCrorey YMCA Nakima sees the process basketball court, the result of a partnership with the as creative storytelling, NBA and Xbox during All-Star Weekend. sharing a tale that demands Both projects served as forerunners for the to be heard.

ARTWORK BY GEORGIE NAKIMA Historic West End awareness campaign and open- “GARDEN MURAL” “The purpose is to let hearted community building encompassed by people know why this corridor and tear each other down,” she insists. “I’d rather use Kindred. For her part, Nakima hopes to see more is important,” she says. “The idea is that art can unite my energy to uplift people.” a community and usher in empathetic spaces where Building community, breaking down barriers neighbors can feel okay and be recognized.” and inspiring neighbors are all on the docket for the Kindred workshops to come; recognizing Charlotte’s PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM black development corridor as an important part

Pg. 15 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

PART OF NAKIMA’S WORK AT THE MCCROREY YMCA.

chemistry and calculus exerted a subconscious pull.

“When you think about the sciences, you’re always learning of the micro-layers that create existence,” she says.

Those layers started appearing in her work almost unbidden, as if she started creating ecosystems not entirely rooted in realism without consciously deciding to do so.

Afrofuturism, the art and literature movement that incorporates elements of black history and culture into science fiction, also contributed to her aesthetic. Nakima says she responds to the movement’s focus on resilience and the power to make positive change. That makes Afrofuturism more rooted in reality, she maintains, because everyone can relate to overcoming challenges.

PHOTO BY MATT SPIVEY

collaboration taking root in Charlotte’s art scene.

“Obviously, we can all do our own things, but I think it’s good to come outside of yourself and connect with other people,” she says.

Nakima sees the communal process as humbling and grounding, a chance for artists to broaden the scope of their focus beyond self and their own creations. With Charlotte’s explosive growth in recent years, she feels that artists should ramp up their collaborative efforts so that the city’s creative culture can grow.

At least, creatives should recognize that collaboration will create more opportunities for artist.

“There’s not a lot of room for us to be competitive

Connect with free arts and culture experiences for all ages, close to home.

CULTURE

BLOCKS

Find upcoming events at ArtsAndScience.org/CultureBlocks

FEB 26 - MAR 03

WED02_26

THURS02_27

MARLENE ROSE

‘HEAVEN’

What: An exhibit not for the drunk or clumsy; Marlene Rose is an award-winning artist whose sandcast glass technique is inspired by symbols that derive their power and strength from the common core we share with our ancestors. Rose comes to Charlotte to talk about her process and the subtle air of mystery that infuses her glass sculptures.

More: Free, RSVP required (ashley@eldergalleryclt. com); 6:30-7:30 p.m.; Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, 1520 S. Tryon St.; eldergalleryclt.com

What: “Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens,” The Talking Heads sang. Moving Poets says otherwise with their modern fairy tale incorporating dance, theater, music and film. Aided by the Virgin Mary and the ghost of her murdered brother, a young detained immigrant searches for a magic lamp that will change reality.

More: $20-34; 8 p.m., runs through March 1; Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St., movingpoets.org

FRI02_28 REEL BIG FISH

What: Sell out ... with me, tonight! Reel Big Fish rode the third wave of ska to popularity in the mid1990s. As of 2006, they left their major label and became independent, so no record company’s gonna give them lots of money, but we think everything’s still gonna be alright.

More: $22.50-$32.50; 8 p.m.; Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St.; neighborhoodtheatre.com

MARLENE ROSE

REEL BIG FISH

02/26

SAT02_29

02/28

SUN03_01

END HOMELESSNESS BENEFIT SHOW NAT BALDWIN

Pg. 16 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

What: Not only is this Snug Harbor lineup full of some of the most talented local acts on the scene — rapper Indigo Jo, indie rockers Petrov and atmospheric pop duo The Houston Brothers — but all proceeds go to the Urban Ministry Center and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte. So even if you’re not a fan of those musicians, you can’t hate them more than homelessness.

More: $7 ; 10 p.m.; Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St.; snugrock.com

What: Double bassist and Portland, Maine, native Nat Baldwin honed his nonlinear approach to melody at the Wesleyan experimental music community before joining Dirty Projectors. In addition to playing with Grizzly Bear and Bjork, he’s published a collection of experimental short fiction and dropped an outré solo album Autonomia I: Body Without Organs. Patois Counselors open.

More: $5; 7 p.m.; Goodyear Arts, 301 Camp Road, natbaldwin.bandcamp.com

MON03_02 JOE BONAMASSA

What: Touted as the blues rock heir apparent to Stevie Ray Vaughan when he launched his career, guitarist Bonamassa has never strayed far from electrified Chicago blues. But the message among his stylistic flourishes has changed. Redemption, released in 2018, is a portrait of a man grappling with his past – mature but never boring.

More: $69-199; 8 p.m.; Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St., blumenthalarts.org

TUES03_03 RUFUS DU SOL

What: Oldtimers the Chemical Brothers beat them out for best dance/electronic album at the Grammys this year, but Australian trio Rufus Du Sol remain a dancefloor juggernaut. Their melodic, experimental and hypnotic anthems hide a straightforward pop core, propelled by Tyrone Lindqvist’s swooning fine grained vocals.

More: $46.50; 8 p.m.; Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

MAR 04 - MAR 10

WED03_04 ‘WHOREIBLE DECISIONS’

What: In this popular podcast, hosts Mandii B and WeezyWTF discuss sexuality and cover an array of salacious topics with a guest list that has included porn stars, doctors, kinksters, activists and celebrities. Drop in for this live recording of ‘Whoreible Decisions’ and have the duo answer your own burning sex questions ... or questions about something burning.

More: $35-$75 ; 8 p.m.; Comedy Zone, 900 N.C. Music Factory Blvd.; cltcomedyzone.com A SHARED ELEGY VOL. II

03/05

THURS03_05 A SHARED ELEGY VOL. II

What: Osamu James Nakagawa and his uncle, Takayuki Ogawa; and Elijah Gowin and his father, Emmet Gowin, present unique but overlapping visions recording family histories. Nakagawa, like his uncle, grew up in Japan and draws upon his country’s traditions and the practice of honoring elders, while family heritage and home in Virginia have inspired the Gowins to make photographs that depict the intimate and hallowed nature of the world.

More: Free ; 6-8 p.m.; The Light Factory, 1817 Central Ave.; lightfactory.org

SAT03_07

SUN03_08

BEER, BOURBON & BBQ FESTIVAL

HERSTORY: 100 YEARS OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

What: This touring festival revolves around all things — well, you read the title. It starts in Brooklyn, New York, before heading down South where barbecue belongs. You might get buzzed, bumbling or blitzed, or just eat ‘til your belt buckle bursts like a bubble. Either way, it’s a blast at BoFA for banker bros and broads alike.

More: $39-$75; Noon-6 p.m.; Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St.; beerandbourbon.com

What: The Girl Scouts, the League of Women Voters and Generation Nation present a centennial celebration of women’s right to vote. Family-friendly activities include music, suffragettes’ stories, mock elections and the opportunity to create protest signs against that pussy grabber in the White House (or whomever).

More: Free; 1 p.m.; Levine Museum, 200 E. 7th St.; museumofthenewsouth.org

FRI03_06 STURGILL SIMPSON

What: With his fourth studio album, SOUND & FURY, Sturgill Simpson created country/rock/blues/ synth/psychedelic mayhem. To fully appreciate Simpson’s departure from anything that could be considered traditional Nashville country, watch the accompanying anime visual album on Netflix. If you still need a little of that classic outlaw sound in your life, show up on time, as Tyler Childers opens the show with his gritty, straight-out-the-Kentuckyholler foot stompers.

More: $50 and up; 7:30 p.m.; Spectrum Center, 333 E. Trade St.; spectrumcentercharlotte.com

MON03_09 SILVERSUN PICKUPS

KRISTIN CHENOWETH

What: Like Glinda the Good Witch, a role she played on Broadway, you might expect Chenoweth to have magical powers, or at least a doppelganger. She’s won a Tony, two Emmys and has written a bestselling autobiography. Add showstopping belter to her accomplishments as she pays tribute to influences like Dolly Parton and Jennifer Hudson More: $39.50 and up; 7:30 p.m.; Belk Theater, 130 N. Tryon St., blumenthalarts.org

March 7 & 10 2020

Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement Sandra Levine Theatre To purchase tickets online visit: www.CarolinaTix.org/events/details/scaliaginsburg

03/06

TUES03_10

What: Drenched in atmospheric cloud layers of shimmering, buzzing and coiling guitars, Silversun Pickups’ tunes feel both familiar and otherworldly.

Last year’s Widow’s Weeds turns away from the pulsing synths of previous efforts for anxious and introspective portraits that encompass sweeping orchestrations and full-bore alternative rock. The New Regime fills the bill.

More: $27.50; 7 p.m.; Fillmore, 820 Hamilton St.; fillmorenc.com

Presented by: Opera Carolina in partnership with Queens University of Charlotte

STURGILL SIMPSON

MUSIC FEATURE LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

David and Robert Childers bond somewhere between heaven and hell

people towards the negative, I think we both try to remind people of that,” he laughed. “Like the Louvin Brothers say, ‘Satan Is Real!’ And that’s something that I believe and my dad believes. So it’s just kinda tied in with everything we’ve ever done artistically.”

Robert sees the Devil as a tragic character, an angel of music who led a revolution that lost.

“I’m a big fan of Jesus. It’s all there together,” he

explained. “I see the devil as sort of a sad thing, and the way he affects people’s lives is sad and horrible.

So we both try to bring that to the forefront with our music, to remind people that goodness is the way.”

In Lullaby, David’s proselytizing approach is told mostly through hardscrabble victories, yet it’s one of the most melodic, approachable records he’s ever put out. His vocals have never sounded better, a

never did work so I had to step in and do it.”

Another standout cut is “Young Drunk,” in which David sings: “Bleeding was a thing I used to do, and I lost a tooth or more running into fists and doors while my drunken tongue kept wagging.”

Childers’ protagonist winds up in jail and upon his release returns to to the bar where it all started and orders a soda. He’s praised for his newfound

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BY GRANT BRITT

David Childers has been to hell and back.

The Mount Holly singer/songwriter/poet/artist and former attorney has been chronicling mankind’s and his own bouts with devilishness since his debut, 1998’s Time Machine. With releases like 2001’s Godzilla He Done Broke Out, ’07’s Burning In Hell, 2014’s Serpents of Reformation, 2017’s Don Dixonproduced Run Skeleton Run and his latest, Interstate Lullaby, Childers and his bands of Don Juans, Hellcats and Serpents have mixed rock, country, rockabilly, jazz and old time for a sound fit to shame the devil.

Satan and his antics are an ongoing theme for his latest band, David Childers and the Serpents, and he shed some light on that when he spoke to Queen City Nerve shortly after the release of Interstate Lullaby.

“The devil has a good side somewhere that was lost,” Childers said. “He was the most beautiful angel and he was God’s favorite and there’s a sense that even the serpents among us can be reformed.”

He’s also quick to admit that his son Robert, who plays drums for the Serpents and has played in his father’s various Charlotte-area bands for decades now, has more than a little to do with the devil and his snakes.

“That’s him, that ain’t me,” Childers chuckled when asked abut the devilish fascination reflected in his songs, albums and band names. “I like Jesus, man. Actually Robert does, too.

His explanation about Lucifer and Satan and Luciferanism is pretty enlightening.”

Robert, currently finishing up a month-long residency at Snug Harbor with one of his other bands, the Luciferian Experience, expounds on the theme in his own words.

“Growing up in the South, the devil is a part of our world. As far as early religious exposure to it, just working in the bars and the clubs, seeing ROBERT CHILDERS the way the devil gets ahold of

DAVID CHILDERS (LEFT) PERFORMS WITH HIS SON, ROBERT.

PHOTO BY DANIEL COSTON

smooth crooner delivering a sermon on “The Streets Of Nashville.” The mellow melody belies the bitter subject matter, a wannabe country idol’s abortion.

“The streets of Nashville are lined with dreams that died in the gutter,” Childers croons, before revealing the Nashville abortionist/talent shark at work: “You got something, but you need a little something more/I know it when I see it and how it should sound/You’re not what we’re looking for.”

Ironically, that song was written for a musical that a local woman had put together featuring all of Childers’ songs going back to Time Machine, but he still doesn’t know if it’ll ever get produced.

“It’s really a song written for a woman who’s been in Nashville and been kinda rode hard and put up wet but she’s wise, you know?” he said. “We have a lady, we tried having her singing it, but it

PHOTO BY DANIEL COSTON

wisdom and offered a job. “So here I am now serving up beer to all the young fools who wander in here/ There’s a glow in the air and music everywhere/ I’m glad I wound up here.”

The tune has a tinge of a Johnny Cash, Tennessee Three vibe to it, and David is proud of the way it turned out, but there’s just one problem.

“People don’t seem to get into that song like they do some other ones, usually ‘cause they’re sittin’ there getting drunk as hell,” he said, before chuckling and reflecting on the irony. “Maybe it’s not the right song for a drinkin’ crowd.”

He was well aware of what he was doing when he wrote the song, however. In fact, he initially had some trepidation about performing it at all.

“When I first heard that song I was taken aback by it, because I work in a bar, and it pretty much hit

MUSIC FEATURE home completely for the kind of stuff that happens there,” he recalled. “But now that song has really grown on me, it’s a rocker and I like the message.”

Robert compares “Young Drunk” to the Louvin Brothers’ “Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea,” but said his dad’s track has its own outstanding qualities, namely that “it’s much more rockin’ than that one.”

Families working together is often a recipe for heartache, but the Childers don’t have to use that relationship for song fodder.

“We give each other a helluva lot of space,”

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DAVID CHILDERS

David said, laughing. “It’s just the truth. But I have a ton of respect for Robert’s musicianship. He really has a sense of what people want to hear and what works and what doesn’t and how to put on a show.”

But the partnership goes deeper than that. He told us that the two great blessings of his life are that he’s still married to Robert’s mother, and that he gets to play music with his son.

Of course, the always-laughing David followed that up with a literal dad joke. “But don’t tell him I said that,” he cackled.

“He’s always like that,” Robert said after we broke David’s jestful request. He explained that because he’s played music with his dad ever since he was a little kid, it’s hard to think about doing anything else. “But it’s very much a part of our family life as well as a profession. I respect my dad incredibly as a songwriter and a poet and I feel incredibly lucky to get to work with him.”

The 42-year-old Robert started playing with his dad in his early teens, traveling and playing gigs, exposing Robert to a variety of cultures that he doesn’t believe he would have experienced if they would have stayed in Mount Holly.

The elder Childers said that, in addition to the joys of playing with his son, he’s grateful for Robert bringing some new faces into the Serpents, such as bassist Korey Dudley and fiddler Geoff White.

“He said, ‘You need some good lookin’ young guys backing you up,’” David remembered. “I’m like, ‘Well, that’s fine by me as long as they can play.’ It’s been a happy thing and we all get along. Everybody in that band, everybody we play with, is in it for the right reasons. There’s just none of this bullshit; there’s no rock stars or ego trippin’ or hidden agenda — it’s just all about making music.”

When not playing with his dad or his jazz band Brut Beat, Robert gigs around town with the

PHOTO BY DANIEL COSTON

Luciferian Experience, which plays the last week of its residency at Snug Harbor on Feb. 26. He has a vested interest in the club, working the soundboards and helping book the Wednesday-night residencies, though his responsibilities at the popular Plaza venue have scaled back since he had a child of his own.

As for 3-year-old Margaux, it sounds like she’s destined to follow her dad and granddad’s lead.

“Unfortunately she’s completely obsessed with music already, and sings all the time,” Robert says, as Margaux squeals happily in the background. “She’s already learned songs herself and she’s started playing drums already and can pretty much play in rhythm. I think she’s gonna be a musician.”

Her musical spectrum is a bit eccentric at this point, but has interesting potential. “She loves Halloween songs, but at night she has what she calls party time when she turns on the radio and dances to it. She really likes the Ramones, she’s really attracted to their music and any time they come on, she starts rockin’ out. She loves her grandfather’s music for sure.”

We expect a debut album any day.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

MUSIC FEB 26 - MAR 10

FEBRUARY 26 ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Dihyō, Buried In Roses, JanuaryKnife, The Burn Brothers (The Milestone) America Part Two (Skylark Social Club) February Residency: Robert Childers & His Luciferian Agenda, Futurists, Adam Cope(Snug Harbor) Dish After Dark (Dish) Karaoke on the Patio with Rusty Colton (Petra’s) Carolina Waves CIAA Showcase & Open Mic: DJ RNB (Evening Muse)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill) Jeremy Shaw, Josh Daniel (Smokey Joe’s)

DJ/ELECTRONIC The Wizard’s Roadshow (Post Sports Bar & Grill)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Trippie Redd (Fillmore) Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater)

FEBRUARY 27 ROCK/PUNK/METAL

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Open Mic (Tommy’s Pub) Shaun Martin Three-O, Electric Kif (Evening Muse) Shana Blake (Smokey Joe’s) Kerry Brooks (Comet Grill) Acoustic Session (RiRa)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Brit Drozda, Wes and the Railroaders (Amos’ Southend) Old Crow Medicine Show, Birds of Chicago (Knight Theater)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

DJ/ELECTRONIC Le Bang: Slay (Snug Harbor) The Wizard’s Roadshow (Hartland’s Bar & Grill) Crown Station Collective (Crown Station)

Reel Big Fish, Big D and the Kids Table, Keep Flying (Neighborhood Theatre) Shaw Davis & The Black Ties, Junkhead Jane (Evening Muse) Emma’s Lounge (Smokey Joe’s) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Scotty McCreery, Adam Doleac (Coyote Joe’s)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

Player Made: CIAA Edition (Snug Harbor) XOXOK, 1WayNorth (Evening Muse) KRS-One, Puba, Mr Cheeks, Olympia D, DJ Cleve, JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Adrian Crutchfield, Shelby J, The NPG Hornz (Middle Dajulyn (Fillmore) Kid Capri (Underground) C Jazz) Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Persona Bell, The Big Truss Band (Middle C Jazz) Providers (Duke Energy Theater) Black and Denim Day Party: Kid Capri (The Press RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Box) Release Tournament Weekender Opening Party (Petra’s) DJ/ELECTRONIC Young Dolph, Key Glock (Fillmore) The Wizard’s Roadshow (The Fat Parrots Bar & Grill) Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Mirror Moves-Underground Dance Party: Cody Hare, Providers (Duke Energy Theater) Jason Herring (Petra’s) Silent Party Charlotte Hip Hop Wars-Da Baby, Pop Sikdope (SERJ) Smoke, Wale CIAA Weekend (Brooklyn Lounge) Back 2 The Future: Greg Nice, DJ Boney B (Crown DJ Kool, Uptown Swagga (The Press Box) Station)

FEBRUARY 28 ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Proxima, Fear Until Fury, Fifty Flies, Altered Vision(Amos’ Southend) Nordista Freeze, Daddy’s Beemer, Apricot Blush, Heckdang (Concerts at the Courtroom, Rock Hill) Abacab-Genesis Tribute (Visulite Theatre) Revelry Soul, Uncle Buck, Fenwick (Skylark Social Club) Emo Night Carolina:Keep Flying, Joe Boynton of Transit, DJ Yung Pootie(Skylark Social Club) Oculum Dei, Summoner’s Circle, Everwraith, Rites to Sedition (The Milestone) The McCartney Years-Paul McCartney Tribute (Belk Theater) Big Al, Porter Blue (Tommy’s Pub) Acoustic Session (RiRa) Sirsy (Free Range Brewing)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Gino Rosaria (Middle C Jazz)

The Pintos (Comet Grill) Dante Fowler Trio (Primal Brewery) The Burn Brothers, The New Creatures, Woah (The Rabbit Hole)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA DownTown Abby & The Echoes, Ellis Dyson(Neighborhood Theatre)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Warren Sax Experience, Ashanti Munir (Middle C Jazz)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Bear Grillz (SERJ)

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FEBRUARY 29 ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Crackers and Snackmeat, The Commonwealth, Evergone(The Milestone) Urban Ministry Center & Men’s Shelter of Charlotte End Homelessness Benefit: Petrov, Indigo Jo, Houston Brothers (Snug Harbor) The Dirty Doors-The Doors Tribute(Visulite Theatre) Wilma (Repo Record) Bobby Sparks II, Karen Bryant (Evening Muse) BadCameo, 87 Nights (Evening Muse) Lucy Kaplansky (Stage Door Theater) Diana Ross (Belk Theater) The UNC Clef Hangers (Knight Theater) The Straitjackets, Heavy Liquid, Mercury Dimes (Tommy’s Pub) The Mugg Band (Smokey Joe’s)

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MUSIC FEB 26 - MAR 10

BTR-The Bottom Album Release Party: DJ Kyng Rash, Exhale, Sage Kelzizun, J. Lee & Kuntry, Killakwabo& Manny, Juice9Dime, Real Slime Jefe, DonnieThe3rd &Rdubb, Hi.Ris, Vinnie Dangerous, Lazeegang, Kul Ray, Shred (Skylark Social Club)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Yo Gotti (Fillmore) The Evolution of Hip Hop: KRS-ONE, DJ Mell Starr (Amos’ Southend) Off the Wall-Sincerity: An Ode to Mary J. Blige & Nas (Petra’s) DJ Mr. Get Excited, DJ Big Hause (Evening Muse) Intergalactic Soul: Quentin Talley & The Soul Providers (Duke Energy Theater) Kindred the Family Soul (McGlohon Theater) 34th Annual Original Hopewell Group Day Party (Coyote Joe’s) AfroPop! Charlotte: DJ Kato, DJ Steel Wheel (Crown Station) Friday Night Pull Up: Akevius, DJ Stacey Blackman, DJ Doo (The Press Box) No Reason Day Party: Avant, Prince Ice, DJ Tron (The Press Box) Tournament Finale Party: DJ Cleve, Will Traxx (The Press Box)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Bill Hannah’s Jazz Session (Petra’s)

DJ/ELECTRONIC Hazy Sunday (Petra’s) Reflexions New Wave/Dark Wave/Goth/Industrial Dance Party: DJ Velvetine, DJ Johnny Starr, DJ Sanity Ana, DJ Tech Bat (Tommy’s Pub)

ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL Bluegrass Open Jam: Greg Clarke & Friends (Tommy’s Pub)

MARCH 2

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Joe Jack Talcum, Coolzey, Gun Jr. (Snug Harbor) Find Your Muse Open Mic: Dan Martin (Evening Muse) Joe Bonamassa (Belk Theater)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Knocturnal (Brooklyn Lounge)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Monday Night Jazz Jam (Crown Station)

MARCH 1

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ROCK/PUNK/METAL Metal Church Sunday Service (The Milestone) Audrey Mika,Souly Had (Visulite Theatre) Flaw, Gabriel and the Apocalypse, 14 North, Living In My Shadow (Amos’ Southend) Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Jacquees (Underground) The Tre’King Band, Shableek, DJ Kool (The Press Box) DJ Skillz, Mr. Cheeks, DJ Cleve (The Press Box)

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MUSIC FEB 26 - MAR 10

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

MARCH 3

MARCH 4

Futurists, GASP, Gorgeous, Lofidels (Skylark Social Club) Nicole Bus (Neighborhood Theatre) Piano Bar Karaoke & Sing Along: Ryan Stamey (Petra’s) Rufus Du Sol (Fillmore) Smokin’ Js Open Mic Jam (Smokey Joe’s) Uptown Unplugged: Jon Rooks (Tin Roof)

Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill)

Lovelorn, Acne, Joshua Cotterino, Buried In Roses (The Milestone) February Residency: Robert Childers & His Luciferian Agenda (Snug Harbor) Trigger Hippy, Revelwood Mission (Neighborhood Theatre) Freekbass, The Bump Assembly with Sammi Garett (Visulite Theatre) Tosco Open Mic (Evening Muse) Skillet (Fillmore) A Cappella Live (McGlohon Theater)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

Crushed Velvet: DJ SPK (Snug Harbor)

Open Mic/Open Jam (Comet Grill)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

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MARCH 5

ROCK/PUNK/METAL

Shana Blake(Smokey Joe’s) Fea, Middleasia (The Milestone) Heckdang, The Donner Deads, My Blue Hope (Petra’s) The L.A. Maybe, Hang The Hipster, East Viridian, The Penitentials (Skylark Social Club) Front Country, Elonzo Wesley (Evening Muse) Devin Townsend (Underground) Open Mic: Johnny Starr (Tommy’s Pub) Mark Starnes & the Boys (Comet Grill) Acoustic Session (RiRa) Pilots & Pirates (Tin Roof)

DJ/ELECTRONIC The Wizard’s Roadshow (Hartland’s Bar & Grill) Le Bang(Snug Harbor)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Honky Tonk Night: Jason Moss & The Hosses, John Howie Jr (Visulite Theatre)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Steve Tyrell (Middle C Jazz)

MARCH 6

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Bob Fleming and The Cambria Iron Co., Uncle Buck, Family Friend,Izar Estelle(The Milestone) Jeremy’s Ten - A Pearl Jam Tribute (Visulite Theatre) Shitkid,Wailin Storms, True Lilith (Snug Harbor) Jackyl, Seven Year Witch(Amos’ Southend) Sturgill Simpson & Tyler Childers After Party (Thomas Street Tavern) The Steeldrivers, The Wooks (Ovens Auditorium) Samba Social & Gallery Reception for Elisa Marie Sanchez (Petra’s) 430 Steps, Trash Room, Dares, Born Again Heathens (Tommy’s Pub) Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Los Colognes (Fillmore) Little Bird, Rare Creatures, The Hails (Evening Muse) Temperence Leaugue (Smokey Joe’s) Acoustic Session (RiRa) The Jump Cut (Tin Roof)

MUSIC FEB 26 - MAR 10

DJ/ELECTRONIC

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL

DJ Dara (SERJ)

Bill Hannah’s Jazz Session (Petra’s)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B

MARCH 9

The Color of Love: A Sign of the Times (Booth Playhouse)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Travers Brothership, South Hill Banks (Neighborhood Theatre) Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers (Spectrum Center) Tyler Ramsey, Dane Page (Evening Muse) Lenny Federal Band (Comet Grill) Canaan Smith (Coyote Joe’s) That 1 Guy (Free Range Brewing)

DJ/ELECTRONIC The Wizard’s Roadshow (The Fat Parrots Bar & Grill) Rotation Open Decks(Skylark Social Club) I_O l (SERJ) Shiba San (World)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Charlotte Symphony: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Belk Theater) Steve Tyrell (Middle C Jazz)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Rod Wave (Underground)

MARCH 7

Venus Invictus, Decadence, Mön Abyss (Tommy’s Pub) Puddle of Mudd (Underground) Audacity Brass Band (Evening Muse) Matt Walsh Band (Comet Grill) Machine Funk-Widespread Panic Tribute (Rabbit Hole) Blue Monday (Tin Roof) Modern Measure (Heist Brewery) Fred Eaglesmith,Tiff Ginn (Free Range Brewing)

MARCH 8

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA

The Bones of J.R. Jones, Jarrod Dickenson (Evening Muse) Marc Broussard, Jamie McLean Band (McGlohon Theater)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Charlotte Symphony: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Belk Theater) Charlotte Symphony: Youth Orchestra Spring Concert (Belk Theater) Steve Tyrell (Middle C Jazz)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Omari & the Hellhounds (Comet Grill) Metal Church Sunday Service(The Milestone) Wizard Apprentice, The Cocker Spaniels(The Milestone) Lowen (Neighborhood Theatre) Death of August, The Flight Risks, The Body Bags (Tommy’s Pub)

The Rundown: Kevin Goodwin, The Burn Brothers, Nathan Storey (Tin Roof)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Bone Snugs-N-Harmony Karaoke (Snug Harbor) Nick Cannon Presents MTV ‘Wild ‘n Out’: Saweetie (Spectrum Center)

ROOTS/BLUES/INTERNATIONAL Bluegrass Open Jam: Greg Clarke & Friends(Tommy’s Pub)

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ROCK/PUNK/METAL Forges, Sunday Boxing, True Lilith, Izar Estelle (The Milestone) Iron Price, Gloves Off, Violent Life Violent Death, Arborlea(Skylark Social Club) The Motet, Butcher Brown (Neighborhood Theatre) Patois Counselors, Wild Trees, Art Star (Snug Harbor) Southern Culture on the Skids, Truck Stop Preachers (Visulite Theatre) Minnesota,Thelem, Thook, Kirby Bright (Amos’ Southend) Celtic Women Celebration (Ovens Auditorium) Swansgate, The Mongos, Kaska Sun (Petra’s) Black Tiger Sex Machine, Blanke, VAMPA (Fillmore)

ROCK/PUNK/METAL Sanguisugabogg, Raw Hex, Guilty View, Harsh Realm(The Milestone) Boomchild, Foxy Moron, Cyan (Snug Harbor) Silversun Pickups, The New Regime (Fillmore) Find Your Muse Open Mic: Jordan Scott Huggins (Evening Muse) The Kerry Brooks Kollective (Comet Grill)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL/ INSTRUMENTAL Monday Night Jazz Jam (Crown Station)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B Knocturnal (Brooklyn Lounge)

MARCH 10

ROCK/PUNK/METAL No Future - Puerto Rico Earthquake Relief: Mutant Strain, Acne, Huffer, The Straitjackets (Snug Harbor) Olivia O’Brien, Hey Violet(Amos Southend) Clark Beckham, Chelsea Locklear (Evening Muse) Kristin Chenoweth (Belk Theater) Second Tuesday Singer/Songwriters Showcase hosted by Paul Lover (Tommy’s Pub) Smokin’ Js Open Mic Jam (Smokey Joe’s) Music Open Mic (Crown Station)

COUNTRY/FOLK/AMERICANA Red Rockin’ Chair (Comet Grill) Uptown Unplugged: Jon Linker (Tin Roof)

RAP/HIP-HOP/SOUL/FUNK/R&B G Herbo (Fillmore) VISIT QCNERVE.COM FOR THE FULL SOUNDWAVE LISTING.

PETROV, SNUG HARBOR, FEB. 29 PHOTO COURTESY OF LITTLE YETI

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE DISH GOES DARK

Lewis Donald invites the night crowd into popular daytime diner

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BY RYAN PITKIN

Lewis Donald does a great Penny Craver impression. It comes naturally because he hears from her a lot. Since taking over at Dish, the popular diner and bar that Craver and two others ran for 17 years before selling to Donald in September of last year, Craver hasn’t split the scene just yet.

“One of our biggest return customers is Penny herself,” Donald tells me as we sit in the bar area of Dish on a recent afternoon.

“She comes in and says, ‘Hey look, you don’t have to do what I tell you to do, but the carrots weren’t like this before,’” he says in a great impersonation of Craver’s drawl before returning to his own voice. “‘Yes, Penny,’ and you just figure it out.”

Since reopening Dish in October, Donald has been doing a bit of a professional impersonation of Craver, while slowly working in his own vision for the restaurant. Sometimes he takes her suggestions back to new head chef Vance Houser, sometimes the changes were all part of his plan.

His decision to switch from instant to stone-ground grits, for example, didn’t go unnoticed.

“That was a change for a lot of people. A lot of them embraced it, some people just didn’t, and that’s OK,” he says.

“That’s not going to deter us from what we’re doing.”

On Feb. 23, Donald shut the doors on Dish one last time with plans to open VANCE HOUSER back up on March 2 and showcase some of the most drastic changes he’s made yet with a goal to put into place a new culture at Dish — one that embraces the established family feel of the downstairs diner while making the upstairs bar a more inviting destination for the thriving neighborhood nightlife.

He’ll also make some culinary changes by

consolidating the menu, capitalizing on all things starting to work with, being able to help them do the Southern and getting rid of the items that don’t fit that same thing that I like to do, play and create and elevate themselves, it’s been fun.” description, namely the Mediterranean ones.

Some of the biggest changes coming to Dish will “My biggest thing was getting rid of pita [bread], just because we’re a Southern diner. I wanted to move be based more in aesthetic than flavor. Donald plans away from that, so all the sandwiches are now built to spruce up the patio, beginning with replacing the different,” he tells me. “A couple new sandwiches. back door next to the bar with a glass door, so as to We’re not serving pimento cheese and collard dip with pita bread. We’re going to do housefried chips and Ritz crackers. It’s a little bit more Southern.”

The sandwiches he plans to introduce include smoked turkey and pork belly, cooked with the smoker from his other nearby venture, Sweet Lew’s BBQ. He also teases some spicy chicken menu items that aren’t quite Nashville hot chicken but “in the style of,” as he describes them.

At the helm of the changes in the kitchen will be Houser, a Charlotte native who grew LEWIS DONALD IN DISH up with Dish being one of the staples of the east side. He would eat there regularly, shed some light on the darkened corner of the upstairs during his dad’s 25-year tenure working at Bojangles’ room. That will also serve to let bargoers know that the Coliseum, along with other gems like House of Pizza patio exists, and that’s where they’ll see the biggest differences. and Chris’ Deli.

On the back porch, which has always been home to Houser worked in the kitchen at Leroy Fox, then moved to Futo Buta, where he spent six months as a few tables and shut off from the rest of the bustling neighborhood, Donald plans to open things up quite literally by removing the gate altogether and cutting the wooden fence down to chest level, with a bar to place drinks and plates on.

“I know the back of the building is a parking lot, but who cares?” Donald asks.

“It’s the neighborhood. That’s where we’re at. We want people to see us and know us.”

There will be plenty of eyes coming from the hightraffic lot that sits between Dish, Thomas Street Tavern, PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN Whiskey Warehouse and Wells Fargo, and what they’ll see is a head chef before Donald hired him for the Dish job. He new mural from SHE Originals. The artist has lived in Germany for the last 17 years but grew up near Dish in said he’s been enjoying getting back to his roots.

“Coming in here, it’s what I know and grew up the Commonwealth Avenue and returned to complete eating and cooking how I like to eat, so it’s been fun her first public art piece in Charlotte, which will wrap with that,” Houser says. “Then having other guys that around Dish’s two walls and the silver storage trailer I’ve worked with before and new people that I’m just behind the restaurant.

Beyond the food and the new look, Donald hopes to finish off the trifecta with a series of events that will bring people in for the new, later hours. In January, he launched Dish After Dark, which has featured local musicians like Leisure McCorkle and Betty White Bronco performing for intimate crowds upstairs in the bar area on Wednesday nights. After the reopening, he plans to extend the Dish After Dark series to include karaoke and trivia events.

It’s all part of a plan to make Dish more than a diner, with later hours and plenty of reasons to come in and stay awhile.

“Charlotte’s really big on patios, and we’re in Plaza Midwood, and we’re really big on having a place to have a beer,” he says before pausing, the constant struggle between Craver’s wise words and his own PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN vision apparent on his face.

“Maybe Penny will get mad, but it’s been real tough to get people to walk through Grandma’s house at 8:30 at night to get a beer, by making them walk through that restaurant,” referring to the look of the dining room rather than Penny herself, whom he considers a dear friend.

He hasn’t forgotten the family crowd, however.

Upon reopening Dish in October he opened the restaurant on Sunday mornings for brunch, and says one of the biggest requests he gets to this day is to open even earlier on the weekends. The weekend brunch rush is often the busiest time at Dish, and Donald plans to ease the load on his kitchen staff by consolidating. He won’t offer the full menu along with the breakfast menu anymore, but a new brunch menu that will include all the breakfast items and some other favorites like salmon patties, chicken and dumplings, fried green tomatoes and other veggies.

Later in the year, he’s looking to potentially add booths upstairs, as he constantly runs out during popular dining times and hears from parents whose kids love them.

“We’re still diner-forward, we’re food forward, so on any day of the week and at night especially, we have tons of families that come through here and we run out of booths,” he says. “We only have five, so if I can put some more back here, that would help out with that, and that’s what we’re here to do: feed the masses.”

Feed those masses, just don’t fuck with the carrots.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

FOOD & DRINK CONTINUED

NEWBIE FOODIE CHARLOTTE BARGAIN BURGER SHOWDOWN Where’s the beef?

Pg. 25 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BY DARRELL HORWITZ

While living in Chicago, I had the fortune to feast on the burgers of Au Cheval, named the “Best Burger in America” by Bon Appetit magazine in 2012 and a regular on other national best burger lists. Let me tell you, it’s not hyperbole.

So I’m confident that I know good burgers. I also recognize when burgers are not worth my time. I lived right across the street from a popular burger emporium and literally would not cross the street even out of convenience after giving them a few chances.

Being new in town, and trying to save money since I’m a starving writer, (I actually eat pretty well) I thought I would check out Charlotte establishments that have burger specials so you can get in on the deal. I picked four spots and tried a burger at each. My preference is medium rare, as I think they taste best that way. I enjoy taking a bite and seeing the juices flow. They all came with fries so I will comment on them, but remember, this is the Charlotte Bargain Burger Showdown — cue the dramatic music — so I won’t forget what’s most important.

My first stop was at Comet Grill on Park Road, which offers a Saturday special. My wife opted for the All American burger and I went with the Steakhouse burger. Her $8 burger was $5 and my 10-buck choice ran me $8.

My burger came out medium to my dismay. It was a good burger for the money, equipped with Swiss cheese, a Portobello mushroom, grilled red onion and special sauce, along with lettuce and tomato. Still, something seemed missing. Salt, perhaps?

My wife thought her burger tasted good, and she liked the award-winning fries better than I did. They had a good potato taste, but I thought they were soggy and would have preferred a crisper tater. That’s why I’m the critic and she’s not.

My next stop was the Oak Steakhouse located

in SouthPark. We went for the Oak Burger special for $8, served in the bar area from 4:30-7 p.m. daily. It’s normally $16, so it’s a good deal for a half-pound house-blend burger topped with grilled sweet onions and white cheddar on a brioche bun with lettuce and tomato.

The burger was cooked perfectly medium rare, but again, something was missing. I thought it could use some seasoning, so I sprinkled on some Himalayan salt and it helped. My wife didn’t like the texture of the meat. She cut her sandwich in half — saying it was too big to fit in her mouth.

The truffle fries were good from the first bite and didn’t need ketchup. The atmosphere in the bar was nice, and for $8, you can’t go wrong with that choice.

Reid’s Fine Foods was next on the list. They have multiple locations around town and it’s known as a great place to pick up foods not found in the bigger grocery chains. I had heard about the Tuesday burger special at lunch and dinner and thought I would give it a try.

At Reid’s, you order at the food counter, go to the register and pay, then hand the receipt to the person at the cooking area and wait for your name to be called.

It’s the only spot on this list that doesn’t provide table service.

Reid’s features a steakburger of house-ground filet, sirloin and ribeye for $8.99, almost half off the usual $15. My burger came with sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato served on an artisan bun. I opted for the caramelized onions over the raw red onion that comes standard. The burger had a nice appearance on the outside, but was cooked medium rather than medium rare.

You can tell the meat is of good quality, but maybe too good for a burger. More fat content makes a juicier burger. After my first bite, I thought it could use more seasoning. As I continued eating, I only became more convinced of this.

Are you starting to notice a pattern here? Each burger down the list was lacking seasoning. The one rule they always say on Top Chef is, “Make sure your food is properly seasoned before putting it out.”

The truffle fries were of the shoestring variety, with the proper amount of truffle seasoning. They were good. The burger is worth the price on Tuesday, but it’s not going to rock your world — or taste buds.

The last stop on my trek was Dogwood Southern

It wasn’t cooked perfectly medium rare. I thought Table and Bar in SouthPark. They feature their burger special Monday through Saturday in the bar area from it was a bit toward medium, but it tasted good and 5-6:30 p.m. for $5. It normally runs $14, so that’s isn’t that what matters?

The fries were not truffle. They were good, but I definitely a deal. liked the fries better at Oak and Reid’s. They were very crisp; maybe a little too crisp for my liking.

Taylor mentioned to me that not a lot of people knew about the burger special, though he thought business was starting to pick up for it. It deserves a much bigger pick-up, as it is the winner of the Bargain Burger Beatdown.

I would go with Oak as my second favorite, and while I’m having a hard time choosing between DOGWOOD’S BURGER AND FRIES PHOTO BY DARRELL HORWITZ Reid’s and Comet, I think the burger was better at Comet, so I I sat at the bar and was greeted by a young man have it coming in third with Reid’s coming up the rear named Taylor. He was very nice and welcoming, despite having better fries.

If I missed your favorite, let me know. While I enjoy and we bonded over sports talk. The burger came in short order and featured grass-fed beef, tomato jam, giving you my opinion, I appreciate your help with caramelized onions, arugula and gruyere cheese. I took places I should check out, as I’m the newbie here. a bite and it was … wait for it … mercifully seasoned INFO@QCNERVE.COM just right and tasted great.

DAILY DRINK SPECIALS

NODA

Pg. 26 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

CABO FISH TACO Monday: $5 El Cheapo margarita Tuesday: $3.50 Tecate and Tecate Light, $5 Altos silver tequila Wednesday: $7 Absolut Lime Moscow mule Thursday: $1 off neighborhood beers on draft Friday-Saturday: $8 margarita special Sunday: $5 mimosas, $6 Absolut Peppar bloody mary, $7 Absolut Lime Moscow mule JACKBEAGLE’S Monday: $5 Cuervo margaritas Tuesday: $3 drafts, $5 vodka Red Bull Wednesday: $1 off whiskey Thursday: $6 Deep Eddy’s vodka Red Bull Friday: $5 Fun-Dip shots, $5 Crown Black Saturday: $5 Gummy Bear shots, $5 big mimosa, $6.50 double bloody mary Sunday: $5 big mimosa, $6.50 double bloody mary SANCTUARY PUB Monday: $7 Bulleit and Bulleit Rye, $3 Yuengling and PBR APA Tuesday: $6 Tuaca, $6 Tullamore Dew Wednesday: $3 Birdsong beers, $5 Sauza, Thursday: $2 Bartender Bottles, $6 Crown Royal Sunday: $3 Birdsong, $3 Tall or Call NODA 101 Monday: $4 Ketel One Lemon Drop, $4 well liquor, $5 Camerena Tuesday: $6 seasonal cocktails, $6 Jameson, $4 Grape Gatorade Wednesday: $5 Green Tea Shot, $6 Blue Balls Thursday: $5 Jagermeister, $6 vodka Redbull, $6 Oxley Gin Cocktail Friday: $5 Fireball, $6 vodka Red Bull, $6 Jameson Saturday: $5 Fireball, $6 vodka Red Bull Sunday: $5 Deep Eddy Flavors, $1 off tequila, $5 White Gummy Bear shots BILLY JACK’S SHACK Monday: $1 off moonshine, $3 domestics Tuesday: $1 off all drafts, $7 Jameson Wednesday: $1 off bottles and cans Thursday: $4.50 wells Friday: $5 Fireball, $1 off local bottles and cans Saturday: $4 mimosas $5 Brunch Punch, Sunday: $4 mimosas, $5 Brunch Punch, $5 Fireball, $10 champagne bottles ROOM & BOARD Monday: $2 domestic botttles, $2 PBR Draft, $3 Wells, $4 Sin Shot of the week Tuesday: $2 off all tequilas, $3 Corona/Corona Lt bottles, $5 house margaritas Wednesday: 1/2 price bottles of wine, $4 drafts, $5 Jameson Thursday: $2.50 Bud/Ultra/PBR Draft, $2 off R&B cocktail list, $5 Smirnoff flavors Friday: $5 Pink Whitney, $6 Screwball, $6 Deep Eddy Flavor Saturday: $15 Miller Lt & Coors Lt buckets, $18 Corona/Corona LT buckets, $5 Fireball Sunday: $3 Mimosas/$12 carafes/$15 bottomless w/ entree purchase, $4 house bloodys, $4 White Claws, $15 Bud/Bud Lt/Ulta buckets

DILWORTH BELMONT/ PLAZA MIDWOOD

HATTIE’S TAP & TAVERN Monday: $6 Pabst & Paddy’s Tuesday: $5 Fireball Wednesday: $3 mystery craft beers Thursday: $6 margaritas Friday-Saturday: $5 well drinks Sunday: $10 domestic buckets INTERMEZZO Monday: $4 Makers Mark, $2 domestic bottles Tuesday: $4 margaritas, $7 Tito’s mules, $3 Blanche de Bruxelles, $3 OMB Copper Wednesday: 1/2 price wine bottles, $2 off bourbon of the week Thursday: $6.50 Ketel One Botanical Series, $4 Stoli Friday: $4 20-oz. Birdsong LazyBird Brown Ale and Birdsong Jalapeño Ale Saturday: 1/2 price martinis Sunday: $3 drafts ROASTING COMPANY Monday: $4 OMB draft, $5 Jack Daniels & Deep Eddy Lemon, $4 Rose & Prosecco draft Tuesday: $4 Wooden Robot draft, $5 Deep Eddy, $5 shots of Tullamore Dew Wednesday: $4 Birdsong draft, $4 craft cans/import bottles, $6 Reyka vodka, $6 Larceny bourbon Thursday: $4 Triple C draft, $5 Lunazul tequila, 1/2 price bottles of wine Friday: $4 select drafts, $4 Fireball shots, $6 Red Bull & vodka Saturday: $4 Legion draft, $4 mimosa, $5 Tico bloody mary, $6 Tito’s vodka Sunday: $4 select draft, $4 mimosa, $5 Tico bloody mary, $5 Jager Fireball & Rumpleminz DISH Monday: $5 margaritas Tuesday: $5 glasses of wine Wednesday: $3 well drinks Thursday: $3 drafts Friday: $6 PBR tall boys w/ a shot of Jameson Saturday: $4 mimosas, $5 bloody, $8 Bloody Mary Kate Sunday: $4 mimosas, $5 bloody, $8 Bloody Mary Kate

SOUTH END

COMMON MARKET SOUTH END Monday: 1/2 off select pints Tuesday: Free beer tasting 5-7 p.m.

Wednesday: $2 off select pints, wine tasting 5-7 p.m.

BIG BEN PUB Monday: $6 beer cocktails, $2 off vodka Tuesday: $8 mules, 1/2 off gin Wednesday: $6 you-call-it, 1/2 off wine bottles Thursday: $4 wells, 1/2 off specialty cocktails Friday: $5.50 Guinness and Crispin, $6 vodka Red Bull Saturday-Sunday: $4 bloody marys and mimosas, $15 mimosa carafes MAC’S SPEED SHOP Monday: $3 pints, $5 Tito’s Tuesday: 1/2 price wine, $3 mystery draft Wednesday: $4 tall boys, $5 Lunazul Blanco Thursday: $3 mystery cans and bottles, $4 Jim Beam Saturday: $1 off North Carolina pints Sunday: $4 mimosas & bloody marys GIN MILL Monday: $5 Tito’s and New Amsterdam Tuesday: 1/2 price wine Wednesday: $4 draft beer Thursday: $2.50 PBR, $5 Jack Daniels and Tito’s

BAKERSFIELD Monday: $3 Jack Daniels Tuesday: $3 Tres Generaciones, $10 Don Julio 1942 Wednesday: $3 Bulleit Bourbon Thursday: $3 Espolon Friday: $3 George Dickel No. 8 Saturday: $3 Lunazul Sunday: $3 Larceny Bourbon 300EAST Monday: 1/2 off wines by the glass Tuesday: 1/2 off beer cans and glasses of Italian reds Thursday: $3.50 local drafts, $8.50 Matilda Wong cocktails Sunday: 1/2 off wine bottles, $5 mimosas & bloody marys, $6 Bellinis BAD DADDY’S BURGER BAR Monday: 20-oz. draft for 16-oz. price Tuesday: $5 specialty cocktails Wednesday: $3.50 local drafts Saturday-Sunday: $5 mimosas & bloody marys DILWORTH NEIGHBORHOOD GRILLE Monday: $4 Crown & Down Tuesday: $4 drafts, $12 pitchers, $5 flights of North Carolina drafts Wednesday: 1/2 off wine bottles and martinis Thursday: $12 domestic buckets, $18 import buckets Friday: $3 craft drafts, $5 flavored vodka Saturday: $5 mason jar cocktails SUMMIT ROOM Tuesday: $4 drafts Wednesday: 1/2 off glasses of wine Thursday: $7 Summit cocktails

UPTOWN

THE LOCAL Monday: $7 Casamigos, $2 Natty Boh and Miller High Life, $5 Jager Tuesday: $3 Modelo, $5 house margaritas, $5 Don Julio Wednesday: $5 Crown & Down, $3 Southern Tier Thursday: $5 Captain Morgan, $7 craft mules, $16 Bud Light buckets Friday: $3 Jell-O shots, $4 drafts, $5 wells Saturday: $3 PBR, $5 Jager Sunday: $7 loaded mimosa, $7 Grey Goose bloody mary, $16 Bud Light buckets THE DAILY TAVERN Wednesday: $5 whiskey Thursday: $4 pint night Sunday: $4 Miller Lite, $6 bloody marys DANDELION MARKET Monday: $3 select drafts Tuesday: $15 select bottles of wines Saturday-Sunday: Bloody mary bar ROXBURY Friday: $5 flavored vodka drinks, $5 fire shots, $3 bottles Saturday: $5 fire shots, $4 ZIMA, $3 bottles WORLD OF BEER Monday: $2 off North Carolina drafts and spirits Tuesday: 25 percent off bottles and cans, $5 mules Wednesday: 1/2-priced wine, wheats and sangrias Thursday: $4 old school, $4 well, $4 signature shots Friday-Saturday: $3 shot of the week Sunday: $2 mimosas, $3 bloody marys & beermosas PROHIBITION Tuesday: 1/2 off everything Wednesday: $3 drafts Thursday: $2 PBR, $6 vodka Red Bull Friday-Saturday: $4 call-its

M-F: 5PM - 2AM SAT & SUN: 12PM - 2AM

Drinks.

Games.

Music.

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED NODA BAR

453 East 36th st. Charlotte, nc 28205 | 980.819.9942 | theblindpignoda.com

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

BY LINDA THISTLE

©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE.

ACROSS 1 Scared 7 Side of a cut gem 12 Fighting junk e-mail 20 GMC truck 21 Sunni’s god 22 “Mona Lisa” painter 23 Danes wearing more frills?

25 Easily caught baseball hits 26 TV reception enhancers 27 Tend the soil 29 Court mallets 30 SSgt., e.g.

31 Steel city in the Ruhr 33 Feldman acting more bashfully?

36 Time spent in office 38 Rubbish 41 Angry with 42 “Modern Family” airer 45 Certain quadrilateral 47 One who’s worshiped 51 Griffin suffering more pain?

56 Vacuum tube variety 58 Pastoral tract 59 Spanish for “houses” 60 Prefix with mobile 63 Charles of chair design 64 Founding father Franklin 66 Hemingway feeling more uptight?

69 Noblewoman 70 Flowers from Mexico 72 Med. scans 73 Fisher using more off-color language?

76 Believing in one God

80 “Remember the -!”

81 “Splendor in the Grass” director Kazan 82 John of lawn tractors 83 I, to Klaus 84 Import taxes 86 Allen being more sly?

90 Venue 91 Big company, investment-wise 94 Swirly letter 95 Around, as a year 96 Warble 99 “I - film today ...” (Beatles lyric) 103 Buck looking more sickly?

108 Nobelist Bohr 111 Fleur-de- - (iris) 112 Andean pack animals 113 Light collision 116 Minnow, e.g.

118 Weird things 121 Duchamp showing more serenity?

123 Chastised loudly 124 Kowtow, say 125 Brown slowly 126 Grinning villains, often 127 Nobelist Irish poet 128 Rococo DOWN 1 Leaning 2 Engaged man 3 Parish leader 4 Singer India.5 Papas of “Z” 6 Mends, as holey socks 7 Less true 8 - carte menu

9 Film teaser 10 British noble 11 2003-07 Fox drama series 12 High mount 13 Revived: Prefix 14 First-rate 15 “Actually ...”

16 Gunfire burst 17 Nosy sort 18 “Someone Like You” singer 19 Lichen-filled 24 Film’s actors 28 Uterus 32 Drug busters 34 Hoopster Ming 35 Newspaper employee 37 - tai 39 “Button it!”

40 - polloi 43 Happened to 44 “Mad Money” host Jim 46 Bad guy 47 Pakistanis’ neighbors 48 Not foreign, as policy 49 Lyric works 50 “Judge not, - ye be judged” 51 Tirana’s land: Abbr.

52 Dee lead-in 53 Vendor’s pushable vehicle 54 “Do - say, not ...”

55 “Grease” director Kleiser 57 Hunting dogs 61 Old Glory’s country 62 One being examined 65 “Thor” actress Alexander 66 Old Balkan region 67 Lilly of drugs

Pg. 27 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

March 7 & 10 2020

Presented by: Opera Carolina in partnership with Queens University of Charlotte Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement Sandra Levine Theatre To purchase tickets online visit: www.CarolinaTix.org/events/details/scaliaginsburg

SHALL I COMPARE THEE? ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

68 Come to light 71 Jackie’s #2 73 “Curses!”

74 Jai 75 Basso Siepi 77 That girl’s 78 Here, to Fifi 79 Fidel’s friend 82 Immerse 85 Opposite 87 Pretend 88 Long-jawed fish 89 Biblical beast 92 Philips rival 93 Attire 95 Lunar feature 97 Defames in writing 98 - jet 100 Keys of R&B 101 Least naive 102 Singer Simpson 103 Ruses 104 John on the Mayflower 105 Chili server 106 Boxer Griffith 107 Fortuitous 109 Pole dance?

110 “Oh My My” singer Ringo 114 Lion’s locks 115 “SOS!,” e.g.

117 Drescher or Tarkenton 119 Gift for music 120 Many GPS lines: Abbr.

122 Gathered

LIFESTYLE

HOROSCOPE FEB 26 - MAR 3

MAR 4 - MAR 10

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) There could be

some negative reaction to your tough stance when making a recent decision. But overall, your efforts result in well-earned recognition and all that can follow from that.

(September 23 to October 22) An idea that could be helpful to you comes from an unlikely source. Listen to it. Discuss it. If necessary, adjust it.

If it looks as if it might work out quite well, go ahead and use it.

TAURUS

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Be careful TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Financial matters SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Regarding

(April 20 to May 20) Your financial situation seems confusing, even for the fiscally savvy Bovine. Maybe it’s the conflicting advice you’re getting. Check it out before things get too tangled to unknot.

LIBRA

about allowing someone to share a very personal secret with you. This could cause problems down the line with others who are involved in that person’s private life.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A relaxed attitude SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) goes a long way in helping you deal with any of life’s irritants that might be popping up this week. You’re also a reassuring role model for others in the same situation.

A cooling down of a relationship could be the result of neglect, unintended or not. To save it from icing over, you need to warm it up with a large dose of hot Sagittarius passion.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Your aspect favors CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) This is creativity, which should persuade you to work on your artistic projects. If time is a problem, prioritize your commitments so that your work isn’t compromised.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Scrutinize all the job

offers that interest you. Most are honest and worth considering. But a few might not be completely forthcoming about what the job is and what the salary and benefits are.

VIRGO

Pg. 28 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

(August 23 to September 22) An unexpected snafu could delay the completion of a project you’re eager to finish. Find out what’s causing it, fix it, and if you need help, don’t be shy about asking for it. Good luck.

ARIES

(March 21 to April 19) Having second thoughts could be a good thing, even if you’re determined to go through with your plans. You might find it worthwhile to take a fresh look at how things have been set up.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) While you

might begrudge the added time it will take to get your project from point A to B to C, etc., you could benefit from the facts that will emerge over this expanded time span.

could continue to be a problem until you’re able to your workplace suggestions, be prepared to produce straighten out some of the more pesky situations. the facts to counter reactions from skeptics who feel Once that happens, the rest should be easier to your approach is unreasonable or even impossible. unsnarl.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Family matters once 21) Savvy Sagittarians will look for work-related again take center stage, and should be dealt with answers on their own rather than rely on unproved competently and quickly. And, again, insist on others assumptions. It might take more time to do so, but taking on their fair share of the responsibilities. the payoff is worth it.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Your creative pursuits CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Your

seem to be running into a roadblock. But rather a good time to get involved with a number of family than blame outside factors, look within to see if you matters that involve money and other issues that might be holding back your efforts for some reason. might jeopardize the closeness between and among LEO (July 23 to August 22) Keep that keen Cat’s Eye family members. focused on relevant aspects of this new situation in AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Cheer up. your life. Don’t be distracted by trivial matters. You That difficult person who appears to be deliberately need the pertinent facts before making a decision. stalling your project might just need to be reassured VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) As much as of the value she or he brings to it. you prefer doing things on your own, continue to PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Good news! accept help if you still need to resolve the problem Expect to feel re-energized now that you’ve gone affecting your project. Some cheerful news is about through that stressful energy-depleting period to come your way. involving a lot of changes. Now, go out there and show them what you can do.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a warm, giving

aspects continue to favor family issues, with special emphasis this week on changes in and around your home. Get everyone to suggest what he or she would like to see done.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A matter

you thought had been settled might still produce surprises. Best advice: Continue to gather facts to bolster your position just in case you need to produce them quickly.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) While your

instincts are usually right when discerning ‘twixt truth and deception, you could benefit from doing more research on the new “prospect” that you’ve been pitched.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your wisdom is only

nature that inspires many to follow your example.

matched by your generosity, making you the sort of friend everyone hopes to have.

2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

THE SEEKER AN URBAN ZEN

You don’t need a destination to retreat

Pg. 29 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BY KATIE GRANT

While I should consider myself lucky to live in a place that experiences such mild winters, I can’t help but feel this season has outstayed its welcome. In the traditional Hindu medicinal system Ayurveda, winter is characterized by a heavy, downward moving energy that causes in us a desire to stay inside and sit dormant. Animals hibernate while people rest and reflect, literally withdrawing.

According to Banyan Botanicals, “Ayurveda teaches us that like increases like and that opposites balance.”

To find said balance, I’ve been eagerly getting my butt kicked at boot camp all season, before the sun even has had a chance to peek over the horizon.

This militant regimen, however, has taken a toll on my mind and body. While experiencing burnout, I’ve made the critical error of researching my symptoms on WebMD. The unofficial diagnosis? Adrenal fatigue.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Adrenal fatigue is a term applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems.” Check, check and check. My body feels lame and laden, equally matched by a worrisome mind. I stir easily in my sleep, waking at the presence of any slight disturbance.

I understand I should be taking better care of myself; if I don’t relax now my body will pick a day to quit on its own. I found an “Urban Zen IN-House Yoga Retreat” experience and booked it immediately, yearning for a Sunday afternoon of unwinding. Hosted by Okra and lead by Victoria Martinez and Jane Ritz, the workshop’s focus is on inner-personal work and spiritual dedication paired with energy adjustments to align body, mind and spirit — just what the Web MD doctor ordered.

We crowded onto our mats in a full room, surrounding ourselves with the necessary tools for a chill afternoon: a journal, blanket, two yoga blocks and a bolster (basically a giant pillow).

Lead by Victoria, we initiated our practice together with breath of fire, a type of pranayama or breathing technique incorporating rapid and continuous inhalations and exhalations through the nose. Its purpose is to rid the body of toxins, sharpen focus

and counter the slow-moving energy of the winter months. Interestingly, in my post-retreat research I learned that I suffer from “paradoxical breathing,” or breathing backwards. I inhaled by pulling the belly in, thus making less space for the breath instead of more.

People who are often anxious (me) or smoke frequently (me in high school) tend to have this pattern.

We stood as a group, moving on to our qigong practice. Qi (or chi) is often translated as life energy, referring to energy circulating through the body. We incorporate qigong body tapping to awaken dormant energy within the body. My fingers tingling with energy, I sat down to thoughtfully journal about what I wanted to receive throughout my practice and what I wanted to release. My intentions are typically some cloudy variation of “express more gratitude” while releasing negative thought patterns.

I can tell you with 100% surety, negative outlooks are no joke. They create symptoms of chronic stress, essentially leaching your mind and body of happiness.

With the potential to decrease our life span, chronic stress is a silent killer. According to the Mecklenburg County 2019 Pulse Report, “More than half of all deaths in Mecklenburg County are due to chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.” I am determined to not become a statistic.

Next was my absolute favorite part of the workshop: calming, restorative yoga. According to Yoga Journal, “A restorative yoga sequence typically involves only five or six poses, supported by props that allow you to completely relax and rest. Held for 5 minutes or more, restorative poses include light twists, seated forward folds, and gentle backbends.”

A passive practice, the goal is to slow down and open up through stretching. During this phase of the workshop, Jane weaved her way through the yogis sprawled on their mats, infusing the room with healing energy.

As we reclined onto our mats, again supported by our yoga props, we were gifted with a small, drawstring bag of chakra gemstones. We aligned them with our mats and concluded our afternoon practice with a body scan meditation and Yoga Nidra, a systematic form of guided relaxation to seal in the therapeutic effects of the Urban Zen Retreat experience.

Expecting to feel lethargic upon rising, what I actually experienced was the adverse — light, clear and energetic. The perfect opportunity to retox with a shot of whiskey on a frigid winter’s day.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

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LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE SPIT AND POLISH

Not like other jobs

Pg. 30 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

BY DAN SAVAGE

I’m a 31-year-old cis bisexual woman. I’m hetero-romantic and in a monogamish relationship with a man. We play with other people together.

I’ve never liked giving blowjobs because I was taught that girls who give blowjobs are “sluts.”

Phrases that are meant to be insulting like “You suck,” “Suck it,” “Go suck a dick,” etc. created a strong association in my mind between blowjobs and men degrading women. (Men take what they want, and women get used and called sluts.) As such, I never sucked much dick — and if I did, it was only briefly and never to completion. I also find spit and come kind of gross. Even when I get really wet during sex, it’s a bit of a turnoff, and I hate that it makes me feel gross and wish I could change my thinking around it. Early in our relationship, my husband noticed the lack of blowjobs and confronted me, saying they were really important to him. At first I felt a little insecure about being inadequate in this area, but then I decided to do some research, because I honestly thought it wasn’t just me and most women don’t like giving blowjobs. (Because how could they? It’s so demeaning!) But I learned lots of my female friends enjoy giving blowjobs — they like being in control, giving a partner pleasure, etc. — so I googled ways to start liking blowjobs and I’ve started to get into them! It’s great! Except I still don’t like when he comes in my mouth or if a blowjob gets super spitty. But my husband loves sloppy blowjobs; he says the lubrication feels good and he enjoys the “dirtiness” of it. If I know he’s getting close to coming or if it gets super wet and I have spit all over my face, my gag reflex activates and it’s hard to continue.

I feel like I’m at an impasse. I want to give him the blowjobs he wants, but I don’t know how to get around (or hopefully start enjoying!) the supersloppy-through-to-completion blowjobs he likes.

Do you have any advice?

SLOPPY

ORAL

ALWAYS KEEPS DRENCHED

ERECTIONS

You play with other people together, SOAKED, but have you tried observing — by which I mean actively observing, by which I mean actually participating — while your husband gets a sloppy blowjob from someone who really enjoys giving them?

If someone else was blowing your husband while you made out with him or sat on his face or played with his tits or whatever might enhance the experience for him … and you watched another woman choke that dick down … you might come to appreciate what’s in it for the person giving the sloppy blowjob.

Most people who were taught that girls who give blowjobs are sluts were also taught that open relationships are wrong and women who have sex with other women are going to hell.

You got over what you were taught about monogamish relationships and being bisexual years ago, SOAKED, and recently got over what you were taught about women who enjoy sucking cock.

While some people have physical limitations they can’t overcome — some gag reflexes are unconquerable — watching someone enjoy something you don’t can make you want to experience it yourself.

But even if your observations don’t trigger a desire to get down there and get sloppy and swallow his load yourself, your husband would be getting the kind of blowjobs he enjoys most and you would be an intrinsic part of them.

If you set up the date, you’d be making them happen, even if you weren’t doing them. And if you were into the scenario and/or the other woman — if the whole thing got you off, not just off the hook — then there would be something in it for you, too.

And take it from me, SOAKED, to be kissed with both passion and gratitude by, say, a husband (ahem) who’s really enjoying something someone else is doing for/to him — whether or not that something is something you also enjoy doing for/to him from time to time — is really fucking hot.

So even if you never come around — even if sloppy blowjobs are something you have to outsource permanently — you and your husband can enjoy years of sloppy blowjobs together, with the assistance of a series of very special (and very slutty) guest stars.

And you can get always get those blowjobs started — the non-sloppy, non-spitty initial phase — before passing the baton off to your guest star.

Married 40-year-old gay guy here. I hate beards — the look, the feel, the smell — and I miss the good old days when the only beards gay dudes had were metaphorical. When I got back from a long business trip, my hot, sexy, previously smooth husband of many years was sporting a beard.

Unsurprisingly, I hate it and find it to be a complete turnoff. However, he says this is controlling behavior on my part, it’s his body and his choice, and he’s hurt that I’m rejecting him.

He also says I’ll get used to it and he doesn’t plan to keep it forever. I agree that it’s his body and his choice, but I think he should still take me into consideration, and that it’s actually him who’s rejecting me, by choosing the beard over me.

What’s your take?

SPOUSE’S HAIRINESS AVERTS VIRILE ERECTION

I’m with you, SHAVE, but I’m also with him. It is his body, and growing a beard is something he can choose to do with the face section of his body.

But that my body/my choice stuff cuts both ways: Your body is yours, and what you do with your body is your choice. And you can choose not to press your body against his — or press your face against his — while he’s got a beard.

If long business trips are a regular part of your life, maybe he could grow his beard out in your absence and shave when you get home. (Full disclosure: I have a pronounced anti-beard bias, which means I’m not exactly impartial.)

ON THE LOVECAST, ALL THINGS WEED WITH LESTER BLACK: SAVAGELOVECAST.COM; MAIL@SAVAGELOVE.NET; FOLLOW DAN ON TWITTER @FAKEDANSAVAGE

I’m a 30-year-old queer cis woman and a late bloomer. My first relationship — with a hetero cis man — began when I was 28. He was my first sexual partner. I fell in love hard, but he broke up with me after almost two years. Months later, I know I’m not ready to fall in love again, but I have a high sex drive. I masturbate frequently, but when I think about playful/romantic sex, the only memories I have are with the ex, which makes me sad. So I watch rough porn, which keeps me from thinking about the ex. But watching bondage videos alone isn’t the sex life I want. Should I Tinder or Lex up some rough casual sex? Get drunk and get some more memories in the mix? (I don’t think I could get out of my head enough to do this sober.) Assuming I minimize the risks of pregnancy and STIs and partners that are bad at consent, what’s the risk of going for it? How does it compare to the risk of getting stuck in this nowhere land and never finding a new love/sex buddy?

Or maybe I need to get drunk and jerk off alone without the porn and just feel all my feelings and avoid any risk of crying on some poor stranger?

I NEED A PLAN TODAY

Do it all, INAPT. Masturbate to kink porn and feel dirty, masturbate to your memories and feel sad, and put yourself out there on Tinder and Lex and see if there isn’t someone who intrigues you. But stop telling yourself you can’t find romance with a partner you first met up with for rough sex. I know lots of people who first met up with someone for rough sex, clicked on a deeper level, started dating, and have since enjoyed years of sex that’s both rough and loving. Finally, booze has a way of intensifying feelings of sadness — so if you don’t want to wind up sobbing on the shoulder of some poor stranger, don’t get drunk before that hookup.

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Pg. 31 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

March 7 & 10 2020

Pg. 32 FEB 26 - MAR 10, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

Presented by: Opera Carolina in partnership with Queens University of Charlotte Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement Sandra Levine Theatre To purchase tickets online visit: www.CarolinaTix.org/events/details/scaliaginsburg