NV update

In my exhaustion last night I forgot to mention the lineup for NV nightclub this weekend. If you're going, '80s one hit-wonder Shannon ("Let the Music Play") will perform Friday, and DJ Robert Rodriguez will spin high-energy dance music on Saturday. Big hair and thongs requested for Friday, but I say rock 'em Saturday too.

The force is with you

(TONYA JAMESON, Charlotte Observer)
You were supposed to be the chosen one! Star Wars fan ready for the final installment at Birkdale Village on Wednesday.

I had the lamest crowd at Star Wars tonight. Cinema 8 at Birkdale Village was as quiet as a library when the opening line (Long ago, blah, blah) flashed on the screen. At Regal Stonecrest, where my roommate saw the movie, he said people cheered as soon as the blue words appeared on the screen. And fans got even rowdier when R2-D2 was putting the smackdown on a couple of droid bullies. Another friend called from Chicago and said there was a light saber battle in his cinema. Next time, I'll screen hop.

"Revenge of the Sith" is the best of the three prequels. It's as good as "Return of the Jedi," my least favorite of the originals. It takes "Sith" way too long to show what I really wanted to see: Anakin Skywalker embrace the dark side, fight Obi-Wan Kenobi and become the man in black. During Skywalker's journey to evil I noticed plenty of similarities between the power hungry jedi and President Bush, as well as the United States and the Republic. (More on that in a later arts column.) When Anakin and Obi-Wan were spanking the bad guys the movie flowed well. It sputtered with stilted dialogue and Yoda's gibberish. Talking backwards does not wise one make. Oh, and pay attention to Chancellor Palpatine. He gets way too much of a rush being around Anakin when the dark side of the force is working its mojo.

Look me up tomorrow. I'll give you the scoop on the grand opening of Rick's Cabaret, formerly Club 2000.

What's to envy?

(TONYA JAMESON, Charlotte Observer)
Cirque de Cornelius: The trapeze artist above the bar drew plenty of stares at Club NV on Wednesday.

After sitting in traffic on I-77 N. for about an hour on Wednesday, I finally arrived at NV nightclub about 10:15 p.m. The first thing I saw inside the club at Exit 28 was a guy on stilts and a dude on the dance floor playing with those Chinese stick things. I drifted toward the bar in desperate need of a cure for my traffic irritation. Before I could order a drink, I noticed a woman suspended above the bar on a rope trapeze.

I ordered my drink and soaked in the place. NV is the latest club to launch in the space previously occupied by Funky Buddha and Vertigo. I never went to Funky Buddha, but layout in NV was similar to the one at Vertigo. It felt like the new owners put on a fresh coat of blue paint, hung some abstract art and tossed in several additions to give the club a posher feel. The music on Wednesday was soulful house with splashes of progressive.

When you walk in there's a huge circular bar on the left and the dance floor is in front of the bar. On the other side of the bar is a raised area, about the height of a stage, with sofas, chairs and cocktail tables. That area was my favorite part. It felt like were sitting on a throne looking down on everyone else. To the rear of the club across from the dance floor is a swanky VIP area seperated by curtains. Each section has its own flat screen TV. Nice touch.

There's also an upstairs with a balcony. It has a small bar, several pool table and several larger flat screen TVs. There's also an exclusive VIP area with one-way glass that looks down on the dance floor. I hear a couple of NASCAR guys were in that private VIP the other day.

I didn't see any big-time race car drivers on Wednesday, but I did bump into Eric McCoy of Red Door, DJ Niz and Rich Saner, who helped organize the bartender's ball. I loved the music on Wednesday. It's a nice club, but it's not worth me driving up from Charlotte, and I'm not sure how this club is going to do in the Lake Norman area. On Wednesday, NV felt like a dress shoes striped shirt club in a flip-flops and shorts community. I wasn't the only person making that observation on Wednesday. Several people I spoke to said they like the club, but they didn't know how it would do north of uptown.

As Rob Mason and several of his friends said, when people in the Lake Norman area want to get dressed up they come to Charlotte. NV's a nice spot and with a few tweaks to accommodate a more casual crowd it could be just the right club for the burbs.