What about "The Color Purple?"

I’m not blogging about the musical. Read my take on “The Color Purple” next week in my online column That’s Wassup!.

I will tell you this: Fantasia, who watched from a balcony seat on Sunday, is going to be great as Celie. She has a much stronger voice than the current actress.

Fantasia makes her Broadway debut on Tuesday, and I have a feeling that performance will be emotionally overwhelming for her. It’s her first, and too much of Celie’s life mirrors her own.

Tilt's grand opening

If you ever went to Liquid Lounge, you probably won’t recognize the place the first time you walk into Tilt. The change isn’t as dramatic as the Mythos to Forum renovation, but it's a huge improvement.

On Thursday, I joined a couple hundred people at the grand-opening party, and the place looks great. Tilt's owners are Dixie’s Tavern’s Lucas Johns, Anthony Karey and Chris Peavey, and Adam Parker of Time lounge, and the time and money they put into the renovation shows.

Tilt has hardwood floors throughout the main room. The curtained area to the left of the main entrance is gone, and so is the VIP area that took up half of the dance floor. The colors are warm chocolate-browns, and large art installations and mirrors hang on the walls. The patio now has better canvas over the roof.

Tilt feels roomier than Liquid. There are bistro tables throughout the martini lounge, and several flat-screen TVs. The renovations surprised me, but the music on Thursday night was an even bigger surprise: I expected the typical hip-hop, but the DJ spun “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Shout” and rock music. It was refreshingly odd music mix.

Donkey show worth the drive to Salisbury

I can’t tell you what “The Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night’s Disco,” currently playing at the Meroney Theater in the Salisbury, was about.

I can tell you that on Thursday night I laughed more during the play -- a disco version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – than I did during the movie “Norbit.”

Here’s what I know: There are three couples, and each person lusts after someone else's partner. Two beefy guys in pale blue leisure suits and Afro wigs call themselves the Vinnies and think they're sexy. A fairy on roller skates gives people Funky Cold Medina, which makes them all pass out and then wake up in love with their partner. Oh, and there's a conga line through the audience and a Cirque Du Soleil-style dance number complete with masquerade masks and costumes.

Like I said, it was confusing. Since everyone wears glittery outfits, platform shoes, bell-bottoms and sings songs such as “Staying Alive,” “Car Wash” and “I’m Your Boogie,” does the play really need to make sense? The play takes place on a disco dance floor, which extends into the orchestra seats of the theater. Audience members sit on the stage and get to dance with cast members. If you’re not careful, one of the Vinnies might sit on your lap.

Piedmont Players' production of “The Donkey Show” is kitschy in a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” way. It’s worth the 45-minute drive from downtown Charlotte. Arrive early enough to grab a glass of wine at the Blue Vine next door to the theater. It makes the play funnier.

Did I mention there’s a dance number set to the music of the Mos Eisley cantina scene in “Star Wars”? Well, there is. R2-D2 makes an appearance, too. So, does a donkey.

McSwain case leaves a lot of unanswered questions

Matt Bolick has a lot of explaining to do.
So does 15-year-old Bethany McSwain.
And so does McSwain’s mama, Jill.

Bolick and the McSwains are at the center of a he-said-she-said tale of underage drinking, partying and bad judgment.

Two things are certain.

*Bolick, 39, an assistant manager at the Forum, was led away from the nightclub in handcuffs on Saturday. (That doesn’t look good for the city’s club industry.) He faces three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and four counts of giving or selling alcohol to a minor. Bolick is out on bond.

The Observer reported that Bolick is accused of allowing three girls - ages 14, 15 and 16 - into the bar and giving them mixed drinks. WBTV reported that Bolick is accused of taking the trio to his apartment and giving them alcohol, and then leading all three into the Forum.

*Taxpayers’ money was wasted because police searched for Bethany McSwain after her mother said she disappeared from home last Thursday. Bethany was found safely at UNC Charlotte early Tuesday morning after several students reported seeing her there.

Those things are certain, but how we came to that is confusing.

Jill McSwain has told the media that she discovered on Bethany’s MySpace page that her daughter was partying at the Forum and that she met Bolick on MySpace.

Bolick isn’t talking.

An e-mail statement issued by the Forum management on Wednesday read:
“On Wednesday, March 21st, The Forum staff was approached by a woman who stated that her 15-year-old daughter was inside the club. She was located, removed from the venue and then left with her mother. On Friday, March 23rd, the mother returned to The Forum to look for her daughter again. The girl was not inside the venue and has not returned to The Forum since she was removed on March 21.”

The club said it has no evidence that the allegations made against Bolick are true. The assistant manager is under temporary suspension. Club management also said that, contrary to media reports, the Forum has not been contacted by Alcohol Law Enforcement regarding any investigation or violations related to this matter.

Like I said, it’s confusing, but three people have some explaining to do. Bolick is a longtime nightclub veteran. Before joining the staff at the Forum, he worked as a DJ at Liquid Lounge. It’s unconscionable that he would knowingly give minors alcohol or take three teenage girls to his place.

Bethany has some explaining to do as well. Why is a 15-year-old sneaking into nightclubs? The only thing a 15-year-old is going to find at an adult nightclub is trouble. And has she really been chillin’ at UNC Charlotte the last few days while people looked for her?

Mama Jill isn’t off the hook either. If she dragged Bethany out of The Forum last Wednesday, how did her daughter disappear the next day?

If my mother had dragged me out of a club on Wednesday night, I’d still be recuperating in the hospital on Thursday.

Post your comments below.

Plaza-Midwood getting piano bar

Plaza-Midwood is becoming the place to be. Another club is opening there in the next month.

Petra’s Piano Bar and Cabaret is scheduled to open on Commonwealth Avenue next to the Penguin on April 13. Chris Hollar a Greensboro native, and Robb Huddleston, a Gastonia native, are opening the bar, which is modeled after Rose’s Turn and the Duplex. Both are piano bars in New York’s West Village.

At Petra’s, bartenders and cocktail waiters will sing sets throughout the night. The music will range from ’60s love songs to Broadway tunes to contemporary songs.

Guests will also be able to make requests and sing with the piano player. Huddleston said he will be bringing friends from New York to perform in cabaret shows and one-man shows. The club will also have a cabaret room with performances.

It’s going to be a fun place for the theatre crowd and the people who hang out in the Plaza-Midwood area, said Huddleston, who said he co-founded the Muddy Cup coffeehouse in New York. It also featured live entertainment.

Petra's is the second club announcement in the last week for Plaza-Midwood area, and as I said last week, I'm working on getting the information for one other place. I've often written that Plaza-Midwood could surpass NoDa in hipness.

Why do you think Plaza-Midwood is becoming so popular? Post your replies below.

(Also coming soon: Tilt, at Trade and Tryon, is scheduled to open officially on March 29. Get your invitation at www.tiltcharlotte.com.)

John Edwards at the Forum

Holding a fundraising campaign at the Forum sounded like a good way to draw young hip voters, but most of the folks who showed up for the John Edwards fundraiser on Monday evening were far from hip.

The event drew a mix of voters who looked like card-carrying members of the Young Democrats of North Carolina and card-carrying members of the Old Democrats of North Carolina (FYI: there’s no such association). The 75-100 people who turned out to see Edwards were stiff and serious looking. Although Boyd Tinsley’s band cranked out jamming covers of Marvin Gaye and more, no one seemed willing to dance. Tinsley is a violinist for the Dave Matthews Band, and Tinsley’s band is worth seeing.

The few people who were dancing during the band’s performance happened to be Edwards’ staffers. I snapped a picture of one campaign staffer dancing, and she freaked out saying that she couldn’t have her picture taken. After resuscitating her with a defibrillator, I deleted the picture. Whoa.

If Edwards’ or any other candidate seriously wanted to draw new and hip blood they should bumrush places. For example, instead of holding a scheduled fundraiser at the Forum, they should takeover the Forum on a Wednesday night. It’s college night so everyone should at least be age 18. The campaign peeps could buy a round of drinks for everyone; Edwards could deliver the same speech he’s delivered in a zillion other stops and have his staff register voters on-site. They could do the same thing at the Penguin, the Milestone and Tremont Music Hall. (Please note: I don’t cover politics so I’m not sure if providing free beer and registering voters is illegal, but if it is then don’t register voters, but keep the beer.).

Tinsley’s band played for more than an hour and then audience members watched a short video montage of Edwards’ speeches and interviews. After chilling in Pravda lounge, Edwards appeared about 8:30 p.m. While Tinsley performed, Edwards posed for pictures and shook hands. Then he took the stage and said what you’d expect: Bush is ruining the country, Congress needs to step up, everyone deserves healthcare, and we have to save the Earth, blah, blah. Don’t get me wrong, Edwards sounds like he believes what he’s saying but considering that we’d just heard the same variation of that speech on the video montage, it didn’t sound authentic.

Oh lastly, Edwards’s folks ought to change up his wardrobe. Levis and a blue pinstriped shirt aren’t hip or casual. At least give the dude a fat belt buckle with the Wright Brothers airplane on it and a funkier shirt. What does he have to lose?

St. Paddy’s Day round-up

The scene was sedate when I arrived at the Attic about 8:30 p.m. The crowd ebbed and flowed in bars through out uptown on Saturday night. According to Paid to Party’s Throw Some D’s, there was an hour and half wait to get inside Cans at one point on Saturday. By 9 p.m. there was no line. When I headed home about 12:30 a.m., there was a line outside of Cans.

This is the first time in seven years that St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Saturday. Some bars opened at 8 or 9 a.m. Judging from the looks on the face of Attic co-owner Tommy Timmins, many bar and restaurant staff worked all day to accommodate the mass of people.

I started at Galway Hooker Pub about 5 p.m. then worked my way to uptown, and finished at Dixie’s after midnight.

Where did you go for St. Patrick’s Day? And how was it?

St. Paddy’s at Galway Hooker Pub

To everyone I met in Galway Hooker Pub on Saturday afternoon, I apologize if I smelled funky. I came straight to the pub after teaching a motorcycle class at Mitchell Community College that afternoon.

When I arrived at Galway, there was a line to get inside. Once inside, I met St. Patrick - he didn’t have any snakes. The pub drew a mix of families with children, couples and throngs of young people having a good time. The band Spin played a mix of Irish drinking songs and oldies, such as Simon & Garfunkel.

I learned the song “Whiskey In a Jar.”

A Family Affair

Ron and Debbie stood near the wall in Madison’s about 9 p.m. Saturday watching UNC take on Michigan State and soaking up the atmosphere. They proudly wore their Rich & Bennett St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl T-shirts. It was their first time, and maybe Debbie’s last, on the crawl that drew more than 2,300 people uptown.

Organizers say it could be the largest crawl in the U.S. ever and the second largest in the world. By 9 p.m. most of the crawlers dispersed to bars throughout uptown, but they had a day full of memories. Mayor Pat McCrory toasted off the crawl at Dixie’s at 1 p.m. Then he posed for pictures with crawlers for more than an hour. As Paid to Party scout Throw Some D’s said, the bar crawl toast was McCrory’s Bill Clinton saxophone moment.

Friends of Ron and Debbie took pictures with McCrory. The older couple came up from Rock Hill to participate in the crawl with their daughter and son. Ron sounded hopeful that he’d return next year, but Debbie sounded tired.

Who wouldn’t be? They started the crawl at 1 p.m. That’s a lot of Guinness.

St. Paddy’s at Madison’s

Since the Attic was slow, I stepped next door in Madison’s. The crowd was also sedate and many people watched the UNC basketball game. Then O.A.R.’s song “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” came on. A guy near the front of the lounge started dancing alone. A group of men and women near the bar were dancing with each other. Two girls jumped around. Nearly everyone sang the lyrics “I say of, you say a I say revolution, and you say Jah I say of, you say a I say revolution.”

I realized that for white people that song is what Frankie Beverly & Maze’s “Before I Let Go” is for black people. When it comes on, people start dancing and singing at the top of their lungs.

The O.A.R song resuscitated the crowd at Madison’s. By the time Detroit Red and I headed next door to Attic, the group of wild folks moved from the bar to the center of the club near the flat screen TV. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something fly across the room and hit the wall. I thought a person had slam danced into the wall. Then I realized a partier threw the cardboard cutout of the Sam Adams man into the wall. They picked it up and began karate kicking it. One guy did some sort of breakdancing thing.

Big shouts to Tyler, an avid Paid to Party reader who I met in Madison’s.

St. Paddy’s at Connolly’s

By the time we arrived at Connolly’s about 10:45 p.m., there was a line to get inside and it cost $20. The patio, tent, upstairs and downstairs were all packed. The wait for a drink and the bathroom were never-ending.

John King stood on the patio wearing a kilt and talking to friends. He and 30 other firefighters and friends from New Haven, Conn., came down to Charlotte to surprise Shannon Richards for her 25th birthday. King and his friends are tight with Richards’ dad Billy. She recently had a bone marrow transplant so they wanted to surprise her.

Upstairs in Connolly’s, Detroit Red spotted Jennifer Martini. He swears she’s Brooke from “Real World: Denver.” She showed me her license and said she wasn’t. You decide.

St. Paddy’s at Dixie’s

A guy stood up in a booth inside Dixie’s Tavern and started singing. A female friend tugged on the hanging lamp and pointed it at partiers to put them in the spotlight. The security guard walked over and gave them a menacing look.

At 11:30 p.m., Dixie’s was crazy. There was a line outside. They stopped letting people in because they said they were at capacity. People spilled onto the patio and filled every cranny of the pub. Dixie’s was the start and for many people the end of Rich & Bennett’s pub-crawl.

One woman was asleep in a booth, and then her friend pulled her up and dragged her onto the dance floor. The music was all over the place -- rap, rock, pop, country and hillbilly country. Partiers danced and sang to it all.

My cutie of the night was Lucas. See his picture on Party Pix. He’s adorable.

Shout outs to Full Court Press. If you were telling me the truth last night, sorry you lost your job at Quaker Steak and Lube because of one my columns. Better luck at your current gig.

Real jazz at the Excelsior

If you’re looking for straight-ahead jazz, the kind that Bill Cosby always raved about on “The Cosby Show,” then Wednesdays at the Excelsior club is the place to be.

Charlotte’s Michael Porter’s Porterhouse outfit performed to a crowd of about 30 people on Wednesday. The small audience was appreciative and the musicians laughed and enjoyed themselves onstage.

The city has numerous smooth jazz bands who play instrumental versions of hit R&B songs, but finding bands to play traditional jazz is tough. Porterhouse played ’60s-style traditional jazz.

The crowd at the Excelsior is a bit older than what you would find at the Jazz Cafe and at other restaurants that feature jazz combos, but the music is better (I’m not a smooth jazz fan), and the atmosphere is warm.

Good happy hour at Mimosa

In one night, I had two different happy hour experiences. Both taught me the importance of asking questions and not taking no for an answer.

I’ll start with the good experience.

Mimosa Grill is my new happy hour spot. Diners filled the bar area, the booths and the patio. It was so crowded it was standing room only by 7 p.m. on the patio and at the bar.

I chose Mimosa because I heard about its $4.75 appetizer menu from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. They also have daily drink specials. L-boogie and I feasted on generous portions of mussels and calamari. The mussels were delicious, but the calamari’s breading was soft and the dipping sauce had too much mayo.

My favorite item was the $4.75 cheeseburger with Applewood bacon and sweet potato fries. The burger was seasoned well and had a tasty sauce. It was slightly over-cooked, but for $4.75, I didn’t mind washing it down with a beer. My friend ordered the chicken sandwich. She didn’t like the seasoning, and both of us loved the sweet potato fries.

Here’s why I said I learned a lesson at Mimosa. I knew about the happy hour special because I’m on Mimosa’s e-mail list. When we were seated on the patio, the waiter gave us a regular dinner menu.

When I asked about the special, he said he needed to check. He immediately returned with a happy hour menu.

He took our orders and brought the mussels and calamari out as appetizers, and then the cheeseburger and chicken sandwich as entrees.

The lesson I learned was to always ask your server about happy hour specials if you're hanging out afterwork. That was my good happy hour experience.

My bad happy hour experience occurred later Wednesday night at McCormick & Schmick's uptown.

What's your favorite after-hour happy hour spot? Post your replies below.

Bad happy hour at Mickey Schmicks

After leaving Mimosa, I dashed over to a poetry competition at the House of Jazz (Read that blog entry). Then I met some friends at Allure restaurant and lounge. Hardly anyone was at Allure, so I told four friends to go to McCormick & Schmick's for its late-night happy hour, which I’ve always said is one of the best deals in town.

Kitch and I went to the Excelsior Club for jazz night. (Read that blog entry.) After leaving the Excelsior, we met our friends at McCormick & Schmick’s. My friends said the bartender told them there weren’t any happy hour specials.

I asked the bartender, whom I recognized, what was up. He said the happy hour was from 9-10 p.m.

My friends arrived about 9:30 p.m. and said they specifically asked him about a happy hour special. He told them there wasn’t one. Next, I asked if we could order off the dinner menu. The bartender said the kitchen was closed. I didn’t think much about it, so Kitch and I walked to Madison’s for drinks.

Fifteen minutes later, one of my girlfriends calls to tell me that another couple ordered off the menu after we left Mickey Schmick. I was livid.

First off, I recommended my friends go there for the happy hour and they're told there isn’t one. Then I’m told the kitchen is closed, but another couple orders food.

I returned to speak with the manager. He apologized profusely and said the bartender should have offered us the menu since the restaurant was still serving food to other customers. He also said he didn’t understand why the bartender, who definitely wasn’t a rookie, told my friends that there wasn’t a late-night happy hour. (I have my thoughts on that.)

The manager informed me that he comped my friends' meals and offered me a complimentary meal as well to apologize for the bartender’s unwillingness to serve us food.

I appreciate the way the manager handled the situation because such bad service from the bartender left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth that night.

The lesson from that experience is if you’re gut tells your that something’s not right, ask for a manager.

What's your favorite late night food spot? Post your replies below.

A hunk of black man

Don’t do crack because you might lose your children.
A hunk of black man is better than a plate of fried chicken.
If a married man says he’s waiting on the divorce to be finalized, don’t believe him.

Those are a few of the lessons I learned on Wednesday night at a V101.9/Power 98 poetry competition. More than a dozen poets (experienced and unexperienced) competed at the event, which was hosted by Charlotte slam master Bluz and held at the House of Jazz.

I was one of three people judging the poets. Several offered uplifting words about being better men and women. Others recited odes to their lovers. A handful were so bitter that one of my fellow judges said the poems read more like journal entries. I agreed, but we all applaud anyone with the guts to get in front of a microphone. It’s not easy.

The final competition is Wednesday. Registration is 6-6:45 p.m. Spoken word begins at 7 p.m. The best poets will participate in the literary cafe at For Sisters Only on April 14 at the Charlotte Merchandise Mart.

Hey, aspiring poets: I know you’re passionate about your words, but consider doing a funny poem. You will stand out. And please, please, don’t read your poem from a sheet of paper or notebook. It kills your delivery and stage presence.

Tom Joyner kidnapped me

With a microphone in both hands, K-Ci Hailey stood on stage at the Jazz Café on Wednesday and thanked radio personality Tom Joyner for playing his music for so many years. Hailey sang a few signature “ooohhs” and “yeaaahhhs.” Then Joyner leaned toward the mike and sang a couple of his own.
The hundreds of fans who crowded the stage, snapping pictures and watching applauded.
It was like that at the Jazz Café on Wednesday: the young paid homage to the old, and the old paid homage to the young. Behind Joyner and Hailey were two generations of Charlotte-area talent: national recording artists Sunshine Anderson and Calvin Richardson, as well as rising stars Rudy Currence, the band Uncommon Jazz and Q92 radio personality Jaye Delai.
Hundreds of people streamed into the club for Joyner’s meet and greet, which ended Anderson's performance. The line stretched down the sidewalk toward the rear of the club, and didn’t recede until Joyner left.
During the evening, Joyner sat at a table near the front and hosted the event. When he wasn’t on the mike, he accepted handshakes, hugs and introductions from fans who visited his table.
Anderson, known for her hit “Heard It All Before,” gave fans a brief taste of her new album, “Sunshine at Midnight.” She also thanked fans for supporting her ¬¬– especially since she hasn’t released an album in nearly six years.
After her performance, Joyner, who broadcasted from Q92’s studio this morning, returned to the stage, and Anderson, Hailey, Currence, Delai and Uncommon Jazz surrounded him. Everyone wanted to be near the man who had the first nationally syndicated black radio show. Before there was Steve Harvey, Russ Parr or Michael Baisden, there was Joyner. He always used his show to start listeners’ days off with a smile, and provided insight about politics and issues affecting African Americans.
When Joyner left, Anderson and the other artists shared the mike and sang, while Uncommon Jazz played in the background.
That’s when Joyner kidnapped me.
The plan was to join him in the car for a quick interview. I ended up riding with him back to his hotel and interviewing him during the drive. We talked about the rise of black radio personalities and the two things prohibited on his radio show.
You can hear the interview next week on the podcast Paid to Party 4 Yo’ Ear!
Today, talk shows seem to dominate radio more than music. What’s your favorite radio talk show, and why? Joyner, Harvey, Rush Limbaugh, Keith Larson, Ace & TJ, Matt and Ramona? Post your replies below.

Juicy stories from a chauffer

After Tom Joyner went to his hotel, I quizzed his chauffer on the drive back to the Jazz Café. I’ve always said I want to be a bartender when I retire, but I might consider driving a limo.
Here’s what I learned about the people he’s driven around town:
Celebrity with the worst attitude: Singer Jeffrey (can you woo woo) Osbourne was snooty.
Coolest celebrity: Singer Shania Twain.
Craziest thing that’s happened in your car: Two couples did the wild thing while he drove them in stretch limo. Then they wanted to stop at a rest area.
Weirdest request: Drugs.
What's the craziest thing you've ever done in a limo? Remember it's a family newspaper so make your items PG-13. Post your replies below.

Liquid Lounge now Tilt, Gilda re-opens

Those of you who say Charlotte needs more martini lounges are getting your wish.
Liquid Lounge at Trade and Tryon is now Tilt, an upscale martini bar with a whole new look. Dixie 's Tavern's Lucas Johns, Anthony Karey and Chris Peavey -- along with Adam Parker of Time lounge -- partnered to open Tilt.
Renovations include removing the window coverings so patrons can look out onto Trade Street , re-doing the hardwood floors at the entrance, building a new bar, replacing the VIP sections with lounge chairs and bistro tables, and turning the back patio into a beer garden with a new canvas awning. There will be TVs, and the color scheme is chocolate. The music will range from R&B to house to top 40.
Johns said it's going to be a place to go before dinner, or if you don't want to go to a rowdy club.
Tilt will be competing against Tutto Mondo, Therapy and Loft 1523, but Johns says customer service will set Tilt apart from the other establishments.
Across town in NoDa, Gilda lounge has the same name, but a new attitude.
Owner Wes Taylor, of 710 lounge, reopened the lounge a couple of weeks ago. He is focusing on consistency with his hours (5 p.m.-2 a.m. seven days a week) and top-notch customer service. He wants Gilda to offer neighborhood-pub friendlessness in an upscale lounge. He's planning a Latino night, a service industry night, and a half-price martinis night on Thursdays.

What's missing uptown?

In her newcomer’s column last week, the Observer’s Leigh Dyer wrote about Daddy’s American Bar & Grill. It’s Stefan Latorre’s new sports bar at the corner of Church and Fifth. It used to be Twist and, before that, City Tavern.

Several readers wrote to Leigh complaining that uptown doesn’t need any more sports bars. We have Fox & Hound, Stool Pigeons, Picasso’s, Champions and the Graduate.

Instead, some readers requested a martini bar for 30-40 year olds, but that market is saturated as well. Center City already has Tutto Mondo, Therapy and Loft 1523. Plus, every upscale restaurant’s bar has an extensive martini list.

What does uptown need that it doesn’t already have? Here’s what we have so far: two Irish pubs, a ton of upscale restaurants, martini bars, a couple of neighborhood pubs, three mainstream dance clubs and two delis that turn into dance clubs (and a live music venue is coming.

What’s missing that would really be supported?