Gas prices are killing me

The other night, I was seriously debating whether I wanted to go to Yahzarah's performance at the Jazz Cafe because the jazz club was so far from my house. The way gas prices are my barhopping radius is seriously reduced. I live off Central Avenue, so I prefer to party in the uptown area rather than drive further out.

I ride my motorcycle to clubs and bars way more than I have in past years. I don't think I'm the only one sticking closer to home. I was talking to promoter John Lineberger at Taste of the Nation about how the party business. He said this spring was slower than usual and he too wondered if higher gas prices, along with this unseasonable weather, kept people from going out as much.

Here's my question, have higher gas prices changed your partying habits? If so, how?

Finally caught up on "24"

I was sitting in Scooter's restaurant, in Elkridge, MD, for happy hour with my friend Angie when the smell of steamed crabs called me. I was trying to hold off buying any crabs because my parents always buy crabs for my birthday. Sitting there talking with my girls, drinking a pitcher beer and watching platters and platters of crabs go into the restaurant.
I couldn't take it anymore; I ordered two dozen with six less salty because my dad can't eat a lot of salt. When I got home, my dad and I spread out the newspaper, cracked open of couple of beers and had a four-hour "24" marathon. I'd missed the last two weeks and the season finale so I brought the tapes home.
As I predicted, the women saved the day. Mad props for the First Lady and Chloe. Both of them turned on that sexual charm to get the men to do what they needed. Men can be so gullible.
I loved how Jack trapped the President in the end. Planting the bug on the pen and knowing the First Lady would flip was brilliant. Here's my question, do you think the First Lady and Jack were cahoots the whole time or do you think Jack was counting on the First Lady confronting her husband. Also, what do you think is going to happen next season?

Meet Tent City's Viking

Tent City is a group of friends who live in upstate New York and Concord. They've been coming to the races for years and swear they have the best view. You know I couldn't hang out without finding the wild folks.

Viking says his friends challenged him to tackle a trashcan. Of course, he accepted the challenge.

Meet Boyd at Tent City

He was dropped off by a space ship. That's why he's doing what he was doing at Tent City in Turn 3 and 4. I don't exactly know what he was doing.

Body surfing for the Peppers

The police busted through the crowd during the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California." I looked around, wondering who was fighting. Then I saw it. A set of legs bobbled through the air.

Body surfing and the Red Hot Chili Peppers during the Nextel All-Star Race, who would've thought it was possible. The four-song, 15-minute set was part of NASCAR's continuing effort to make the sport hipper. The show was the first time band performed at a sporting event and the first time NASCAR scheduled a performance during a race. The Peppers performed at about 11 p.m. between the first and second race segments. Fans lined up in front of the stage at Turn 1 by 9 p.m. Giant screens broadcast the show for the people sitting in the grandstands.

Fans jumping, shaking fists and surfing made the sprawling grassy area feel as intimate as Tremont Music Hall.

Bleep the race

I didn't say it. It was a Red Hot Chili Pepper fan. The band was into its last song and the cars starting filing out.
"They're still racing," One fan said. "Isn't that crazy?"
"F the race," his friend replied and started dancing.


The Chili Peppers' four-song set got mixed reaction from fans on Saturday. Many walked away praising it with curse words. A few were disappointed that it was four songs for about 15 minutes. I haven't seen the Chili Peppers' live before and I liked the live version of "Dani California" way better than the album.

Hanging in the inflield

Its cuties and crazy action. If you hang out in the infield, you've go to dodge golf carts and all kinds of people telling you "MOVE," "WATCH OUT."

It's sensory overload out here and it's great.

P2P Goes to the All Star race

I have spent the last 45 minutes walking around with my mouth wide open. I'm stopping random people and asking, what's going on.

I'm hanging out in the pit crew area at the Nextel All-Star race and loving it. It's constant motion. Guys in fancy jump suits are taking lug nuts off rims that aren't on cars. Other men are marking tires with markers. One guy is stretching, I mean really stretching and simulating changing a tire.

Whoa!

When I got the call from Alan Taylor communications to go see the Red Hot Chili Pepper at the All-Star race, I figured I'd dip in, shoot a few wild fans, write about the concert and bounce.

I've been to a couple of races and I hadn't been impressed long enough to want to hang out for long, but Jess Hunter with Alan Taylor worked some magic and got the NASCAR folks to hook me up with passes for the infield, the garage area and pit row.

I have a whole level of new respect for the sport, but I can never watch another race from the grandstand. I need to be on the field where the action is. I'm pumped. I once changed my tire when I had a flat on I-485. I felt so powerful I ate a steak and potato when I got home.

Imagine what'd I'd eat if I was on a pit crew. Somebody give me a thingy to take lug nuts off, I want to change a tire.

It's deeper than the SkyShow

I know I’m weighing in on this one a little bit late, but last week was crazy.
I don’t blame WBT for moving the SkyShow elsewhere for economic reasons, but I’m troubled by the slow erosion of uptown traditions.

In the last few years, we’ve lost CityFest, the uptown music festival, and the New Year’s Eve gathering was considerably smaller than previous years. And now the SkyShow is gone.

City leaders have mostly brushed off each cancelled or downsized event. They say uptown is a thriving business and entertainment district and doesn’t need planned events to draw people here. Or they say, these types of events hurt uptown businesses because of street closures.

I’m not buying it.

CityFest, New Year’s Eve and the SkyShow are the type of events that solidify uptown’s standing as the heart of the city. Charlotte is spreading. Every little pocket community surrounding the city has bars and restaurants. Unless you like dance clubs and/or performing arts, you have fewer reasons to come uptown because the suburbs have similar amenities.

Longstanding events, such as the SkyShow and next week’s Food Lion Speed Street 600 Festival, help bring this us all together in the heart of the city.

Latest on the Goblin

I haven't been able to get up with Autumn or Torch to get their version of what happened at the Goblin, but this is the e-mail that went out to their Purgatory e-mail group:

"the club is closed due to a hostile takeover attempt. i will post any updates as i get them from my lawyers. thank you to the staff and fans who supported our brief but fun opening and life. we are currently working on moving the bookings we had at the goblin to new locations. this does not affect purgatory, singlecell or our fetish theme parties that we will be booking for the rest of the year or the upcoming national tour."

Say goodbye to the Goblin

After only one month, the Goblin -- the former home of the Steeple -is gone.

Internal bickering and financial miscues led to the dimissmal of Torch, who co-owned the club. All of this went down in the last couple of days. The club is under new management, which means no more overly aggressive pat-downs.

Mike Morelli, former owner of the Room, will be the bar manager and book entertainment. The club, at Central an Pecan, will be called The Spot. There will be a hip-hop night and a heavy metal night. The entertainment line-up is still being worked out. All previously scheduled shows will still occur.

I hope things get worked out there. The Steeple was a good space and that neighborhood could use a bar to complement Fire & Ice.

Plaza-Midwood has a strong nightlife and a good club would add to the bars and restaurants that make the area a popular draw. I'll keep you posted when I hear about a date to re-open.

The Roots concert - whoa!

I'm not sure what was hotter, when ?uestlove did his solo drum set and got funky Caribbean, or when the Roots' guitarist took "You Got Me" to a George Benson level. He expanded the song for five minutes with Benson style riffs and scatting. But the best part of the concert at the Forum could have also been when entire band took it back to old school and new school hip-hop with medleys of current and old hits. I especially liked Ray Charles' "I've Got a Woman."

What a show. The Root's broke off favorites such as "The Seed," "Break You Off," "Don't Say Nuthin'" and "Hip-hop (The Love of My Life." But as always, their improvisation made the show special.

And Common. Man, I'd never seen him live before. Talk about energy. The Roots were cool, rocking the mike and playing their instruments like jazz cats, but Common jumped around the stage and the crowd jumped with him.. He mostly stuck with cuts off his newest disc, "The Corner," "Go!," "The Food" and "Testify." For "Testify" he brought a chair on stage and theatrical. Blazing.


My surprise of the night was Jean Grae. Last night, she made me want to buy her disc. Tight rhymes.

Kudos to the folks at the Forum. I wasn't sure how things were going to go. After all, moving a production of that magnitude to another venue with such short notice is not easy. And as much as I like the Forum, I couldn't fathom having a full blown concert there with at least 1,000 people because of the way the club is laid out.

It seemed to go well. The line to get inside moved relatively quickly considering that it stretched from the Forum down the alley toward the Museum of the New South. Once inside, the show was streamed to monitors and speakers throughout the club. I ended up on the balcony overlooking the dance floor. Much love to the lady upstairs on the balcony. She was in charge of the eye candy graphics, but she was nice enough to rig her camera to project the performance on her video screens. My girl Gigi helped my friend and I get into the Kool VIP section so we had an excellent view over the balcony and directly down to the stage.

I know everyone couldn't see because the club was packed and because of the stage layout it was hard to see unless you were on the main dance floor or along the stairwell. But hey, most people got in for free because they bought tickets for the Amos' show, which was cancelled, and they're getting a refund through Etix.

How often can you see or hear a Roots and Common concert for free?

Everyone I talked to last night left smiling and happy. Did you go to the show? What did you think?

The Roots updated

Okay, here's the latest. If you bought a ticket through Etix you have free access at the club 8-10 p.m. After 10 p.m., all bets are off and it's $10.

It's been a crazy 24 hours. It started with Kitch's e-mail from Amos' Southend saying the Roots show was cancelled. I caught up with John Ellison at Amos' to confirm. Then last night a girlfriend got a call from a friend saying the show was still on. This morning my girl called at the crack of light, okay 8:21 a.m., saying her cousin hung out with some Roots folks last night. And the Roots folks didn't mention the show was cancelled.

I dragged myself out of bed and got on the phone and computer. I had a message from a hater reader who doesn't think I should have job, and who wanted to tell me the show moved to the Forum.

I had an e-mail from Amos' Southend explaining that the show had been moved. I worked the phones and thankfully the Forum's Kevin Mitchell called me back to confirm the e-mail and update me on the latest. Apparently, the deal didn't get confirmed until yesterday afternoon, and it's been crazy since then. Kinks are still being worked out. I'll keep you posted if I hear anything else.

Roots Show Is On

The Roots thing keeps getting crazier and crazier. The show, originally scheduled for Amos’ Southend, has moved to the Forum, according to Forum manager Kevin Mitchell. If you bought a ticket your money will be refunded to your credit card, but you will have priority access to the club from 8-10 p.m. You must have a photo ID and
credit card in the name of the Etix purchaser to be eligible. The club is not guaranteeing admission or a good seat, but video will be provided throughout the club. Admission is $10. After 10 p.m., all remaining tickets will be released to the public.

Roots cancelled

Yes, it's true. The Roots concert at Amos' Southend on Thursday has been cancelled. When I caught up with club owner John Ellison by telephone on Wednesday afternoon, he said he was about to throw himself off the roof of his club. I begged him not to. After all, I'd never get a giant bear hug from him again.

The cancellation is a result of construction delays and Ellison assures fans that once the club re-opens it's going to be the premier live music facility in the area. I can't imagine how frustrated he is since he owns the club, but I know I'm disappointed and so are Roots fans. My e-mail, cell phone and telephone have been blowing up. For hip-hop fans this was the show of the year -- the Roots and Common. I'm crying as I type this. Freelance photographer Ebony Stubbs suggested we show up at Amos' anyway on Thursday. Maybe we could bring a boom box and have our own concert.

Ugh, it's been gloomy and gray all week, and now this. I might join John on the roof.

Brokeback Mountain moment

Remember the scene in "Brokeback Mountain," when Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger get their groove on in the tent? They were aggressive and rough.
I asked a gay friend if that scene and the one where the two cowboys get into the random fistfight are typical of men who don’t want to admit that they want each other.
My buddy said yes because they have so much testosterone and they don’t know what to do with it.
I still found it hard to believe until I saw a snippet of that testosterone at Loft 1523 on Tuesday night. I was with three women and a guy for an Absolut vodka tasting party. Absolut unveiled its citrus line. Bar and restaurant industry folks came out. It was the best crowd I’ve seen at Loft. The usual yuppies were out, but so were deejays, folks from the Penguin -- which meant hair dyed colors your mom wouldn’t dream of -- as well as my New Year’s Eve booty-on-you-leg man Denny and folks from Ragin’ Uptown. I met the owner of the Solstice Tavern, which is scheduled to open soon in NoDa. DJ Jason Herring, aka Jah Sun Rising, spun groovy down tempo house music that by 12:30 a.m. had older men dancing with women half their age.

The Brokeback moment started when L-Boogie asked this club kid, a person you always see in the club, for his blinking sticker. He gave it to her and then started talking to us. By the end of the night, he was like a stray cat - he wouldn’t go away.
We went outside for a change of scenery. We were sitting on giant ottomans talking when the club kid plopped down with us. He starts running his mouth and my male friend looks at him. Not like, "I want you," but more like, "Ugh, please stop talking."

It begins.

Club kid: "Why are you looking at me?"
My friend: "Because, I can."
Club kid: "Be careful, what you ask for."

My friend rolls his eyes. They exchange a few more words and I realize that Brokeback scene really could happen. Unchecked testosterone is a beast.

It's a party blog, but...Monday equals "24"

It's time for our weekly "24" update. I missed last week because I was hanging out at the Wachovia Championship.

Chloe is forever my woman. Double-zapping the drunk guy with the Taser last week was great. Wouldn't the club experience be different if more women carried Tasers? We wouldn't have to worry about being harassed at a club if guys started dropping like flies after being zapped when they became obnoxious? Just a thought.

I'm digging the Homeland Security lady now. I'm telling you, women are about to take over the show -- The President's wife, Chloe, the Homeland Security lady...The bomb.

I have to admit, tonight's plot line with the president authorizing the military to shoot down the passenger airliner is too much. We'll see what happens.

Please sir, can we spend our money?

Calm before the storm

As promised, car wash tips

Yesterday, I promised the secrets to a showroom-clean car from the folks at Eagles Eye. Some of you may be wondering who cares about the cars, but if you attend the tournament you know that the golfers arrive in the hottest Mercedes and other luxury cars. They park in a special area and the cars look clean enough to eat off.

I always thought I kept my car pretty clean until I saw these beauties. I try to wash mine every other week, and wax it once a year.

Who am I kidding? To keep your car looking good, the folks at Eagle recommend washing it weekly and get this, waxing it once a month. Once a month.

Okay, golfing peeps. This was my last post from the tourney. I'm out of here. If you're coming have fun, if you're not have fun wherever you go.

I'm out.