Getting' down in the Square

We walked toward the music and saw a throng of people stretching for at least two blocks. We were looking for a restaurant and stumbled on the Sun Down Concert Series, a free outdoor concert series on Thursdays.

I had to stop.

It's kind of like our Alive After Five, but way bigger. They've got big-time sponsors such as Regal Entertainment, the City of Knoxville, Pilot and of course Budweiser. Music ranges from lesser known acts such as Thursdays Rhett Miller and the Believers to such as their April kick off band Little Feat. See their lineup at www.sundowninthecity.com

The series starts in April and runs through June. It picks up again in September and it's called Autumn on the Square. The lineup for that includes Donna and the Buffalo, the Guards and Blues Traveler. www.concertwire.com/autumnonthesquare

Both events are in the Square's shopping and restaurant district in downtown Knoxville. Several restaurants had their doors open and let people sit on their patios. A few shops were open as well. At least a dozen vendors sold funnel cakes, beer and hotdogs. People trying to organize a skatepark were out as well soliciting donations.

What impressed me more than the size and quality of the acts were the people hanging out. Our outdoor concerts, okay most events in Charlotte, tend to draw the same yuppie young professionals, but Knoxville was more eclectic. Walking toward the stage I saw a punk crew and a guy with a Mohawk, I passed the skatepark people, a group of young men and women playing hackysack and young parents with kids. The wine and cheese folks sat in the restaurant patios watching the performance. I met a lady name Karol Hamilton who was dancing her head off and says she has a brother who lives in Charlotte and she travels to Charlotte to shop.

I didn't know anything about Rhett Miller and wasn't overly impressed with his music, but I Ioved crowd's energy was contagious so I hung out there before I discovered a karaoke bar...

Hoot it up

I would pick the hottest day of the year to ride down to Knoxville for the annual Honda Hoot motorcycle rally. By the time my buddy Anne and I arrived at our hotel, we were drenched and exhausted. This rally used to be in Asheville, but because of its increasing size and Anne says politics in Asheville, organizers moved it to Knoxville a few years ago. It's scheduled to be here until 2009.

Since we were tired when we arrived Thursday afternoon, we skipped the motorcycle events. We waited for the heat to abate and hit the streets. This is my first time in Knoxville. Since I'm an Alabama grad, I was anxious to see the home of the Crimson Tide's rival, University of Tennessee.

I love Alabama, but I have to admit going to college in the town the size of Knoxville would have been fun. The Strip gives you the college town feel, but places such as Old City and Market Square make it feel more like a real city. Tuscaloosa is a college town period. When I was at Alabama there was nothing to do but hang out on the strip or go to college parties.

Our first stop was Old City. It's a cool historic area that reminds me of the French Quarter, but not nearly as many interesting people. We had a couple of drinks at the Urban Bar and Corner Cafe. The place was huge with three rooms and a patio on the street. It had exposed brick and would've been a killer place to hang, but it was totally dead. So, we headed to Market Square a couple of miles away.

Have any of you all been to Knoxville? How does it compare to Charlotte? Although, it was dead I dig Old City area. Post your replies below.

We R Family

On Friday, we decided to find the gay nightlife. Quepos was surprisingly gay friendly. Hotel Casablanca had a big rainbow flag painted on the fence and the clerk gave us a guide to local gay establishments.

After dinner at El Avion, a restaurant with a giant plane in the middle of it, we stopped by the Bat Cave. It was a lounge carved out of rock in the La Mansion Inn. The place was cramped, but there was a narrow bar and a slightly more spacious lounge area in the back. Unfortunately, the Bat Cave was dead.

We heard the party was down the road in Manuel Antonio at the beach. We stopped by Coconuts on the beach, but that was a typical college crowd. We did run into our friend from Austin though.

We finished the night at Bar Tutu, the bar above our hotel restaurant. The place was cute. It was a rooftop club with a pool, spacious dance floor and the largest bar we’d seen all week. The music was techno, and as usual it was mostly guys.

Saturday morning we stumbled onto our favorite find. Latifah was fed up with the complimentary rice, beans and eggs for breakfast so we went out to eat. We ended up at Picasso Cafe.

The menu hooked us - eggs benedict, crepes, Belgian waffles and omelets. We also met the owner, a gay guy from Canada. He was another one of the folks who visited Costa Rica once, went home, packed his stuff and bounced.

We left his cafe with full bellies and bags of coffee, maple syrup from Quebec and wine.

Mas magaritas

After driving through winding narrow mountain roads in a foggy downpour, we arrived in Quepos Wednesday afternoon. I was ready to hit the nearest bar, and we wound up at Dos Locos.

I have to admit, I made a rookie partying mistake. I partied so hard on Wednesday night that it took my body three days to recuperate. I don’t want to see another margarita or bowl of guacamole anytime soon.

My night consisted of singing Johnny Cash with a duo in front the bar, jumping into the photo with two girls from Canada (I gave them some money and promised to e-mail them a cute shot I took of them), and buying college students from the University of Texas a pitcher of margaritas.

Me, Sass and Latifah met a Dallas Cowboys fan from Austin, Texas. He was vacationing with his wife and two sons. After the necessary trash-talking we hit it off well. We also met a guy from Rocky Mount, N.C. He visited Quepos once, loved it and moved there when he retired. We met a lot of people like that.

Before the night ended, Latifah ended up dancing with the most arrogant and annoying little guy. And Sass had a conversation in Thai with the little guy’s wingman. She didn’t really like him either.

I loved everybody.

Friends and hot boys

After mojitos at La Guagua, we caught a cab to Friends in El Pueblo, about 15 minutes away. The club was in a tourist district with souvenir shops and restaurants. The place was tiny, maybe half the size of Liquid Lounge. And they had the nerve run a fog machine.

When you walked in, there were bistro tables and a bar. Down a few steps were more tables, a DJ booth and a stage. Since it was ladies night we got $2 admission and a free rum and coke. We arrived about 9:30 p.m. and the place was kind of dead, but about an hour later it started to fill up. You know how people here buy bottles of champagne, well over there people bought bottles of liquor, which is more common in our VIP areas.

The partiers were a mix of tourists, we met a guy from New York and some college students, and locals. By 10:30 p.m. the hot boys came. It was two guys dressed in black who stood onstage and shook their bootys and hips. They were sexy though because they could actually dance and move their hips like salsa dancers compared to male exotic dancers here who just wind their pelvis.

By 11 p.m. we were pooped. We’d been going hard all day and Costa Rica is two hours behind Charlotte, so it felt like 1 a.m.

We headed back to the hotel and prepped for our next adventure -- road trip to Quepos.

Cigars and mojitos

While Latifah and I sipped our margaritas, Sass hungrily eyed the Cuban restaurant across the parking lot, La Guagua. She drooled at the thought of Cuban cigars. After we polished off our second margarita, we headed across the street.

At the bar, we met Dennis. He had a twinkle in his eye and a mojito in his hand. We ordered a round and joined him. He spoke about as much English as we spoke Spanish so we got along well.
If you've ever had mojitos made with mint from those Harris Teeter packages, you're wasting your time. Carlos, the bartender, pulled out a shoebox-size container of fresh mint leaves. I started grinning. When he mixed the mojitos, he ground the leaves in the glass. Oh my goodness. We sucked the first one down like it was water. He had our next round prepped and ready.

We peppered Dennis, who seemed to be a regular, Carlos and the other staffers with questions about where to hang. We cracked opened their humidor and bought cigars. It was a Tuesday night and we had the place to ourselves. A waiter asked me if I liked rap music. He said he liked .50 Cent and Tupac. I pulled out my iPod and let him listen to "It's Goin' Down" by Yung Joc and "Poppin' My Collar" by Three 6 Mafia. I didn't bring cables to run my iPod through their stereo, but the waiter turned off the Cuban music and put on some .50 and Bob Marley.

I sipped my mojito, smoked my cigar and knew it was going to be a good week.

Guess who we saw

After eating dinner at La Cocina de Lena in San Jose near our hotel, we headed to Plaza Itskatzu in Escazu. It has high-end shoppes and restaurants about 15 minutes away from the capital city of San Jose. Restaurants included Hooters and Outback Steakhouse. I know this sounds crazy, but by Saturday after a week of rice and beans, I was actually salivating over some Hooters chicken wings, but I'll save that story for later.

We stopped at Restuarante Mundo and ran into a dude from Charlotte. No lie. His name is Toby McGarry and you might remember him from his days at Phat Burrito when it first opened. Well, he's now a part-owner of Mundo. Think of Cosmos' vibe in a smaller space.

After leaving Charlotte, McGarry said he bounced around the world at different restaurants and then landed in Costa Rica. He still has a house with his sister in Charlotte. We arrived Tuesday, two days before the grand opening of Mundo. Since we were heading to Quepos the next day, we promised to return to Mundo later that week.

Next we headed to Mas Tikila. It was happy hour, which meant half-priced margaritas. That's what I'm talking about. We had a few drinks there and I met an American who used to play basketball in Costa Rica. He told us the place to party was Friends in El Pueblo, about 15 minutes away. It was ladies' night.

But first mojitos...

I'm addicted

My first real trip out of the country was Costa Rica last week. I went to Cozumel, Mexico, on a cruise, but one day in a tourist town doesn't count.

Costa Rica was the real deal - six days with an SUV, a full tank of gas and two friends who spoke little Spanish. Winding through the mountains, down neighborhood streets, past churches and strips of stores, we got lost more times than I can remember. We stopped every few miles to make sure we were going the right way. Sometimes we were. Often we weren't.

I can't wait to fumble my way through another city in a land far, far away. Interacting with the people gave me an even better appreciation for the challenges immigrants and tourists face here. Luckily, most Costa Ricans were patient with our horrible Spanish and taught us a few words as well. Borracha (drunk), goma (hung over) and pica flor (player pimp). (You'll learn why we needed to know those words in other blog entries.)

We visited San Jose, the capital, and Quepos and Manuel Antonio, about three hours south on the Pacific coast. We could barely drive through the mountains without pulling over and snapping pictures of the valleys below.

My friend Sass wanted to stop at every fruit stand. Latifah was in search of restaurants that served whole fish fried or grilled. I wanted to find the party. We did those things and more.

This trip will be my first of a lifetime of annual trips overseas. My goal is to do outdoor adventures and find the best parties.

Have you traveled internationally? If so, what's your favorite party city and what's the name of the bar?

Headed to the beach

I'm in Costa Rica until June 18 so I won't be blogging this week. I plan to return with lots of stories -- some appropriate for the newspaper and hopefully way more that aren't.

Holla'

R men with painted nails sexy?

I was at the Spot last week watching rapper Wolly Vinyl perform when I noticed he painted a couple of fingernails black. I'd never seen rapper with painted fingernails and I thought it was kinda cute. Vinyl is the second guy I know outside of the rock/goth world who paints one or two nails. The other is poet Maze Forever.

So, I'm wondering for the ladies, would you date a guy with painted nails and are there rules to men painting their nails? Can they only paint one or two nails and is it okay if the polish is chipped? Can they paint their nails any color or is black the only appropriate hue?

I always get wet

I don’t know what’s up, but every time I go to a Vanilla Ice show I get soaked. When he performed at Amos’ Southend a few years ago, a chick spilled beer down my shirt. Last night at ML, a new nightclub in Concord, Vanilla sprayed me.

I’m taking pictures near the stage when the rapper-turned-rocker empties water from his bottle onto the crowd. It wasn’t a one-time thing. He had a case of water.

Here’s my night: I approach the stage, snap some shots of Ice then try to duck before he throws water on the audience. I’m not sure what was worse, wiping off my camera and watch (neither were water-resistant) every few minutes or watching guys sprint to get the bottles Ice tossed on the floor. I mean come on, it’s Vanilla Ice. What are you going to do, show the water bottle to your friends and say Vanilla Ice touched it? Please.

If that wasn’t bad enough, I got elbowed in the jaw. I wasn’t paying attention and once again I ended up in the middle of a mosh pit. Although, this wasn’t the typical hardcore punk mosh like you’d see at the Milestone. I like those guys, they’re into the music and moshing is a way to express their love for the artist. The moshers at ML acted like they had something to prove. They were walking around poking their chests out as if to say, “Who wants some?” That was corny and besides, who moshes to Vanilla Ice?

Ice was animated, but if you went expecting a rap show you would have been disappointed. He did a hardcore rock set and threw in “Ice Ice Baby” and a couple of other rap songs to please his old school fans. He gave fans just enough rap to get a couple of people breakdancing so that was cool.

I interviewed him afterwards, and he was surprisingly nice. I asked him what was up with throwing water. He said he cools the crowd off. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that there were only a couple of hundred people there so overheating wasn’t a problem. To hear my full interview with him log on to the Paid to Party For Your Ear on Wednesday.

A new spot

A new spot
The Vanilla Ice show was my first time at ML, which is part of a Mexican restaurant about five miles past Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord. It’s a hike getting out there, but for the right act, it’s worth the drive.

The place is huge with a large dance floor, a raised stage and a booming sound system. It’s perfect for rock, metal and reggae acts. There’s seating around the main dance floor and a projector screen. The capacity is 1,500. They only had one bar open, which is all they needed for the crowd of about 200 people on Thursday. If they ever have a show that draws a capacity crowd, they’re going to need another bar and some beer tubs. They will also need more parking.

The manager Jose moved here from Las Vegas about three months ago. He has a lot of big ideas about who he wants to bring to the club and what he wants to do with the space. He’s energetic and is working with Red Tottle, formerly of the Beat radio station. With his energy and her connections, they should be able to make some things happen. Jose wants to bring Pink, Three Six Mafia and My Chemical Romance. If he can pull it off I’ll be there. We’ll see.

What's happening in the clubs

Club owners have been moving and shaking for the last couple of weeks.
Thing have finally calmed down at the former home of the Steeple at Central and Pecan. It’s newest owners and management group re-opened it as The Spot, formerly the Goblin, this past weekend.
Former Room owner Mike Morelli is booking acts and he relaunched the Monday night, hip-hop open mic from the Room. They will also have Metal Matinee on Sundays. I have to give the new crew credit for adding the personality that’s been missing since Steeple closed. I hope they did a sage burn to kill the negative energy.
Notik 1 did graffiti on several walls. It’s is a mix of hip-hop style stuff as well as video games characters. Ms. Pacman chases Pacman along the walls of the video game room. They have Space Invaders. Yay!
Upstairs is still under renovation. It’s going to be a lounge with a board game room that will include an Xbox.
Not angry, but still has ales
The original owners of Angry Ale’s in Charlotte are out of here. They sold the one on Montford Drive to Charlotte bar scene newcomers Tom and Mike Henson. Picasso’s owner Don Burgoon bought Angry Ale’s uptown and will re-open it as Picasso’s in about a month.
After the disastrous canceling of the Roots show at the last minute, Amos’ Southend is back and bigger. The club re-opens with Sister Hazel tonight. Raheem DeVaughn is June 29 and PM Dawn on June 30.
I’m glad to have Amos’ back. Now, that Amos’ is bigger. What kind of acts would you like to see there? They were mostly a cover band bar before, but more space means infinite potential.

They got me good

I’m trying to convince my girl to order some chicken wings and a movie, but she insists on going out to dinner and meeting a couple of friends for drinks. It’s a Thursday night and I’m heading to Raleigh on Friday. I flew in from Maryland on Wednesday. I partied so hard while at home that I caught a cold. Staying in Thursday would have made my mama proud.
But, we head to Cans.
Walking downstairs to the lounge, I see not simply two friends, but at least a dozen of my closest peeps.
Surprise!
They got me good. A surprise birthday party was the last thing I expected. My girl and my friends hooked it up, from Constantine getting us the spot in Cans to Sass getting the food at her aunt’s restaurant Thai Marlai.
We hung out there eating, drinking and swapping stories for about four hours. Dee Dee told the story about the time I hitchhiked in Savannah for St. Patrick’s Day. We had several T.M.I moments.
My friends gave gifts that reminded them of me. I got underwear made of candy from Ramona, a jockstrap and water bottle from Lamont, a massage from Crystal, a protest elephant keychain from C-Money, a gift card for the ABC store from Jermaine (I didn’t know they had those) and I’m getting a bottle of Patron from Dee Dee. (My friends know me so well)
My girl gave me a custom-made ring by Day. It’s shaped like a raccoon. (That’s a story for another day.)
After living here for a dozen years, I still call Maryland home, but after Thursday, Charlotte is feeling a lot more like Maryland. It reminded me that I’ve surrounded myself with good people, and I’m thankful.
I have to give shout-outs, thanks to – my girl, the Brunch Crew, my Observer family, my UBU folks, my drinking buddies and the folks at Cans – for making my 35th birthday unforgettable.

Put on a red light...

We were heading to the elevator inside Steve’s Bar Room on Connecticut Avenue, when the Police’s “Roxanne” blasted over the stereo. The six of us jumped out of the elevator and ran to the dancefloor.

We danced together and sang at the top of our lungs. Angie pretended her hand was a mike and did duets with everyone singing, “…put on a red light, put on a red light.”

By the time we were done, club owner Steve liked our routine so much he bought us a round of champagne with a cherry in each glass. Steve’s is my kind of place, posh, but not stuffy. It has a flat screen TV in the main area and long bar. There’s also a back area where you can get away. The vibe there was more relaxed than Indebleu. On this Sunday, the DJ played good ’80s music such as “Roxanne.” www.stevesbarroom.com

Mojito mojo

If my friend Angie had told me the mojito was going to cost $15, I wouldn’t have ordered it. I would have also missed out on one of the yummiest drinks ever – a blackberry mojito at Washington’s Indebleu.

Indebleu was the first Washington stop of my night on the town with Renee, Angie and Kecia on Sunday. Kecia’s girl rented a limo to celebrate her birthday so we went barhopping in D.C.

Angie raved about Indebleu’s blackberry mojito. We still haven't figured out what was in it, but we're sure about real blackberries and mint. The drink was so good that Angie and Renee finished their drinks and then went around drinking everyone else's behind their backs. At one point, Renee threatened to suck her ice cubes.

Indebleu is a one-drink stop. It’s too stuffy for my taste, but the music was downtempo soulful house. Indebleu is a fine dining restaurant with a lounge and bar downstairs, and dining upstairs. The place is phat. We couldn’t sit in the lounge because of a private party, but we peeked over the velvet rope. The custom sofas were vibrant oranges and red with throw pillows that complement the wooden tables and stools. If you go, stop by the bathroom. The sinks are concrete slabs with cool faucets. www.bleu.com/indebleu/

Back at Black Gay Pride

In my college and post college years, I looked forward to Black Gay Pride in D.C. It was Memorial Day weekend and my birthday weekend. It was my four days to hang with my folks during the day and kick it hard at night with my girl Lori.
I haven’t gone to Pride in the last couple of years though because the partiers seemed to get younger and younger and I have less patience for long lines and high cover charges. This year, I went since my girlfriend hadn’t gone in almost a decade.
Friday night felt like old times. We went to Fur nightclub and there was no line. The crowd was a good mix of young and old with a little eye candy. Go-go dancers grooved on the stage, which was the VIP area and two bars made the wait for cocktails short.
The music was a decent mix of hip-hop and old school go-go. I caught up with an old buddy I used to party with in Columbia, S.C., and one I hung with in D.C. back in the ’90s. My girl and I danced the night away. Other than a spilled drink on my girl’s shirt, the night was all good.
Saturday was a different story.
Something told me to stay home that night. I was tired after celebrating my brother’s college graduation with my family, but I have a hard time resisting a party. At first, everything at the Tunnel nightclub was gravy. We arrived about 11:30 p.m. and the club wasn’t too congested. Again, the crowd was ages. The only problem was the music. It sounded as if the subwoofer was going bad, but I’m not sure if that was worse or the half-hour impromptu comedy routine by the MCs. They killed time while technicians worked on the sound, but they also killed my mood.
By the time they decided to move us from the main dancefloor to a backroom, I was ready to go.
On Sunday, we went to the Black Gay Pride Festival at 9th and H Street. Initially, I was excited that the main event moved back outdoors after years inside the MCI Convention Center. Years ago, the festival was at Banneker Field near Howard University, but rainouts prompted organizers to move it inside.
I hoped the move outside would make the festival like old times with men walking around in bikinis and couples and friends sitting on blankets people-watching. It wasn’t. The new location was a parking lot and it was so hot even the devil would’ve asked for an ice cube.
Did you got to D.C. this weekend? If so, what did you think?

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.

Chillin' in VIP

Volunteers make the tournament go

One of the most important groups working the tournament is the volunteer. Each year, volunteers give so much of themselves to make the tournament run smoothly. They take their tasks extremely serious, whether it's the guy who raises his arm for quiet while a golfer hits or the woman who ropes of the "golfer x-crossing" areas, these are the people the tournament depends on to make the week run smoothly.


Phillip is one such volunteer. He's a tent captain for the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center's concession stand. In a matter of minutes, I watched him handle a woman who wanted to be a cashier and not a food processor, break-in two rookies and make sure all of the condiments stayed dry when it rained. It was Phillip's first year as a captain.

There's starving children in....

I'm in the executive kitchen which sends food to numerous tents. Antwan sauces, not bastes, more than a dozen pans of ribs, and Brian chops cantaloupe. I see the unthinkable. A chef grabs a pan of steamy carrots, rolls, and asparagus in a creamy sauce. He dumps it in the trash.

My eyes bulge.

He returns to the warmer and grabs another pan. My mind screams nooooo. He dumps it in the garbage too. Then another and another.

I'm speechless. Why?

He needs four empty pans.

Troubleshooting with Fitz

Handling the food at a major golf tournament isn't easy. This morning I zoomed around with Restaurant Associates' John Fitzgibbon. The biggest problems of the morning were a leak a terrace tent, the bomb squads request for more trash pick ups at one of the sites and making sure the condiments didn't get soaked in the rain.

My favorite cocktail

Roaming around the Champion Club, I saw so many people drinking Bloody Marys I had to taste one (non-alcoholic) for myself. I'm a Bloody Mary junkie and I'm always looking for a good mix. My favorite is Zing-Zang. The folks from Restaurant Associates use Ocean Spray. It's tasty, but still not as good as Zing-Zang. If, add a little Tabasco sauce and Old Bay seasoning and you're all set.

Any Bloody Mary fans out there? If so, what's your favorite mix?

This is how we do it

Oh yeah, it's Friday and the Champion Club on the eighth green is buzzing upstairs. Bloody Marys flow and the weekend has begun. If you have an upgraded ticket the Champion Club is the place to be. There's food, beer, wine, liquor and most importantly shelter from the rain.

Friday is a big day

I've got big plans for Friday. First, I'll be dressed more appropriately. And don't think I'll be the only news reporter rocking shorts. A lot of those pretty TV reporters who look all button-down are wearing shorts, too.

I'm hanging with John Fitzgibbons tomorrow. He's the man who puts out the fires, you know --trouble shoots. I'm hoping to catch up with Chef Lou again. Last year, I made a salad with him. I talked to the Restaurant Associates top chef on Monday and I think I may have offended him. (Imagine that.) I was telling him that I wanted a harder job this year because I had mastered making salads. He looked at me and said, he hadn't even mastered salads yet. What he really wanted to say was "Idiot girl, how dare you think you can be a salad expert in a half hour!"


I'm also trying to hook up with the car wash guys tomorrow. They keep the rides real shiny and they told me the secret on how to keep your car looking showroom new. You gotta hit the blog tomorrow to find out. I'm off to flag football and then pre-Cinco de Mayo parties.

Holla'

Stayin' on top of the scores

Kiosks throughout the course allow fans to keep up with the stats.

If you'd like to make a call

A couple of weeks ago, several of you ripped me for criticizing the ushers at Blumenthal about their anti-cellphone fanaticism. (One blog poster is still waiting for me to apologize)

Well, at the Wachovia Championship cellphones aren't an issue. Patrons are advised to leave them in the car and there are five call centers set up throughout the course with Sprint telephones. Each has six phones, along with high-speed Internet access in case patrons need to check mail. Callers are asked to limit their conversations to five minutes to allow more people to use the phones. Call centers are great, but it's not the same as holding up your own phone and letting the person on the other end hear the roar of the crowd when David Duval whacks the ball.

Who cares about golf?

Crowds of people gathered around the parking area to see the cool cars lined up. This Mercedes SLR was the eye catcher of the afternoon.

Dressed for the tourney

Aww, they're so cute: Jessica Pinti and Patrick Rabun on their way to see Vijay Singh

Doing it with style: Maurice Brown (green) and Reggie Weddington ( brown) taking in their first Wachovia Championship

It's hot out herre, I wanna take my clothes off

Whoa, I totally didn't pay attention to weather when I got dressed for the tournament this morning. I rode my motorcycle because I'm in gas conservation mode. That means I'm wearing boots and jeans, and I'm dyiiing. Tomorrow I'm taking it back to zip away pants. You know the ones that turn into shorts when you zip the legs off. I'll be rocking those when I rode over.

Missing Tiger

A buddy and I stopped by Belle Acres for the Wachovia Championship media night and were surprised by the light crowd. The food was great (as you can tell by the line of people in the photograph), but there were fewer people than last year. We wondered if the absence of Tiger brought less media folks out this year or were reporters chasing reaction about the passing of Tiger's dad, Earl.

Speaking of which, a couple of co-workers and I got into a heated debate about the importance of Earl Woods' death. I won't mention any names, but two others and I remarked about how sad it was that he died. After following Tiger's career, I felt like I knew his father. I was shedding tears along with Tiger when he won the Augusta National in 1997 and hugged his father for a long time. My mom and I sniffled on the phone to each other as we watched. I'll always remember the elder Woods in that moment.

One colleague commented that the passing of Tiger's dad was no more significant than the death of any other 74-year-old man. We argued about why the death of Tiger's dad was news and was more notable than any random person in our obit pages. Our colleague didn't budge.

What do you think? Should Earl Woods have been an obit inside our local section?

Wooooo, it's my birthday month

It's May baby, and I've already begun my monthlong celebration of my birthday on May 26. I spent last weekend at home with my girls, pictured above, and we tore up D.C. Read about it in Friday's Paid to Party in E&T.

Woooo, I love May. I'm so hype, this week is going to be off the chain. I'm starting tonight at a media party for the Wachovia Championship.

On Thursday, I'll be at Alive After Five, then I'm hitting the streets for pre-Cinco de Mayo parties. Friday is Cinco de Mayo and I don't know what I'm doing on Saturday. There's so much to choose from.

I'll be blogging from the Wachovia Championship most of the day on Thursday and Friday. If you know of any good spots or things I should highlight while I'm there pop me a note.

See you in the streets.