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?

Nas coming to Charlotte

Rapper Nas brings his The Hip Hop is Dead Tour 2007 to Neighborhood
Theatre on April 11. ($38. 704-358-9298; www.neighborhoodtheatre.com; or
Baseline Cuts Barbershop: 704-567-9919.)

The upcoming show -- and EPMD’s performance here for CIAA weekend --
provides a good opportunity to talk about the state of hip-hop.

On Nas’ new single, "Hip-hop is Dead," he laments rappers today who brag about the women
they’ve slept with and their jewelry. At the EPMD show at Amos’ Southend
on Friday, rapper Erick Sermon also called out young rappers, saying
that anybody could rap, but not everyone can be an MC.

I understand where they’re coming from because that quality hip-hop that
tries to uplift young people and educate young minds disappeared from
radio stations more than a decade ago. But the issues that Nas and
Sermon have with rap music have always been a part of hip-hop.

Hip-hop isn’t dead. We still have Nas, Talib Kweli, Jurassic 5, Little
Brother, Outkast and countless underground rappers who aren’t grabbing
their crotches and talking about the kind of car they drive.

What do you think? Is hip-hop dead? Post your reply below.

The party's over until next year

I wrapped up the CIAA with my girl and Kitch at the Digital Divas Panache brunch at Blue restaurant this morning. After four days of partying and stopping long enough to do stuff for the paper and shower, it felt good to arrive somewhere and not feel rushed to go another event.

For more than an hour the three of us chilled and munched on omelets, waffles, shrimp, roast beef and more. A smooth jazz band played in the bar area. We sipped Bloody Marys and margaritas and recapped the weekend. We finished our brunch with a Royal Flush shot and toasted surviving another CIAA.

This year was better than last year. The day parties were hype and there were more parties in the heart of uptown. Several people, I interviewed said this year’s was better than last year’s as well. The one major complaint that I heard was that some hotels weren’t welcoming to people who weren’t guests at their hotels and that promoters were charging way too much money for their parties.

What do you think? Did you attend the CIAA tournament here last year? If so, how did 2007 compare? Was this your first time at the tournament? If so, how did Charlotte do?

Post your replies below.

Breakfast with the Omegas

The Omegas know how to throw a late night breakfast party.

After the Backyard Band show at Amos' we made a beeline to the Omega Psi Phi fraternity house for their late-night breakfast party. It was about 2:30 a.m. and I was starving. The Omegas were a model of efficiency. We walked in, paid $20, got a ticket and walked to the back. In the back, we gave a man our ticket, he handed us a plate and pointed us to the buffet.

I filled my plate up with grits, eggs, chicken wings, bacon and sausage, and then plopped into an oversized leather chair. I was the happiest person in the world. The grits were on point and so were the chicken wings. In all of my life of partying, I have never been fed that fast at a late-night food event. Had I gone to Waffle House, Coffee Cup, Mert's or IHOP, I would have waited forever to be seated and served.

After eating, we headed to the dance floor to shake it a couple of more hours before heading home about 4 a.m.

Next year, the Omegas are going to get tired of seeing my face.

Backyard Band at Amos' Southend

A guy wearing dark glasses and holding a cigarette between two fingers ducks low and weaves through the crowd to the rhythm of Backyard Bands cowbells and congas. He stops in front of his friends, jumps around with them and then weaves through the crowd again.

This is a go-go show baby, and if you’re standing still trying to look cool or cute, then you need to go home.
Inside Amos’ guys pump their hands in the air. Women dance with men or their girlfriends. The club is crowded from front to back, but there’s plenty of room to dance and Backyard gives fans plenty of reasons to dance.

In the world of go-go, I like Chuck Brown, Rare Essence and Junk Yard Band. After watching Backyard’s two-hour performance on Saturday, I’m adding them to my list. The band features Slim Charles, who played Avon Barksdale’s bodyguard on HBO’s “The Wire.” His scratchy voice complements the other talkers in the band.

They performed their own songs, but the crowd get even more hyped when they sing go-go versions of “Show Me What You Got” and “Throw Some D’s.” A guy stops me and tells me to write in my article that go-go is underrated in Charlotte. I dap him up and promise to do so.

And speaking of Charlotte’s under appreciation of go-go will someone please buy all of the Charlotte DJs some new go-go music? I’m so tired of hearing “Scenario” and “Water Dance” every time I go to a party. Those are not the only go-go songs out there, and they’re older than dirt.

Saturday party round up

Once again, CIAA partiers took over uptown Charlotte. One of my boys said it was a beautiful sight to see black people packing every bar, restaurant and club that they could on Saturday night. Since I spent Saturday night partying south of the Square, I missed the uptown action. Here's what I heard:

TOMMY FORD, who played Tommy on the TV comedy “Martin” stopped by the World’s Largest Finals Party at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, according to Tammy Greene of the Jazz Café. At least 241 people watched the game, ate and caught up with old friends at the party, which was in the stadium’s north lounge. After the party, Ford hung out at the Jazz Café.

Speaking of the Jazz Café, Green said 400 people attended the VSU Alumni Meet and Greet day party on Friday. It was the biggest single-day event ever at the Jazz Café, and that includes shows featuring a national artist.

PAID TO PARTY SHOOTER E-DUBYA said the best party she went to this weekend was the So So Day Affair at Jillians. The party was a farewell to N.C. Central University, which will no longer be in the CIAA after this year. E-Dubya said the party was so hype and DJ Flemingo was on it. Everybody was just pumped, and the party was relaxed not stuffy. Partiers formed a "Soul Train" lane. E-Dubya said she went to the bathroom and when she came back partiers had formed a circle and people were breakdancing.

E-Dubya hit up the A-List’s CI 2007 Extravaganza at the Omni hotel on Saturday night. It was a madhouse. A lot of people who bought advance tickets were turned away because the party was so crowded. Inside, everyone was looking cute, and E-Dubya said it was more fun outside of the party than in the hotel.

At 3:30 a.m., E-Dubya found her way to Allure, which was also packed. She said they were serving food. Every time, E-Dubya was ready to go, DJ Flemingo played another cut that dragged her back to the dance floor. She didn’t leave until 5:45 a.m.


PAID TO PARTY SCOUT SEARCHIN’ said the Best of Both Worlds party, presented by the Coalition of Young Black Professionals and D&G Entertainment, started slow, but picked up as the night went on. The party was fun, and there was plenty of food. She said DJ Boney B played way too much Jay-Z, and he played the same songs repeatedly. Oh, and the emcee was annoying too.

PAID TO PARTY ROLL DAWG KITCH said the uppity vibe that surrounded Friday night at the Crown Royal Barbershop at Emerson Joseph was gone Saturday. Kitch said during the Saturday edition the DJ played dirty south rap. Women and men danced. Saturday’s happy hour had more of a dance party feel than Friday’s party.

Now, it's your turn. Where did you party Saturday night? How was it? Post your replies below.

Fools shooting uptown

Some fools were shooting uptown early Saturday morning. A woman suffered an eye injury from broken glass as result of the incident, which occurred about 3:05 a.m. near Dixie's Tavern.

She was riding in a party bus that was struck by at least one bullet. A close friend of mine was on that bus and said a bullet hit his seat. He's shaken and not sure if he wants to come uptown tonight.

What makes it worse is that neither of us are surprised by the shooting. It seems like no matter how hard black people work to provide upscale events, i.e. no wanna-be gangsters, the little punks won’t stay away.

Now, I have a friend who’s worried about his safety uptown and there’s a woman nursing a wounded eye instead of having a good time.

Don't these idiots know they're the reason why so many white club and restaurant owners are reluctant to open their doors to black promoters? Incidents like this and the shooting at Crush a few weeks ago are the reason why we don't have a black-owned nightclub uptown. White people are scared of ignorant black people.

Guess what. Black people are scared of them too.

When I was working on the tournament party list, I went back and forth with a promoter about the language of his listing. He wanted me to write that it was open to all CIAA alumni. I told him non-CIAA alumni might think they couldn't attend. I suggested saying the party was for people ages 25 and up. He agreed, but then called me back later. He said only wanted people who were college graduates because he didn't want to deal with anyone who hadn't graduated from college coming in and acting like a fool in his party.

I know he's making a broad generalization, but I understand where he's coming from and it makes me sad. There is already a disconnect between the hip-hop generation and the Civil Rights generation. His comment, and the fact part of me agrees, makes me realize that we're facing a class disconnect within the hip-hop generation.

The CIAA tournament is a time to party and watch good basketball, but it also celebrates the legacy of historically black colleges. These schools give motivated black boys and girls hope for a better life. We have got to find a way to reach the black boys who have no hope because they are killing all of us, not just themselves