MAY 17, 2012   Happy Birthday, Cool Jerk!

Dandelion Market 

is housed where Latorres dance club used to be on 5th Street, uptown Charlotte, right off of Church Street. (We loved Latorres for latin dancing so I was relieved to 

find it didn't close, it just moved next door upstairs-more about Latorres later).

Two of us ordered and split five "small plates". Each one a distinct flavor and generous portion, average price is $10.00 each. We loved the grilled lamb 
lollipops, pinky-red in the center; pick up these meaty pops by the rib bone! 

And the Prosciutto Crostinis: cheesy, crunchy, salty and yummy.  I can't wait to go back and try some more, so many choices. This is a G.B.O. (go back often) place. The atmosphere is cozy, aged brick walls with an open floor plan, it's a  real neighborhood  bar with an Irish pub feel. Quick service and each dish served up piping hot right off the stove. Maybe it's the rampant A.D.D. festering in all of us, but I love sampling many flavors in one hour sitting rather than waddling through one entry that you might not even like! The beer list is extensive and many of the mixed drinks feature my favor liquor, elderberry flavored  St. Germaine (click on it) which we discovered five years ago in P-town, Cape Cod. Not always easy to find in the ABC stores, ask for it and make sure they stock it. 

                                        Dandelion Market | Charlotte, NC (click on it)

And if your hips don't lie (click for hip action!) go to Latorres Disco next door on 5th Street! The club is revamped and gorgeous!

                        

 For you who wish to shake your bootie all night long, this top floor disco pulsates and features the best sound system and intelligent light system around. We went many times to the old location and loved watching the dancers who came out just to strut their stuff on the dance floor. Sometimes I would actually get up and dance!

        Beach Party kicks off May 18 FRIDAY at 10pm. Tickets $20.00 at the door.

Speaking of Latin Dancing       

Tues-  May 29^th - FREE Salsa Dancing Classes provided by the Charlotte Latin Dance Group 

7:00- 11:00 pm

 Villa Antonio's at their South End location (next to Pier One)

Charlotte

·        Villa Antonio has $5.00 bar appetizers and $6.00 drink specials     every night at the piano bar-and what a bar it is!

Extending "Restaurant Week" throughout the summer, go to Villa Antonio's for a 3 course prix fix dinner menu: $30.00 per person any night of the week. We often go to Villa Antonio's at their sister location in Ballantyne for family celebrations and authentic Italian cuisine. Great service and a beautiful atmosphere. Piano bar in both locations.

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DISCO IS NOT DEAD!

So sad to hear that Donna Summers, super Disco Queen and iconic bad girl of the 70's and 80's,  died today at the age of 62. She had battled with cancer.

  Five time grammy winner and the first artist to have three back-to-back No. 1 double albums, remember these hits if you are old enough, year after year:

 1975 Love To Love You Baby-the moaning and groaning from Donna was enough to set everyone groovin' in the disco's!

1977 I Feel Love 

1978 LAST DANCE (click here)

1979 Hot Stuff

1979 Bad Girls

1983 She Works Hard for the Money

1989 This Time I know it's for Real

I wasn't into disco music but my mom was! She didn't go "clubbing" but she loved to  blast Donna Summers and Barry White on our record player. Can't Get Enough -I know it by heart! We would  do the hustle (click) in the living room and mom would watch!
 I adored  the revamped version of  I FEEL LOVE (click here) in the Blue Man Group's 2009 show featuring Venus Hum on vocals which I enjoyed in Charlotte. Wild!  
Can you name the two songs that the Blue Men start to play in this video before Donna Summers' song. Email me: kbshoots55@gmail.com and I will post the correct answers. 

                                                        VEGAS with the BLUE FAKE MEN!

"Once you have established yourself as an icon in your field, it is important that you pay tribute to some of the great rock legends that came before you."- the Blue Man Group. 

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Dance like there's no one watching...if you haven't seen this New York

ensemble company perform, now is your chance! Right now till Sunday 

at the intimate Knight Theater, uptown, feast your eyes on dance that 

cannot be rivaled. Lucky to have seen the group perform twice, once in New York  WITH the incomparable and legendary Judith Jameson and then again last year in Charlotte, I am amazed at their skill and artistry!
For tickets, click here.
   

                                


















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Russell Brand look-alike but much cuter, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros puts on a performance that rivals crowd pleasers such as The Boss, Bruce Springsteen or even Jim Morrison dare I say! Don't judge till you see him yourself in person!

Russell Brand

  Alex Ebert

May 16,  Fillmore Charlotte: all eyes riveted on his every move, the packed-like-sardines crowd watched transfixed as Alex weaved and bobbed shoeless across the stage. Sitting often on the edge, his non-stop energy starts with a slow build up, engaging the audience to sing along, then ending with everyone hollering at the top of their lungs and jumping up and down in unison! The show was one of the best I have witnessed in ages! I can't say it's only rock and roll...it's more like a band of crazy folkie troubadours onstage. The band numbers 11 or 12 performers as I counted with organ, piano, trumpet, accordian (OMG), two drummers, guitars, back up singers, a wailing violin all with voices and instruments tuned to each other's perfectly executed improv.

My fav tune and one you probably have heard and not known who it was, HOME (click here) I took the shaky video! Ah, home-let me come home, home is where I want to be.

            
The Wanderlust KINGs
Coming MONDAY to the Fillmore in Charlotte is another lunatic ensemble whom I just discovered: Gogol Bordello.  Insane is how I describe this musical band of gypsies! Formed in 1999 in lower Manhattan, band members of all nationalities merged for musical madness. Watch the satirical Immigraniada (We Comin' Rougher) (click here) song and see how long you can take it! Right in your face, no punches here, weird Al Yankovic's cousin (not really) is SERIOUS about his schtick.
Do NOT miss the show on May 21.

Gogol Bordello  Date: Mon, May 21, 2012 08:00 PM  Onsadates and times

Interesting junK: "Gogol" comes from the name Nikolai Gogol. As one of the most influential writers in Ukrainian and Russian literature, Gogol paved the way for the likes of Kafka andDostoyevsky. He also serves as an ideological influence for the band because he "smuggled" Ukrainian culture into Russian society, which Gogol Bordello intends to do with Gypsy/ East-European music in the English-speaking world. -sourced from Wikipedia.

BTW: The Fillmore Charlotte is one of the coolest (literally, the A/C was blasting!) and most intimate venues to watch your favorite bands! We have witnessed Ray Davies, The Cult, Flogging Mollies, just to name some recent shows! You can get as up front and personal as you want with the band, as long as you don't mind the gang of rockers who mob the stage singing, dancing and maybe moshing...(yikes!) 

General Admission usually $25.00 gives you standing room only which is great if you want to feel the pulse and dance; otherwise you can spend extra bucks to get the VIP section which is roped off and guarded like a castle by a muscle bound bouncer and a checklist checker who seemed oblivious to the music and show! (Totally engaged with her texting buddies on her cell, she really illustrated just how far texting can take you: i.e. in front of oncoming trains, crossing streets in traffic, blowing through red lights, and missing an entire concert. A loud one at that!) And tweens are allowed into the shows.                The I.D. proofed adults are banded for drinks. 

Speaking of...who remembers the OLD Fillmore EAST in New York? 

Tell me about it, I missed that one, too young. 

Rock concert promoter, Bill Graham closed it's doors in 1971.

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smART: May 18 FRIDAY

 Again it is time for the Arts Market at the Neighborhood Theater, NoDa, way uptown Charlotte.  So much cool stuff to see, fun places to pop into and eat, drink and just be darn merry!

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"Making the world more open and connected" and shamelessly gobbling up our precious hours...HOW CAN WE IGNORE 28 year old, New York born, Mark Zuckerberg on the brink of his next grand adventure expected to reap in 6 billion smackers: Facebook goes public! A fad or a fashion, the hemp or cashmere hoodie that  Zuckerberg (click on him) wears 24-7 has become his signature (Old Navy sells them for $249.00!) and has incited many rants amongst wall street business folk.

Michael Pachter, the Wedbush Securities analyst who was the first to give the Facebook IPO a "buy" rating, told Bloomberg TV:

"Mark and his signature hoodie: He’s actually showing investors he doesn’t care that much; he’s going to be him. I think that’s a mark of immaturity. I think that he has to realize he’s bringing investors in as a new constituency right now, and I think he’s got to show them the respect that they deserve because he’s asking them for their money."

I disagree! Let's recall Apple's founder, Steve Jobs' black turtleneck, was he cool or what! Do genius minds spend time on their looks or do they maybe, just maybe, have bigger and better issues to deal with?Ya think? 

                                  Do they want to be admired for their clothes or for their minds?

These guys can wear whatever they want and it's we who judge who have to GROW UP! 

Frankly, I am amazed at how many decades men have donned daily boring grey or navy, two piece suits glammed up (not really!) with alternating colored ties and socks.

                                               Come on guys!

Regroup-and think this over, get creative. Wear a skirt maybe, why not! SKIRT Magazine, (remember that one- defunct in 2011) featured a monthly photo of a man in a skirt. Readers loved it and it definitely caught your attention.

Blogger Bill Clearlake said it succinctly in 2006, "Guys just want to be comfortable and many men are discovering that skirts are more comfortable for the male body than pants. Pants bind and chafe. They rub and restrict movement. There’s the “three drops” problem caused by our plumbing getting kinked on all that material. It’s even been demonstrated that pants can lower a man’s sperm count by raising the temperature of his testicles which inhibits sperm production. Cooling the testes with ice is a common medical treatment to increase sperm count and motility. Many urologists claim that tight pants can even contribute to or aggravate prostate problems."

                    Be brave! Like Braveheart, real men DO wear skirts (click here). 

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Practice WOTD’s (word of the day)


Guns and Butter diplomacy:  Exporting anything to fatten up the world and arm it for permanent bloodshed.


Hipsturd: Hipsters who aren't really hip but copy others who are.


Global Weirding: extreme unpredicatable weather trends that give credit to the theory of global warming.


JEET: "Did ya eat?"


Pinterest: a new social network website where you can sign up and share your ideas, likes, etc. with other users.

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Last blog's WHERE IS THIS was answered correctly by Oliva! It was Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.


                 WHERE IS THIS?

send guesses to kbshoots55@gmail.com

Sony NEX-7 Black Digital SLR Camera With 18-55mm Lens - NEX-7K/B

May DAY 2012

Super Moon, Solar Eclipse, Meteor Shower From Halley's Comet On Tap In May, 

2012! click here

And for some musical notes on the moon, one of my fav. southern bands-lucky to see  




them many times LIVE live-




click on live. 

Celebrate the 5th of May: Cinco de Mayo
Sunday-May 6- Fanta Festival - McAlpine Creek Park - 11am-7pm
Address: 8711 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC

Live performers, dancing and singing, traditional food and folk dances and a Latino marketplace. Plenty of fun, check out the video (click on it).

YUM-A-LISH-ISH- In the mood for some good mexican food but don't know where to go? Try Loco Lime at 1101 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC. Opened in 2010 in the funky Plaza Midwood section of Charlotte. They serve corn tamales cooked in corn husks, made fresh and so delish.

 

Recipe to make your own! click: Corn Tamales

Check them out for Cinco de Mayo, May 5th with outside games and fun! Ask for their guacamole dip, made table side by your waitress and a MUST-the spicy Margarita. Burns going down and out! Here's a recipe to make yours at home. Do it a day ahead of your party so you can serve them up for poolside for Cinco de Mayo!

                            First: make your tequila spicy 24 hours prior to drinking by cutting hot pepper in half, (habaneros are the hottest!) and put into the bottle of tequila. 

Do I have to mention, don't touch your eyes, mouth, any body areas at all before thoroughly washing your hands after cutting the hot pepper??

• Ingredients:
• Ice
• 1 1/2 ounces spiced tequila 
• ½-ounce orange brandy
• Lime juice squeezed from 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup or simple syrup

Add ice to a shaker, add the tequila, orange brandy, lime juice and the agave/simple syrup. 

Now-shake it like a polaroid (Click here for shaking inspiration

and a little OUTKAST music to shake by! What's with the green outfits?)

Use fun glassware and wet the rims, then dip the rims in rock salt or sugar, whichever you prefer.  Strain and serve. I ask you, "What's cooler than being cool? Ice cool!" Feel the burn...

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smART: Time again for cruising local art in NoDa, (North of Davidson Art district).

NoDa
Charlotte, NC

maps.google.com

Seems that NoDa is crawling with activities every weekend. A super cool place to hang and see art, have brews, catch a live show and see some funky folks digging the scene. It gets busy as the weather gets warmer...

“NoDA 1^st Annual Studio Tour”, May 4

Time 6-10pm.

http://nodarioty.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012-Studio-Crawl-map.pdf

13 participating studios  to puruse on your self guided tour, map attached, click to check out and see local art! And say "hi" if you see me.

When you've had enough visual stimulation in NoDa and you're heading home and maybe need a little KICK to wake you up, drive a few blocks on North Davidson Street, south towards uptown (don't try walking it!), and stop in Amelie's. It will be packed, I can assure you, but just suck it up and get in line. Chat with your friends while trying to decide which wicked dessert treat to sample. I recommend: chocolate eclairs, bear claws, strawberry cheese croissants or the multi-colored coconut macaroons, (so cute-I always take a box of six home!).

 Open 24-7, no kidding, Amelie's has the best french pastries, freshly baked loaves of bread, espresso, wi-fi, and shabby chic lounging rooms. You can hang here and people watch while slurping coffee and getting a sugar buzz to go!

(They also have a satellite shop in uptown Charlotte on Tryon Street which pales in comparison though very convenient for a quick cup of joe and pastry!)

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Three major musical influences in my life (and tons of other folks, too, MAYBE YOU!), left this world in April to join the huge rock concert in the sky. First to go on April 18 was 82 year old Richard Wagstaff, known to his fans as                                                             Dick Clark. 

American's oldest teenager was yankee born and bred from Bronxville, New York, and a graduate of Syracuse University. Dick moved to the Philadelphia area in the early 50's and ended up taking over a new TV show when the original host was arrested for drunk driving. Talk about a break! In 1957 Dick opened his show with an interview from a shy southern newcomer,  Elvis the Pelvis Presley. American Bandstand became the longest running variety show in the U.S. and ended 30 years later.

 I grew up watching this show with my sister, mom and aunts. We learned all the cool dances (click here) from Philly: the watusi, the jerk, the stroll, the pony and of course one that everyone young and old knows, the twist! Bands who were on the top 40's record list would lip synch their songs while neatly groomed teens danced to Ike and Tina Turner, Simon and Garfunkel, Sam Cooke, Chubby Checker and even the Talking Heads! All of them had "good lyrics and a beat you could dance to". Click here for a stroll down memory lane if you're old enough to remember and if you weren't around back then, well you missed it! Nothing like it today though Ryan Seacrest (click on that) was mentored by Dick Clark and helped on his annual New Years Eve show from New York City. 

"Wait a minute Chester. You know I'm a peaceful man"...on April 19, 72 year old Levon Helm, singer and drummer for The BAND, took a load off and laid down his head for the last time. Born in 1940 to cotton picking parents in rural Arkansas, Mark Lavon (later changed to Levon) took up drumming at an early age and traveled to Canada where he teamed up with the Band members and called themselves Levon and the Hawks. In the 60's, they met and became the back up band for Bob Dylan (I didn't know that!) and played in 1969 at the Woodstock festival as THE BAND. (Did you go? I didn't because I was too young but I did watch the movie three times straight in a row=9 hours straight! Yeah, I was such a hippie with my bell bottoms and waist long hair. ) 

Levon loved rural upstate New York and  made Woodstock it his home. (So did Dylan). I tootled to Woodstock in March (see photo-that's me!), just last month. Word on the street was that Levon was still battling with throat cancer and was holding music nights called Midnight Ramble in his living room to help cover his medical costs. OMG. Can you imagine sitting that close and listening to the great voice of Levon Helm? That southern mountain voice echoes in my head for over 40 years-Up On Cripple Creek (click here), Rag Momma Rag, The Weight, and so many more hits- four grammy awards. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, in 1978 Martin Scorsese documented The Band's last concert after performing for 16 years in a film called, The Last Waltz. Get it on Netflix and learn about an all American Band that played with the great rock and rollers like Dylan and Clapton.

R&R TRIVIA: What band leader did Levon mention in the song, Up on Cripple Creek? Be the first to answer and you will get a copy of Levon's 2007 CD, "Dirt Farmer"; be sure to send your email address!

April 26 brought the sad news that 66 year old Pete Fornatale, Bronx-born radio personality, had died from a stroke. I grew up listening to WNEW-FM Radio where Rock truly LIVED.
Pete was a regular DJ since 1969 and hosted "Mixed Bag" in 1982. Those were the days when the DJ's ruled the air and got to play who they liked, no play list! Click here for more info on Pete. Who are some of the DJ's that you remember?



 Thanks to all for the great music that rocked our world!

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        Dandelions and white clover blossoms are blooming in my lawn right now.

Ok. I know! These are considered weeds and frowned on by the majority of grass loving groupies. But did you know in Canada that dandelion root is registered as a drug and used to treat kidney disease, respiratory illnesses, gallstones and anemia- just for starts! Yeah, it's been around since the beginning of time along with white clover which is also considered a pesky lawn infiltrator. Both are partially responsible for the vegetables and fruit we eat! How so? Dandelions and clover are food sources for bees and 90+other pollen eating insects. While you might shirk from the sight of a bee, don't reach for a can of pesticide unless you can live without edibles such as peaches, blueberries, apples, squash, and the list goes on...We need these industrious creatures if we wish to survive. Busy bees cross pollinate (or fertilize) fruit and vegetable blossoms which initiates food production.  Click here for scientific evidence provided by students of Virginia Tech. Look for the little guys with yellow or orange sacks on their legs, that's pollen that they collected from dandelions or clover and then share with their hive mates.

Staying on the subject of those little yellow flowers, right here in uptown Charlotte, we have the Dandelion Market. Open 7 days a week until 2:00AM! You can't find that in the suburbs. Stop in for sliders, flatbreads, pint brews and good wine.  Click here to see more! Personally, I haven't sampled it yet but it is now on my must try list. Send me your review if you have been there. And yes, they ARE serving dandelion greens, why not!


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What's Charlotte's most ICONIC restaurant? Reviewed this month by another yankee tootler, Adam Richman, on the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food TV show, it is tucked the plaza midwood section of the queen city and is over half a century old! The Penguin Drive-in. MUST have: fried pickles (the secret is revealed in the video-click here). We stopped in prior to seeing New York's favorite son, Jerry Seinfeld, who was appearing less than two miles away at Ovens Auditorium. We stuffed our gobs with juicy angus beef eight ounce patties slathered in pimento cheese and  served up by hustling hipster waiters. Walk right in and grab whatever seats are open unless the line is already out the door. Now you know where to go when you need a BFF= burger and fries fix.

Speaking of BFF's, CowFish in the Village of South Park is the only place that serves up "burgushi", a.k.a. sushi burgers. That's what I said, sushi-burg-AHHHS. I can't get enough of them. Small like sliders, paired up with parmesan truffle fries, you will not die and not go to heaven but you will be happy as pie. (What'd she say?) My waiter, just by chance, Joe from the Big A, gave us the low down and hit us with his best shot-"The Taste Explosion Roll." Click here."! As Arnold says, "I will be back!"

                             Calling all LOCAVORES

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                                             WHERE IS THIS? 

         
             Have you been here? It's in North Carolina, not far from Charlotte.
                                            Send me your guesses!
 If you answer correctly, I will email you a coupon for buy one get one free coupon to this place. Send your answer and email to: kbshoots55@gmail.com, subject line: Where is this?

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Member of the New York-based Professional Women Photographers and resident of my husband's home town, Maplewood, New Jersey, Pamela Greene hosted a book signing at The Words bookstore and I was privileged to attend! Her photographs of New York's meat packing district feature both blood and beauty, hence the title: Blood and Beauty. Stunning images of New York's  hustle and bustle in  a transitional neighborhood, this book is worthy of your collection. 
To order your copy, please visit:

http://­wordsboo­kstore.­com              *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *     Calling all Gardeners!! There's still time  to start some seeds at home. This bio-dome (click) from Park Seeds  is easy and so convenient to use! I have several.              *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   You might wonder why I include New York stuff in my blog.   Fact is I lived there, went to school there and still travel there as much as I can. I LOVE NEW YORK, but for now, I'm going back down south (click on the blue). Another all time GREAT BANDS!!