A city plan to build a $21 million, five-story parking deck in downtown Asheville’s Battle Square has come under fire from residents of the Battery Park Apartments. On Sept. 6, about 50 people gathered in the historic structure’s newly renovated rooftop meeting room to formally launch a campaign to block what would be Asheville’s largest […]
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Letters to the editor
Katrina delivers wake-up lessons We Americans have a great opportunity before us to take a close look at how we have been living our lives up to now, the effect it has had on the planet, and how we can change our focus to be forward-thinking. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the destruction of domestic […]
From Asheville to Oak Ridge
“GET OUT OF THE DAMN ROAD!” screamed a female in a passing SUV. We were taking up only one of the four lanes running through the commercial district in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Perhaps she was impatient to reach one of the corporate franchises lining both sides of the highway. I, too, felt some impatience with […]
Heights
Every now and then I’m convinced that I see a totally different movie than every other film reviewer. Such is the case with Heights, the final movie produced by Ismael Merchant (Remains of the Day), which is directed by 28-year-old newcomer Chris Terrio and based on a short play by another unknown, Amy Fox. I […]
Leave your dictionary at home
Burn away the cartoonish lyrics of much of the British and American ’60s psychedelic-rock canon and what remains? Well, everything. Because nimble guitar phrasing, chugging rhythm sections and elastic intersections of melody and noise are what make the best poppy head music — which is why it’s irrelevant that Gustav Ejstes is a young, contemporary […]
It?s not science fiction anymore
Has the downtown gallery scene gotten too tame for you? Works with no deep meaning — too decorative, too slick, too pretty, and too safe? Take heart: Keith Hewett’s current exhibit at Push will scare the bejesus out of you. Hewett displays some paintings in his Reliquaries of the Frankenstein Complex — but this is […]
Earful
CD reviews Sound of New Orleans This week, I decided to forego the usual local-album review and focus instead on New Orleans music, for obvious reasons. Give a listen, and raise a toast to sub-sea-level soul: • Dr. John, Gris-Gris The guru of voodoo got his start with this album that can double as sound […]
Cartoons
How to be a keeper of trees
People who love and work a lot with trees tend to call them by name and know their places of origin, preferred habitats and common pests or other problems. They also know how to address an immediate issue and help guide a tree to health. To care for trees in this way is a skill […]
Jaded ex-rock stars, future soldiers and more
As the all-too-common collage approach to band categorization goes, the self-portrait offered by Celtic world-fusionists Rathkeltair is perhaps better than most: A description on their Web site promises listeners “acoustic trad mixed with spine-tingling Euro-pop as performed by jaded ex-rock stars.” Rathkeltair’s piper/vocalist Neil Anderson and drummer Nick Watson were founding members of Clan Na […]
What it sounds like
It’s not just his numerous depictions of musicians that lets you know Harry L. Davis loves music — the man’s process itself emotes strong rhythm. Davis, who lives and works in the town of Belville on the North Carolina coast, is self-taught, though not of the “faux folk” school. His paintings currently on display at […]
Earful
Skeletons in the jukebox “Skeletons” provides a forum for local musicians, artists, record-store owners, etc., to erase cool points by expressing their affection for an unhip album from their past. Triumph, by singer/songwriter Dave Desmelik “In the mid- to late-’80s, there was a band that I felt rocked. Melodic and smooth, they could also be […]
Cartoons
Letters to the editor
Full-time city deserves full-bore shakeup When we vote for mayor and City Council members, we are voting for those who hire the city manager and appoint all volunteers to city commissions. I sat in on the Transit Commission this winter, and asked for a show of hands of those present who depended on bus transportation […]
The Transporter 2
The best way to enjoy Transporter 2 is to first see the original Transporter, which sets up the mythic, rule-obsessed hero and his preposterous but supremely enjoyable stunts and establishes the film’s martial arts choreography. Frank Martin (Jason Statham, The Italian Job) will transport anything, no questions asked, cash on delivery. He’s a stickler for […]
From Hope to headache
June 23, 1974, was supposed to be a day of civic pride and an auspicious beginning for the just-completed Asheville Civic Center. After years of rancorous debate and political foot-dragging, the last brick was finally in place, the paint was dry — and the house was packed for the much-anticipated first show. The headliner was […]
Letters to the editor
You say Tomato … I read your review of Tomato Cocina Latina [Aug. 17] with some interest. On the night you reviewed the restaurant, I was one of the “trio of white guys” eating the Gringo salad talked about in the article. Apparently, although the reviewer did like the food and the prices, she found […]
Nature’s secondhand smokers
Back when I was smoking my first cigarettes with Joe Verni in the woods behind my house, I aspired to master the perfect cigarette flick: that long last drag, the casual toss, the brooding mind apparently mired in deeper matters. And when I was driving my dad’s car as a later teen (and still pondering […]
Earful
Skeletons in the jukebox “Skeletons” provides a forum for local musicians, artists, record-store owners, etc., to erase cool points by expressing their unseemly affection for an unhip album from their past. Hall and Oates’ Voices, by singer/songwriter Joel Underwood “The early ’80s in the urban South were a confusing time for a young man. How […]
Cartoons
What they need
I’m still walking the ragged trail of breadcrumbs left by Reigning Sound kingpin Greg Cartwright, playing catch up: I only recently learned the man relocated to Asheville last year. It was also last year that cerebral UK rock mag Mojo, while allotting other new albums a mere fingernail of space, gave red-carpet treatment to Reigning […]