No ‘great place’ like home
Two Saturdays ago, five hours after flying out of Savannah, I steered a rented Ford along Connecticut state roads in the Farmington Valley, curving past farmhouses and barns, through towns settled before Georgia founder James Oglethorpe was born. It’s been a while since I’ve traveled outside of the South. I needed, and looked forward to,…
Demonic spirits
In the spirit of October, this week’s offering is a grab bag of devilishly themed wines for Halloween — along with my candy pairing ideas — and a collection of Oktoberfest beers. Trick…or treat? Evil Cabernet 2007: Carry your pocket mirror to read the inverted labels from this pair of juices from Australia.Expect a hauntingly…
Stripper poll
It’s not very often that exotic dancers are part of the legislative process – unless the story involves a politician’s after-hours indiscretions – but five strippers in Atlanta may have overturned ordinances across the state prohibiting 18-20 year olds from entering bars and clubs because of their lawsuit against the City of Atlanta. Two weeks…
Green me up, County
It’s been two years since the Chatham County Commission declared its intention to become the “Greenest County in Georgia.” While the rate of progress has hardly been staggering, work is ongoing to achieve that goal. “Chatham County may already be the greenest county in Georgia,” says Pat Shay who is a County Commissioner and the…
Poe, evermore
I was a kid who read under the covers with a flashlight. Suffice to say, I always assumed I would be an English major. I was also, at a young age, allowed to watch old, and sometimes frightening movies. I believe my first Hitchcock was at age 5 or 6. Therefore, it is hardly surprising…
Reviews: Where the Wild Things Are, Law Abiding Citizen, Couples Retreat
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE **1/2 Perhaps it’s best to think of Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze’s live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book, as the PG answer to this past spring’s R-rated Watchmen. In both cases, the filmmakers involved have captured the look and texture of the illustrated page in a…
Three bites: Polks, Garibaldi’s
Polk’s Produce The folks you know as the friendly vendors of fresh regional produce and flowers are now the go-to downtown location for hot, scratch-made meat-n-three lunches. It’s not fancy – plastic plates and self-serve beverages make this feel like a picnic – but the wholesome food disguises any hint of casualness. I landed on…
The musical evolution of a ‘Fruit Fly’
Filmmaker H.P Mendoza is a quadruple threat: He wrote, produced, directed and composed the music (14 songs) for the independent film Fruit Fly, one of the featured movies at this weekend’s Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. San Francisco–based Mendoza is best known for his score for Colma: The Musical, the 2006 indie hit.Fruit Fly is…
2010 Savannah Music Festival announce party
Belleville Outfit at Savannah Music Fest’s 2010 announce party October 15, 2009.
What’s Next: Music Festival tickets on sale
The news about Wilco’s appearance at the 2010 Savannah Music Festival has spread like wildfire, but there are lots of other shows worth talking about on the just–announced schedule. The festival runs from March 18 to April 3 in various venues around the city. Wilco, of course, is March 25 in the Johnny Mercer…
Keeping it klezmer
Oy! to the world. The band is fun. That’s the word going around on the Carolina Klezmer Project, which will play at Sunday’s annual Shalom Y’all Jewish Food Festival in Forsyth Park. Singer, trumpeter and accordionist Bill Averbach fronts the Charlotte–based group, and he’s been playing klezmer music for the better part of three decades.…
Loveless, Frisell, Trucks among SMF headliners
The news about Wilco’s appearance at the 2010 Savannah Music Festival has spread like wildfire, but there are lots of other shows worth talking about on the just-announced schedule. The festival runs from March 18 to April 3 in various venues around the city. The March 25 Wilco concert, in the Johnny Mercer Theatre, is…
Warhol Opening @ SCAD Museum
A Warhol Trio – 10/14/09
Celtic Crossroads and the ‘real’ Ireland
You’ve seen those big, flashy Irish shows that air over PBS, and occasionally blow through town: A lot of costumed step–dancing to dreamy, New Age–y music. A synthesized wash of Celtic–sounding melodies, an air choir, and a couple of live fiddles and maybe a bodhran to give it “authenticity.” A jig here, a reel there,…
Ring tone from the great beyond
Like Alice through the looking glass, Jean — a timid New Yorker — discovers a portal to another world. But Jean doesn’t find mad hatters, murderous queens and psychedelic tea parties. In playwright Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Jean’s wonderland is a place where regular people — well, some of them are regular —…
The alleged bucket of urine
An officer responded to a call about a domestic disturbance and arrived to find both parties saying that there had been a fight. The man walked out of the residence with his hands up saying “I know I’m going to jail.”He and the woman were both checked for injuries, and she was found to have…
Wilco to rock 2010 Savannah Music Festival
Wilco, the hugely popular alt/country band, will perform in Savannah March 25 as part of the 2010 Savannah Music Festival, March 18-April 3. Fronted by singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy, Wilco is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. concert appearance in the Johnny Mercer Theatre, inside the Savannah Civic Center. The concert is part of Crank it Up,…
Noteworthy: Down By Law, Social Distortion
DOWN BY LAW Singer/guitarist Dave Smalley, a legend in the evolution of American punk and hardcore, brings the latest incarnation of his venerable quartet to town – always a thrill. Smalley, an educated guy who understands that fierce rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t have to be about something stupid or meaningless, has a back band catalog…
Grave situations
A local production company is bringing the dead back to life with a new DVD called “Savannah’s Historic Graveyards” that explores the rich history buried in our cemeteries. “This opens the door for Savannahians to all the magical things that are right under their noses that they don’t even know about,” says Michael Jordan, president…
That’s the spirit!
When she was 7 years old, Lisa Williams began receiving messages, inside her brain, from the dead. A decade would go by before she realized that it was a special gift, hers and hers alone; as a child, she’d thought everybody could do it. Still, there was a bit of family history: Williams’ grandmother was…
