http://www.mountainx.com/ en webmaster@mountainx.com Copyright 2007 2007-04-26T20:02:00+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/brian_mcgee_interviews_aa_bondy_at_the_grey_eagle Brian McGee of local country-punk outfit Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed interviews A.A. Bondy before his show at the Grey Eagle on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Videographer Jesse Hamm shot and edited the footage. Bondy opened for Elvis Perkins in Dearland, and has a new album out on Fat Possum, When the Devil’s Loose. 2009-11-06T01:01:25+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/brews_news110504 Local beer lovers, rejoice! Yes, Highland Brewing’s Cold Mountain Winter Ale is out and about. The first batch (there will be two this year) is hitting stores now in one-liter and 22-ounce bottles (find it at Green Life, Bruisin’ Ales, Hops & Vines, Earth Fare, Appalachian Vinters, Asheville Wine Market, and Weinhaus — to name a few retail locales). Kegs of the nectar are being loaded at the bre… 2009-11-05T00:50:00+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/asheville_city_council_elections_as_reported_on_twitter “Manheimer gets the bear vote: Four bears currently eating candy she left on her front porch in north Asheville,” @edgymama reported via Twitter on Oct. 31, in an early election report. “Don’t Vote, Don’t Complain,” tweeted @h0zae, who added, “11.16% of Asheville Voted in the Primary? In other words 11.16% of the people in Asheville make all the decisions for you.” @h0zae also wondered, “In other news… why do business owners within city limits NOT have a vote in Asheville? Are there places where biz gets a vote?” Nov. 3, Election day: @itswendylou: good morning and happy voting day. Get out there and vote, people! Asheville peeps, if you’re not sick/in crisis mode, you’ve got no excuse — I’ll be your poll-place taxi 6:18 am @drewreisinger: Only 23 people have voted at the Board of Elections today. Not cool precinct 20, not cool. early morn… 2009-11-04T22:55:30+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/xpress_qa_with_warren_g Xpress correspondent Jake Frankel and Par D caught up with West Coast rapper Warren G at New York Fashions (120 Merrimon Ave., Asheville). Here’s what Warren G (who performs at The Orange Peel tonight with Kidz In The Hall, U-N-I & Dow Jones) had to say: 2009-11-04T21:50:57+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/see_and_be_seen_whats_new_in_the_xpress_photo_gallery The Mountain Xpress Photo Gallery is bursting with newly added images. Have a look — you might even see yourself: • The LaZoom Halloween tour, including a special on-the-bus performance by Now You Seem Them, by Joshua Cole. • Spookyblogapaloozananny — aka Asheville’s annual social-media shindig and awards, by Jonathan Welch. • The Runaway Circus yucks it up at a rehearsal, by Jonathan Welch. • Xpress’ Best of WNC Bash at the Orange… 2009-11-04T19:55:37+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/ashevilles_election_the_latest_results_will_be_reported_here Click here to see the results of all the municipal elections in Buncombe County. 2009-11-04T16:00:41+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/this_weekend_on_a_shoestring45 Friday, Nov. 6 • The Merchants Association of downtown Asheville’s historic Grove Arcade (1 Page Ave., Asheville) continue the First Friday event featuring local music and food.  November kicks off with the Steve Davidowski Trio (Davidowski is pictured, below) performing jazzy standards. 5-8 p.m., $1 donation. • Vadim Bora Gallery (30 Battery Park Ave., Asheville, 254-7359) hosts the sixth annual juried exhibition of Mountain Sculptors in Metamorphosis: An exceptional gathering of ideas and objects. Artists include Ralph Berger, Vadim Bora, Marty Cain, Len Fury, Jim Kofalt, Dale McEntire, Catherine Murray, Linda Pannullo, Ripp Smith, Julia Stout, Tekla, Martin Webster. Opening reception from 5-8 p.m. • Pop singer/songwriter 2009-11-04T13:08:13+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/breaking_in Despite containing one of Burt Reynolds’ best performances, Bill Forsyth’s Breaking In (1989) did no more for the Scottish filmmaker’s Hollywood career than Housekeeping (1987) had. Of course, it didn’t help that the film had about zero name value apart from Reynolds, was mis-marketed as a comedy/heist movie and came out through Sam Goldwyn. I suppose it was not exactly unreasonable to present the film as a caper comedy, since there is a caper and the film is amusing and doesn’t end with a tragedy. The problem is that the caper is neither particularly elaborate nor impressive, and the comedy is fairly tame. What you actually have here is a small-scale character comedy about the relationship between a seasoned thief, Ernie (Reynolds), and the young man, Mike (Casey Siemaszko), he takes under his wing as an apprentice. It’s a pleasant, shambling affair from the days before independent film became as formulaic as its mainstream … 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/h-man While not as iconic as his Godzilla (1954), the always interesting—and generally underrated—Ishirô Honda created one of his best works with The H-Man (1958), a strange mix of sci-fi, horror and gangsters. In some ways, the film is largely of a piece with much of Honda’s work—especially his 1950s output—in that it’s grounded in fears of the result of nuclear radiation. That preoccupation isn’t all that surprising given the country of origin where the specter of a nuclear attack was something more than a “what if” scenario. The film gets down to this point in its very first shot—a hydrogen-bomb test. Rather than awakening—and transforming—some gigantic mythical beast (as in Godzilla), The H-Man concerns itself directly with the possibility of the effects of nuclear fallout on human beings. In the context of the film, the fallout produces the H-Man—a kind of li… 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/one_crazy_ride_riding_solo_to_the_top_of_the_world I cringed when I was asked to take a look at these two travel documentaries by Gaurav Jani done from motorcycles. They simply didn’t sound particularly appealing—and all the buildup I was given about Jani’s do-it-yourself filmmaking wasn’t helping matters. What a pleasant surprise the films turned out to be! Jani’s approach may be do-it-yourself, but what he does himself is more often than not visually stunning—even breathtaking. Both films are, as noted, travel documentaries. One Crazy Ride involves Jani and a small group of other motorcyclists as they make their way across uncharted roads in the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India. Riding Solo to the Top of the World features Jani doing a kind of Survivorman shtick as he travels from Mumbai to the remote Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. The films are both visual treats and offer some interesting insights into the peopl… 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/paris When I saw the name of the writer/director of Paris, Cédric Klapisch, I had to look him up and discovered that I had seen—and reviewed—one of his films, L’Auberge Espagnole (2002). That was a film I’d greatly enjoyed, but one that did not stick in my mind, which makes me wonder whether this film—which I also enjoyed a good deal—will linger in the memory. Though similar in tone to L’Auberge Espagnole—just replace the small space of the house with the much grander canvas of Paris—I have an idea that Klapisch’s multi-storied ode to Paris has greater staying power. Whatever the case, as it stands now, I really liked the film—even at its most convoluted and soapy. I didn’t even mind the predictable sudden death of a character on a motorcycle. (There’s a certain way that characters on motorcycles are photographed in some movies that tells you tragedy is literally around the corn… 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/coco_before_chanel Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel—a film that purports to show how Gabrielle Chanel became the world-famous Coco Chanel—is a perfect example of a sound approach to the biopic. Rather than wander all over the place trying to stuff an entire life into a couple hours of screen time, Fontaine’s film settles on a defining part of its subject’s life and focuses on it. In so doing, Fontaine—with the help of a nuanced performance from Audrey Tautou—manages to create a film that captures both the essence of its subject and the times and circumstances that helped to shape her. Compare this with Mira Nair’s Amelia—a sprawling work that barely bothers to address what formed Amelia Earhart—and you’ll see all the difference in the world. The film traces Gabrielle’s life from the abandonment of her and her sister at an orphanage to the very point of her emergence on the fashion scene—with a… 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/play_the_game Marc Fienberg’s Play the Game is being billed as “Andy Griffith as you’ve never seen him before.” I can safely say this is true: I have never watched Andy Griffith feign an orgasm while having his, uh, Opie orally satisfied by Liz Sheridan after she slips him a Viagra mickey. The real question is, however, was this something I needed to see? The answer, of course, is a resounding probably not. Just don’t tell writer/director Fienberg and the film’s producers this—they’ve basically mortgaged the entire film on the idea people actually want to watch this kind of thing, so much so that it pops up again after the credits. It’s not so much a problem with sexual frankness in this particular scene or the movie in general, but rather how hammy and juvenile it is the way it’s handled. The film’s jokey sitcom humor and its sexual attitude of a pack of roaming high schoolers turns the movie into a … 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/thirst When I found out I was going to be subjected to 133 minutes of Korean vampire movie at a 10 a.m. press screening, I was, to put it mildly, able to contain my joy. I know Korean horror movies are highly prized in some quarters, but the few I’ve seen haven’t convinced me that they aren’t in many ways prized more for simply not being in English than anything else. You know, the old sense of feeling culturally inferior to everyone else. Of course, when our idea of vampires is Twilight (2008) and Sweden’s is Let the Right One In (2008), it’s no longer a feeling, it is cultural inferiority. That, of course, doesn’t immediately mean that every foreign-language vampire movie is golden, but in the case of Park Chan-wook’s Thirst we’re at least in some pretty interesting territory. Thirst isn’t in the same league as Let the Right One In. It is neither as radical a rethinking of the … 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/michael_jacksons_this_is_it I am not a Michael Jackson fan. This is not a movie made with me in mind. I watched Jackson’s career strictly from the sidelines. I saw most—maybe all—of the music videos from his Thriller album only because they were inescapable if you watched MTV at all in 1983. Even though I never owned a Michael Jackson album, it was impossible not to have some knowledge of his music—to say nothing of his well-publicized and downright peculiar tabloid-driven life. My overall take was that Jackson was talented, strange and troubled. He crafted catchy pop songs that were simply not my cup of tea—and still aren’t. So I approached Michael Jackson’s This Is It as a non-fan, who nonetheless recognized Jackson’s merits without having any personal investment in them. I must say I was surprised at how interesting—and well done—This Is It turned out to be. Actually, it’s something more than interesting: … 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/110409asheville_city_council One week more for Weaverville Route Annexation agreement keeps Asheville and Woodfin out of Leicester City in talks with CTS neighbors over water lines A sweeping overhaul of Asheville's transit system won preliminary support from Asheville City Council at its Oct. 27 meeting, but concrete changes to the routes, fares and infrastructure won't come before the new year. Developed over the past two years by consultants HDR Inc. of the Carolinas with the help of Asheville city staff, a steering committee and several well-attended public-input sessions, the Transit Master Plan is geared toward making city bus routes more efficient and attractive to users and toward increasing ridership via marketing efforts. But the plan, which cost $100,000 to develop, also outlines increased city expenditures in the neighborhood of $1.2 million that may bring price hikes for bus passes. 2009-11-04T04:00:55+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409the_reel_deal The Asheville Film Festival returns this year with a crop of short films, animation, documentaries, features and student works. That's in addition to the expected excitement of the opening and closing night films, the awards ceremony on Saturday and the free film-making workshops and talks happening all three days of the festival: from Thursday, Nov. 12, to Sunday, Nov. 15. Asheville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts organizers said this year's festival would focus on films, without the traditional special guests and red-carpet ceremonies. And they've stuck with that—there are only two events other than screenings (a Thursday premiere night reception and a Saturday night awards after-party, both at Pack Place). Read on for a guide to the feature-length films, along with some Xpress-recommended highlights, including films made by local directors (Paul Schattel's latest, a short film from Paul Bonesteel and others), or touch… 2009-11-04T04:00:35+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/cranky_hankes_take_on_the_2009_asheville_film_festival_competition_feature_ There are fewer competing features in this year's festival, largely owing to the fact that the aggressive acquisition approach of the past two years – that snagged us such titles as Blood Car, Sita Sings the Blues and Bart Got a Room – was not taken this year. The natural result of that was fewer quality submissions, meaning that this year there are only eight competition entries in the final lineup. Charlotte's Fourth Ward Productions presents the multinarrative drama In/significant others. Photo courtesy John Schwert. Having spent a large chunk of a weekend going through the eight entries, I'm pleasantly surprised to be able to say that some worthy contenders made their way to us. Equally important is the fact that we… 2009-11-04T04:00:34+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409rave_on It's too much to hope for that the film festival will score another coup like last year's closing-night feature, Slumdog Millionaire, but then again films like Slumdog just don't come along every year. What we do get this year, however, looks tasty indeed. For opening night, the festival offers Lone Scherfig's (Italian for Beginners) An Education starring Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and young Brit TV actress Carey Mulligan, who is being hailed as the "new Audrey Hepburn." The film – with a screenplay by novelist Nick Hornby (About a Boy) – is an unusual coming-of-age story. Set in 1961, the film tells the tale of teenage schoolgirl Jenny (Mulligan), who chooses the adventure and glamour of a dubious thirtysomething charmer (Sarsgaard) over an Oxford education. The film's focus is as much on the era in which it takes place – dreary, pre-Beatles, pre-swinging '60s England &#… 2009-11-04T04:00:33+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409want_to_get_a_distribution_deal The Asheville Film Festival offers a bevy of free opportunities to learn more about filmmaking, from the artistic to the technical aspects. The educational sessions feature such notables as Paul Schattel of Harrow Beauty films and the accomplished documentarian Paul Bonesteel. A series of "coffee talks" are set up as experiential-based sessions on specific topics. And a variety of Mac-based workshops will center on software such as Final Cut Pro, led by an Apple senior system engineer. All of the following are free and open to the public. Educational sessions and coffee talks (held at YMI Cultural Center in Ray Auditorium) • Friday, Nov. 13 10:30-11:30 a.m. Creative Distribution. Session Host: Greg Gardner Your film has been on the market for a year. You've been to the festivals, got some awards and received great feedback from the audiences, but you still don't have a distribution deal. This ses… 2009-11-04T04:00:32+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409step_out_on_the_pier Films with local ties include: Alison Alison examines the inner world of a pregnant, 30-something woman as she navigates the treacherous waters of self-doubt and self-destruction. Written and directed in collaboration with the cast, the movie explores a life at the point of no return — how we shape and are shaped, how the trying and transformational forces inside us and around us can sometimes do us good and sometimes do us harm. Mostly improvised, and captured in a quick storm of spontaneity in and around the Asheville area, the movie was realized without an actual shooting script, the filmmakers feeling their way through the collaborative process, trusting their instincts and allowing the story to sometimes shape itself. The result is a thoughtful and darkly compelling portrait of a woman in crisis — beautifully photographed and bravely acted, and told with a raw, unerring honesty. Director/Producer: Paul… 2009-11-04T04:00:31+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409seen_and_not_herd Sid the Sloth from this summer's Ice Age 3 made his off-screen debut as a tiny figurine in McDonald's Happy Meals; now he's appearing, for a much chillier price, on seasonal hoodies. And more than three years after he zoomed out of theaters, Lightning McQueen, the star of Pixar's Cars, is still flashing his winning grill on everything from pillowcases to toddler toilet seats. Parents aren't likely to see the petulant claymation creatures of Crank Balls emblazoned on any must-have merchandise. But that movie, and the 60-something others to be screened at this week's Asheville International Children's Film Festival, are designed to stick around in more meaningful ways. Happy journeys for all ages: The claymation stars of the … 2009-11-04T04:00:30+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409road_warrior When photojournalist Rob Amberg began work on his latest book, The New Road (The Center for American Places, 2009), he admits that he was "pretty decidedly against" the nine-mile section of I-26 that recently paved a swath through rural Madison County. And the photos, prose and interviews Amberg captured do detail the destruction in the wake of that project, which was the state of North Carolina's most ambitious earth-moving to date. Families were moved off land they'd held for decades. A cemetery was exhumed and relocated, a church razed and an apple orchard bulldozed. "Looking at I-26 and the Visitor's Center from Dale and Lurethra Fluty's front yard at Sprinkle Creek." But Road also tells another story. "Over time, talki… 2009-11-04T04:00:29+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/110409spork Last November, a buzz was in the local music scene air: Music industry veteran Bob Hinkley and his partner Kimberly Hughes were renovating a former Chevrolet dealership in Black Mountain into a new venue. One year later, their White Horse Black Mountain (the logo of which came to Hughes in a vision) has become a town favorite, booking the likes of big-name acts the Lee Boys, Cowboy Jack Clement, BeauSoleil and many more. A former Chevrolet dealership has become an important music destination. Hinkley and Hughes have rallied the music community in the area. In a short time, White Horse has built a reputation as a true listening room, with its nonsmoking atmosphere, cabaret seating and great sound. Whether it's an open Irish jam or a sold-out world music show, you bet folks … 2009-11-04T04:00:28+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/smartbets.php Peaches Not for the faint of heart, electronica musician/gender-identity-questioning performance artist Peaches makes an Asheville stop on her tour, supporting this year's I Feel Cream. All in the name of thought-provocation, a Peaches show is 90 minutes of sexually-charged bawdy talk. Get to know the performer on her "Peaches, ripe for picking" blog, which includes images and videos from current and past shows. Orange Peel, with openers Men. Wednesday, Nov. 11, 9 p.m. $18 advance, $20 doors. http://www.theorangepeel.net. Ol&#0… 2009-11-04T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/swannanoa_says_no_to_incorporation According to a full but unofficial tally by Buncombe Election Services, 61 percent of Swannanoa voters have said no to incorporation. 2009-11-04T02:21:24+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/4th_annual_blogger_awards_are_in The results from the SpookyBlogapaloozathon once again tally up the area’s best bloggers and online networkers. The awards were handed out at the Friday, Oct. 30, party at Phil Mechanic Studios. The list of winners, compliled at Blog Asheville, is below. But these weren’t the only winners: Proceeds from the party raised over $1,600 for Project AHOPE. And if you couldn’t be there on Hallows Eve-eve, you can find great photo evidence here and here. — Brian Postelle, staff writer 2009 BlogAwards winners: Best Food BlogShe Who Eats Best Craft Blog 2009-11-03T21:14:44+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/the_life_of_clouds_craggy_garden_sunrise_a_video_by_revpictures Time-lapse video shots looking down from Craggy Gardens on a sea of clouds depict their energy and feel as they roil and flow up against the mountainsides and sometimes over the ridges. Audio track by Dep, who originally hails from Weaverville, according to his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/depmusic   “I shot this footage on the morning of oct 30 at craggy pinnacle,” commented Bob on this week’s Video a-go-go, who asked that we post his video. (Wi… 2009-11-03T14:19:43+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/barbara_kingsolver_in_asheville_ive_never_had_time_for_writers_block Barbara Kingsolver spoke tonight at Asheville High School. Here’s the event, via Twitter. —————————- Rich Rennicks tweeted, “800 people going to Kingsolver’s event at Asheville HS right now & not one is tweeting? C’mon people. I want pics.” What Rennicks got was stream of tweets from @MountainXpress, who was on hand to cover the event. Here they are, pretty much as they happened, 140 characters at a time: Hiking a mile to get to Asheville High, which is slammed with barbara kingsolver fans.  6:55 pm kingsolver is making her first stop on her new book tour here in avl. She is reading from her new book tonight — “the lacuna.” kingsolver’s book is partly based in asheville. “Lacuna” means “what’s missing”. barbara kingsolver has taken the stage at asheville high. malaprop’s is th… 2009-11-03T03:59:33+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/buncombe_commissioners_preview_floods_and_sustainability While Ashevilleans are (hopefully) streaming to the polls on Nov. 3, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners plan to hold its regular meeting. It’s a relatively brief agenda, but changes to the flood ordinances and a sustainability plan for the county are both on the table. The commissioners will vote on a series of changes to the county’s flood ordinances as well as a sustainability plan that advises the county to strive for LEED-certified energy efficient buildings and building up a vehicle fleet with lower emissions, among other initiatives. The county will also consider a $21 million financing partnership with the Health Adventure, which is building a new Health a… 2009-11-02T15:45:00+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/edgy_mama_babies_are_cute_vampires I recently had a conversation with a friend about how much life babies suck out of their mamas. Yes, they suck vast quantities of milk, but also, they suck away our time, energy, sleep and general equilibrium. Babies are cute vampires. The reason babies are so freaking adorable is because otherwise, parents would be like, “What the hell? Why would I devote so much to something that’s actually a vampire?” That’s why babies smile and gurgle and have itsy pink toes that are practically edible. Because otherwise we’d be swathing ourselves in garlic. As much as I love my kids, I sometimes wonder why I procreated. What’s the payback? Is there payback? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. But people keep having babies anyway. We’re slaves to our DNA and can’t help replicating. Even when it ruins our quality of life, at least in the short term. And I’m in what I call the parenting “sweet spot.” I&#82… 2009-11-02T15:25:11+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/video_a-go-go7 It’s Halloween weekend, and what better way to kick off this week’s video roundup than with a little spooky fun? Here’s a video of country singer and former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler trying her hand at being a ghost hunter by visiting the Smith-McDowell House late at night. I’m a little surprised to see the house presented as “the most haunted mansion in Asheville”—I can’t say I’ve ever heard anyone claim it was haunted—but the night-vision shots and editing do make it look kinda creepy I guess. 2009-10-31T13:33:30+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/classic_cocktail_anyone Downtown Asheville’s newest bar/eatery, Sazerac, opens today. Owners Jack and Lesley Groetsch, former managers of the Orange Peel, say that the venue is a classic-cocktail bar. Sazerac, at 29 Broadway in the space formerly occupied by Ambiance Interiors, is named after a cocktail created in New Orleans, where the Groetsches used to live. The bar leans heavily on New Orleans traditions, from the cocktail list to the cuisine, which is mostly Cajun-themed small plates.  Lesley says the focus is on the cocktails, especially those “that have in some cases gone out of style, but in some cases are rushing back into style.” Sazerac also boasts a rooftop terrace, which is pictured here. Visit http://www.ashevillesazerac.com for more information. — Gabe Chess, news intern 2009-10-30T18:56:48+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/asheville_city_council_brief_oct._27_meeting The Transit Master Plan, developed with the help of an outside consultant, a long list of stake holders and a series of public-input sessions, was adopted by Asheville City Council at its Oct. 27 meeting. But implementation of the plan’s provisions will rely on budget work by city staff and Council’s consideration of the finer points. The TMP was supported in a 6-1 vote, with Council member Carl Mumpower voting “no.” Council will begin to hear budget options at its retreat in early January. In other developments: • Council also voted unanimously to continue bus service to Weaverville through the first week of November. The five daily bus trips between Asheville and Weaverville were scheduled to end on Nov. 1 after the announcement by the state Department of Transportation that it was pulling its funding for the route and the indication by Weaverville town leadership that it was letting the service expire. Council hope… 2009-10-29T15:51:21+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/book_report_hands_in_harmony Local photographer Tim Barnwell recently released Hands in Harmony: Traditional Crafts and Music in Appalachia (W.W. Norton, 2009). The collection of images and oral histories spans 30 years and offers a broad if not fully comprehensive look at the sonic and visual arts of the region and many of the masters of those genres. Aside from the written introduction, Barnwell’s tome divides the photography and text into the front and back halves of the book. It’s an interesting choice —- logic suggests that each carefully-composed black and white portrait would be followed by the edited interviews Barnwell completed with his subjects. Instead, the all-photos-no-text (except for captions) approach turns the book into a kind of Appalachian photo album. Taken as a whole, the collection begins to reveal something interesting: The likeness between… 2009-10-29T12:52:20+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/this_weekend_on_a_shoestring44 Wednesday, Oct. 28 • Make your own entertainment: Homeward Bound’s Community Performance Project offers a free weekly Wednesday night Community Acting Workshop at the Central United Methodist Church (297 Haywood St., Asheville). Led by UNC-A’s Lisa Kloeppel. 7 p.m. Info: 768-2456 or email bbinfo@hbofa.org. Thursday, Oct. 29 • Roots music quintet Woodford Creek is a bit of a super group what with vocalist Sara Day (pictured), guitarist Chris O’Neill, bassist ustin Powell (VJP), guitarist Will Saylor (Brushfire Stankgrass) and Keith Minguez (Johnson’s Crossroad) on mandolin. Check out their combines sound at The French Broad brewery (101 Fairview Rd., Asheville, 277-0222). 6 p.m., tips. • Singer/songwriter 2009-10-28T12:02:01+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/102809pollution_politics_and_gender The civil-justice system has its own grinding, seesaw pace, as Buncombe resident Melanie Pitrolo has discovered. In the space of four years, she has lost her case, won an appeal and prevailed before a jury — only to lose again when the judge overruled. She has filed her second and final appeal in the case, which started in 2005. In the air: Although a jury decided Melanie Pitrolo had been discriminated against when she was passed over for a job at the local air agency, District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg overruled it this past August. Pitrolo has appealed his decision. Photos by Jonathan Welch Four years ago, she initiated a discrimination complaint alleging that the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency, its board members and Buncombe County offi… 2009-10-28T04:00:53+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/102809the_battle_for_swannanoa In June, state Sen. Martin Nesbitt (D-Buncombe) had something to say to his colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee. "This is about the town of Swannanoa, and I know you don't want to know anything about it, but I'm going to tell you anyhow," he said, introducing legislation to put the General Assembly's stamp of approval on incorporating the town and to set a referendum for Nov. 3. "This will be the site of the first Tiger Woods golf course in North America," he continued (incorrectly, since most of Woods' Cliffs at High Carolina Course will be in Fairview). "For those of you who've been through it, I don't know why Swannanoa isn't bigger than the city of Asheville. It's the most beautiful place you've ever seen. It's got Interstate 40, it's got sewer and water." 2009-10-28T04:00:52+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/102809spooktacular Dress up or just slap on a mask, grab your biggest trick-or-treat bag and head out — there are entertainment options for every age and persuasion of Halloween-celebrating ghost, goblin or fairy princess. Xpress tracked down four days' worth of plays, parties, bike rides, concerts, tours, carnivals, family-friendly gatherings and adult-specific indulgences. Start noshing on that candy corn — you'll need the sustenance. = Xpress Pick LaZoom brings the doom: "To hell with the hay ride," try a haunted tour of Asheville's River Arts district. Wednesday, Oct. 28 • N.C. … 2009-10-28T04:00:35+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/102409playing_dress_up Here it is, the eve of Hallows Eve, and you don't have a thing to wear. But never fear, your friendly neighborhood vintage and costume shops are rife with possibilities — and not just your typical witch hats, vampire fangs and fairy wings, either. Xpress challenged some of downtown Asheville's most alter-ego ready boutiques to come up with unique off-the-rack costume ideas. Vintage Moon (known for recycled designs and '20s-meets-'70s retro fashion) brought Flapper glam. Madame Butterfly (seller of vintage clothing and accessories, renter of costumes) turned out a "Once Upon a Time" theme. Honeypot (local designs, recycled wear and vintage fashions) envisioned some flag-waving Americana. The Costume Shoppe (renting festive guises to Asheville for 30 years, and holding an after-Halloween sale: call for details) showed off a fearsome pirate and a damsel in best dress. Hip Replacements (vintage and vintage reproductions) served… 2009-10-28T04:00:34+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/102809keep_that_creepy_feeling Elvis once asked why every day can't be like Christmas. We'd like to know the same about the Halloween season. A zombie record, a zombie author, a haunting release, some wild art and a Dias De Los Muertos celebration to keep you in the spirit. • Zombie boogie is the latest craze, indeed. Ukeabilly dynamos Mad Tea Party released the Zombie Boogie EP earlier this month, and it's taken off. The lead track is a silly romp through zombie land, featuring fun lyrics ("Zombie, shuffling in the street / covered in blood, lost half his teeth / Doing the zombie boogie for eternity") over top MTP's patented uke-and-guitar rock. We dare you to listen without boogie-ing. Also awesome is the cover art, featuring a creepy-fun letterpress print. The four-track EP features tw… 2009-10-28T04:00:33+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/102809zeldas_neighbor_fridas_pen_pal When award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver was searching for the perfect place to set the American scenes of her new novel, The Lacuna (Harper, 2009), she considered D.C. and Virginia. Then, "It hit me that Asheville was perfect," she tells Xpress. Photo by Annie Griffiths Belt. Because of its long history as a tourist town, Asheville has been well-photographed: A boon to an historical researcher. Lacuna's main character, Harrison Shepherd, reaches the mountain city in 1941. When Kingsolver (who lives just two hours away) came to Asheville to study the town, she found that "I could go to Malaprop's and buy books of old post cards. I could walk around downtown and half of what I looked at was there in 1941. Likewise there are neighb… 2009-10-28T04:00:32+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/102809ferocity_urgency_timing "I certainly thought that would be it for the band," Ahleuchatistas frontman Shane Perlowin says matter of factly. He's referring to the loss of drummer and founding member Sean Dail last year, weeks before the band was scheduled to leave for tour. Ironically, as he talks about the band's near demise, Perlowin is preparing to leave for a three-week European tour in support of the band's just-released fifth album. It turns out that Ahleuchatistas was more resilient than Perlowin guessed. Hear what happens: Guitarist Shane Perlowin, drummer Ryan Oslance and bassist Derek Poteat create mind-numbingly complex song structures. Photo by Josh Rhinehart. "I had no delusions about how difficult it would be to find someone," he continu… 2009-10-28T04:00:31+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/102809junkers_blues I see them all the time in the record bins at the thrifts or in the dollar bins at record stores – in the '50s and '60s there was a subgenre of LPs designed as incidental music for specific activities. "Music to study by," "music for dining," music for "that special feeling" (a subgenre dominated by famous lothario Jackie Gleason), "music to quit smoking by," "music to watch girls by," "music to dangle prepositions from." This was functional music, meant to slip into the background and allow the player (not the listener, this was not music to listen to music by) to go about their busy (or relaxed, there was lots of music to relax by) lifestyle with beat or lilt. Muzak would later bring this concept into the workplaces and elevator… 2009-10-28T04:00:30+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/all_that_jazz It’s big, it’s colorful, it’s brassy, it’s as egotistical as movies get—and it’s pretty pleased with its own cleverness. It’s Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), and whatever else it is, it’s not exactly like anything else—even if parts of it are like a lot of other things. In fact one of its original reviewers tagged it as a combination of “the worst of Fellini, the worst of Ken Russell and the the worst of 1940s Hollywood.” It’s not hard to see why. The Fellini is inescapable. Fosse almost might have called the film 8 1/2 with its story of a director trying to pull off projects and deal with his increasingly tangled personal life—not to mention the various mystical embellishments that crop up. The Russell mostly lies in the tone of the fantasy sequences, though there are more specific references. And the ‘40s Hollywood—well, let’s just say that the &#822… 2009-10-28T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/herb_and_dorothy Herb and Dorothy (2008) tells the fascinating story of a pair of art lovers without much in the way of means—he’s a postal clerk; she’s a librarian—who still managed to build one of the most important collections of contemporary art. This is one of those documentaries that isn’t going to set the world on fire as filmmaking (there’s little in it that’s especially creative or unusual on that front), but nevertheless succeeds by offering a unique and compelling story that seems almost incredible. Herb and Dorothy Vogel met in 1960, and he introduced her to the world of art—while learning about it himself. The two even tried their hands at being artists themselves, an idea that gradually gave way to collecting rather than creating. What’s most interesting about this is the way in which Herb views this change without any sense of feeling thwarted. Instead, he sees it as a natural transition. Of course, … 2009-10-28T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/kika One of the most underrated of Pedro Almodóvar’s films, Kika (1993) is nonetheless a great deal of not-exactly-wholesome fun of the kind that only Almodóvar can provide. Indeed, while it’s far from his best film, it stands a pretty good chance of being the filmmaker’s most gleefully twisted one—and if you know your Almodóvar, you know that’s saying a lot. Packed into one film we have a naive nymphomaniac, a lothario serial killer, a disturbed young man with bouts of catatonia, a lesbian housekeeper who’s constantly coming on to her employer, the housekeeper’s mentally-challenged escaped-convict-porn-star-rapist brother and a tabloid TV personality with a special videographer suit complete with movie lights for breasts. And, yes, of course, it’s all housed in a trashy plot of pop-culture contrivances—even down to a mystery that’s solved by watching Joseph Losey’s The Prowler (… 2009-10-28T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/baader_meinhof_complex Do not be put off by a title that suggests some sort of psychological dissertation. Do not be cowed by the fact that Uli Edel’s The Baader Meinhof Complex is in German with English subtitles (there are occasional outbursts of English) or that it’s two-and-a-half-hours long. This is one of the most compelling films to come along in a while—and, believe it or not, it’s also what could be called “action-packed.” Don’t, however, assume that “action-packed” means mindless explosions, car chases and shootings à la Michael Bay. The action here is brutal and, while often excitingly staged, is not a glorification of violence, nor is it used gratuitously. This is a richly detailed, emotionally complex, character-filled examination of the German terrorist group the Red Army Faction (RAF) from the late 1960s through the late 1970s. Its origins as part of the overall political turmoil of 1968 are sketched in, but t… 2009-10-28T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/amelia If you took out the tepidly explored notions of an “open marriage” and the vaguest reference imaginable to possible bisexuality, Mira Nair’s Amelia could easily have been made in 1945. Even the depiction of Amelia Earhart’s (Hilary Swank) extra-marital affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) is handled so decorously that it seems little more than our heroine making a faux pas by using the wrong fork at a formal dinner. In short, this is a rather dull, totally unadventurous biopic. The question arises as to just why someone would want to make an unadventurous film about an adventurous woman? That question becomes even more perplexing when you realize that this was done by Mira Nair, who isn’t typically associated with dull movies. Actually, Amelia isn’t as bad as the reviews would lead you to believe. There are, in fact, good things in it—not the least of which is Hilary Swank’s performance, and I am … 2009-10-28T04:00:10+00:00 http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/astro_boy Sometimes, after weeks upon weeks of just watching the worst movies imaginable—the stupid, the puerile, the just plain awful—the simple act of watching a film that at least attempts to say something is something to applaud. No, David Bowers’ Astro Boy adds nothing new to the world of animated adventures, and its political undertones are a bit on the obvious, heavy-handed side. But Bowers (Flushed Away), nevertheless, approaches the material with enough good nature and heart that it makes it all mesh together. Based on Osamu Tezuka’s more than half-century-old comic book and the subsequent animated show that it spawned, the movie is an attempt at updating, modernizing (with CGI animation) and introducing the character of Astro Boy to a new audience. The gist is the same. Earth has become a polluted, undesirable place to live, except for one technologically advanced city that floats above the surface where robots have been created … 2009-10-28T04:00:10+00:00