Charleston City Paper

Angela Hanyak will shepherd us through Spoleto's party scene

Angela Hanyak — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:00 -0400

Before this year's Spoleto party season gets under way, we'd like to introduce our Spoleto Buzz party blogger, Angela Hanyak.

Hanyak started writing about Charleston nightlife in 2005, becoming a City Paper contributor in 2008. more…

Barbecue nonsense, Texas-style

Robert Moss — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:42:00 -0400

What on earth has gotten into those people down in Texas?

I’m talking specifically about the folks at Texas Monthly magazine and their single-minded quest to stir up trouble in the world of barbecue. more…

Hurry to take advantage! Tattoo Removal from Tri-County Laser

Laura Cannon — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:28:14 -0400

You may remember Tri-County Laser's hair removal special last month. Now, another opportunity presents itself with a tattoo removal special detailed below. more…

Handspring Puppet Company crafts fairies, living forests, and stop-motion puppets for A Midsummer Night's Dream

Elizabeth Pandolfi — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:01:00 -0400

It all started with a horse. Not a real one — this one is a life-sized puppet made of cane and mesh and bicycle wires, born in the workshop of South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company.

Kevin Allison has got a story for you

Stephanie Barna — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The last time we saw Kevin Allison, it was January and he was onstage at the Footlight Players Theatre recounting a nutty story about how, as a young eager gay man in New York, he picked up a guy at a bar and inexplicably ended up in his apartment tying his shoes to his own balls.

A Milliner's American Dream

Erica Jackson Curran — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

When James Island's Midtown Productions put on Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Tell Me On a Sunday last fall, City Paper reviewer Jon Santiago was dazzled by leading lady Mary Fishburne. Named "One to Watch" in City Paper's 2012 Fall Arts Issue, Fishburne had already made a name for herself in Charleston's theater scene after just a year in the Lowcounty.

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell are a match made in bluegrass heaven

Elizabeth Pandolfi — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

If you want to collaborate with Steve Martin, the first step is to be at the same party with him. At least that's what happened for the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers and songstress Edie Brickell

Prep Your Ears for Ain't Misbehavin'

Elizabeth Pandolfi — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The Harlem Renaissance produced some of the swingin'est, jazziest, cool cattin'est music of the 20th century. From Billie Holiday to Louis Armstrong, the black musicians that came out of New York in the period between 1919 and the early 1930s made a massive impact not only on jazz, but on American music in general.

Punch Brothers violinist Gabe Witcher gets all music-nerdy

Paul Bowers — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

There is a moment on prog-bluegrass outfit Punch Brothers' most recent full-length album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, when it sounds like mandolin hero Chris Thile has gone off the musical deep end.

Q&A: Sandra Nikolajevs, Chamber Music Charleston

Brooks Brunson — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The talented musicians of Chamber Music Charleston represented the Holy City at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York City on May 22. The group follows up their groundbreaking concert with an encore performance back home at Piccolo Spoleto.

Water, beer, and coffee make the world go ’round

Erin Perkins — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

There are some days that are so blisteringly hot, not even an Italian ice will cool you down, so it's important to stay hydrated while slogging through the streets of Charleston. Last weekend, we investigated the multitude of outlets for liquid consumption, the essentials for any functioning human: water, beer, and coffee.

Art of Recovery links S.C.'s mental health patients with the community

Susan Cohen — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

For Brent Ashley, art is a miniature psychiatrist. When he paints, he makes sense of all the things in life that he couldn't otherwise understand. Like when his relationships have failed because he was too manic or fell into a depression.

Threshold's Venus in Fur revisits an 18th-century S&M novel

Leah Rhyne — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Those who know Greg Tavares from the local Charleston comedy scene probably think of him as that guy from The Have Nots. An improviser, a comedian.

Rebound's five artists give a second life to books

Susan Cohen — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Karen Ann Myers is expecting people to freak out at her Halsey curatorial debut. She's organized a show that challenges the most sacred possessions in human history, the Bibles and the Great Gatsbys and the Twilights of the world: books.

Clothes Make the Woman

Elizabeth Pandolfi — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

If Nora Ephron had a hand in it, you know it's got to be funny. Love, Loss and What I Wore, which the late Ephron and her sister Delia adapted from the book of the same name, consists of monologues by several female characters, all of which are sparked by a piece of clothing or accessory.

The Bloody History of Charleston's Duelists

Paul Bowers — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

"Charles Town is the fountainhead from which all violence flows," the royal governor Lord William Campbell wrote in a letter in 1775. He was referring to rebellious colonists at the time, but he might as well have been speaking about the fashionable emergence of dueling.

Pickin' and Grinnin' and Cleanin' Up Their Whorin' Act

Paul Bowers — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

"We're reformed whores. It's also the name of our band." That's the traditional self-introduction you'll get when Marie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame come onstage, looking prim with their pastel dresses and sparkling grins.

Rezoning the Sergeant Jasper apartment building will have a big effect on what replaces it

Susan Cohen — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

As it stands today, the big, brown Sergeant Jasper apartment building on Lockwood Boulevard (or Broad Street, if you'd like) shoots up 150 feet into the Lowcountry air. It has 14 occupied floors, plus two additional floors for mechanical equipment.

Stegelin: Who should patrol late-night King St.?

Steve Stegelin — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

It's 2a.m., do you know who's watching your sidewalk?

Staci Swedeen gets some life lessons from a rabid raccoon

Paul Bowers — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

In 2003, Staci Swedeen was returning from running errands to her home in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., when a rabid raccoon bit her, setting off a series of events that seems funny only in retrospect. Now living in Knoxville, Tenn., and working as executive producer of the Flying Anvil Theatre, Swedeen has been regaling audiences with her tale of the raccoon run-in.

Lyricism lights the way for this year's Wells Fargo Jazz Series

Chris Parker — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

You don't need to be an expert to appreciate jazz — just trust your ears. That's the message from Michael Grofsorean, curator of Spoleto's Wells Fargo Jazz Series. While you may have never heard of the international musicians he's assembled for this year's festival, that shouldn't impede your enjoyment.

Gone with the Mockingbird

Erica Jackson Curran — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Since 2000, the CSO Gospel Choir has added a more rootsy, religious flavor to the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. Dozens of volunteer singers belt out everything from Kirk Franklin to Mahalia Jackson, urging their audience to sway and raise their hands to the heavens right along with them.

What kind of Spoletian are you?

Erica Jackson Curran — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

With hundreds of events to choose from over the span of 19 days, there’s a unique Spoleto experience just waiting for everyone out there.

Andrea Stanislav gazes into the looking glass

Dan Conover — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Minnesota artist Andrea Stanislav works at that peculiar intersection between the academic and modern art worlds, a place that produces irony the way fermented grain gives us alcohol.

CofC Students Take the Reins for 10 Minutes

Erica Jackson Curran — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

You can play it safe and opt for Spoleto's promising theatrical offerings. Or you could choose from the tried-and-true local companies. Or, if you really want to take a chance, you could see what those crazy kids at the College of Charleston have been up to.