Thursday, June 30, 2011
Juanita's files paperwork to be a 5 a.m. club
- Brian Chilson
- Juanita's new location in May
Juanita's, which opened for business today in the River Market, has filed paperwork with Arkansas Alcohol Beverage Control to hold a Class B private club license that would allow it to stay open until 5 a.m. every day.
General manager James Snyder said he thought longer hours would bolster his business and be good for the River Market. Now, he said, when the clubs along President Clinton Ave. close at 2 a.m., the hordes drive to 5 a.m. clubs, many of which are some distance. More people would come to the River Market if they knew they could stick around until the wee hours, Snyder said.
The ABC stopped issuing Class B licenses in 2001. According to the ABC, only 27 Class B permits remain in Pulaski County, five of which are inactive. After 18 months, an inactive license becomes invalid.
Juanita's is applying to use a permit held by the Arkansas Deaf Association since 1989. Snyder describes Juanita's relationship with the Deaf Association as a partnership. The Deaf Association will be "an ongoing beneficiary," he said.
"We're aware of the opposition we may face," Snyder said. "We're going to do everything we can to keep the neighborhood and the business community happy.
"In terms of being good stewards to the neighborhood, I'd like to think that people would look at us and think that we're going to operate as good or better as every other 5 a.m. club."
Snyder said Juanita's had struck deals with nearby hotels to offer its customers reduced rates, and that the club would continue to participate in Yellow Cab's Safe Ride Home program. A high-resolution camera will soon be installed on the clubs roof to monitor activity in the free circle parking lot near the I-30 Bridge off ramp. And Snyder said Juanita's security would patrol nearby lots, much like it did on South Main.
An ABC official said the process to approve a permit move takes between 30 and 60 days and includes signage on the business, notice in a newspaper, a public comment period and consultation with city officials before ABC director Michael Langley makes his decision.
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What's going on / Music Friday To-Do: Ryan Couron
RYAN COURON
9 p.m., Juanita's, $10.
As far as local country acts go, you'd be hard pressed to find a performer more poised to break through to bigger stages than Ryan Couron. The 20-something Little Rocker, who impressed us in the 2011 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase, charts similar waters as Nashville titans like Randy Travis, Alan Jackson and Travis Tritt. As far as local live music venues go, Juanita's has been among the more storied places to play in the capital city. So getting to break in Juanita's new stage at 614 President Clinton Ave. in the River Market is a fairly auspicious gig, and Couron seems like a great fit. He gigs often and has a solid following, but even if you don't think country music is your thing, it'll be a great opportunity to check out the new room and the beginning of the next chapter of a renowned venue.
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What's going on Rock 'n' roll Highway 67 videos and panel discussion
At noon today, the Clinton Presidential Center will premiere several videos featuring Arkansas' Rock 'n' Roll Highway 67, the stretch of blacktop that went from Newport to Pocahantas and was dotted with clubs, most now long gone, that hosted Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Sonny Burgess, Conway Twitty and many others during the heyday of rockabilly.
After the videos, a panel featuring musicians Sonny Burgess, Kern Kennedy, Bobby Crafford, Fred Douglas, Jim Aldridge and Ace Cannon will recount tales of hitting the highway to play with the budding luminaries of rock 'n' roll.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Music Huey Lewis to Fayetteville for free show
Already got plans for Friday, Sept. 9? Well, better reschedule, because it looks like you're gonna be headin' up the hill for Huey, Lewis that is. And The News, they'll be there too. Oh, and it's free.
The concert takes place in the Walton Arts Center parking lot at the corner of Dickson and West streets in Fayetteville, and it starts at the entirely respectable hour of 8:00 p.m.
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What's going on Thursday: DJ Greyhound, Adam Faucett, "Everybody Loves Opal"
Kick back and relax to the sounds of DJ Greyhound in the comfy confines of Deep Ultra Lounge, 10 p.m.
Sway offers a cure for the summertime blues with DJs Sleepy Genius and Silky Slim, 9 p.m., $5. Singer and songwriter
Adam Faucett explores the outer edges of desperation, heartache and wonder, returning to bring us nuggets of the finest folk-rock you're likely to encounter anywhere, Maxine's, 9 p.m., free.
Check out a comedy about three con artists being thwarted by their elderly mark in "Everybody Loves Opal" at Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. through July 23, $23-$33. Check calendar for other times.
It's your last chance to catch the Arkansas Shakespeare Festival's production of "Othello" at 7:30 p.m., UCA's Reynolds Performance Hall.
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What's going on / Music Thursday To-Do: Jason D. Williams
JASON D. WILLIAMS
9 p.m., Revolution, $10 adv., $15 d.o.s.
Though he was born in El Dorado, Jason D. Williams is a genuine Memphis Madman, a hyperactive, convulsive piano pounder who draws deeply from the musical traditions of his adopted city. He got his start at the tender age of 16, playing in the backup band of another Arkansas native, the legendary Sleepy LaBeef. Of course, Williams' rockabilly repertoire, manic playing, spastic stage presence and wild shock of blond hair make comparisons to Jerry Lee Lewis unavoidable. And he performs a litany of the Killer's hits, including "Great Balls of Fire" and "Drinkin' Wine Spodee-O-Dee." He's shared the stage with his forefather. There's a great clip online of Williams, Lewis and Mickey Gilley playing "What'd I Say?" on Music City Tonight. This should be a high-energy show, with plenty of boogie-woogie, rock 'n' roll and kicked-over piano stools.
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What's going on / Music Thursday To-Do: Dead Rider
DEAD RIDER
10 p.m., White Water Tavern, $5.
You might remember the '90s Chicago skronk-meisters of U.S. Maple, who released several albums of art-damaged freakout via the Drag City and Skin Graft labels. Todd Rittmann, guit-slinger for the aforementioned act, is now in Dead Rider, a band that travels somewhat similar territory, but with a bit creepier vibe. Twitchy, nervous beats back up menacing synth tones, anguished guitar/saxophone interplay and some beautiful singing from Andrea Faught. Check out the hypnotic, spaghetti-Western guitar snaking around on "Dear Blocks" from the band's recently released "The Raw Dents." Spin scribe Joe Gross wrote that Dead Rider's latest sounds "... like Scott Walker staggering through the desert, preaching the gospel of Beefheart." That's an apt description, as the album reminded this writer, too, of later period Walker, he of nightmarescapes like "Tilt" and "The Drift." Fayetteville bludgeoners Egypter open the show.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Billy Blythe Bonnie Montgomery's Clinton opera gets more national attention
Former Democrat-Gazette columnist Kyle Brazzel, who wrote a preview and a review of "Billy Blythe" for the Times in recent weeks, has a great "Talk of the Town" piece in this week's New Yorker on the opera and its creator, Bonnie Montgomery.
I haven't talked to Bonnie since the debut, but Kyle said that he'd heard a Russian TV station was interested in an interview. I'll look out for footage.
Just about every major news outlet picked up a story Suzi Parker wrote for Reuters in advance of the premiere, but aside from the "Talk" piece, the only other reporting on the show itself I've found was in the New York Observer.
Some 20 minutes into the play, a sultry, Rubinesque Virginia Blythe (Jessica Bowers) beckons her son to “come visit,” and to bring her a cup of coffee while he’s at it. Bright eyed, the eponymous hero (Alex Krasser), rushes over with a mug and sits at her feet.“Did you know you make your coffee just the way I like it best?” Virginia sings as the piano accompaniment drops an octave. “Your father was the only other one who seemed to get it riiiight.” She sips. “Thiiick as syuuuuurrrppp. Oooo yeahhh this coffee oozes of your father’s zest for liiiiife.”
It was the most risqué moment in reading, but it put one in mind of another theatrical prince faced with his widowed mother’s sexuality. Unlike Hamlet, Billy accepts his greatness readily.
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Interviews Q&A with Crispin Glover
- Thomas Attila Lewis
Well folks, it looks like we’re living in the future, a time when the Cineplex of Babel is at your fingertips and you never even have to leave the house to see just about any movie ever made. So why would you?
Here’s a reason: because auteur Crispin Hellion Glover wants us to confront the profoundly uncomfortable, those taboo subjects that fester, neglected and unexamined, at the core of our culture. To that end he is coming to Little Rock and Hot Springs to screen his latest film, which most likely will never be available on Netflix or On Demand or BitTorrent. In addition to showing the film, Glover will also present dramatic narration accompanying a slide show with excerpts from his eight books, will answer audience questions and will sign copies of his books.
Part two of a trilogy, “It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine.” stars and was written by Steven C. Stewart, who had severe cerebral palsy. His character has a serious thing for women with long hair and seduces and murders several of same, including a mother and then her teenage daughter. Quoth Glover: “Stewart wanted to show that handicapped people are human, sexual and can be horrible.”
Just check out the trailer on his website to catch a tiny glimpse of what that means. This event, booked by Dan Anderson and presented by the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, is awesome news for art-house buffs and fans of the dark and the weird, but should probably be avoided by children, prudes, squares and anybody who gets offended by highly provocative material. The events take place July 2 at Market Street Cinema in Little Rock and July 3 at the Malco Theater in Hot Springs. The shows start at 7 p.m. and tickets are $20 at the door, no presale, cash only.
The Q&A is on the jump.
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Music Videos Ear Fear throws an old-school party in new video
Nice video for "New N***az" from Ear Fear's "Art Class."
Stick around for the dancing at the end.
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Monday, June 27, 2011
True Blood 'True Blood': Sookie deftly avoids the glowing oranges
Last night, the season debut picked up where last season left off, with Sookie in the gauzy, douche-commercial that is Fairy Land. Thankfully, we only had to stay long enough for her to reunite with her long-lost Grandpa, a terrifically miscast Gary Cole, and Nancy Drew her way out of a trap involving glowing oranges. A "Land of the Lost"-bad CGI battle between Sookie and troll-looking fairies came close to elevating Fairy Land from plain terrible to WTF-terrible, but not quite.
But, hey guess what? Time moved at a crawl in Fairy Land, and while Sookie felt like she was only gone for five minutes, she'd actually been missing for more than year. So the rest of the episode catches us up on what's changed in her absence. The major developments in order of how much I enjoyed them:
1. Sam is now part of an anger-management, shifter support group. That he found on Craigslist? They drink wine, talk about their biologic predisposition to anger and strip down and gallop in the woods as horses.
2. Tara's left her trembling lip in Bon Temps, and is now Toni the lesbian cage fighter from Atlanta. Just as silly as before, but far, far less tedious.
3. Bill has a new haircut and has somehow become the King of Louisiana. Which explains why he can command Erik to leave when both show up on Sookie's doorstep after she returns from Fairy Land. Bill's new status comes as a reveal in the final minutes, so undoubtedly we'll learn the details in the next several episodes.
4. Lafayette has a Mohawk. He's also still with Jesus, who really wants him to be part of his coven. Too bad Lala's reluctance can't stand up to the creepy charisma of head witch Marnie, who's clearly the villain of this season.
Hopes for the coming weeks: A quick end to the spawn of Satan storyline with Arleen and Terry. More vampire politics. Jessica in full on hedonism mode. Some life at home with Tommy and Mrs. Fortenberry. More werepanthers!
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Music Glen Campbell to hit the road one last time
Perhaps you’ve heard the very sad news that Glen Campbell — singer, guitarist, session heavyweight, actor, stone-cold legend and native of Delight, Ark. — has Alzheimer’s. The 75-year old recently went public with his condition, and he’s since announced “The Glen Campbell Goodbye Tour” as a way to cap a career that’s spanned five decades, multiple No. 1 hits and millions upon millions of albums sold.
Like its predecessor, 2008’s “Meet Glen Campbell,” the singer’s upcoming album, “Ghost on the Canvas,” features a slew of high-profile musicians. It includes tunes written specifically for him by songwriters as disparate as Jakob Dylan, Robert Pollard, Teddy Thompson and Paul Westerberg. Backing musicians on the album include Dick Dale, Billy Corgan, Brian Setzer, The Dandy Warhols and others.
The album is out Aug. 30, but a full listing of dates has yet to be released.
“I still love making music,” Campbell recently told People. “And I still love performing for my fans. I’d like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin.”
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Arkansas Sports See photos from Joe Johnson's birthday bash
Looks like there was a packed house at the Metroplex to celebrate Joe Johnson's birthday on Saturday. The Times Brian Chilson was there to get red carpet shots and more.
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Friday, June 24, 2011
What's going on / Music Saturday To-Do: Joe Johnson's All-Star Birthday Bash
JOE JOHNSON'S ALL-STAR BIRTHDAY BASH
9 p.m., Clear Channel Metroplex, $50-$75.
A couple issues back, former Razorback and NBA All-Star Joe Johnson sat down for a Q&A with the Times' Lindsey Millar. When Millar asked him what he had on the horizon for this summer, Johnson offhandedly mentioned an upcoming birthday. It seemed like a bit of an odd thing to bring up. But whatever, birthday parties are always fun, with the ice cream and cake and balloons. Then we realized, oh, this is what he was talking about: For his 30th birthday, Johnson is bringing in big-time Atlanta MC Young Jeezy as well as '90s R&B stars K-Ci & JoJo for the "White Out Black Night Party," a 21-and-up throw-down that will likely go down in Little Rock party lore. Tickets are $50 for general admission or $75 for VIP, which includes table seating and the buffet. Is there even any question which one you should opt for? After all, we wouldn't expect the guy who owns the Super Truck to go for anything less than totally over-the-top when it comes time for a birthday throw-down. There's a strictly enforced dress code of black and/or white attire for the affair, with no tennis shoes, T-shirts, jeans or sagging pants getting in the door.
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What's going on / Music Saturday To-Do: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS
8 p.m., Timberwood Theater, Magic Springs, $22.50-$55.
For a lot of guys (and probably a fair number of gals) born between, say, 1965 and 1980, odds are good that Joan Jett was an early rock 'n' roll crush. After the dissolution of her late '70s all-girl punk/metal group The Runaways, Jett had a string of radio hits: "I Love Rock N' Roll" spent several weeks at No. 1 and "I Hate Myself for Loving You" cracked the Billboard Top 10. And who could forget her sultry yet bombastic take on the Tommy James and the Shondells' bubblegum classic "Crimson and Clover" or the stadium-rock monster "Do You Wanna Touch Me?" Answer: Yeah, but only if it's Joan asking and not disgraced glam-rocker Gary Glitter, who wrote the original (although we're just going to pretend he didn't, for reasons you can read about on the Internet). Jett hasn't had a hit in a while, but who cares? She's a legend, she's eerily ageless (at 52) and she still totally kicks ass live. Tickets are $40-$45 for admission to Magic Springs plus $5-$10 if you want a reserved seat at the show. If you show up after 4 p.m. it's only $22.50 to get in.
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